'For the first time in my adult life, I am going to have a booze-free Christmas'

Not drinking alcohol should be seen as a positive lifestyle choice, writes Gerry Raftery

Decide on how much you are going to drink during a party or a session. Know your limit.

A few months ago, I wrote in this paper about mindfully giving up alcohol. For the first time in my adult life, I am going to have a booze-free Christmas.

I don’t regard myself as an alcoholic, but like 70% of Irish adults, alcohol was part of my social life and I enjoyed it very much. From time to time, I could be called a binge drinker, this is defined as taking six alcoholic drinks in one day.