For many of us, 4th of July means barbecuing, fireworks and spending time with loved ones. But the reality often looks quite different, and the holiday stressors quickly pile up for those of us trying to stay sober this holiday weekend.

Have you ever participated in 'Dry July' before? If you haven't heard of it, it's a public health campaign where people all around the United States, Australia and Europe decide to abstain from alcohol for the month of July to raise money for cancer. The Dry July Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to raising money for those who have been affected by cancer.

If you’re familiar with Reframe’s different programs then you may be familiar with our cutback track which allows our users to form a healthier relationship with alcohol by learning how to drink less and be more mindful about their consumption. Our cutback track is a form of moderation management, which means that we accept that alcohol can create problems in a person’s life, but instead of admitting to powerlessness over the substance, Reframe users are empowered to learn how to manage and control their drinking. Many people may not identify with the label of alcoholic even though they have issues with alcohol and problems involving drinking.

You may be familiar with the term moderation, but what does it really mean? According to CDC Guidelines, to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, adults of legal drinking age should limit intake of alcohol to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women. Weekly, moderation is considered 14 drinks or less for men and 7 drinks or less for women.

First, let’s make one thing clear— You are not a failure because you haven’t been able to stop drinking on your own. Stopping drinking isn’t about a lack of willpower or the collapse of your determination. Part of your brain has been hijacked, but you can take it back and Reframe can show you how.

We all know alcohol makes you drunk if you have enough of it, but do you know why? Or how? Let’s get into the science behind intoxication.

When we first change our relationship with alcohol, it can feel like a big shift in our lifestyle habits. Perhaps we’re used to going out to the bars or parties a lot with friends or taking clients out to fancy dinners and drinks for work. It can seem like our life is alcohol centric in a lot of different ways and if we’re being honest it probably is because that’s how our society is.

You probably don’t think of being sweaty (outside of working out) as a good thing, but sweat serves an important function. Sweat is a vital part of our body’s cooling system. Our sweat glands work hard, even when we’re sleeping. Sweat itself is 99% water, with traces of salts and metabolic wastes. When secreted onto the skin’s surface, sweat evaporates, taking heat from our bodies as it vaporizes and cooling the blood that flows beneath our skin. Fun fact— This evaporative cooling system is likely the reason that human bodies are nearly hairless.

With a rise in social movements surrounding mental health, environmental impact and general consumption, Millennials and Gen Zs are taking on a new health craze– Mindful Drinking. Coined by Rosamund Dean, journalist and author of “Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Can Change Your Life,” Mindful Drinking means “bringing awareness to our behaviors in terms of our decision to drink alcohol: for example, tallying how many cocktails one consumes in a given night, or paying close attention to why, where and when one is drawn to drinking. (Blum, 2021) This approach to drinking is perfect for those looking to drink less and navigate their drinking from a place of intention rather than using alcohol as a habit or a crutch.

When someone quits drinking without intervention, medication or cutting back this is referred to as going “cold turkey.” The severity of quitting “cold turkey” specifically contrasts with a slower, more gradual quitting regimen. If you plan to quit something cold turkey, you plan to instantly go from doing it to not doing it.

According to the CDC, binge drinking is a serious but preventable public health problem.

Many of us are all too familiar with having a few nights we’d wish we could do-over. Having a few too many or even “blacking-out” can lead to high risk behaviors, embarrassing moments and nasty hangovers. While nights like these may not be your normal drinking behavior, it can be hard to gauge the idea of moderation in a society where alcohol is glorified and literally everywhere.

Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner, and even though this is a holiday to celebrate and remember those who served and lost their lives fighting for our country, it has somehow (like so many other Federal Holidays) become a drinking holiday. If you are currently sober, sober-curious or working on cutting back your alcohol intake, holidays like these can be particularly tricky. A longer weekend makes for idle handles and social gatherings where alcohol will most definitely have RSVPed. So how do we celebrate without drinking? Our amazing alcohol-free team members here at Reframe got together to brainstorm some ideas for you:

This is a story about my "Rock Bottom," I guess. But the funny thing about a Rock Bottom is that it looks different for everyone, and it rarely looks like people would imagine. Mine happened on my couch.

For Canadian rap artist Dax, his song ‘Dear Alcohol’ started as a poem that turned into a worldwide hit— millions of people can connected to his message. The song reflects his drinking habits once he moved to LA to become a full-time music artist. The lyrics are heavy, and relatable to anyone who has suffered with alcohol misuse:

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, offering an opportunity to reflect on the role alcohol plays in our life and how it impacts our mental health. Alcohol problems and mental ill-health are closely linked. Research shows those of us who are heavy drinkers are more likely to develop mental health problems. It’s also true that individuals with severe mental ill-health are more likely to have substance abuse issues, like alcohol use disorder. This may be because we ‘self-medicate’, meaning we drink to deal with difficult feelings or symptoms.

