by The Episcopal Church Medical Trust
April is Alcohol Awareness Month
Alcohol Awareness Month is an opportunity to raise awareness of alcohol abuse and encourage people to make healthy, safe choices.
How will drinking less or quitting help me?
Drinking in moderation or not drinking at all can help you:
-Lower your blood pressure
-Lower your risk of injury, heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and
liver problems
-Lose weight – Use this calculator to see how many calories you will save.
-Save money – Use this calculator to find out how much you spend on alcohol.
Take Action!
Here are some strategies to help you cut back or stop drinking. Remember, try to limit your drinking to no more than:
- 1 drink a day for women
-2 drinks a day for men
- Keep track of your drinking. First, set a drinking limit. For example, you may decide to have no more than 3 drinks per week.
- Step 1: Write down your drinking limit on a piece of paper.
- Step 2: Keep track of your drinking. Write down every time you have a drink for
1week. This drinking tracker card may help.
-Take a day off from drinking.
Choose a day each week (for example, Tuesday) when you will not drink.
- Don’t drink when you are upset.
If you have a bad day or are feeling angry, don’t reach for a drink. Try taking a walk, calling a friend, or seeing a movie. Find healthy ways to manage stress.
- Avoid places where people drink too much. Stay away from bars or other places that make you want to drink.
- Learn new skills to change your drinking habits. Planning ahead can help you manage situations when you might be tempted to drink too much. Plan ahead of time how you will say “no” if someone offers you a drink. Practice these strategies to handle an urge to drink.
- Limit the amount of alcohol you keep at home. This way you won’t be tempted to go over your drinking limit.
Why does the Church care about Wellness? Click here
Source: How to Cut Down on Your Drinking
Adapted from www.healthfinder.gov
This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of a health care professional with any questions about personal health care status, and prior to making changes in approaches to diet and exercise. This material is for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of coverage under any Episcopal Church Medical Trust (“ECMT”) health plan. To determine what services are covered under an ECMT health plan, the corresponding Plan Handbook should be reviewed carefully. In the event of a conflict between this information contained in this email and the official Plan documents (schedule of benefits, Summary Plan Description, booklet, booklet-certificate), the official Plan documents will govern. Unless otherwise noted, websites referenced herein that are outside the www.cpg.org domain are not associated with the ECMT and its affiliates (collectively, the “Church Pension Group”) and the Church Pension Group is not responsible for the content of any such website. All quotations are used with permission.
Posted on
Wed, April 18, 2012
by Thea Mangels
filed under