Instead, return to your plan immediately, recommit to your goals, and learn from the experience. Every setback is an opportunity to grow and reaffirm your commitment to sobriety. Quitting alcohol is not just about giving up a substance—it’s also about replacing negative habits with positive ones.
- Join a gym, learn a new skill, or find sober social groups you can enjoy.
- AUD can also strain relationships, impact employment, and diminish overall quality of life.
- Just remember that there is no single approach that works for everyone.
- Knowing why you drink is essential, says Cyndi Turner, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, a Virginia therapist specializing in addiction treatment and alcohol moderation.
If you’re concerned about the effectiveness of online therapy, you’re not alone. However, studies have shown that telehealth has important and promising implications for the treatment of substance use disorders like alcoholism. Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy. Her fields of interest include Asian languages and literature, Japanese translation, cooking, natural sciences, sex positivity, and mental health.
Top tips to help you quit drinking
The same study found that a break from drinking had lingering positive effects on people’s habits around alcohol. More than two-thirds of the participants reduced the amount of times they drank excessively (that is, anything beyond the daily recommended amount of drinks) for six months following their first 30 days alcohol-free. “Some people stop for two weeks, feel better, and go on to the other two weeks—and at the end of that, they say, ‘I didn’t need alcohol in my life—it’s causing more trouble than it’s worth,” Dr. Koob says.
Reach out for support
AUD is a serious condition that has significant physical, mental, and social consequences if left untreated. Chronic alcohol abuse often leads to liver disease, cardiovascular problems, mental health disorders, and impaired cognitive function, among other health issues. AUD can also strain relationships, impact employment, and diminish overall quality of life. If you feel you’re experiencing alcohol withdrawal, please seek help from a qualified professional or addiction specialist. Longbranch Recovery’s medical detox programs offer supervised care, medication-assisted treatment, and psychological support to help you safely navigate the withdrawal process and transition into ongoing recovery efforts.
At the end of the day, one of the most important tools you have at your disposal is self-compassion. Instead of criticizing yourself for having a hard time or slipping up and having a drink, remember that no one’s perfect. What matters most is your ability to maintain an open, curious outlook as you learn what does and doesn’t work for you. Maybe you’ve never been interested in logging your innermost thoughts, but journaling can be a great tool to track your feelings as you work on quitting alcohol. It’s common to experience difficulty when making big changes, but good self-care practices can help you manage overwhelming feelings and take care of your mind and body. It’s important to know that if your body has developed a strong dependence on alcohol, trying to quit “cold turkey” can be hazardous to your health.
If you do find yourself relapsing, don’t lose your confidence or your courage. As long as you do your best to get back on track, recovery is always possible. Remember to reach out to your friends, family, and other loved ones for support, too. They can help you create an environment that will set you up for success and remove unnecessary temptations.
But maybe you’re unsure about quitting completely and don’t want to hold yourself to that goal. Knowing why you drink is essential, says Cyndi Turner, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, a Virginia therapist specializing in addiction treatment and alcohol moderation. Maybe you don’t think you depend on alcohol exactly, but you still wonder whether you might be drinking too much.
Talk about it
Creating a plan is an essential part of knowing how to quit drinking. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that having a plan can help solidify your goals and give you a roadmap for how to achieve them. And practice what you might say as a follow-up explanation if someone ask. Just like a broken bone or infection needs time to heal, so does an overworked liver.
Have a Plan
- Consider strategies for dealing with cravings, coping with stress, and managing social situations without alcohol.
- This means that if you suddenly stop drinking, you may experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
- If you don’t have a regular doctor, see a primary care provider or visit a free health clinic near you.
- For those who drink heavily for a long time, it can take months to years for the brain to fully recover—and some complications, such as dementia or certain cognitive deficits, are irreversible.
We aim to change how you feel about your drinking so that getting free becomes easy, enjoyable and you do not miss anything. Of course not, in fact – most people who stop drinking with Allen Carr’s Easyway do so without any unpleasantness at all. You may be worried that quitting comes with bad physical symptoms such as trembling hands, nausea, sweating and other effects. However, these are extremely uncommon and any site that mentions them will say that too in the small print. Mainstream advice recommends cutting down gradually to control your alcohol intake.
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In particular, she’s committed to helping decrease stigma around mental health issues. Within just a month of not drinking, your body can begin to reap the benefits. Your liver can start to heal, your risks of heart disease and cancer go down, and you may begin to sleep better. If you feel comfortable doing so, discuss your challenges with your primary healthcare professional. Finding a therapist can also be a great starting point if you’re uncomfortable opening up to your healthcare professional.
No bad withdrawal
Some people attain their goal only to find that old habits crop up again later. The way to freedom is to change the way you think how to stop drinking for good about alcohol so that you can enjoy going into any restaurant, bar, club, or party without feeling left out or deprived because you’re not drinking. To drop the number of drinks you have each week, start with a daily limit.
Take some time to explore your relationship with alcohol
Withdrawal symptoms include tremors, mood swings, nausea, and intense sweating. They typically begin within a day of someone’s last drink, peak three days after their last drink, and diminish after about a week. One way that individuals experiencing substance use disorder cope with the lack of alcohol in their life is by finding a new activity to engage in. This helps them pass the time and avoid the urges that they may have to drink again.
