Enjoying a drink in the company of others is a perfectly acceptable and sociable thing to do from time to time but if you are one of those people who seem to struggle to know when to stop having any more alcohol it could lead to problems.

You might think it is a long journey between having one or two too many drinks and spending some time in a peaceful drug and alcohol rehab center to help put yourself right, but it is not that difficult for some of us to end up with an addiction problem.

Here are some pointers on how to keep your drinking under control by limiting your alcohol intake.

Make sure you eat

Some cultures enjoy food and drink together and there is some sense in that approach as a way of cutting your intake.

Eating food can reduce any cravings you might be feeling for alcohol and if you are eating a meal at the same time as drinking it makes sense that you may well end up drinking less because you feel full.

Know how many drinks you have had

It is always a good idea to know exactly how many drinks you have had and counting your drinks is a good strategy for helping you to reduce or slow your pace of drinking.

Make sure you are honest and disciplined with your counting as it can definitely prove to be an incentive to reduce your drinking levels when you see how much alcohol you are consuming.

Take your time

It often pays to be disciplined about quickly you are consuming your drinks throughout the evening.

It can often be the case that if you are someone who has a natural inclination to consume alcoholic drinks quickly, especially the first few drinks at the start of an evening, that puts you at greater risk of becoming too dependent on alcohol.

Try sipping your drinks and if you can limit your alcohol intake to one drink per hour it could make a big difference to how much you end up drinking.

You will definitely feel much better when you consume alcohol at a much slower pace – your body will thank you for it! And don’t forget to take care of yourself as much as possible the morning after too. Regardless of whether you take a nice soak in the bath or decide to use something like an Asian Flush Patch to reduce the feeling of nausea, there are many things you can do to feel better overall.

Remove yourself from temptation

If you have already noticed that you are drinking too much and want to try and cut down or stop drinking altogether for the time being it would be a good idea to make a conscious decision to avoid the sort of scenarios that act as a trigger for your drinking.

If you can avoid certain settings or situations for a while as you attempt to reduce your alcohol intake it should reduce any urges you might feel to put a drink in your hand.

Learn when to say no to a drink

If you are a naturally sociable person it can be all too easy to spend the evening with a regular fresh drink of alcohol in your hand.

Try to be disciplined about saying no to the offer of a drink and remember that you can still have fun without resorting to alcohol in order to get the party started.

If you can follow these responsible drinking tips it could help you to stay in control of how much alcohol you consume.