Decide what your aim is. Do you want to give up alcohol altogether? Or do you want to cut down? The decision is yours - But be clear about what you're trying to achieve from the start.
Pick a day in the next week to start cutting down. Go for a day when you're more likely to be relaxed.
Plan ahead for that day so that it's easier to avoid alcohol. Work out how to avoid situations when you end up drinking more. If you often drink at home, stock up on alternatives to alcohol, like alcohol-free beers and wines or soft drinks. And tell other people that you're cutting down - you might find that they avoid putting pressure on you or even join in.
Don't give up! Changing habits like drinking takes a lot of time and hard work. There may be times when you find it difficult to drink less. Don't worry about this - try to remember the positive things you've already achieved and set a new start date to reduce your drinking.
If you continue to find it hard to cut down you could see a trained alcohol counsellor or contact one of the help-lines or websites on our contacts page.
Why cut down?
There's a lot to gain from cutting down your drinking back down to within the bench-marks.
More money - Work out how much you've spent on alcohol in the last week.