It’s always wise to check with your doctor — she should be able to help you decide whether it is best for you to cut back or to abstain. People who are dependent on alcohol, or have other medical or mental health problems, should stop drinking completely. Having a plan to quit and exploring resources that can help you give up alcohol successfully can improve your chances for success.
When does drinking alcohol become bad for your mental health?
Besides the negative impact on mental and physical health, a drinking problem can also impact your ability to work, socialize, and otherwise lead a happy and satisfying life. To stop drinking alcohol, you first need to understand your relationship with drinking. From there, you may need social support, consistent self-care, and new routines that can help redirect your mind.
No bad withdrawal
If you think you might have an alcohol use disorder, there are evidence-based treatment options that can help you to quit drinking. Learning about your options can help you decide what might work best for you. On the other hand, binge drinking is generally defined as four how to stop drinking for good drinks for women and five drinks for men within a two-hour period.
- When you begin learning how to quit drinking, you may find that free time can often be one of the most difficult things to deal with.
- If you’re keeping up with this average (or less), the damage from alcohol is most likely minimal.
- Satisfying hobbies can distract you from wanting to drink, but they also help you relax — something everyone needs to do.
- They can help you create an environment that will set you up for success and remove unnecessary temptations.
How Long Does It Take Your Liver to Detox From Alcohol?
Delirium tremens (DTs), also known as alcohol withdrawal syndrome, is a severe form of withdrawal that can happen when a person gives up alcohol. It affects between three and five percent of people who are quitting drinking and can be fatal. In the short term, alcohol is processed through your liver in about an hour. Essentially, feeling “drunk” is when your liver becomes too overwhelmed to properly process alcohol, so it overflows temporarily into your bloodstream. This is what causes you to feel light-headed or tipsy after multiple alcoholic drinks. Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself falling back into old habits.
What is a relaxing drink to replace alcohol?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that 40% to 60% of people with substance use disorders experience a relapse at some point. Whether it’s improved relationships, better health, or weight loss, keeping the “why” in sight can help boost your motivation. Of course, we all want a simple, achievable number for how long we should abstain from alcohol in order for our bodies to fully heal from its effects. If your liver has taken a hit from prolonged alcohol use, there are ways to give it — and the rest of your body — a break. Your liver has enzymes that work like special tools to help metabolize (break down) different toxins that enter your body, such as alcohol. Detox symptoms vary in severity and often depend on factors like the intensity and duration of alcohol use, overall health, and metabolism differences.
Before you give up drinking, it’s crucial to take an honest inventory of your relationship with alcohol. Reflect on your drinking habits, patterns, and the role alcohol plays in your life. Ask yourself why you want to quit and what motivates you to make this change. Write this information down in a journal and refer to it whenever necessary. For example, someone who has just developed the disorder and who has immediately sought out help may be able to tackle their addiction with less difficulty. If you have been drinking heavily for years, on the other hand, withdrawal symptoms and other issues that may have developed during that time could require you to seek out specialized care.
One way to combat that feeling, Dr. Koob says, is to check in with yourself after a few months of sobriety to take stock of the benefits you’re reaping. “For psychologists, many of them are addiction-informed, and in their advertisements or on their websites they will mention that specifically,” Dr. Lembke said. To get started, try searching a directory like Psychology Today or Inclusive Therapists, both of which have filters you can use to look for specific support around substance use. One of the biggest things to keep in mind if you are looking to stop drinking is how your addiction has impacted your physical and mental health. That said, If you’ve been drinking excessively, then stopping drinking cold turkey can lead to withdrawal symptoms. So many other methods of quitting drinking put fear in your mind – warning of terrible “serious” symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
If that’s not possible, admit your desire to drink and don’t judge yourself for it. Call or text a friend and have your goals handy to remind yourself why you’ve dropped drinking. For those who are physiologically dependent, quitting alcohol cold-turkey can cause delirium tremens, which is life-threatening.
How to Stop Drinking: 7 Tips to Give Up Alcohol
Satisfying hobbies can distract you from wanting to drink, but they also help you relax — something everyone needs to do. Feeling at your best physically can boost resilience and emotional strength, equipping you to weather challenges that trigger the desire to drink. If you turn to alcohol to manage emotional distress, the added overwhelm can prompt the urge to drink, making success seem even more out of reach.
Some of these activities may include incorporating more exercise into your life, taking up a new hobby like woodworking or drawing, or taking on additional income-earning activities that keep your mind engaged and occupied. When you begin learning how to quit drinking, you may find that free time can often be one of the most difficult things to deal with. One way to overcome this feeling is to set realistic, visibly achievable goals and take your recovery day by day as you learn how to quit drinking.
- As long as you do your best to get back on track, recovery is always possible.
- However, studies have shown that telehealth has important and promising implications for the treatment of substance use disorders like alcoholism.
- Feeling at your best physically can boost resilience and emotional strength, equipping you to weather challenges that trigger the desire to drink.
- Building a support system of friends, family, or fellow sobriety seekers enhances your chances of being successful.
But a full detox is needed for the most benefit, and how much time that takes depends on a variety of personal factors. Of all your body’s organs, your liver takes the biggest hit when it comes to alcohol. Even if your relationship with drinking consists of occasional social drinking with friends or occasionally over-indulging in wine and cocktails during the holiday season, alcohol can still leave its mark.
When you’re having a good time, you find it hard to stop, especially in the company of friends having the same amount. Read our guide to learn the most effective ways to quitting alcohol. By managing your addiction to alcohol, you can lead a healthier, happier life. There are effective treatment approaches that can help you quit, so talk to your doctor or a mental health professional if you need more help finding options that will work for you. Perceived social support can play an important part in alcohol use recovery.
If you know that some situations have high peer pressure around drinking, you shouldn’t feel bad if you choose to rely on a white lie like “I’m allergic.” or “It interacts with my medications.” to ease the refusal. Some of these strategies — such as watching for peer pressure, keeping busy, asking for support, being aware of temptation, and being persistent — can also be helpful for people who want to give up alcohol completely. If your brain ever starts playing tricks on you by thinking “Just one drink” or a “glass of wine”, remember there is no such thing. Yet these symptoms are “irritability, poor concentration, feeling shaky, feeling tired, difficulty sleeping or bad dreams”. Willpower is the hard way to quit drinking and not the Easyway to quit drinking. The willpower and cold turkey method is likely to cause abject misery and failure because of the feeling of giving up something that you want and need.
Additionally, a common symptom of alcohol use disorder is the inability to reduce alcohol consumption despite attempts to do so. It may be necessary to plan ahead for an inpatient stay where you can receive a doctor’s supervision. Besides the physical symptoms of alcohol addiction, it’s important to note that addiction may be masking mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, for example. Along with your goal to quit drinking, you may need to seek support for any of these underlying conditions, so that you’re not only treating the problem, but the cause of it as well.