Every person prone to alcohol cravings periodically asks the question "How to stop drinking alcohol on your own? "This is the signal that he is really ready to try and maybe overcome the craving for a bottle.
How to stop drinking alcohol on your own: first steps
If alcohol addiction 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, bringing him back to a full life will be problematic. But in 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 strong disgust. But the first phase quickly turns into the second.
- Ritual drunkenness. This stage is distinguished by the fact that a person uses it regularly for various reasons. A party or other event and alcoholic libations become synonymous.
- Habitual drinking is characterized by regular alcohol consumption two or more times per week. An alcoholic does not necessarily have any reason for this, but out of habit he may seek them out and voice them. Memory lapses often occur the next morning.
There are only two ways to stop drinking on your own: completely stop drinking alcohol by voluntary decision forever or gradually reduce the dosage. Before that, you need to realize and accept that excessive alcohol consumption is a problem that needs to be solved. Options for coding by entering some medications are not taken into account here. Anyone can quit this habit on their own and you just need to understand if you are one of the strong-willed people.
Who do you need to stop drinking for good?
People who want to stop drinking alcohol don't always know how to do it and who to turn to. If you plan 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. Detox most often takes a day. As for recommendations, to return to a full life, the doctor may prescribe certain medications:
- medicines to help deal with hangovers;
- formulations and tablets that reduce cravings for alcohol or cause aversion to it.
A psychologist can also easily help you quit drinking. Together with him, the addicted person will be able to understand the reason that drives him to the bottle. This is one of the most important things to understand in moving forward towards an alcohol-free life. The psychologist also helps not to interrupt and restore relationships with loved ones.
What does a drunkard experience when he stops drinking?
The body needs time to establish all processes after the cessation of libations. The poisoning gradually disappears and is accompanied by unpleasant and painful sensations in the head, heart, muscles and gastrointestinal tract. Seizures, hallucinations and hypertension are possible. Tremors, 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 detox procedure. It is carried out in clinics and medical centers. Hangover medications can also help reduce symptoms.
In case of panic attacks, strong tremors and anxiety, it is necessary to call an ambulance, since these conditions are characteristic of the onset of delirium tremens. Ignoring the symptoms can lead to serious health problems. Sometimes delirium tremens leads to death.
Help from private clinics
Those who avail themselves of the help of drug treatment centers have a greater chance of not having relapses and giving up alcohol. In terms of how to stop drinking alcohol forever, private clinics give an advantage to state drug treatment centers. This is due to many factors, but the main three are: the use of the most modern and powerful coding techniques, a tandem of a narcologist and a psychologist for working with patients and the high cost of services. The first and second increase the effectiveness of the treatment, the third further motivates the patient and his family. Outpatient treatment of alcoholism, of course, is more effective than the patient's attempts to deal with the problem on his own at home.
Before a patient stops drinking alcohol, the clinic must detoxify the body. Then they code using suggestion or drugs. The Dovzhenko method and subcutaneous injection of drugs that cause aversion to alcohol consumption have proven to be very effective. After that, the patient is offered to spend several weeks in the clinic hospital to facilitate exit from the vicious circle and experience physical abstinence under the supervision of medical staff. This approach to stopping drinking is usually complemented by work with a psychologist.
How to stop drinking 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 pleasant. However, this is possible if the disease has not gone too far. How to stop drinking on your own, step by step:
- Admit there's a problem. This is the most important step.
- Find the cause of alcoholism. Very often it is a desire to simplify your life or a habit due to the environment in which you drink. If it is 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 gradually give up alcohol, reducing the dosage so that after six months you completely stop drinking alcohol.
- Find the reason. This is similar to setting a goal, but unlike it, there can be several reasons. For example, improving relationships with family and relatives, keeping a job, improving material well-being and health.
- Choose the right time. This is an important part of how to stop drinking for good.
- Find the right methods to stop drinking. Usually desire alone or strong will is not enough. To help patients, many drugs have been developed that can be used at home. But the doctor still needs to select them, based on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the disease, so it is simply necessary to go to an appointment with a narcologist at least once. It will tell you how to stop drinking without planning, if you want to start without.
- Have someone check on 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 these cases, you should replace your usual alcohol consumption with some other drink. For example, kvass, compote, tea.
The right time to stop drinking
People who have managed to return to sobriety talk about the importance of timing it right. It's easier to stop drinking after a serious drinking session or even a prolonged binge. Then you won't be haunted by the knowledge 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 must wage with himself.
A method to stop drinking quickly
The highest success rate in eliminating a bad habit is among those people who are coded by sewing special substances under the skin. They make it impossible to drink alcohol: 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 publicize her problem. Perhaps the easiest way to quickly stop drinking at home.
15 tips on how to stop drinking alcohol
There are some tricks and recommendations from narcologists, psychologists and people who have already overcome their addiction:
- Avoid companies where frequent alcohol consumption is encouraged. If these people are among your friends, you should communicate with them less often.
- Remove all alcohol from the house. You can pour it or give it to one of your friends who drinks moderately.
- Don't celebrate the holidays with alcohol and don't look for reasons or excuses to treat yourself to a little "day off" to relax.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. You have a worthy goal, not a punishment. Stopping drinking on weekends and in general will help you achieve a lot in life.
- Working helps me take my mind off the drinking a bit.
- 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 helpful 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 don't drink for religious reasons, their 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 cause a 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 and healthy breakfast, an invigorating shower or the positive music you love.
- Add sport 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 it help you stop drinking at home? It's simple: you will be busy with business or communicating with friends and relatives who do not drink. 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 so much more without alcohol. You can also reward yourself with various pleasures: food, shopping, communication with pleasant people.
- Meet new people and communicate more on interesting topics. Try to fill your free time as much as possible with pleasant and interesting things: religion, art, sports, films.
- How to effectively stop drinking at home? You can also put up posters and notes throughout the house with motivational quotes. They should be updated and change position periodically.