• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Detox
    • Alcohol Rehab
    • Alcoholism, Addiction And Recovery
    • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
    • Get Help For Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol & Alcoholism
    • Stop Drinking Alcohol
    • Alcohol Detox At Home
    • Counselling For Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Drinks Journal
    • Alcohol Units Guide
  • Drug Addiction
    • Drug Addiction
      • Drug Detox
      • Drug Rehab
    • Cocaine Addiction
      • Cocaine Detox
      • Cocaine Rehab
    • Cannabis Addiction
      • Cannabis Detox
      • Cannabis Rehab
    • Heroin Addiction
      • Heroin Detox
      • Heroin Rehab
    • Amphetamine Addiction
    • Crack Addiction
    • Crystal Meth Addiction
    • GHB Addiction
    • Ketamine Addiction
    • Mephedrone Addiction
    • Prescription Drug Addiction
    • Steroid Addiction
  • Helping Others
    • Help For My Addicted Husband
    • Help For My Wife
    • Help For My Son
    • Help For A Loved One
    • Help For My Daughter
    • Help For A Work Colleague
    • Help For A Friend
    • Help For Myself
  • Locations
  • Prescription Drugs
    • Prescription Drug Rehab
    • Prescription Drug Detox
    • Pregabalin Addiction
    • Hydrocodone Addiction
    • Oxycodone Addiction
    • Benzodiazepine Addiction
    • Fentanyl Addiction
    • Valium Addiction
  • Online Rehab
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
Help 4 Addiction Logo

Help 4 Addiction

Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation

Trustpilot

Call Us: 0203 955 7700

Get Rehab Prices Start Your Consultation
  • Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Detox
        • Alcohol Rehab
        • Alcoholism, Addiction And Recovery
        • Get Help For Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol & Alcoholism
        • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
        • Stop Drinking Alcohol
        • Alcohol Detox At Home
        • Counselling For Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Drinks Journal
        • Alcohol Units Guide
  • Drug Addiction
        • Drug Addiction
          • Drug Detox
          • Drug Rehab
        • Cocaine Addiction
          • Cocaine Detox
          • Cocaine Rehab
        • Cannabis Addiction
          • Cannabis Detox
          • Cannabis Rehab
        • Heroin Addiction
          • Heroin Detox
          • Heroin Rehab
        • Amphetamine Addiction
        • Crack Addiction
        • Crystal Meth Addiction
        • GHB Addiction
        • Ketamine Addiction
        • Mephedrone Addiction
        • Steroid Addiction
        • Prescription Drug Addiction
  • Helping Others
        • Help For My Addicted Husband
        • Help For My Wife
        • Help For A Friend
        • Help For My Son
        • Help For My Daughter
        • Help For A Work Colleague
        • Help For A Loved One
        • Help For Myself
  • Locations
  • Prescription Drugs
        • Prescription Drug Rehab
        • Prescription Drug Detox
        • Benzodiazepine Addiction
        • Fentanyl Addiction
        • Oxycodone Addiction
        • Hydrocodone Addiction
        • Pregabalin Addiction
        • Valium Addiction
  • Online Rehab
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

What is an Alcoholic Drinks Journal and Why It’s a Good Idea to Keep One?

4th February 2022 by Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Last updated on May 4th, 2022 at 11:05 am

What Is An Alcohol Drinks Journal

Thinking about keeping track of how much you drink? We have resources that can help you claim back control.

Here at Help4Addiction, we have always maintained that preventing an addiction is better than finding a cure for one. If we want to effectively combat the addiction crisis in England and Wales, we need to educate, enlighten, and help people fight back before the brewing addiction becomes an active one.

Part of educating people around the use of drugs and alcohol, is in teaching them the importance of keeping track. Not everyone who has an addiction knows they are addicted. Government reports for the 2019-2020 period say that 270,705 adults with addiction problems interacted with their services. This is only a portion of the total number of those in addiction. It is also only a 2k+ increase on the previous year[i]. When we have the 2021 statistics, we can expect a further rise made worse by the ongoing pandemic.

 

How to Keep Track of Your Drug and Alcohol Use

We promote the use of three of the resources run through the Help4Addiction website to keep track of a potential addiction. The first resource is our interactive drinks and unit calculator, which helps you add up what you have drunk that day or week. The second is the unit guide we keep on site. The third is our guidance on keeping an effective alcohol drinks journal.

