Again, you booze up. Don’t you think that late night party was enough to bring a boozer back in you? You had promised not to increase the intoxication level, but you did. Even in any kind of problem, your first preference is to have alcohol. Maybe, that is the only escape from your miserable situations. Most probably you make plans to stop drinking, but after a certain time, you rarely stay committed with your words. Well, for an alcoholic it is not easy to stop drinking. Alcohol is something that keeps on attracting them like a magnet. And the only question that keeps on buzzing in their mind is how to stop drinking?
Few people will recommend you to consult a primary care doctor or a therapist to treat this problem. But, do you think is it the only way out from this type of situation? Well, to stop drinking first you need to make up your mind to live without alcohol at any cost. Though, it is not easy for you. But, this primary step is the biggest solution to your problem.
What is Alcohol Abuse?
Before we move on to the further discussions, first we need to understand the root cause of alcohol addiction. Alcohol Abuse means the excessive consumption of alcohol on a regular basis while knowing the negative consequences of heavy drinking. It is something that becomes the habit of a person. We may also call it alcoholism or alcohol dependence. You can’t avoid alcohol at any cost. You are habitual of drinking regularly.
Signs and Symptoms of Drinking:
Alcohol may become the central part of your life if you will keep on consuming it in all kinds of problems. Whether you drink it for pleasure or you drink it to get rid of anxiety. It rarely matters why you are having it. The signs of drinking are visible whenever you have alcohol. This includes:
- Complete loss of control over oneself.
- Professional liability.
- Paying less attention to the personal life.
- Insomnia
- Inability to concentrate.
- Usage of incoherent language.
- Poor balance of the body.
How Do Alcohol Affects the Body?
The alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and it gets distributed to different parts of the body. This is considered to be the major cause of blurry vision. You lose senses when you drink excessively. Just a small dose of an alcohol has an impact on your health. A little amount of alcohol always keeps on existing in your breath and urine. How often the alcohol is metabolized in the body depends on the size and gender of the person. It can affect all the major systems of your body like the excretory system, nervous system, and immune system. There are various health related risks involved when you drink on a regular basis and that too in a large amount.
Ways to Stop Drinking:
Contents
Alcohol is a cause as well as a solution to various problems in our life. People know all the bad impacts of drinking, but still they choose to drink. Well, if you are planning to stop drinking, then here are some of the ways that will help you to stop drinking:
1.) Motivation to Stop Drinking:
Motivation is something that keeps you focused and attached to your goals. It dedicates an individual to stay committed with their words. First, you need to understand why you need to stop drinking? Only then you can take other steps to fulfill your goals. Motivation is the secondary step to fulfill once commitment. It builds a strong desire that is hard to avoid. It gives you the potential to deal with any kind of problem in life. Motivation is something that keeps you started to do anything in life while the habit is something that is hard to ignore. So, decide what really you want in your life.
2.) Build a Social Network to Stop Drinking:
It is believed that people like drinking, especially when they are suffering from problems or miseries in their life. They drink to cheer up their moods. You may call this situation as alcohol abuse. If you will surround yourself with people then it becomes easy to stop drinking. It gives you emotional strength, as you can share your problems with the people. A social network plays a major role in maintaining the mental state of your mind. It keeps you indulge in the conversations. It even develops a sense of understanding and peacefulness in your mind.
3.) Slow Your Drinking Rate:
It is not easy to quit something easily. It took a lot of time to stop drinking. It is important to take an initial step before fulfilling our goals. Start decreasing the consumption levels of alcohol from the very first step. Then, systematically follow this process till you stop drinking. It depends on your will power that how much time you will follow this process. Also, the exact time is not specified when you will be free from alcohol consumption. It merely depends on you and your will power.
4.) Visit a Therapist to Stop Drinking:
There are basically two therapies that can treat problem of drinking:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
It focuses on finding out the problems that lead to heavy drinking. The therapist puts major stress in changing the thinking process of an alcoholic. They aim towards finding out the solutions to the problems of an alcoholic, that influences a person to drink. This therapy is a good way to stop drinking as it helps in maintaining a cool mental state of a boozer. It is the best way to share your problems and find out the solutions according to it.
