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Your detox should be medically supervised in order to help minimize severe symptoms. Treatments can greatly reduce or eliminate most of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Maybe you can’t stand the noise at a bar, or you just want peace and solitude after a long day of dealing with pesky coworkers. Perhaps you like drinking without social pressure or deciding exactly what and where to drink without dealing with objections. However, some people drink to self-medicate from negative emotions or escape from reality. They may use alcohol to cope with depression, anxiety, or stress.
Once you’ve made the decision to change, the next step is establishing clear drinking goals. The more specific, realistic, and clear your goals, the better. Make a table like the one below, weighing the costs and benefits of drinking to the costs and benefits of quitting.
Plan Your Journey Home
It’s how you keep your cool when you feel overwhelmed and anxious. Does physical activity moderate the association between alcohol drinking and all-cause, cancer and cardiovascular diseases mortality? Sunnyside provides a simple but structured approach to help you drink more mindfully. Discover more energy, restful sleep, and improved wellness with a plan designed to fit your life. Prepare yourself for those times when someone is going to offer you a drink. You might also hold onto a nonalcoholic drink instead, ask a friend to support you in difficult situations or simply exit early if temptation gets too strong, the NIAAA suggests.
- Your chances of staying sober improve if you are participating in a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous, have a sponsor, or are involved in therapy or an outpatient treatment program.
- Alcohol abuse and alcoholism can worsen existing conditions such as depression or induce new problems such as serious memory loss, depression or anxiety.
- Other supplements that your healthcare provider may recommend include vitamin C, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Little scientific evidence exists regarding tapers, but medical detox has been proven to be asafe and effectiveway to quit drinking.
Cayenne regulates your appetite, balances out your digestion and smoothens anxiety. Cayenne provides an added “kick” to relieve the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Consumed raw, celery has a sobering effect and ends alcohol and sugar cravings on its own. Finally, Vitamin B is widely regarded as a substitute for alcohol, as it does everything from improve the quality https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of sleep to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Most addiction experts, researchers and medical professionals contend that the safest way to stop drinking alcohol is to seek medical attention. In fact, depending on the severity of one’s drinking problem, medical assistance might be the only way to avoid a wide range of debilitating, if not deadly side effects.
Take some time to explore your relationship with alcohol
Overall, nearly 20% of people who drink in this category have alcohol use disorder. The younger people are when they start to drink, the more likely they are to develop alcohol use disorder at some point in their lives. Repeat on each part of your body that’s experiencing the craving. You’ll likely notice that after a few minutes the craving has gone.
How long does it take to break a habit of drinking?
Regardless of the reason and goal, 30 days of abstinence is the best way to start. Even if the goal is to cut down, abstinence can assist with lowering tolerance to ease moderation of use, and your body could use the break.
Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is how to stop drinking thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates.