Many people don't realize they have a problem with alcohol. Sometimes drinking a bottle of beer after a hard day at work, meeting friends at the bar on Fridays, raising a glass to health on holidays - is it really addicting? No, but this behavior can turn into alcoholism. Even a rare alcoholic drink causes serious harm to health. How to stop drinking? In this article, we will share effective and easy ways to stop drinking fast.
Signs of alcoholism
- Alcohol-free parties are no fun.
- The person starts drinking by himself.
- When sober, he experiences constant feelings of anxiety and unease.
- Abstaining from alcohol for several days in a row is agony.
- Non-drinkers are disconcerting.
- After severe intoxication, a person does not remember anything.
If you find two or more signs, you should think about possible problems.
Stages of alcoholism
First stage
Main features:
- The amount of alcohol consumed by an alcoholic is constantly increasing. The body becomes resistant to high grades.
- The gag reflex disappears.
- The person starts drinking by himself.
- There is a desire to drink at the wrong time.
- The memory is running out.
- A person makes scandals at home, quarrels with colleagues.
- Interest in important matters disappears.
- If you don't drink for a while, the craving for alcohol disappears.
- It is difficult to keep control over the amount you drink.
The second phase of alcoholism
At this stage, the alcoholic becomes more faithful to strong drinks and increases the dose without realizing it.
Main features:
- The behavior of an alcoholic becomes difficult to predict, sometimes even dangerous to others and to himself.
- Physiological dependence is on the rise. In the morning, a person suffers from a severe hangover, it is more difficult for him to work during the day.
- Nausea, blood pressure rises, heart rate rises, hands and feet shake, fever rises.
- Has difficulty coping with external stimuli, such as bright lights or loud noises.
- The alcoholic feels a gloomy mood, constantly feels tension.
- He begins to raise his hand to those close to him.
- The intellect diminishes, it becomes problematic to concentrate attention.
- The patient realizes that he is getting worse by drinking alcohol, but he cannot fight the addiction.
The third stage of alcoholism
What changes are characteristic of the third phase? Main features:
- An alcoholic drinks alcohol practically every day.
- Significant personality degradation.
- Pathological mental changes.
- Grade 3 alcoholism is also accompanied by the following diseases:
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Alcoholic hardening pancreatitis.
- Alcoholic gastritis.
- Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
- Alcoholic neuropathy.
- Psychic changes manifest themselves in hallucinations and delusions.
An easy way to stop drinking alone
Find a substitute for alcohol
To do this, you need to take some free time. It is advisable that the hobby has nothing to do with alcohol. This is the most effective and easiest way to stop drinking on your own. The best thing to do is to find an activity that completely envelops you: sports, dance, acting. If you find something you like, after a while it will become clear that even if you drink little, the next day will be difficult. So you will want to get rid of this discomfort, and alcohol will be forgotten.
Chat with other people
Are you mostly friends with fun-loving people who don't mind having a few drinks on Fridays and beyond? Think if there is something other than parties that binds you to them? Otherwise, nothing catastrophic will happen from the loss of these people in your life.
According to reviews, communication helps to get rid of alcoholism. Communicate with friends who don't drink, preferably those who are an example to you. So, looking at them, you will want to be the same, and this is an incentive for change.
Don't test your willpower: don't agree to sit in a bar with friends with soda when everyone's drinking. You will certainly be offered a drink, and not to sound boring, you will most likely agree.
Praise yourself
Alcohol is expensive. Therefore, if you abandon it, you can save a lot of money. With them, buy something that you have dreamed of, but cannot afford. This will be a reward for giving up the bad habit.
Stop smoking
When you are sad, you just want to sit on the windowsill, smoke and have a glass of wine. Smokers should also give up nicotine. Tobacco and alcohol always go hand in hand.
Don't give up on alcohol forever
Be clear about what is happening. Don't say goodbye to alcohol forever. Otherwise, you run the risk of quickly falling into depression and in a moment of weakness to free yourself.
Reassure yourself that you are reducing your addiction, but this abstinence is not forever. You can drink again when you have the situation under control.
What do you need to remember when fighting alcoholism at home?
- Alcoholism develops slowly. The disease can be noticed in the early stages and immediately stopped.
- With alcoholism of the second and third stages, health, freshness, beauty, youth are lost. Alcoholics begin to ruin relationships with others.
- With the right fight against alcoholism, it can be completely overcome. The former patient will be able to afford a couple of glasses on vacation without breaking.
- If an alcoholic breaks free, he shouldn't blame himself. Don't get depressed and don't hate yourself. Everything happens gradually, next time it will be easier.