Diary

Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood How do I know if my

altering, recreational drug in Australia.
drinking is harmful?
Drinking alcohol plays a regular role in a lot of people’s lives;
however, it is not that different to any other drug; such as We know that drinking too much can be harmful, but how
aspirin, nicotine, cannabis, sleeping pills, or even speed much is too much and how do we recognise this?
and ice. Drinking too much alcohol can result in a number
of health and social harms for individuals and the people Excessive or harmful drinking is not just a matter of how
around them. much a person drinks, but also why they drink, and how
their drinking affects their life.
For example, the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household
survey found that: Listed below are some questions adapted from the World
Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification
• 29.7% of respondents drank at a level that might be
considered hazardous or harmful Test (AUDIT)2.
• Of respondents who had 11 or more drinks on any one If you answer yes to any of these questions your drinking
occasion at least once a year, 8% sustained an injury could be causing some harm to yourself or others.
requiring medical attention
Do you find it difficult to stop drinking
• 21.4% of respondents had been victims of an alcohol-
once you have started?
related incident in the previous 12 months1
For example:
If you think that your drinking is affecting your health and
causing harms to yourself and your family or friends, then • Do you drink more than you plan to drink?
this guide may be able to help you. It provides information • Afterwards do you feel guilty?
about how to identify if you are drinking too much, and Are you often unable to remember what happened
advice on how to either reduce your alcohol consumption or the night before because of your drinking?
quit drinking.
The information in this booklet is offered for general Do you experience withdrawal symptoms
when you have had a break from drinking?
purposes and should not be considered a substitute for
specific, professional advice. For example:
• Do you drink to avoid withdrawal symptoms?
See “Coping with withdrawal” on page 7 for
more information.

Are there times when you feel you

need to have a drink to cope?
For example:
• Do you feel you need a drink to help you sleep?
Does your drinking affect your relationships,
home-life, work or school?
For example:
• Have you missed work or school because of
your drinking?
• Does your drinking cause arguments with family
and friends?
• Have you or someone else been injured because
of your drinking?
Has a relative, friend or health care worker
shown concern about your drinking?

Have you experienced any of the

negative health effects of alcohol?
For example:
• See the section on “What can happen when you drink
too much?” on page 4 for more information.

2 Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC, Saunders JB & Monteiro MG 2001 AUDIT —

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). National Drug Strategy The alcohol use disorders identification test: guidelines for use in primary
Household Survey 2019. Canberra: AIHW. care, 2nd ed. Geneva: World Health Organization

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How much do you drink? Standard drinks
The National Health and Medical Research Council Not all drinks contain the same concentration of alcohol.
(NHMRC) has developed new draft guidelines to reduce You can calculate how much alcohol you are drinking by
health risks from drinking alcohol.3 using “standard drinks”.
The guidelines recommend: A standard drink is one that contains 10 grams of pure
• To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease alcohol. Some examples of a standard drink include:
or injury for healthy men and women, drink no more
than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than
4 standard drinks on any one day.
Situations where drinking increases the immediate risk of 285 ml (a “pot”, “middy” or “handle”)
harm include:
of full strength beer (4.8% alc./vol.)
• Women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy
or breastfeeding.
• When undertaking or supervising activities that require
a high level of attention, such as water activities, driving,
watching children or operating machinery. 375 ml (a stubby or can) of low
strength beer (3.5% alc./vol.)
The safest option is not to drink when you are in
these situations.
More information about the guidelines is available at
www.adf.org.au 100 ml (a small glass) of wine
(13.5% alc./vol.)

30 ml (a nip) of spirits (40% alc./vol.)

https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol/
about-alcohol/standard-drinks-guide

If you are unsure how many standard

drinks your drink contains check on
the label or ask the bar tender.

If you’re at someone’s house

pour your own drinks.

3. National Health and Medical Research Council Draft Australian

Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol, Canberra:
National Health and Medical Research Council, 2020