We all know that creating healthier habits will increase our longevity and strengthen our well-being, but how do we get started? You may have heard sayings like “it takes 21 days to make or break a habit,” which simplify the process and also invalidate our attempts at changes in the past. If healthier habits were formed as easy as sticking to something for 3 weeks, we would all be early risers who run 10k marathons once a month— but we aren’t (well most of us anyways!)

Many of us would like to believe that our alcohol habit does not affect those around us, but many studies show that heavy drinking can negatively impact our partners and our children. As our drinking progresses, our loved ones will likely experience a range of negative emotions. Promises to stop drinking are repeatedly broken and consequences of alcohol use escalate over time.

You may have heard the term toxic positivity before but what does it really mean? Can positivity be toxic? The answer is yes. According to Tabitha Kirkland, a psychologist and associate teaching professor at the University of Washington’s Department of Psychology, “Toxic positivity is a way of responding to your own or someone else’s suffering that comes across as a lack of empathy. It dismisses emotions instead of affirming them and could come from a place of discomfort.”

The brain has a direct effect on the gut and vice versa. Stop and think of a time when you got excited about an event, that nervous yet exciting feeling (a.k.a the butterflies) mixed in your stomach. That feeling immediately reports from the gut to the brain, and that's how you ultimately know what you are feeling. These feelings are natural occurrences and can arise from the bacteria in the gut communicating directly to the emotional and intuitive parts of the brain via messengers called cytokines.

While we are already aware that consuming alcohol isn’t good for us, we sometimes attempt to make up for our consumption by taking supplements or remedies to detox our body. The truth of the matter is that the only way to avoid complete alcohol damage is to abstain from drinking, but many companies still advertise themselves as “cures” for hangovers or ways to offset the damage done to certain organs.

Having a drink at the end of a long day to decrease anxiety may seem like the answer, but studies have shown alcohol can actually exacerbate symptoms of anxiety.

Could alcohol be the cause of my excess body fat? The simple answer–yes. Many popular mixed drinks and ready-to-go beverages are loaded with processed sugars; margaritas, daiquiris and even beer!

You may or may not be familiar with the term ‘nightcap,’ a popular euphemism for an alcoholic beverage at the end of the night.

We’re living in an era where Alcohol Use Disorder, Binge Drinking and Gray Area Drinking are at an all time high and it can be hard to discern what a healthy relationship with alcohol looks like.

Have you ever participated in 'Dry January' before? If you haven't heard of it, it's a public health campaign where people all around the United States and Europe decide to abstain from alcohol for the month.

If you've been drinking alcohol on a regular basis for a long time, you might hear that it's dangerous or difficult to quit cold-turkey. A tapering process can help you to change your relationship with alcohol in a safe, sustainable way.

If you've landed on this page, you're probably in a place where you're considering cutting alcohol out of your life, and you want it to be a quick, clean break. You can make this decision today.

Maybe you're already on the path to quitting or cutting down on alcohol use, or maybe you're still considering it. Either way, it's important to know some ways that you can stay on the path once you're on it.‍

When considering cutting down or quitting drinking completely, it's normal to wonder what happens next. Though the specifics vary from person to person, we can talk about some recognized trends so that you know what to expect.‍

Benefits of Cutting Back! When you quit drinking, or even cut back on drinking, you'll experience real effects on your body and mind.

Alcohol changes your brain on a biological level. Over time, drinking can wear down the mental and emotional resilience needed to change your habits. This can become like a feedback loop, keeping you stuck in cycles of drinking.

Did you know that 78% of Americans feel stressed at least one day in a typical week - and 15% feel stressed every single day? As we get older and take on greater responsibilities, stress is an emotion that becomes more and more prevalent in our lives.

Now more than ever, the world is seeing more and more celebrities and influencers speak out about their decision to cut back or eliminate alcohol from their lifestyle. What was once thought of as a "trend" has become a permanent change for many.

When on your journey to drink less or quit drinking entirely, one of the most common concerns you may have is “How will I celebrate without alcohol?” And who can blame you? Popping champagne bottles and pouring ourselves a drink has been our default way to celebrate.

Whether you want to drink less to reach your fitness goals, or you know that you could nail that work promotion with fewer hangovers, or you suspect that alcohol is holding you back from your creative endeavors, it makes sense that you might be interested in learning how to cut back on your drinking.