Every person who is prone to alcohol cravings occasionally asks the question "How do I stop drinking alcohol? ""This is a signal that he's really ready to try and maybe overcome the craving for the bottle.
How to stop drinking alcohol yourself: first steps
If alcohol addiction has gone too 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 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. With a hangover, alcohol causes strong disgust. But the first phase quickly turns into the second.
- Ritual drunkenness. This stage is characterized by the fact that the person regularly uses for various reasons. A holiday or some other event and getting drunk 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 may look for them and say 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 dose. Before that, you need to understand and accept that excessive drinking is a problem that needs to be solved. Stitch coding options for specific medications are not discussed here. Anyone can give up this habit on their own, and you just need to understand if you are one of those strong-willed people.
Whose help do you need to quit drinking for good?
People who want to stop drinking alcohol do not always know how to do it and who to turn to. If you plan to start out on your own, maybe the support of friends and family will be enough. This is one of the pillars of support that helps you stop drinking alcohol.
A narcologist gives advice on how to stop drinking alcohol yourself and helps to remove the effects of alcohol from the body. Detoxification usually lasts one day. As for the recommendations, to return to a full life, the doctor can prescribe some drugs:
- hangover remedies;
- formulations and tablets that reduce the desire for alcohol or cause aversion to it.
A psychologist can also easily help you stop drinking. Together with him, the addict will be able to understand 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. A psychologist also helps to not break up 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. Poisoning gradually passes and is accompanied by unpleasant and painful sensations in the head, heart, muscles and gastrointestinal tract. Convulsions, hallucinations and high blood pressure are possible. Tremors, increased anxiety and restlessness, sleep problems and sudden mood swings may also occur. This can take up to a month. If you want to stop drinking with minimal physical discomfort, you will need to undergo a detoxification procedure. It is performed in clinics and medical centers. Hangover medications can also help reduce symptoms.
In the case of panic attacks, severe shaking and anxiety, you must call an ambulance, as these conditions are characteristic of delirium tremens. Ignoring the 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 better chance of not relapsing and giving up alcohol. In terms of how to stop drinking alcohol forever, private clinics give preference to state drug treatment centers. This is due to many factors, but the three main ones are: the use of the most modern powerful coding techniques, the tandem of narcologists and psychologists to work with patients, and the high cost of services. The first and second increase the effectiveness of treatment, the third additionally motivates the patient and his family. Outpatient treatment of alcoholism is, of course, more effective than the patient's attempts to cope with the problem at home.
Before the patient stops drinking alcohol, the clinic must detoxify the body. They then code using a suggestion or remedy. The Dovzhenko method and the subcutaneous injection of drugs that cause an aversion to drinking alcohol have proven to be very effective. After that, the patient is offered to spend a few weeks in the clinic's hospital to help him get out of the vicious circle and experience physical withdrawal under the supervision of the medical staff. This approach to stopping drinking is usually complemented by working with a psychologist.
How to stop drinking on your own without a clinic
It is extremely difficult to get rid of a bad habit on your own, because drinking alcohol improves mood and makes life easier and more pleasant. However, this is possible if the disease has not gone too far. How to stop drinking yourself, 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 habits due to the drinking environment. 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.
- Select a goal. It must be achievable. If you have a weak will, it is better to give up alcohol gradually, reducing the dose so that after six months you completely stop drinking alcohol.
- Find a motive. This is close to setting a goal, but unlike that, 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 remedies have been developed that can be used at home. But the doctor still has to choose them, based on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the disease, so going to the narcologist for an examination 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 a significant other to help 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 the diet. Some foods make you want to drink. In such cases, you should replace the usual alcohol with some other drink. For example, kvass, compote, tea.
The right time to stop drinking
People who have managed to get back into sobriety talk about the importance of timing. It is easier to stop drinking after heavy drinking or even prolonged drinking. 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 fight that man has to fight with himself.
A method to stop drinking fast
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 it impossible to drink alcohol: immediately after a small amount of alcohol enters the patient's body, a person begins to feel strong unpleasant sensations. This method is excellent if the patient does not want to advertise his problem. Perhaps the easiest way to stop drinking quickly is 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 consumption of alcohol 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 moderate drinking friends.
- 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. Quitting drinking on weekends and in general will help you achieve a lot in life.
- Work helps me take my mind off the drinking.
- 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 fun without alcohol. 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 recommended to change the daily routine, get enough sleep and establish a proper diet. You should not eat food that causes a desire to drink: spicy and salty food, fish, sweets, coffee. It is necessary to drink as much water as possible - it 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 you like.
- 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 this help you stop drinking at home? It's simple - you'll be busy with work or communicating with friends and relatives who don't drink. This will help you avoid temptation.
- Celebrate the tasks completed 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 free time as much as possible with pleasant and interesting things: religion, art, sports, movies.
- How to effectively stop drinking at home? You can additionally place posters and notes around the house with motivational phrases. They should be periodically updated and changed location.