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What can happen when Long-term health effects
you drink too much? Heavy consumption of alcohol over time can damage many
parts of the body. Some of the damage can be permanent.
Alcohol can cause issues in many areas of your life.
Organ Damage
For example: Brain brain injury, loss of memory,
• Relationships and family — arguments over drinking and reduced ability to plan,
behaviour while drunk. confusion, hallucinations
• Work or school — excessive alcohol consumption can Mouth, throat, cancer
cause health issues such as hangovers, which can oesophagus, lips
result in taking extra days off and poor performance, Heart high blood pressure, irregular pulse,
including an increased risk of accidents with machinery enlarged heart
and vehicles.
Blood changes in red blood cells
• Finances — spending too much money on alcohol or
Muscles weakness, loss of muscle tissue
fines from legal issues can impact on finances.
• Health — either through injuring yourself while under the Skin, body flushing, sweating, bruising,
influence of alcohol (such as drink driving, getting into a weight gain (alcohol has a high
fight, or falling over) or due to heavy consumption over calorie content)
time. Nervous system tingling and loss of sensation in
hands and feet
Lungs greater chance of infections
Short-term health effects
Stomach, inflamed lining, bleeding,
Many people think alcohol is a stimulant drug because intestines ulcers, diarrhoea
after a few drinks they become livelier and less inhibited. Liver severe swelling and pain, hepatitis,
In fact, alcohol has a depressant effect. This does not cirrhosis, cancer
necessarily mean it makes you feel depressed but it slows Pancreas painful inflammation
down the messages travelling between the brain and the Male sexual impotence, shrinking of testicles,
body. It can make you feel happier or sadder, depending organs damaged/reduced sperm
on your mood. Female sexual greater risk of gynaecological
In the short-term, the effects of moderate levels of organs problems, irregular menstrual
alcohol can include: periods, damage to fetus if pregnant
• feeling relaxed
• trouble concentrating
• slower reflexes
• increased confidence
• feeling happier or sadder, depending on your mood.
If a large amount of alcohol is consumed the following
may be experienced:
• confusion
• blurred vision
• clumsiness
• memory loss
• feeling sick and vomiting
• passing out
• coma
• death.
Alcohol causes long term damage
to many parts of the body…

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Planning to change your Disadvantages of changing your drinking patterns
drinking patterns • Harder to socialise and meet new people.
• Not being able to have fun with friends when they’ve
Planning what you are going to do, setting some goals
been drinking.
and having some support will make things easier.

The following section outlines some of the things to consider
when you are planning to change your drinking patterns. 
Each section raises an issue that needs to be considered:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
changing your drinking patterns? 
• Why do you drink? 
• What do you want to achieve?
• Make sure you have support
Why do you drink?
• Coping with withdrawal
• Strategies for changing your drinking patterns If you have decided you want to change your drinking
patterns you might find it helpful to work out exactly
• Coping with the urge to drink and relapse.
how much you are drinking and why. Keeping a diary for
At any stage of planning to change or changing your a couple of weeks will help you see how you drink and
drinking patterns your health professional can provide identify any patterns or risky situations. For example:
assistance. They can check your health, discuss • Did you drink more when you were in particular places,
your options, help you set goals, and provide support doing certain things or just being with certain people?
and referrals. For example, at the sports club, watching TV with
friends, at a party or at lunch on pay-day?
• How were you feeling? Were you angry, happy, bored
Advantages and disadvantages of or depressed? Certain moods in different people can
changing your drinking patterns increase their urge to drink.
• Did your drinking get you into trouble with your family,
To help you decide what to do about your drinking it
friends or the police? What led up to that situation?
might be helpful to write down the advantages and
disadvantages of changing your drinking patterns. Think how you can change your routine so there is less
Think about your list. Are there more advantages to risk of these situations occurring or how you can handle
changing your drinking patterns than disadvantages? them differently. Your support person might have some
How significant are the disadvantages? good ideas.
This list of advantages and disadvantages can be used
later to help you focus on your goals if you are struggling.
Some examples are already listed in the table to help get
you started.

Advantages of changing your drinking patterns

• No more hangovers.
• More money to spend on other things.
• No more arguments with family and friends about
what I did while I was drunk.






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What do you want to achieve?

After listing the advantages and disadvantages of The next step is to set some short and long-term goals.
changing your drinking pattern and keeping a diary you These goals need to be realistic and will depend on your
will have a better understanding of how much you drink, overall aim.
why you drink and what impact it is having on your life You might not be able to change everything at once so
and the lives of those around you. think about what you could do in the short-term (over
The first decision to make is to decide how you want to the next week) that will get you closer to your long-term
change your drinking patterns. Do you want to cut back, goals. It is important to set realistic goals. If you set goals
gradually reduce the amount until you have quit, or quit that are too high and don’t reach them you may feel
drinking immediately? disappointed and feel like giving up.
For example, if your overall goal is to reduce your drinking
Some things to consider when making this some short-term goals for the week might include:
choice include: • Not having a drink when watching TV during the week.
• Your health: if you have been drinking heavily for a long • Setting a minimum number of alcohol-free days you
period of time, if your health has been suffering, or if will have.
your doctor recommends it, it may be best if you quit
• Setting a maximum number of standard drinks you will
drinking completely.
have per day.
• How much and how you drink: do you find it difficult
to stop drinking after just one or two drinks? Write down your goals and the dates by which you wish
to achieve them. There is space for this in the diary at the
• Have you tried to cut down or quit before? beginning of each week. You should review your goals
• Have you experienced severe withdrawal regularly. If you reach your goals, you can set new ones.
symptoms previously? If you don’t reach them, have a look at what went wrong
and try again. You might find it helpful to discuss your
goals and whether you achieved them with a support
person or health professional.

