If you let your friends and family know you’re cutting down and it’s important to you, you could get support from them. If you regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week, try these simple tips to help you cut down. Whether it’s regular meditation, yoga, tai chi, or even a smartphone app, research shows that finding a mindfulness practice can help people stick with sobriety long-term. Mindfulness helps you gain greater distance from your thoughts and urges, making it easier to avoid falling into old patterns, and improving your overall quality of life. Fiellin says keeping a journal of your drinking habits can help to reinforce how you stick to your limits. You can write down the limits that you set for yourself daily or weekly, as well as the number of drinks that you actually consume.

Avoid temptations

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. If you drink to ease the pain of loneliness, then make a conscious effort to connect with others. Alcoholics Anonymous cautions its members not to get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired—all of which can make you more vulnerable to the urge to drink. Find activities that are mentally and emotionally nourishing and bring you joy, and identify ways to connect socially with friends, says Witkiewitz. Remind yourself of why you want to cut back, talk to a friend about it and distract yourself with a hobby or exercise, the NIAAA suggests. Another clue that can be an indication of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol is if you make “rules” around drinking.

• And some, like those who are pregnant, should not drink at all, he says.
• However, individuals who have been drinking heavily for long periods of time may still experience some symptoms of withdrawal and may even have hallucinations or delirium tremens (DTs) and seizures.
• Your health and wellness is unique to you, and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances.

Done With Alcohol? Here’s How To Stop Drinking

You may want to speak with a loved one or therapist about a strategy to prevent relapses from happening. Next, you’ll want to identify potential triggers in your environment and plan how to avoid them. Clearing all of the alcohol out of your house is a great first step. It can also be helpful to keep yourself away from situations where heavy drinking is the norm, such as bars, clubs, or parties. There’s no one right way to go about quitting drinking; it’s all about figuring out what works for you and your lifestyle, starting with a plan.

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Drinking alcohol can contribute to a variety of cognitive issues, including poor memory, slow reaction time, impaired impulse control, and poor concentration. Over time, drinking can also damage nerve cells and contribute to a loss of brain volume. There is nothing like a good support system to keep you heading in the right direction. Be open with trusted friends and family about your intentions, and ask for their support and encouragement.

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Since quitting alcohol can involve withdrawal, or “detox,” it’s best to have a medical professional oversee it—even if you do it solo. Setting a limit on the number of drinks you can have per day may help curb your drinking. Just make sure to set your own schedule based on your own consumption habits and goals.

By opening up about your relationship with alcohol, you might also encourage others to explore their own drinking habits. Becoming more aware of your alcohol triggers and reasons for drinking can help you plan ways to help manage the urge to drink. All the same, “a quick drink” often turns into three or four drinks. When you’re having a good time, you find it hard to stop, especially in the company of friends having the same amount.

The best method to stop drinking- Allen Carr’s Easyway

The main downside of cold turkey is how unpleasant and risky it can be. If you drink heavily, alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be harsh, dangerous, and even https://ecosoberhouse.com/ fatal. For this reason, it’s generally best to avoid quitting abruptly, or at bare minimum speak with a doctor first and have someone looking out for you.

How To Keep Your Motivation To Stop Drinking: 11 Tips

In the past year, around 10.6% of people in the United States, ages 12 and older, had AUD. Reducing your drinking beforehand often makes it easier (and safer) to tips to quit drinking quit completely. This can be difficult if you have a history of alcohol dependence, but there are medications such as naltrexone that can make this achievable.

Strategies For Weaning Off Alcohol

Some people are facing problems with their health or personal lives which require them to quit immediately. However, for many people with alcohol use disorder, tapering off alcohol is a far better experience than quitting abruptly. Choose a structure that works for you, and have it medically supervised.