Brief Interventions:
The therapist tells the various ways to treat the problem of alcohol abuse. They focus on the drinking pattern of an alcoholic. They tell various ways to treat the problem of drinking as per the potential risks involved in their drinking pattern. At first, they conduct the small group counseling sessions to find out the drinking pattern of an individual. Later on, the counselor or therapist makes a plan to treat alcoholism.
5.) Build a Support System to Stop Drinking:
The support plays a major role in changing the habit of a person. Get support from your family members and close friends. Try to share your feelings and problems with the close ones of your life. Try to build a strong support system by facing and tackling the problems alone. Don’t seek for pleasure instead go for the ways to tackle the problems. Ignorance can’t be the solution of your current situations. So, don’t make your life complicated by building difficult situations. Just go for a sober lifestyle with a bunch of supportive mates.
6.) Detoxification to Stop Drinking:
This program is the best way to break the addiction of alcohol. The people are treated with the detox medicines at the initial stage to reduce the alcohol intake. It includes the consumption of benzodiazepine medicine like chlordiazepoxide. This process involves a strict discipline. Also, you need to follow a difficult and challenging routine. It is a longer process, but it is a good way to influence an alcoholic to stop drinking. These alcohol withdrawal medications work perfectly. You are treated until the withdrawal symptoms are not revealed completely.
7.) Medications to Stop Drinking:
In the US, you can treat this problem of drinking by having medications. There are three basic medicines recommended to treat alcohol addiction and drinking. It includes Acamprosate, Disulfiram, and Naltrexone. They are useful medicines to treat heavy drinking. They even help to abstain an alcoholic. Disulfiram is the unique medicine among all as it causes the breakdown in your body by developing the dangerous symptoms like nausea, and change in the color of the skin of the boozer. Hence, it prevents an alcoholic to have alcohol. Remember that you need to consult a doctor before using these medicines.
8.) Stay Persistent to Stop Drinking:
It is the most important aspect that treats the problem of drinking. If you are not serious about your target, then no other outer source or person will help you to treat this problem. You can easily stop drinking if you are persistent about your goals and desires. So, it is important to stay persistent. Never gave up on your targets, fulfill it anyhow. No matter how many hurdles come in your way, just stay persistent.
9.) Maintain a Sober Lifestyle to Stop Drinking:
The more you will focus on sober living, the more it will be easier for you to treat the problem of drinking. Though, it is not easy to turn your lifestyle in one go. But with simple steps you can bring a huge difference. So, follow a simple routine without any complications. This concept of the simple living will not only bring a change in your lifestyle, but it will also provide you the life full of harmony without much stress and tensions.
10.) Avoid a Bad Company to Stop Drinking:
A bad company can really turn all of your goals into a vain attempt. No matter, how much planning you do to stop drinking. But, a bad company can influence you to follow a wrong path. It can never let you remain focused about your plans. Moreover, people of the bad company will manipulate you negatively. You may easily get influenced by their thoughts. Therefore, it is important to avoid a bad company at any cost, if you want to stop drinking.
Health Risks Involved in Heavy Drinking:
There are various health risks of heavy drinking. They are as follows:
- Cancer
- Anemia
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Dementia
- Depression
- Seizure
- Gout
- High Blood Pressure
- Nerve Damage
- Liver Damage
These are the major health related problems caused due to heavy drinking. So, if you are alcoholic then it is really important to stop drinking. It is the best way to prevent such problems affecting your health.
At the end of your outwearing day when your legs are tired, you are exhausted and your mind is full of useless thoughts. Then, what you do? Do you drink? If the answer is yes, then you need to look at yourself and your habits before it turns out a disaster in your life. It is easy to stop drinking. You just need to stay focused and committed.
Beginning to Quit to Stop Drinking
1.) Consult with Doctor
If you select the path to recovery alone, always keep this in mind that the alcohol withdrawal can be potentially deadly. If you are experiencing some symptoms like panic attack, severe anxiety, the shakes and rapid heartbeat. You should immediately take the help of doctor. This condition can result in very harmful for your situation, which is deadly, if left untreated.
