Every person who is prone to cravings for alcohol periodically asks the question "How to stop drinking alcohol on your own? "This is a signal that he is really ready to try and perhaps overcome the craving for the bottle.
How to quit drinking alcohol yourself: first steps
If the addiction to alcohol has gone very far, the patient can no longer think spatially and be responsible for his actions, and it is impossible to stop drinking on his own. Even in a good clinic, returning him to a full life will be problematic. But at the first and second stages of alcoholism, everything is much simpler and dealing with the problem is quite realistic:
- Episodic drinking. A person drinks alcohol rarely, without any regularity. In a hangover, alcohol causes a strong disgust. But the first stage quickly turns into the second.
- Ritual drunkenness. This stage is distinguished by the fact that a person uses regularly for various reasons. A holiday or other event and alcoholic libations become synonymous.
- Habitual drinking is characterized by regular consumption of alcohol two or more times a week. An alcoholic does not necessarily have any reason for this, but out of habit he can look for and voice them. Memory lapses often occur the next morning.
There are only two ways to stop drinking on your own: completely stop drinking any alcohol by volitional decision forever or gradually reduce the dosage. Before this, you need to realize and accept that excessive drinking is a problem that needs to be solved. Options for coding by sewing in certain drugs are not considered here. Anyone can quit this habit on their own, and you just need to understand whether you are one of the strong-willed people.
Whose help do you need to quit drinking forever?
People who want to stop drinking alcohol do not always know how to do this and who to contact. If you are planning to start on your own, perhaps the support of friends and family will be enough for you. This is one of the support pillars that helps you quit drinking alcohol.
A narcologist gives advice on how to stop drinking alcohol on your own and helps remove the effects of alcohol from the body. Detoxification most often takes a day. As for recommendations, to return to a full life, the doctor may prescribe some medications:
- medicines to help cope with a hangover;
- formulations and tablets that reduce cravings for alcohol or cause aversion to it.
A psychologist can also easily help you stop drinking. Together with him, the addicted person will be able to figure out the reason that pushes him to the bottle. This is one of the most important things to understand in order to move forward towards an alcohol-free life. The psychologist also helps not to break down and restore relationships with loved ones.
What does a drunkard experience when he quits drinking?
The body needs time to establish all processes after the cessation of libations. Poisoning goes away gradually and is accompanied by unpleasant and painful sensations in the head, heart, muscles, and gastrointestinal tract. Convulsions, hallucinations and high blood pressure are possible. Trembling, increased anxiety and restlessness, sleep problems, and sudden mood swings may also occur. This can continue for up to a month. If you want to stop drinking with minimal physical discomfort, you will need to undergo a detoxification procedure. It is carried out in clinics and medical centers. Hangover medications can also help reduce symptoms.
In case of panic attacks, severe tremors and anxiety, you must call an ambulance, as these conditions are characteristic of the onset of delirium tremens. Ignoring symptoms can lead to serious health problems. Sometimes delirium tremens leads to death.
Help from private clinics
Those who use the help of drug treatment centers have a greater chance of not relapsing and giving up alcohol. In terms of how to stop drinking alcohol forever, private clinics give a head start to state drug treatment centers. This is due to many factors, but the main three are: the use of the most modern powerful coding techniques, a tandem of a narcologist and a psychologist to work with patients, and the high cost of services. The first and second increases the effectiveness of treatment, the third additionally motivates the patient and his family. Outpatient treatment of alcoholism, naturally, is more effective than the patient’s attempts to cope with the problem on his own at home.
Before a patient stops drinking alcohol, the clinic must detoxify the body. Then they encode using suggestion or medication. The Dovzhenko method and subcutaneous injection of drugs that cause aversion to drinking alcohol have proven themselves to be very effective. After this, the patient is offered to spend several weeks in the clinic’s hospital to make it easier to get out of the vicious circle and experience physical withdrawal under the supervision of medical personnel. This approach to quitting drinking is usually complemented by working with a psychologist.
How to stop drinking yourself without clinics
It is extremely difficult to get rid of a bad habit on your own, since drinking alcohol improves your mood and makes life easier and more enjoyable. However, this is possible if the disease has not gone too far. How to stop drinking on your own, step by step:
- Admit there is a problem. This is the most important step.
