“I’m saying let’s bring mindfulness to the act of drinking. Let’s not overindulge; let’s work with our craving in a fashion similar to the way we work with it on the meditation cushion. Let’s enjoy the experience without falling into the trap of confusion. At the end of the night of a Right Drinking, don’t be surprised if instead of feeling woozy you feel refreshed by the experience.” – Lodro Rinzler
Alcohol intake is a ubiquitous fact of life. In the US 87% of adults reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 71% reported that they drank in the past year; 56% reported that they drank in the past month. If alcohol intake is tempered by moderation and caution it can be enjoyed and may be potentially beneficial. But as alcohol intake gets out of control it can lead to binge drinking and alcoholism. It is reported that 25% of US adults reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the last month and 7% have what is termed an alcohol use disorder.
This is troubling as it can be very dangerous and potentially fatal. Nearly 88,000 people in the US and 3.3 million globally die from alcohol-related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Drunk driving accounted for over 10,000 deaths; 31% of all driving fatalities. Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to contribute to over 200 diseases including alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries. It is estimated that over 5% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide is attributable to alcohol consumption. So, clearly, it is important to control excessive alcohol intake.
Attempts by society to make alcohol illegal have been dismal failures. So, it is important to find methods to prevent excessive alcohol intake and assist in preventing relapse in recovered alcoholics. Mindfulness has been shown to be associated with lower use of alcohol in adolescents (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/10/28/lower-substance-use-with-mindfulness/) and to help with relapse prevention with alcoholism (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/11/10/staying-on-the-wagon-with-mindfulness/). So, mindfulness may be useful in controlling alcohol intake and preventing relapse.
In today’s Research News article “Elucidating the Association Between Trait Mindfulness and Alcohol Use Behaviors Among College Students”
Karyadi and colleagues measured mindfulness, self-reported alcohol use, and responses to alcohol related visual cues in college students. They found that the more mindful the students the less the problematic alcohol use and the lower the level of cued alcohol cravings. Of the different facets of mindfulness, they found that acting with awareness was the most highly related to lower alcohol consumption and cued cravings. Finally, they found that acting with awareness appeared to work through a reduction in cued cravings to produce its effects on alcohol intake. Hence, mindfulness, particularly acting with awareness, appears to reduce alcohol consumption by reducing the individual’s responses to cues for alcohol intake.
The mindfulness facet of acting with awareness involves focusing attention on what you are doing at the present moment. When an individual is acting with awareness they are fully engaged with their current activity and not acting automatically “on autopilot.” As a result, they do not respond to unconscious or subconscious signals, but rather are in complete attentional control of what they are doing. This would make it less likely that they would respond to cues signaling alcohol craving. Rather they would respond to the conditions and act on them with complete awareness and not act irrationally.
These results do not demonstrate that mindfulness is the cause of the reported altered consumption. It will require a trial in which mindfulness training is actively manipulated to establish a causal connection. But, these results are encouraging and suggest that such a trial should be conducted.
So, be mindful and act with awareness with alcohol.
“The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.” – William James
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/alcohol.html#VhlXCV71s87co30G.99
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies