Quitting Alcohol: How to Quit Alcohol & Stop Drinking

When you have figured out how many drinks you can drink, write it down, along with the drinking time period. Country profiles present selected data, statistics and information to provide national health profiles at given points in time. Although alcohol negatively affects various health outcomes, awareness about the health risks of consuming alcohol remains relatively low. Harmful use of alcohol is accountable for 7.1% and 2.2% of the global burden of disease for males and females respectively. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 15 to 49 years, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths in this age group. Disadvantaged and especially vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization. Talk with your family members and trusted friends about your plan.

It’s important to remember that it takes time to develop alcoholism, and it takes time to recover from it. But overall, be cautious about giving up alcohol cold turkey, and consider tapering off if possible. Any of these medications can make a big difference in battling physical addiction, making the psychological parts of alcohol dependence easier to work through. For those who have already quit and want help managing cravings, there is also acamprosate, an abstinence maintenance medication that helps rebalance your brain chemistry. And beyond these, there are several off-label medications that can be useful, including gabapentin, topiramate, and baclofen. Get access to medical counseling, prescription medications, licenced recovery coaches, and more—all from the comfort of your own home at a fraction of the cost of rehab.

Eat before and in between drinks.

If you take nothing else from this writing, remember this quote. “The next drink will always come.” There will always be an opportunity to relax with a cold beer. We are not looking to never have a drink again in our lives – we simply want to cut down our drinking drastically. If we can keep in mind that there will be an opportunity to indulge again, it makes things so much easier. The percent alcohol by volume (alc/vol) for distilled spirits is listed on bottle labels and may be found online as well. It is half the “proof,” such that 80-proof spirits is 40% alc/vol.

We need to stay active to avoid the pratfall of pouring the first drink. And know this, the first drink will always lead to many more on that given night. Diversions are the most important thing you can do to cut back on drinking. If you are cognizant that you are too weak to sit at home and not hit the bottle, find something else to do to distract you.

How To Quit Drinking Safely

Are you ready to quit drinking or cut down to healthier levels? These tips can help you get started on the road to recovery. Learn more about the Community Guide’s findings. Information how to control drinking provided on Forbes Health is for educational purposes only. Your health and wellness is unique to you, and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances.

When you stop drinking, you might find yourself dealing with cravings for alcohol. Learn why this common response happens and how to cope with it. If loneliness triggers the desire to drink, you might look into ways to connect with distant friends or explore ways to build new friendships. It’s common to have a difficult time when making big changes, but good self-care practices can help you manage overwhelming feelings and take care of your mind and body. When you tend to drink at a certain time of day, doing something else is one of the best ways to distract you from old habits to help break that pattern.

How To Stop Drinking Without Rehab

If you’d like to reduce your drinking, but aren’t aiming for total abstinence, there are a number of strategies that can help. Overall, recovering from alcoholism is about giving yourself time, caring for yourself, finding a healthy support system, and remaining persistent. There is no way to completely prevent these symptoms if you quit abruptly. Your best bet is to have medical supervision to keep you safe. Doctors sometimes prescribe sedatives like benzodiazepines to ease the symptoms, as well as gabapentin and baclofen. Gabapentin can help prevent seizures, and baclofen can temporarily replace alcohol in some parts of your brain. The trouble is that quitting is rarely easy, and the best solution isn’t always clear.

Remember that moment when our child first came into the world? Think about how our excessive drinking might embarrass our child or children at some point?

Who can I call for help with alcohol use disorder?

It is a form of moderate drinking, and can be helpful in maintaining boundaries and setting limits with alcohol. Try setting non-drinking days, keeping a diary of how much you consume, or even getting your own digital breathalyzer to help you track how much you’ve been drinking.

But maybe you’re not sure about quitting completely and don’t want to hold yourself to that goal. Knowing why you drink is essential, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ says Cyndi Turner, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, a Virginia therapist who specializes in addiction treatment and alcohol moderation.

Alcohol Moderation Management: Programs & Steps to Control Drinking

But in some alcoholics, withdrawal is not just unpleasant—it can be life threatening. Schedule one or two alcohol-free days each week. Make a note about how you feel physically and mentally on these days—recognizing the benefits may help you to cut down for good. Write your drinking goal down and keep it where you will frequently see it, such as on your phone or taped to your refrigerator. Ask your doctor or counselor for a referral and/or work together to develop strategies for controlling your alcohol consumption and drinking responsibly or quitting all together.

• Consider staging a family meeting or an intervention, but don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation.
• It might also be worth checking out a 12-step program in your area, like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery, to see if it feels like something that might be useful for you.
• Learn more about the Community Guide’s findings.
• Different apps can offer support through meditation activities, communities, and the acknowledgment of milestones.
• There is even a branch of recovery coaching geared towards caregivers.

Any drinking by pregnant women or those younger than age 21. Forbes Health adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertisers. You might reach for alcohol when you’re really just thirsty, says Crews.

These apps offer different features, such as a virtual community, coaching, and milestone trackers. Some apps may be more suitable for certain alcohol support groups and offer literature and meditations. There are several apps that aim to help a person stay sober. Although not specifically designed for addiction, Coach.me allows people to set a goal and helps them work toward achieving their objectives.