How to stop drinking? - this question is asked by both alcohol addicts and their relatives and friends. The thing is that it is very difficult to stop drinking, why? Contrary to the opinion of the public that it is a habit, a way of life or promiscuity, alcoholism is a serious illness, not so much physical as psychological dependence, a change in values and outlook on life.
Also, let's define how you want to quit drinking, this could be:
- Just a way out of the binge;
- Desire to quit drinking forever.
In the first case, the article "How to get out of the binge" will help you. If you want to quit drinking alcohol forever, let's try to figure it out in this article.
Your first major step to stop drinking alcohol!
There are several important things to understand to stop drinking alcohol.
It is almost impossible to change your inner world, mentality, lifestyle overnight, to which you have become accustomed for many years, and to start looking at life the way a sober person looks at it, is almost impossible.
It's like throwing a fish on land and expecting it to immediately become land-based. To quit drinking, you need to rethink the importance of drinking in your life by answering the following questions to yourself:
- Don't you have a problem with alcohol? This is a common misconception that if it were, everyone could stop drinking at any time and not return to it. But it’s not so?
- Do you think alcohol is not a drug? Then why, after the usual withdrawal from the binge, you return to the use again and again? Why is it necessary to drink to relieve withdrawal symptoms? Because alcohol is a drug that causes powerful physical and psychological addiction!
- Always have a reason to drink? And without drinking, do the joys and sorrows in life fade away? Not! If you had a son and you didn't drink to it, will your joy be less?
- Does alcohol help you relax and deal with stress? Does it solve these problems? Does stress go away when you sober up? Of course not! Moreover, with use, a person loses the ability to relax on their own using other methods.
- Does spirits add confidence? With whom? For those with whom you can communicate over a bottle, confidence is not needed. And those with whom you lack confidence will not communicate with a drunk person.
- Do you think you rarely drink? How often do we drink that it is considered rare? Is there a rate and frequency? Of course not! Tolerance is different for each organism, as well as addiction and the emergence of dependence. That for one - without consequences, for another - alcoholism!
- Is it good for your health in small doses? Yes, poison in small doses, they say, is also useful, addictive, but the harm that it simultaneously causes to the body is incommensurate with the perceived benefit.
- Do you drink because you think alcoholism is incurable? There are many examples of alcoholism treatment, do you pay attention to them? Or don't you want to notice them? And they exist! In that case, what is this - an excuse?
What are all these questions for? They make it clear that addicts extol alcoholic drinks, attach great importance to them. Although, in fact, alcohol has no value in our life. And this is the most important thing to understand if you want to quit drinking alcohol!
How to stop drinking alcohol on your own?
Only after taking the first step, rethinking the importance of "drinking" in your life, or rather, understanding its insignificance,
you can move on to the next step - asking yourself how to stop drinking alcohol on your own. To do this, you must clearly realize that the joys of life are sober brighter, problems need to be solved, depression can be dealt with on your own, the "bottle" will not do it for you!
So, in order to quit drinking on your own, you need to set yourself up correctly, take into account important points:
- Don't be afraid of the future! Yes, changing your life can be scary, but think about it, what are you afraid of? Only uncertainty, because you do not know how to live soberly. But after all, everyone is afraid of any unknown, this is the nature of man and this is absolutely normal! In addition, more than half of humanity live a sober life!
- Be true to your word! We decided to quit drinking - do not succumb to self-deception! No one glass, no "little". Remember, there is a new round of use behind this. Do not expect willpower to save you, not! After the first glass, self-control dulls, and then disappears altogether. There is willpower as long as you remain sober!
- Learn to relieve stress and relax! It can be any hobby, yoga, Pilates, meditation, communication, reading books, music, self-development, cross-stitching, finally - find yours! This is a prerequisite that will allow you to get used to another relaxation, without a glass.
- Sport is a good mood! And not so much because it has a beneficial effect on health. It promotes the production of endorphins - hormones of happiness. Being in a good mood will make it easier for you to cope with the tasks of life.
- Don't let yourself get bored! Because of nothing to do, many start drinking, smoking, injecting drugs. Boredom is the biggest enemy! Write yourself a plan for all types of employment: work, household chores (you probably accumulated a lot while you were drinking), things for the development of life and family.
- Change the environment! To prevent your past life from pulling back to the bottom, be sure to change your social circle to one in which the same people you want to become. Here, communication at a new level and a competitive spirit will help you.
- Don't Avoid Drinkers! Is it strange? Yes, but effective! You will see it always and everywhere throughout your life after you decide to quit drinking. Therefore, you need to get used to them initially.
How to stop drinking with the help of specialists?
Many people ask the question of how to quit drinking alcohol if you can't do it yourself?
The answer to this question is simple - with the help of professionals, who have two effective methods in their arsenal:
- coding for alcoholism;
- rehabilitation center for alcoholics.
Coding will help you block the craving for alcohol for a while (1-2 years), if during this time you learn to relax, enjoy life, find a hobby, choose your sport, in other words, you can fulfill all the conditions of the previous chapter, then bythe expiration of the encoding period, you yourself do not want to return to your old life.
If for some reason you understand that you cannot fulfill the necessary conditions on your own, then psychotherapists will come to the rescue with a rehabilitation program, where you will discover a new world, your abilities and opportunities, make new friends, learn to receivethe pleasure of a sober life.