14 Key Tips On How To Stop Drinking Alcohol
Making people admit that they’re dependent on alcohol is never easy—let alone making them let go of it. It doesn’t help that the lengthy processes they’ll need to undergo can make them believe that leaving behind alcohol is an impossibility. However, they must know that they can still stop it at the drop of a hat—just like any other type of habit and routine.
While the road to alcohol recovery could be exceptionally long and bumpy, there’s no denying that it’s possible, especially if you know the right people to ask for help from and the appropriate tools to use. If you’re one of those struggling to kick the habit, you can visit this website and continue reading this article.
Alcoholism And The Human Mind
Many people drink alcoholic beverages for varying reasons and purposes. For some, it’s a tool to escape their problems and forget about something that makes them feel down and problematic, while others drink to have some fun time alone or with friends. Regardless of why you drink alcohol, one thing’s for sure: too much of it is bad for you.
Over the decades, many people have become more at risk of various health issues and illnesses due to excessive alcohol intake. While being under the influence of alcohol becomes a form of escapism, it can lead to many kinds of troubles and health problems.
To have a better understanding of alcoholism, here are some essential pieces of information you must know:
- Intrinsically, alcoholism is the condition of being overly dependent on alcohol. It could also refer to alcohol abuse disorder. Apart from that, it’s also characterized as the most severe form of alcohol abuse and could affect one’s health in many ways.
- People suffering from alcoholism often experience drastic changes in their physical, emotional, mental, and psychological health. Some of the most common symptoms of alcoholism may include the inability to control alcohol consumption, cravings for alcohol, and bad behavior when drinking.
- Alcoholism and other types of alcohol disorders could affect one’s cognitive functioning, including problem-solving skills, memory retention, critical thinking, and decision-making. Aside from that, they could also negatively affect the brain’s neurotransmitters and reward system.
- In general, alcoholism and its symptoms are grouped into three major classifications: mild, moderate, and severe. Without proper care and medication, severe alcoholism could lead to life-threatening illnesses and situations.
The Art Or Recovering From Alcoholism
Whether you want to quit alcohol drinking to start a clean slate or want to combat risks of the health problems alcoholism may bring, you could recover from your condition if you’re determined and driven. You can pursue recovery without needing to hit rock bottom; you just need to know how to do it.
To help you out, here are some simple yet highly efficient ways you can do to recuperate from alcoholism and get back to the life you once had:
- Monitor Your Alcohol Intake
Upon noticing your drinking habits are getting worse, you might be wondering about what you can do before it’s too late. As a pro tip, you might want to begin to watch the amount you drink and how often you do it, for starters.
Have a friend help you monitor how much you drink when you’re with them. After all, it can be difficult for you alone to count how many bottles you’ve down if you’re already intoxicated.
On the other hand, you may want to put some effort into limiting how many glasses of beer you consume. Be aware of what’s your limit, and stick to it.
- Establish A Recovery Plan
Achieving a goal won’t be possible if you don’t know what’s in it to you. To better help yourself get through your alcohol dependence, you need to create a comprehensive recovery plan that’ll consist of all your goals, courses of action, and rewards you’ll get if you’ve accomplished everything.
- Consider Your Reasons
There’s a lot of reason people drink alcohol. One can’t just say that patients with alcohol addiction are caused by one reason alone. For example, not because someone is alcoholic, they’re automatically bad when making decisions in their lives. Know that you may be an alcoholic not because you’re a terrible person—you may have just faced something in your life that might have led to your drinking problem.
To better understand what alcoholism is and get through it effectively, one must first accept that alcohol abuse, along with other types of alcohol disorders, may be a result of something else other than poor decision-making skills. It may have been caused by childhood trauma, social isolation, social disadvantage, bereavement, long-term depression, and unemployment.
Moreover, knowing the exact reason you started to rely on alcohol may allow you to solve the cause or the root of the problem. So, give yourself a considerable amount of time to learn about the reason behind your alcoholism.
- Know Your Options
Upon learning about the reasons behind your condition, the next step is to know the alternatives and methods you can utilize to get nip the problem in the bud. To do that, you might want to consider seeking professional help or signing up for an alcohol rehabilitation facility to get treated.
Apart from that, you may also research the effective measures you can take to better recuperate from your situation. One thing you can do is to practice proper moderation management and maintain complete sobriety.
- Seek Help
Coping with alcoholism isn’t an easy task to accomplish, especially for people who fight against their condition all by themselves. Consider opening up to your loved ones about your condition and ask for their support. If you’re having second thoughts, know that your family and friends and the primary people could help you throughout your journey to recovery.
Moreover, you may even encourage others to manage their drinking issues and spark hope in them. In some cases, people who want to seek recovery are often hesitant to do so due to the lack of support, so lowering your guard a little could create a significant impact on your life and ultimately push you to the road of sobriety.
- Find A Support Group
Apart from your family, friends, and relatives, you may also get the support that you need from the people who’ve been through the same condition as you. Mainly, you can find a support group where you can share your experiences and not face judgment.
When pursuing alcohol recovery, know that establishing new relationships with other people could be beneficial in helping you fight the temptations of alcohol consumption.
When looking for a support group, make sure that the kinds of people in it must have the following traits and characteristics:
- They can prevent you from indulging in your alcohol cravings.
- They won’t pressure you to drink alcohol just for the sake of being ‘in.’
- They will call you out every time you lose track of your attention towards recovery.
- Modify Your Environment
Do you believe in the conventional belief that who you surround yourself with becomes who you are? If so, then you can apply this saying to your recovery scheme. As a rule of thumb, always seek the company of other people who’d go for alcohol-free activities than those who’d invite you to bars for some fun.
Aside from that, you must also consider your environment as it could affect your will to achieve alcohol recovery. For instance, you can get rid of all alcoholic beverages in your house as the first step in your recovery.
- Change Your Habits
Seeing alcoholic beverages in your house could make you forget your efforts and plans of recovery. Consequently, it could impede you from recuperating from your condition. Thus, you must start with your habits and routines to get through alcohol abuse.
Specifically, you must channel your energy into doing things that could improve your overall health and wellness. You can travel, camp, hike, and do extreme activities to divert your attention from alcohol. You may also try immersing in other people’s culture and learning about their way of living as a form of recovery.
- Find A Healthier Alternative
When it comes to managing your alcohol drinking habits, one of the essential aspects you mustn’t forget includes finding an alternative for your cravings. Selecting a healthier replacement beverage could create a huge difference and help you stand firm in your efforts to quit drinking alcohol.
With many available options to choose from, you’ll never run out of healthful alternatives for your alcoholic beverages.
- Change Your Lifestyle
Doing something else instead of drinking could be beneficial in your efforts to stop your drinking habits. While some people may not have trouble doing this, others feel more reluctant to change their lifestyle. Particularly, if you’re battling with alcohol cravings, you might want to consider doing other activities, which may include the following
- Going for a walk
- Meeting with other people
- Engaging in physical activities
- Practicing meditation routines
- Cooking good food
- Promote Self-Care
Promoting self-care might be one of the most ideal and cheapest alternatives to recover from alcohol abuse. While it could be considered an underrated alternative among the other options, note that prioritizing self-love could help you know your worth and motivate you like no other.
Aside from that, incorporating proper self-care might be beneficial in helping you manage emotional distress, anxiety, and depression that often lead to alcoholism.
- Enhance Your Wellness
Aside from your emotional and psychological state, you must also not forget to boost your overall health and wellness. Particularly, having a healthy body could help you enhance resistance against health issues because of alcohol abuse.
It could also equip you to brave obstacles and manage alcohol cravings. Just by quitting your alcohol drinking patterns, you’re taking giant steps towards optimal health and efficient body functioning.
To achieve optimum wellness, you may consider the following:
- Drink plenty of water
- Follow a balanced, healthy diet
- Take vitamins and supplements
- Do regular exercises
- Engage in enjoyable outdoor activities
- Get enough sleep
- Practice Sublimation
When it comes to trying unconventional methods to aid in your alcohol recovery, you might want to consider practicing sublimation. In psychology, it’s a process where you redirect negative emotions by doing something else. For example, if you’re feeling anxious, your body’s first response may be to look for a bottle of cold beer. Through sublimation, you can train your body to do something else when you feel anxious. Instead of drinking, you can try to clean your room.
While this alternative is almost foreign to other people, know that channeling your alcohol cravings and urges into doing something productive could benefit not just your physical health but also your psychological aspects.
Sublimation is also known as an excellent defense mechanism. Doing it may allow you to do helpful things to yourself and others and be more constructive to your environment. Apart from that, it could also help you become a better version of yourself and get back to your everyday life.
- Prepare Yourself For Setbacks
Again, the road to alcoholism recovery is a tough one. Remember that you may fail several times during this journey, so you should never think of quitting if you suddenly drank a glass of brewski at a party.
However, it doesn’t mean that you should be completely lax when you slip up. You should prepare yourself for setbacks to prevent you from spiraling into depression or experiencing the heavy burden of defeat. If you slip up, just do better next time.
Takeaway
Getting over your or someone else’s alcohol drinking habits might not be a walk-in-the-park experience. Many people find it hard to cope with alcohol abuse because of the many things they need to consider and risks to be mindful of—not to mention the length of time it could take for patients to recover.
Fortunately, there are various alternatives you can consider to obtain sobriety, including seeking help from professionals and signing up for alcohol rehabilitation facilities. Through the abovementioned considerations and tips, coping with alcoholism could be much easier.
