Every person who is prone to alcohol cravings regularly asks the question: "How to stop drinking alcohol on your own? "It's a sign that you're really ready to try to fight your bottle cravings.
How to stop drinking alcohol: the first steps
If the alcohol addiction has already gone too far, the patient can no longer think spatially and take responsibility for his actions, and it is impossible to quit drinking alone. Even in a good clinic, it will be problematic to return to a full life. But in the first and second stages of alcoholism, everything is much simpler, and the treatment of 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 stage quickly turns into the second.
- Ritual drunkenness. This stage is distinguished by the fact that a person uses it regularly for various reasons. A holiday or other event and drinking alcohol become synonymous.
- Habitual drinking is characterized by regular alcohol consumption twice or more per week. An alcoholic does not necessarily have a reason for this, but he can look for it and voice it out of habit. Memory disturbances often occur the next morning.
There are only two ways to stop drinking on your own: to completely stop drinking alcohol by voluntary decision forever, or to gradually reduce the dose. Before that, you need to recognize and accept that excessive drinking is a problem that needs to be addressed. We do not consider the possibilities of coding individual medicines by sewing them in here. Anyone can get rid of this habit, and you just need to understand if you are one of those strong-willed people.
Who needs help to stop drinking forever?
People who want to stop drinking alcohol do not always know how to do it and who to turn to. If you're planning to go it alone, the support of friends and family might be enough. This is one of the pillars of support that will help you quit drinking alcohol.
The narcologist gives advice on how to stop drinking alcohol and helps to remove the effects of alcohol from the body. Detoxification usually lasts a day. As for the recommendations, to return to a full life, the doctor can prescribe some drugs:
- drugs to help treat hangovers;
- preparations and tablets that reduce the desire for alcohol or induce an aversion to alcohol.
A psychologist can also easily help you stop drinking. Together with him, the addict will be able to find out the reasons that push him to the bottle. This is one of the most important things to understand in order to move towards an alcohol-free life. The psychologist will also help you not to break or restore relationships with your loved ones.
What does a drunkard experience when he stops drinking?
The body needs time to adjust all processes after the cessation of libation. 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 continue for up to a month. If you want to stop drinking with minimal physical discomfort, you will need to undergo a detoxification procedure. This is done in clinics and health centers. Anti-hangover medications can also help reduce symptoms.
An ambulance should be called in case of panic attacks, strong shaking and anxiety, as these conditions are characteristic of the development 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 are more likely not to relapse and to give up alcohol. When it comes to how to quit drinking forever, private clinics have an edge over public drug treatment centers. This is due to many factors, but the most important are three: the use of the most modern effective coding techniques, the tandem of a narcologist and psychologist in cooperation with patients, and the high cost of services. The first and second increase the effectiveness of the treatment, and the third also motivates the patient and his family. Outpatient treatment of alcoholism is of course more effective than the patient's attempts to treat the problem independently at home.
Before the patient stops drinking alcohol, the clinic must detoxify the body. They are then coded using suggestion or medicine. The Dovzhenko method and the subcutaneous injection of drugs that cause an aversion to alcohol have been shown to be very effective. After that, the patient is recommended to spend several weeks in the clinic's hospital, so that he can more easily 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 collaboration with a psychologist.
How to stop drinking without clinics
It is extremely difficult to get rid of a bad habit on your own, because drinking alcohol improves mood, makes life easier and more enjoyable. However, this is possible if the disease has not progressed too far. How to stop drinking, 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 arising from a drinking environment. If it is quite easy to break up with friends or colleagues - all you have to do is move to another city or reduce communication to a minimum, but the first reason is more difficult. You should seriously try to break the habit of hiding behind a bottle from problems.
- Choose a goal. It should be accessible. 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 the motive. This is close to setting a goal, but other than that, there can be multiple motives. For example, improving relationships with family and relatives, keeping a job, improving financial well-being and health.
- Choose the right moment. This is an important part of how to stop drinking for good.
- Find the right ways to stop drinking. Usually, just desire or a strong will is not enough. To help patients, many medicines that can be used at home have been developed. But the doctor still has to choose them, based on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the disease, so you have to go to the narcologist at least once. It tells you how to stop drinking without coding if you want to start without.
- Ask someone to guide you. It is much easier to quit if you have a support group and a significant other to help you avoid temptation and monitor the implementation of the plan you have developed to get back to normal life.
- Find a new hobby, replace alcohol with other drinks. Sometimes you need 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 your usual alcohol consumption with another 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 is easier to quit drinking after a heavy binge or even after a long period of drinking. Then you won't be haunted by the realization that you were "never drunk" at the end.
There is no easy way to stop drinking on your own. It is a struggle that man has to fight with himself.
A way to stop drinking fast
The highest percentage of success in getting rid of bad habits is among those who are coded by sewing special materials 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 advertise their problem. Perhaps the easiest way to quickly stop drinking is at home.
15 recommendations to stop drinking alcohol
There are certain tricks and recommendations from narcologists, psychologists and those who have already overcome addiction:
- Avoid companies where frequent alcohol consumption is recommended. If you have such people among your friends, communicate with them less often.
- Remove all alcohol from the house. You can pour it out or give it to a friend who drinks in moderation.
- Don't celebrate the holidays with alcohol or find reasons or excuses to give yourself a break.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. You have a worthy goal, not punishment. If you stop drinking on the weekends and in general, it will help you a lot in life.
- Work helps take my mind off drinking a bit.
- Try to find new hobbies and interests.
- See how your acquaintances or friends stopped drinking alcohol on the weekend or stopped drinking alcohol. Communicate with them often to get moral support and helpful advice.
- Try to remember what it feels like to have fun and have an interesting time without alcohol intoxication. You can learn how people have fun without alcohol from people who don't drink for religious reasons, their own beliefs, profession or sport.
- It is advisable to change the daily routine, get enough sleep and develop a proper diet. You should not eat foods that cause a desire to drink: spicy and salty foods, fish, sweets, coffee. You should drink as much water as possible - this will start the metabolic processes in the body and help the elimination of alcohol.
- Every morning should start pleasantly: with a delicious, healthy breakfast, an invigorating shower or positive music that you like.
- Add sport to your life. Even a short exercise will help you revitalize yourself 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 in business or communicating with non-drinking friends and relatives. This will help you avoid temptation.
- Celebrate the tasks you complete and be sure to praise yourself for them to boost your mood and prove to yourself that you can do so much more without alcohol. In addition, you can reward yourself with various pleasures: food, shopping, communication with pleasant people.
- Meet new people and communicate more about interesting topics. Try to spend your free time with pleasant and interesting things as much as possible: religion, art, sports, movies.
- How to effectively stop drinking at home? You can also put up posters and notes around the house with motivational phrases. They need to be updated from time to time and the location needs to be changed.