We say an alcohol journal, but if you use illicit drugs this trick will work equally well. The trouble with tracking illicit drug use, of course, is that we don’t have accurate information on how much is too much. While the NHS clearly state that 14 units of alcohol a week is ‘low risk drinking’, we don’t have that with drug use. Nevertheless, you can use a drug use journal to help you cut down drug use.

To access these resources simply visit the relevant pages. Click here for the downloadable Alcoholic Drinks Journal, here for the Sobriety Calculator, and here for our Alcohol Units Guide.

How to Use the Alcohol Drinks Journal?

When you download the journal, you will receive a formatted example of what should go inside your own journal. You can keep it electronically and use it as a template to create your own drinks journal, or you can write your own out by hand. As we know, we shouldn’t routinely drink more than 14 units a week. If we are, then we must consider that we need to curb our drinking.

How do you know if you’re drinking too many units?

This leads us to step two. Once you have recorded a full week’s drinking in your journal, you can visit our alcohol units guide page to assign a unit value to each drink. This handy to use guide describes the drinks with pictures in an infographic. Each type of drink shown has the units and strengths beside it, so you can see how much each drink is worth in units at a glance.

Once you have accessed the chart, you can work through your drinks journal for the week and assign the unit value. Once done, you can add up all the units you have drunk that week and arrive at an accurate total. You might be surprised at how much you are drinking when you place unit values on the alcohol. 14 units is equivalent to 7 cans of beer or cider, but only 4.75 large glasses of red wine. A pint is worth 2 units if it is lower strength, but 3 units if it is higher.

 

What to do if you can’t get control of your drinking/drug use?

If you find you can’t combat the lure of substance abuse on your own, there are programs that are made just for you. You can call the Help4Addiction team to discuss these programs, all of which will teach you how to tackle the brewing addiction in a healthy way.

For a drinker or drug user who routinely hits their 14 units or mildly exceeds this limit, we recommend a 7 day stay with detox included, to interrupt the cycle and teach you how to fight back in future.

For someone who routinely reaches 15-20 units per week, a fortnight long stay with detox is better, but a 28 day stay is thorough.

Anyone regularly drinking more than 20 units per week should stay in rehab for at least 28 days to combat their addiction.

 

[i] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2018-to-2019/adult-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2018-to-2019-report

 

Filed Under: Latest News

Sharing is Caring

About Nicholas Conn

Nicholas Conn is a leading industry addiction expert who runs the UK's largest addiction advisory service and is regularly featured in the national press, radio and TV. He is the founder and CEO of a drug and alcohol rehab center called Help4addiction, which was founded in 2015. He has been clean himself since 2009 and has worked in the Addiction and Rehab Industry for over a decade. Nick is dedicated to helping others recover and get treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. In 2013, he released a book 'The Thin White' line that is available on Amazon.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • FREE CALLBACK SERVICE

    We offer a free
    callback service 24/7

    Simply enter your number below
    and our addiction counsellors will call
    you back in a few minutes.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Articles

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Rehab Clinic in London

15th June 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Steroid Abuse: Know the Signs

8th June 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Have you Taken a Tramadol Overdose?

30th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Am I Enabling My Addicted Loved One?

20th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

5 Ways to Tackle a Family Member with Addiction

13th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Tags

Adderall addiction Alcohol Alcohol Allergy Alcohol Poisoning Alcohol Poisoning Treatment Brighton child addict cocaine Codeine coun detox Devon - Paignton Drug addiction drugs dry january England Essex - Brentwood family festive Halloween Hertford home detox Kent - Goudhurst ketamine librium London Magic Mushrooms meth Naloxone online rehab Pancreatitis party drugs porn Recovery rehab relapse self-care Sheffield signs staying sober Stoke On Trent teenagers tramadol xanax

Footer

Get Help Now

  • Phone 0203 955 7700 or enter your phone number and get a call back.

    FREE CALL BACK SERVICE 24/7

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Help 4 Addiction

Help 4 Addiction’s experienced support team are always on hand to offer you the most personal and cost effective options available for alcohol and drug addiction treatment

0203 955 7700
support@help4addiction.co.uk

Additional Links

  • Private Residential Rehab Clinics
  • Alcohol Addiction
  • Alcohol Rehab & Addiction Treatment
  • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
  • Online Therapy
  • Detox from Home

Get Help Now

  • Phone 0203 955 7700 or enter your phone number and get a call back.

    FREE CALL BACK SERVICE 24/7

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© 2022 Help 4 Addiction. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT