How to stop drinking alcohol
Are you trying to decide if you should stop drinking alcohol? Maybe you’ve already tried a few times to just cut down, and drink more sensibly like other people seem to.
Perhaps you’ve had limited success, you manage it for a week or so, but then you start drinking more again, then the blackouts and awful hangovers start, the guilt and the arguments with your partner. Do you finally decide its time to quit? It might be worth a try.
So how do you stop drinking? The first thing to look at is:
Consider your motivation for stopping
Why do you actually want to stop? What are the consequences of your alcohol consumption? Weigh up the pros and cons of your drinking, the costs versus the benefits (write them down here if you like).
- What are the good things about your drinking right now, what does it do for you? This is important to consider, because you need to find other ways to achieve this.
- Then what are the bad things about your drinking? Really dig deep with this – look at your relationships, your health, job, self-esteem, depression etc.
- Next what are the good things you expect to happen when you stop drinking, how will your life be better?
- Finally what are the negative aspects of quitting? What is putting you off the idea? Again, this is important because you will have to find some way to solve these concerns.
You need to be reminding yourself about this list of your motivations every time you think about having a drink. The next stage is to find out:
Are you physically dependent on alcohol?
For the sake of safety, if you are drinking all day from the moment you wake up in order to avoid your hangovers, then you will need some sort of medical supervision to help you through the detox. You might have experienced D.T.s before (the shakes, or Delirium Tremens to be precise), but full scale alcohol withdrawal can be an unpleasant business. Hallucinations, seizures, it can even be fatal. So you should see your doctor before you plan to stop drinking alcohol. They can help you with medication, or even a short stay in hospital to get you over the first week. If the thought of that scares you to death, then you MUST try and cut down a bit before you stop completely.
So you’ve worked out why you want to stop, and if you can stop safely. Now what? You need to:
Develop a plan for how you can avoid those urges to drink.
Read our earlier article on coping with alcohol cravings first. It will give you a few techniques to help you. One thing’s for sure, will-power alone is not enough to stop you from drinking.
You need to work out what are your ‘high-risk’ situations, what are your ‘triggers’ that make you want to drink? Some of these can be avoided, so make plans as to how you can avoid them. For those that clearly can’t be avoided, you have to start thinking about how you can deal with them differently. Make your own relapse prevention strategy.
Now sit back and wait for sobriety.
Ok, so it might not be as easy as all that (of course not), you may well slip and have a drink, you might even relapse in dramatic fashion and wake up in a ditch somewhere. Don’t laugh, it might be you. You haven’t failed, you just let that old habit sneak up and catch you unawares.
This obviously isn’t going to change over night. And realistically, this is where you might need the help of a professional. You will need to replace all that drinking with other activities, which means you need to set yourself some achievable goals.
The same goes for your feelings, learning how you can cope with difficult feelings without alcohol will take some time. Alcohol has been your way of dealing with everything difficult in your life, so you are going to have to find some other ways to cope, basically.
You should regularly review what is working and what’s not, what things are still tripping you up and most importantly, what benefits you are seeing. Remind yourself of your original reasons for wanting to stop drinking alcohol. And of course, if you find that you need some help, try a counselling session.
Am a guy aged 29 and I started drinking at the age of 13 and when I turned 18 I started smoking too. I can’t sleep when am not drunk and I always have some sleepless nights. I lost my job after working for five years because I was drinking to much and sometimes I could go late at work. I’ve stayed jobless for 2 years and I can’t find another job because of excessive drinking. Whenever I find money I think of going out and drink till all the money is finished. Am now tired of being in this situation. My parents have talked to me so many times but still I can’t change.
I now have realised that I must stop drinking and I have stayed for 7 days without taking a bottle of beer. I want to stop completely and start a new life. Please assist me on this, what must I do in order to stop drinking completely?
Day one over, surprisingly I didn’t crave it much. I kept myself busy with my 7 yr old. On to day two. Good luck to me and all of you!We can do this.
I am 23 and I feel the same as you. it’s so hard being in university where excessive drinking is glamorized and romanticized. At 23 I feel like I’m too embarrassed to tell anyone that I don’t want to drink anymore out of fear of criticism and redicule from my peers. just feels good knowing I’m not alone I guess
Hello, you are very brave at 23 to face up to the fact that alcohol is not good for you or working for your life. We can’t please everyone all of the time and to do what best for you is the only thing that counts. Life is too short to regret. Something that works for me is that I have started training for marathons so running daily and watching what I’m eating etc if you set yourself a goal in some way it’s easier to explain to peers that you are not drinking because it will mess up your healthy lifestyle. It may not work for you but it has for me. Good luck and always remember to put yourself first
Hello to all my frinds here,
Just to up date you, i went back to my drinking habit, i know for some one like me i should not even think about the first glass because it always start with first one and then end up with too many. I also visited my advisor for a session it does help but it only up to me know to stay sober for a week, so i commited for a week and i also want to commit to my self and all of you, i will come back to all of you to tell you about my one week being sober, so i am starting agin, i am not given up, i must beat this habbit so ten years from today i could remind my self what great decision i took. I want to share this with of you , so this could be a support story to my frinds as well, also i dont know we do share a common issue.
Please dont give up, i am sure that i am coming back in a week with a good news.
I can effort for more regreat really i had enough,
I wish all of you a speedy recovery please be in touch and let me know your though as well, most of your comments are interesting and being a great help for me. God bless all.
31 days sober!! Hope this inspires! Love and support to all
Way to go–you should be very proud of yourself.
Thanks Nelly – you helped me with a previous response when I decided to give up drinking I appreciate it so much… Thank you again
Well done Jules , great knew you have spired me and thanks for sharing, vow keep it up ,
I’m 20 & i lost almost everyone in my life, left school & moved to Calgary , I don’t remember the last time i was sober for a week =( I wanna be soooo bad . Im sick of this life !!
I’m 26 and I only drink at the weekend but when I do I don’t know when to stop. Recently I have been drinking so much at the weekend I have been sick. Also when I’m drunk I am horrible to my lovely fiancé. It kills me that I change so much when I’m drunk so I have decided to stop for a full month to detox and get back in control of the amount of alcohol I drink. I want to prove to my fiancé I don’t need alcohol in my life and that sheiks my number one priority because I love her so much
I have a healthy life style but I am so bored at times I start drinking. Once i start I can’t stop. I have a method for not getting hungover which consists of drinking only good vodka (grey goose) and taking vitamin b complex and ibuprofen every hour when I drink. I drank half a big bottle of goose the other day and didn’t feel the horrible shakey nauseous hangover. But I felt remorse because I didn’t ride my bicycle and get my usual excersise. I feel upset with myself because I waste time and don’t get Anything done…
I want support or friends that can talk me down. I drink at home now and manage not to drink and drive. But I am bored bored.
Ugh I did yard work all day yesterday and managed to get things done around the house with this feeling that if I work hard I can somehow feel like I accomplishd something. I do not drink at work or put other people at risk. But it would be good to have another person to text to that can help calm the obsession.
I hate myself when I drink and just waste my day. :/
Hi everyone! I am 55 years old. I have a huge problem with drinking wine. I drank socially in my 20′s and 30′s. Did not want it or felt I needed it everyday. The hang overs were, and still are, horrible. There was a time in my life when I had absolutly no desire for alcohol. I am so sorry I let this toxin back in my life. I drink about 2 big bottles 5-6 days a week and have been for quite some time now. I don’t remember things the next day which really upsets me. I have cussed out my daughters and said very hurtful things to them as well as my friends. The guilt I feel the next morning is unbearable, but it does not stop me from drinking later on that evening. I am so glad I ran across this web site cuz it does help a little to know other people suffer from the same problem I do. I don’t understand why, at my age, I have allowed myself to become an alcoholic. I scared for my health and it has ruined my self-esteem. I am becoming somewhat of a hermit, not wanting to go out with my friends. I go to work, come home and start the cycle over again to the point I pass out. The alcohol is interferring with my sleeping pattern and I wake up around 3 o’clock and cannot get back to sleep. I have to get up at 5 am to get ready for work. I woke up this morning and drank a big bottle of wine around 2 – 3 o’clock. It is Sunday morning and I have made the decision to stop this destructive behavior. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. I am scared. I need help!!!! : (
Karla, Hi I understand how you feel. I am 46 I never had a drinking problem. Only social in 20′s and 30′s. I had children later 30 with my 1st and 39 with my 2nd. My husband has always drank daily. I started on the weekends, and then as the stress of bills and family kicked in it was a glass or two after the kids went to bed. 4 years ago my husband had a couple of online affairs and it destroyed my marriage. I am still living with him however there is no intimacy. I stayed because my oldest daughter told me she would not move with me because she loves her school. I would NEVER leave my kids. I started at that time drinking until it didn’t hurt anymore. well 4 years later I am still drinking heavy 4 to 6 glasses mixed with sprite a night. I do not drink if I have to drive my children somewhere. But I have found myself saying no to them because I know I will have to wait until 9 or 10 pm to drink. I also have rheumatoid arthritis so the meds are already killing my liver and kidneys. My Dr says I should not drink at all. I have decided that I need to quit for my kids. I quit smoking twice cold turkey so I think I can do this. It helps to have someone to talk to about it. Thanks for listening.
Hi Guys.
Im 34 and been drinking for a few years, lately its getting out of control like a bottle of vodka a day. Pretty much out of boredom but honestly i enjoj it when im pissed. I had cancer a few years back and dont know wether thats the cause of it but ive had enough now and am trying to stop it desperatly.
I hope i find the strength to knock it on the head and i hope you guys do to.
I am so glad I am not the only one going through this. I am 31 and can relate to almost every person that has posted to this site. I am at work, hung over, have anxiety, and feel disgusted with myself. I drank only once per week, and reasonably for over 2 weeks. I was feeling great and thought I had kicked the habit. After yesterday I am right back at square one and I hate it. I have no family and very few friends so I am alone a lot and am finding it difficult. I recently became single and can’t seem to meet anyone despite my best efforts so what do I do…Drink till I forget! It does help me forget thats for sure, but it is costing me a fortune and ruining my physical and mental health. I can’t seem to find anything to help me deal with lonliness and boredom, that is the biggest issue. I do know that I need to stop drinking! Today is day 1
Hello all,
My problem is sleeping. I drink out of boredom and to help me sleep through the night otherwise when I stop I have terrible nightmares and very shifty nights! Plus the school run becomes quite hard to deal with, makes me feel irritable and tired. Havent been on sleeping pills and would rather not and try to kick the bad habit of drinking. Any ideas?
Drinking interferes with your sleep patterns. It’s a proven fact. I have the same problem and try to stop drinking before 5 pm. But sometimes that doesn’t happen and I take Xanax. It’s the only thing that stops the racing heartbeat and quiets the mi g to sleep. For me any way.
I’m only 22 but I know I have to stop drinking all together. Recently I have been drinking to black out. I can’t stand it. The next day I get so mad/embarrassed at myself. I must change. Day 1 today
Hey Jackie
I know how you feel. I have drank so much I black out sometimes. I feel the same the next day very embarrassed. I drink out of boredom and a way of dealing with everyday life.
I have never done this before I mean talk about it to anyone.