Published: Jan. 14, 2025 at 1:45 PM PST
Watch the video on the KKTV 11 News website.
Steve Carleton, Chief Clinical Officer at Porch Light Health, spoke with KKTV 11 News about drinking and alcohol use disorder during Dry January.
Lauren Watson
I want to thank you for joining us at the 11 Alert Desk this afternoon. I’m Lauren Watson, Digital Content Manager here at KKTV 11 News. I’m here today with Steve Carleton. He’s the Chief Clinical Officer at Porch Light Health. And Steve, I know today we wanted to talk a little bit about alcohol use disorder now. Everybody’s getting back into their routine after the holidays. But what does overdoing it over the holidays do when it comes to things like alcohol use disorder?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, great question, Lauren. And it’s good to be with you. The holidays bring huge disruptions in our schedule and routine, and oftentimes it also comes with increased drinking and just using other substances in general. So when that happens, there’s the obvious things, weight gain, right? But the more subtle symptoms as well. People get more fatigue. People’s sleep is interrupted. There’s also more stress and anxiety during the holidays, right? We think about that as a really celebratory time, but the other side of that is it also comes with a lot of stress. And so January is the time when people can recalibrate and start some new habits.
Lauren Watson
Yeah. Speaking of habits and things that people do, a lot of people do dry January. Does something like this actually do anything for your health?
Steve Carleton
Absolutely. Yeah. There’s been lots of studies, and there’s some real benefits to dry January. It improves sleep. The opposite is what happens on the negative side during the holidays improves. You have more energy, you’re physically more healthy, you lose weight, your sleep is better, you improve focus. So dry January, even just stopping for a month has real health benefits to it. It’s something people out there should consider.
Lauren Watson
What options are there for people who might not necessarily want to quit drinking altogether, but who know that they need to or might want to cut back on their drinking habits?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, absolutely. So dry January is committing to not drinking for the entire month of January. Do you need to commit to stopping for the entire month to get some benefit and to improve health? No. There’s other options. It’s always a good time just to look at your drinking patterns. How many days a week am I drinking? How many drinks am I drinking in an evening on the weekdays and the weekends? What do you want those levels to be? How many days a week are you comfortable with having an alcohol beverage? How many, and how many at a time are you comfortable with? And practically speaking, there’s just lots of really easy things that you can do to recalibrate. There’s not having an abundance of alcohol in the home, only buying small amounts and keeping it at home. If you go out to a bar, social setting, setting limits in between alcohol beverages, having a mocktail, having a glass of water, just slowing down that pace. And I think if you start to see that you’re having trouble keeping those limits and you’re consistently falling over it, that’s a time when you should consider, is this potentially becoming a problem?
Lauren Watson
Now, I know in our past conversations, we’ve talked a lot about accountability, having someone help keep you accountable? How does having that person help in these goals of cutting back or quitting altogether?
Steve Carleton
Well, I think when you think about the severe end of the spectrum of addiction, addiction is a very isolating problem. People are typically very lonely. So while drinking starts out as a social thing, over time, people lose more and more relationships. And so leaning into the opposite of that, if you’re trying to to cut back or reduce the harm caused by alcohol is having somebody to partner with and do it with you, or just having somebody to check in with about your progress and how things are going. Just talking about things out loud makes them more real, and It’s something that people should consider if they’re thinking about making adjustments or changes to their drinking habits.
Lauren Watson
What if there is someone who has tried everything they can and they are still having trouble cutting back on their drinking habits?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, and that’s the most common. When we think about substance use disorders, it’s a spectrum, and people should think about as a spectrum and not all or none. We oftentimes think about So my resistance use is, I don’t have a problem, and I don’t need to change anything, or I do have a problem, and I need to be completely abstinent. And really, how we measure it is mild, moderate, severe. And so if you’re on that moderate or mild end of the spectrum, there’s lots of ways you Can you change that. If you’re noticing that you’re consistently losing control over how much and how often you drink, you’re not sticking to those limits, that’s a sign. If you’re experiencing more social occupational work consequences, that’s a sign. If you’re taking Seeking risk, driving drunk, doing things that could cause you or other people harm while using, that’s a sign. And then lastly is the physiological, right? So your body is dependent on that substance. You have an increased tolerance, withdrawal. Those are the things to look out for. And if that’s happening, seeking care is probably a good idea.
Lauren Watson
What are some of the treatment options for people who may be dealing with alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder like that?
Steve Carleton
Well, unfortunately, We have a really great alcohol use disorder program. It’s a drinking less project. If you’re just interested in coming in and talking to a therapist about your level of drinking and really just explore your relationship with alcohol, I think you can come and talk to one of our graduate level therapists for four quick sessions, and that can be a really good option. There’s tremendous resources online. Psychology Today is a great resource to look and find for a therapist, or looking on the SAMHSA website or just doing a Google search for addiction resources in your area. All good options if you’re curious.
Lauren Watson
Now, Steve, we’re about to wrap up this afternoon. You You mentioned some of the treatment options at Porch Light Health. If people are looking for you or looking for Porch Light and some of those resources, where can they find you?
Steve Carleton
Absolutely. 866 Matt Stapp is our number, and that’s a great place to start. Porchlighthealth. Com is another great option. We’re just a great option that we offer therapy. Primarily, we offer medications for addiction treatment, so we help people reduce or eliminate substances use through the use of medical care and medications. And we also offer psychiatric services. So if people are not only struggling with a substance use problem, but also mental health, we can help people with that as well. So, yeah. Thanks Lauren.
Lauren Watson
Of course. Is there anything that we haven’t touched on or that we did touch on that you really want to emphasize before we get going this afternoon?
Steve Carleton
No, I don’t think so. I just encourage everybody out there that if you have questions about your alcohol, just think about your limits. Think about what is my relationship with alcohol and what do I want it to be? If you need help, reach out. Ask somebody for help.
Lauren Watson
Steve Carlton, Chief Clinical Officer at Porch Light Health. Thank you so much for joining us here at the 11 Alert Desk today.
Steve Carleton
Thank you.
