Alcohol reduction tips shared by Stockport residents

We asked Stockport residents from a community health and wellbeing support group in Brinnington to share some tips on cutting down on alcohol. Here's what they came up with.

Remember that everybody’s experience with alcohol is different, and you will have your own reasons and motivation for drinking or wanting to cut down or stop.

Change your routine. Drinking alcohol often becomes part of your routine or habit. Try breaking this. For example, if you always open a bottle of wine when you cook the Sunday roast, get someone else to do the cooking or try doing something completely different that doesn’t include drink.

Drinking because of boredom? Try to keep busy so you can stop thinking about it. Fill your time with other activities. Look at our 5 ways to feel good pages for inspiration and lots of activities you could join. If it’s late at night and you’re on the brink of drinking too much, plan a positive day for the next day that you can look forward to

When drinking at home, be careful with home measures. You could easily end up with a quadruple if you free pour. Use the cap of the bottle, shot glass or egg cup to measure. Use a whisky glass, not a tall glass and add a mixer and ice. And buy some smaller glasses – once you’ve had a few of these your mind will be thinking you’ve had a lot more

If you've got a bottle of wine, drink some and carry over the rest to the next day. Tomorrow’s another day to finish the bottle.

Try to keep some low alcohol beer in the fridge. It tastes much better now than it used to. You can drink it on its own or mix it with stronger beer.

Try not to buy alcohol in bulk. Although this is more difficult if you have mobility issues and have a once a week supermarket delivery.

Understand what ABV or alcohol by volume means on a bottle or can. Try to buy those with a lower alcohol percentage which means your drink won’t be as strong.

If you’re going out and know you will struggle to stop drinking, take cash so that you can only spend what you have with you.

Talk to others about what they drink and compare to your own. A bit of self observation might help you realise that what you’re doing isn’t normal.

Record how much you drink each day. You could do this by writing it in a diary or use the Try Dry app. Try and be honest with yourself.

Be careful thinking "alcohol is my mate". You might think so at the time that it’s helping you get through boredom, bereavement, redundancy but it never really is – over time it’ll lose you your friends, family, and your health, making you more isolated and withdrawn.

If you are drinking daily or drink to feel physically better, this means that your body might be dependent on alcohol and giving up drinking suddenly can be dangerous. Find out more about the withdrawal symptoms from alcohol.

Getting help and support

If you or someone you know is directly affected by drinking, the best thing you can do is get support. Take the first step to feeling better by getting in touch with START for free advice and support to drink less.

Find out about support for people under the age of 26.

Local community support group

Stockport Drug and Alcohol Service ambassador Les offers a community group to improve health and wellbeing. It takes place every Friday at 1.30pm at Brinnnington Life Leisure and you can just drop in. There is no need to book a place.