Don’t feel that you need to quit alone. You are not only one who is carrying burden but you can take help of plenty of people in your life that surely help you in quitting drinking. It is often very easy to quit with the help of medical intervention than it is to try cold turkey. Doctors who help in treating withdrawal of alcohol often prescribe benzodiazepines to treat the symptoms.
2.) Change Your Attitude to Stop Drinking
Remember, you are not getting force to leave your good friend who has treated you well. Instead, you are leaving your enemy which is eating you from inside. Make proper attitude, if you have planed of quitting alcohol which will make your decision easier. You will get stuck in many confusion while making a decision as you other half will say to stop drinking while other will say to remain same.
3.) Go and Pick a Appropriate Date to Quit
Always be ambition while quitting alcohol but always remember the reason that will help you to stay on your decision. If you are heavy drinker then you must slow down to avoid withdrawals symptoms. In that case, you have to take the help of a doctor to help you to plan the quitting date.
4.) Stay Away from Bottles and Cans
You have to maintain a distance as much as can to avoid the urge of alcohol. Try to not go those places where you will get beer, wine or any other alcohol. Don’t feel that serving alcohol to guest is mandatory. You can also welcome your guest with lemonade, Ice-tea, Coffee instead beers and wines.
5.) Feel Your Feelings
Always try to feel your feelings. If you want to cry then you should cry. When you want to laugh then laugh as much as you can. Eat when you are hungry. Sleep when you feel like tired. It will be weird in first then it will automatically help you to stay in your decision and embrace it. So many alcoholic addicts forget to felt their own feelings. So, you should know your curves.
6.) Don’t Sit with the People or Situation Where You are more Likely to Drink
There is old saying that- Playground and Playmates- look at yours. When you have decided to stop drinking then you need to leave your old buddies and watering holes behind until you achieve the goal. Avoid those buddies who always come with 2 beers and glasses of wines.
Don’t force yourself to do anything that you don’t want to do. If you like to drink at the beach places, so avoid going those places this year that will help you to stop drinking. If you want to go to your friend place where you have drank a lot last time so keep check that place again before visiting. If you really want to stop drinking then you need to protect your sobriety which is the most important thing that will help you to be in the same decision. You just have to take care of you and don’t worry about everyone else right now.
Strategies Of Getting Sober that will help you to Stop Drinking
1.) At first Stage, Reduce the Quantity of Alcohol
As you know Rome wasn’t built in a day. So, you should also know that everything takes time. Stop drinking is not easy task, especially for those who are addicts. Kicking your alcohol habit in a week is not possible. But you can enjoy your small victory of saying no to alcohol. In first stage, you need to simply reduce the amount of alcohol you are taking. Going straight from heavy drinker to cold turkey is a way to physical and emotional disaster.
Just imagine the worst part of alcohol experienced. You can also imagine that due to alcohol you are vomiting and having a paralyzing headache. If you felt this before drinking, try to call the memories. The pain you feel is good and that will also change you habit and that’s the very first step. Even if you have reduces daily drinking by one drink then it’s really amazing success. You need to keep working by reducing the alcohol you consume. Every week, you need to cut down the alcohol you consume.
2.) Try to Have Food Before You Drink
To avoid alcohol, it is best and effortless method to stop drinking. Try to have food before you want to drink. As this will reduce the interest of alcohol before you consume. If you do this, then you won’t be able to cheat your body or goal that you have made to stop drinking. It will surely reduce the urge of drinking alcohol.
3.) Try to Drink More Water
Keep your body hydrated as much as you can. Drinking more water help to flush out all the toxin from your body. Men are advised to drink 12 cups of water a day and women are advised to drink 9 cups of water.
4.) If You are Schedule Drinker, Change Your Routine
If you are badly start drinking right after work or when you go home. So you should change your routine to another activity that will help you to stop drinking. Instead of that you can go to your friend place or talk with your parents to divert your mind so that you can avoid drinking. A little change will help you to change the scenario. You can do other activities to divert you mind. Just make another plan to make your mind busy. Having conversation with your family can divert your mind to the other things. In short, if you keep yourself busy then you won’t get as much thought of drinking.