- Find the cause of alcoholism. Most often it is a desire to simplify life or a habit due to a drinking environment. If it’s quite easy to break up with friends or colleagues - all you need to do is move to another city or reduce communication to a minimum, but the first reason is more difficult. You will have to seriously try to eradicate the habit of hiding from problems behind a bottle.
- Choose a goal. It must be achievable. If you have a weak will, then it is better to give up alcohol gradually, reducing the dosage so that after six months you stop drinking alcohol completely.
- Find the motive. This is close to setting a goal, but unlike it, there can be several motives. For example, improving relationships with family and relatives, maintaining a job, improving material well-being and health.
- Choose the right moment. This is an important part of how to stop drinking for good.
- Find the right methods to stop drinking. Usually just desire or strong will is not enough. To help patients, many medications have been developed that can be used at home. But the doctor still has to select them, based on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the disease, so going to an appointment with a narcologist at least once is simply necessary. He will tell you how to stop drinking without coding, if you want to start without it.
- Ask someone to control you. It is much easier to quit if there is a support group and an important person who helps to avoid temptations and monitor the implementation of the developed plan to return to normal life.
- Find new hobbies, replace alcohol with other drinks. Sometimes you have to change your environment and give up some old hobbies.
- Follow a diet. Some foods make you want to drink. In such cases, you should replace drinking your usual alcohol with some other drink. For example, kvass, compote, tea.
The right time to stop drinking
People who have been able to return to sobriety talk about the importance of the right moment. It’s easier to quit drinking after a serious drinking session or even a prolonged binge. Then you won’t be haunted by the realization that you "never got drunk" in the end.
There is no easy way to stop drinking on your own. This is a struggle that a person has to wage with himself.
A method to stop drinking quickly
The highest percentage of success in getting rid of a bad habit is among those people who are coded by sewing special substances under the skin. They make drinking alcohol impossible: immediately after a small amount of alcohol enters the patient’s body, a person begins to experience strong unpleasant sensations. This method is great if the patient does not want to advertise his problem. Perhaps the easiest way to quickly stop drinking at home.
15 recommendations on how to stop drinking alcohol
There are certain tricks and recommendations from narcologists, psychologists and those people who have already overcome their addiction:
- Avoid companies where frequent alcohol consumption is encouraged. If such people are among your friends, you should communicate with them less often.
- Remove all alcohol from the house. You can pour it out or give it to one of your friends who drinks moderately.
- Don't celebrate holidays with alcohol and don't look for reasons or excuses to give yourself a little "day off" of relaxation.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. You have a worthy goal, not a punishment. Quitting drinking on weekends and in general will help you achieve a lot in life.
- Working helps take my mind off the drinking a little.
- Try to find new hobbies and interests.
- Find out how your acquaintances or friends stopped drinking on weekends or stopped drinking alcohol. Communicate with them often to get moral support and useful advice.
- Try to remember what it’s like to have fun and have an interesting time without alcohol intoxication. You can find out how people have fun without alcohol from those who do not drink for religious reasons, because of their own beliefs, profession or sport.
- It is advisable to change your daily routine, get enough sleep and establish proper nutrition. You should not eat foods that provoke the desire to drink: spicy and salty foods, fish, sweets, coffee. It is necessary to drink as much water as possible - this starts metabolic processes in the body and promotes the elimination of alcohol.
- Every morning should start pleasantly: with a delicious healthy breakfast, an invigorating shower or positive music that you love.
- Add sports to your life. Even a short exercise will help you feel more alive and improve your well-being.
- Try to plan your day. How can this help you stop drinking at home? It's simple - you will be busy with business or communicating with non-drinking friends and relatives. This will help you avoid temptation.
- Celebrate completed tasks and be sure to praise yourself for them to improve your mood and prove to yourself that you can do much more without alcohol. You can additionally reward yourself with various pleasures: food, shopping, communication with pleasant people.
- Meet new people and communicate more about interesting topics. Try to fill your leisure time with pleasant and interesting things as much as possible: religion, art, sports, films.
- How to effectively stop drinking at home? You can additionally post posters and notes throughout the house with motivational phrases. They should be updated and changed location periodically.