How to deal with drinking too much?

How to deal with drinking too much

Questions to ask the family or friends

• Has the person been drinking alcohol recently?

• Are you worried about his drinking? Why?

• Has he been drinking in the mornings?

A ‘yes’ to any of these questions suggests the person may have a drinking problem.

Questions to ask the person who may be drinking too much

• Tell me about your pattern of drinking.

• Have you been drinking alcohol more than usual recently?

If so, ask these three questions:

• How often in the past year have you found that you were not able to stop drinking once you had started?

• How often during the past year have you needed a drink in the morning to get yourself going?

• How often in the past year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of drinking?

If any of these questions is answered ‘at least once a month’, then you should suspect a drinking problem and ask more detailed questions about drinking behaviour, such as:

• What type of alcohol do you drink (for example, whisky, beer)?

How much do you drink every day? If the person drinks only on a few days a week, ask on how many days a week, and how much on those days.

• How is drinking affecting your health? This will help make the person realise how the drinking is damaging his health.

• Have you tried to stop your drinking? What happened?

• Would you like help with stopping your drinking? The last two questions will give you an idea about the person’s desire to stop.

Things to look for during the interview

• Does the person look tense, nervous or fidgety? These can be signs of alcohol withdrawal.

• Check for the smell of alcohol.

• Look for bruises, scars or other signs of injuries.

• Check for signs of liver disease, such as jaundice.

• Watch for signs of brain disease, such as being clumsy or having poor balance. Special interview suggestions

• Speak to the person in private. Spend a little time building rapport, and explain that the information the person shares is confidential. People with drinking problems are often relieved to discuss their drinking, if they feel they can trust you.

• Do not take a moral view on drinking. Even if you feel that drinking is bad, your aim is to help the person.