Abstinence

Abstinence is the deliberate, complete avoidance of a substance or behavior. It can be temporary or ongoing and may be chosen for personal, medical, religious, or legal reasons.

Alcohol abstinence: The complete avoidance of alcoholic drinks. It is a specific form of abstinence, often chosen to support health or recovery.
Substance use disorder: A pattern of substance use that causes clinically significant impairment or distress. Dependence and impaired control can make sustained abstinence difficult.
Moderation management: A behavioral-change program that helps people reduce or control their drinking rather than requiring lifelong abstinence. It offers a controlled-drinking goal instead of complete avoidance.
Alcohol and health: The effects of alcohol consumption on physical and mental health. Avoiding alcohol removes exposure to alcohol-related risks, though outcomes vary by person.
Drug abstinence: The complete avoidance of nonmedical psychoactive drugs or other specified drugs. It applies abstinence to substances whose use may cause dependence or harm.
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: A set of symptoms that can occur after heavy, prolonged alcohol use is sharply reduced or stopped. Abrupt abstinence can trigger dangerous withdrawal in people with physical dependence.
Temperance movement: A social movement that promoted reduced or abolished alcohol consumption. Temperance has included both moderation and abstinence, unlike abstinence's strict avoidance.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: A range of lifelong conditions caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Avoiding alcohol during pregnancy prevents alcohol exposure as a cause of these disorders.
Sexual abstinence: The choice to refrain from sexual activity, either temporarily or indefinitely. It extends abstinence from substances to a behavior.
Relapse: A return to a prior pattern of illness or behavior after improvement or remission. A return to use can interrupt abstinence, though it need not end recovery.

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