Summer Drinking: When is It Too Much?

As the temperature climbs, plans for barbecues, lounging by the pool or shore, and get-togethers with family and friends often go-hand-in-hand with drinking alcohol, says a New York addiction specialist.

“If you like to drink heavily, the opportunities are there, especially once Memorial Day weekend kicks off,” said Jon Morgenstern, Ph.D., director of Addiction Services for the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

Another prime time for over-indulging in alcohol is during the winter holidays, he said.

But not everyone who enjoys drinking has a problem that requires them to get on the wagon, he said. Some are just heavy drinkers who want to cut back on their alcohol consumption.

“They’re very functional, just drinking too much,” said Dr. Morgenstern. “And, there are a lot of people out there like that.”

Those people are the subject of a free program dubbed Project Motion offered through the health system’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. The program attempts to study why and how psychotherapy can be used to reduce a person’s level of drinking.

“We know that people in the heavy drinking category can learn to return to social drinking, but we don’t know exactly who can be successful relative to who really has to quit drinking. And, that’s something we really want to find out,” said Dr. Morgenstern.

After an initial review of a person’s drinking history, subjects, who receive a stipend for their time, spend four sessions with a psychotherapist and then have follow-ups over the next nine months. Participants are reimbursed for their time.

According to Dr. Morgenstern, a “heavy drinker” is:

• Drinking four or more drinks several days a week.
• More preoccupied with alcohol than they want to be.
• Makes plans to limit drinking but are unable to manage those plans.
• Hasn’t experienced the negative consequences of excessive drinking that come later like DWIs, breakup of relationships, violence at home or loss of a job.

“It’s surprising how many people can drink heavily and yet maintain a functional life, although their personal relationships and professional life is not as satisfying and productive as it should be, and they know it,” said Dr. Morgenstern. “The consequences are not so severe that they’ve been forced to come to a day of reckoning. And for those people, many of them, with a modest level of treatment can learn to re-establish control over their drinking and return to social drinking.”

To learn more about the program, call 516-837-1677 or email caspir@nshs.edu.