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Make sure you have support Coping with withdrawal
It is important that you have people available to you If a person who has been drinking heavily over time
that can help and support you. This could be your suddenly stops drinking or reduces their alcohol
general practitioner, a counsellor, a friend, a support consumption they may experience withdrawal symptoms
group, or a combination of any of these. as their body adjusts to functioning without alcohol.
Generally these symptoms peak after a couple of days
Medical practitioner
and gradually settle down over the next week or two.
Your medical practitioner can provide support and
While some of the symptoms are mild, others can be
assistance at all stages of changing your drinking
severe. People considering alcohol withdrawal should
patterns. They can monitor your health and help you cope
consult a health professional.
with any withdrawal you may be experiencing. They can
also discuss the various treatment options, services and Some of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal could
medications that may be suitable for you and provide include:
referrals to other services and counsellors. • loss of appetite
• nausea
Counsellors
• anxiety
Counsellors can also provide support and help you
develop strategies to change your behaviour. They can • insomnia
also discuss the various treatment options and services • irritability
that may be suitable for you. There are a number of • confusion
different types of counselling services and methods • tremors
available. Some provide individual counselling while others • sweating
offer group counselling.
• and in severe cases, convulsions, cramps, vomiting,
There is also telephone and online counselling available. seizures, delusions, hallucinations and even death.

Support groups
Support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
are generally run by people who have been affected
by alcohol dependency issues, so the members can
understand what you are experiencing. They aim to help
members remain alcohol free and also provide social
networks that do not involve alcohol.

Friends and family

You could ask a friend or family member to be your
support person. The important thing is that they need
to be someone you trust and who understands the type
of life you lead. If you choose to have a support person,
it is important that they also read this guide and the
“Guidelines for support people” at the back of this booklet.
For further information, counselling, referral or other
assistance, contact the alcohol and drug services in your
state or territory (see the back of this booklet for details).

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Strategies for changing your
It does get easier with practice.
drinking patterns Choose a couple of these, or make up your
own, and rehearse saying them by yourself
Planning what kind of strategies you will use to change so you sound confident and at ease.
your drinking pattern and how you will cope with risky
situations will help you deal with these situations when
they occur. Some people just won’t accept no for an answer.
The following section provides hints and tips on: You may have to avoid being around them.
• cutting down Remember your friends may only be putting pressure on
you to drink as a way of making themselves feel more
• saying no
comfortable about their own drinking.
• coping with the urge to drink and relapse.

Coping with the urge to drink and relapse

Hints on cutting down
You have given yourself the best chance of succeeding by
If your goal is to reduce your alcohol consumption there are
taking time to think about your drinking and how you are
a number of strategies that you can use. These include:
going to change things. Even so, saying you are going to
• Sip your drinks, don’t gulp them down. If you are thirsty do something can often be easier than actually doing it.
have a soft drink or water first. There may be times when you find it hard to stick to your
• Try to avoid drinking in rounds as people generally drink goals or you just feel like giving up. The first thing to do is
to keep up with the fastest drinker. If you are in a round, to think about why you started all this in the first place:
drink a lower alcohol drink or skip a drink occasionally. • If you made a list of advantages and disadvantages of
Go easy on the salty chips and nuts as these can make changing your drinking patterns, take the list out and
you drink more. read it again.
• Do something so that you are not just concentrating on • Talk to your support person, that’s what they’re there for.
drinking. Play pool or darts, dance or talk to friends. • Go for a walk or do some other physical or distracting
• Drink low and non-alcoholic drinks alternatives. activity to take your mind off the urge.
• Try having a ‘spacer’, a non-alcoholic drink every • Try having a non-alcoholic drink.
second or third drink. • Delay having a drink for 15 minutes, the urge may pass.
• When mixing your own drinks, use more mixer and less • If you are in a “risky situation/environment”, leave it.
alcohol than usual. • Try using relaxation techniques.
• Don’t let people top up your drink. Always finish your If you do slip up and don’t stick to your goals—don’t
drink before getting another one.
despair. It’s only one day out of your whole life. Definitely
• Try to use standard drinks measures wherever possible, don’t throw it all away. Think about why it happened and
especially when drinking at home. This will make it easier see if you can avoid that sort of situation again or how
to keep track of how much alcohol you are drinking. you would cope differently next time. Ask your support
person or health professional for help and advice.
Tips on saying no
Fill in the diary every day and make sure you
Whether your goal is to reduce your alcohol consumption note how you were feeling and how you coped.
or quit drinking you will need to think about how you will
respond when someone offers you a drink. By thinking
about how you will respond before you are in that
situation you can be prepared.
Your responses might include:
• No thanks, I’m cutting down.
• No thanks, I’ve given up.
• No thanks, I’ve had enough.
• No thanks, I’ll sit this one out.
• No thanks, I have to get up early in the morning.
• No thanks, but what will you have?
• Thanks, what non-alcoholic drinks are on offer?
• No thanks, I promised I wouldn’t drink too much.
• No thanks, I’ve discovered what causes hangovers.

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Changing your drinking patterns
Now that you have decided what you want to achieve, Once you have started to change your drinking habits,
set some goals and identified some strategies to help continue to keep your diary. Review your diary once a
cope with risky situations you are ready to change your week, perhaps with your support person. Think about
drinking patterns. what happened when the urge to drink was strong. How
This diary will help give you a record of what, when and did you cope? What were you feeling when you drank
why you are drinking. You can compare your progress more than you planned? How could you deal with that
with previous weeks and keep track of your goals. situation differently next time?
Make sure you: Once you have settled into a drinking pattern you are
happy with, keep the diary for a week every few months to
• Fill in days when you have had nothing to drink.
check that you haven’t slipped.
• Note the times when the urge to drink was strong but
you didn’t drink.
• Note down how you coped with difficult situations.
If you are reducing your drinking make sure you also:
• Enter all the alcoholic drinks you have.
• Work out how many standard drinks you’ve had
each day.
• Add up the money you have spent on alcohol, including
“rounds” with friends.

Sample diary entries

Feelings and what

What time, where and Feelings before urge Amount and Money Standard
Day happened after/
with whom to drink/drinking types of drinks spent drinks
instead of drinking

8pm
Felt relaxed, didn’t feel 4 Pots
Mon In club, after training, Went to club $22.00 5
like drinking of beer
with John & Anne

Bad day at work, felt

6pm Feeling down, went to 3 glasses of
Tue stressed & needed to $21.00 4.5
At home alone pub wine
unwind

7pm
Tired & stressed about Went for a walk to
Wed At home 0 0 0
work distract myself
with family

Thur Watched TV 0 0 0

5.30pm
Drank soft drink
Fri At the pub with Relaxed 0 0 0
instead of beer
workmates

Felt relaxed, didn’t feel

Sat Watched TV 0 0 0
like drinking

2pm Argued with John, felt 1 bottle

Sun Relaxed $15.00 7.5
BBQ at Jen and Pete’s guilty about drinking of wine

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Goals: Week ending:

What time, where and Feelings and what

Feelings before urge Amount and types
Day happened after/instead Money spent Standard drinks
with whom to drink/drinking of drinks
of drinking

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Sun

Weekly Total

Download additional
pages for the diary
Guidelines for supporters
Being asked to be someone’s support person is a great • Be constructive about their progress, congratulate them
compliment. Your friend must look on you as someone they when things go well and avoid criticising when things go
can trust and whose advice they respect. badly. Work with them to think of new ways to tackle the
There are a number of ways you can help your friend change difficult times.
their drinking behaviour. • If they slip up, help them not to feel as if they have failed.
• Read this booklet and then go through it with your friend. Look on it as a temporary setback and encourage them to
keep going.
• Discuss the areas where you can help.
• Celebrate with them when they achieve their goals, this can
• Be clear about when and where they can contact you if they
be something simple like going for a meal, to the cinema
are having trouble sticking to their goals. For example, can
or shopping.
they ring you at work?
• There are support groups, telephone help lines and services to
• You might want to arrange a regular time to get together to
support people who have a friend or family member with an
go over their progress and discuss how they are doing.
alcohol dependency problem. Contact details for two services
• Have rules about how involved you will be. Remember you are listed below.
are only there to help, actually changing drinking behaviour
is their responsibility. Family Drug Help: 1300 660 068
Family Drug Support: 1300 368 186

For further information, counselling or other assistance, contact the alcohol and drug information service in your state or territory.

ACT (02) 5124 9977 SA 1300 131 340

NSW (02) 9361 8000 TAS 1800 250 015
1800 422 599 (outside Sydney) VIC 1300 85 85 84 (information)
NT 1800 131 350 1800 888 236 (counselling)
QLD 1800 177 833 WA (08) 9442 5000
1800 198 024 (outside Perth)

adf.org.au
Copyright © 2020 Alcohol and Drug Foundation
ISBN: 9780858091085

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