How To Stop Drinking Alcohol – 7 Easy Ways To Quit Alcohol

How To Stop Drinking Alcohol
It is possible to learn how to stop drinking alcohol on your own. Alcohol is a drug which destroys more lives every year, than any other narcotic like cocaine or heroin. Uncontrolled consumption of alcohol causes a lot of issues and problems in both personal and professional lives. These include domestic violence, physical abuse; problems with the law, self-destruction and even death just to mention a few.

These issues are not only limited to the alcoholic alone, but also extends to their families, loved ones, friends and even the members of the community. Uncontrolled drinking is a serious problem, and it is necessary to start taking the right steps to get over this problem as quickly as possible. Here are some tips which can help you learn how to quit drinking alcohol for good.

How To Stop Drinking Alcohol Tip #1: Recognize That You Have a Problem

Recognition of a problem is the initial step towards solving it. Recognizing the issue or the problem reflects acceptance instead of resilience or denial. If you really want to stop drinking, you have to admit or recognize that this is an issue or a problem that needs to be addressed and solved.

This tip on how to stop drinking alcohol is very important, and you might be asking why. Treatment for alcohol addiction involves different approaches; each of these treatments might be different but almost all of them need 100% utmost commitment from you or the affected individual. Total commitment to the said treatments would not be possible if there is no recognition of a problem. If the situation is not perceived as a problem, then there is no need for a solution or intervening action.

So in order to really address the uncontrolled behavior of drinking, you must admit and recognize that is a problem. This is the right time to listen to yourself, not to your alcohol cravings and to listen to trusted individuals and not just your drinking buddies. Let down your guard, quit being resilient and defensive, and start accepting the reality.

How To Quit Drinking Alcohol Tip #2: 100% Commitment is a Must

Nowadays, treatment for alcohol dependence and misuse involves new modalities and combinations that aim to aggressively help an individual get out of the vicious habit. Programs such as behavioral therapy, cellphone based treatment programs, residential treatments, internet programs and the like are emerging. Each of these programs present different ways on how to give up drinking liquor, and each one is actually promising.

But no matter how promising a program is, without commitment to it, the treatment program is as good as nothing. In order for you to successfully quit drinking, 100% commitment must be there. You have to start the treatment, commit to it and finish it down to the last detail. Only in this way can you guarantee success and achieve your goal of staying sober.

For most, giving 100% commitment is easier said than done; this is also true since commitment is a primary issue when it comes to avoiding excessive drinking and problems regarding alcohol intake. Affected individuals find it easy to revert back to their old habits and leave treatment programs to solve their alcohol issues. To prevent this here are some ways to stay focused, motivated and committed:

• Write your goal or purpose
• Be with people who give you positive support and reinforcement
• Document the things you want to achieve
• Write or document the possible consequences of your actions

How To Give Up Drinking Alcohol Tip #3: Modify Your Environment

Another tip to help you cut back on drinking booze is by modifying your environment; how can you do that? Modifying your environment means exercising a degree of control over the things or people that surround you. This means choosing the right people to be with, the right places to be at, and the right moments to be in.

The environment plays a big role in alcoholic tendencies. Alcoholic tendencies usually begin when a person is continually exposed to an environment that encourages drinking; so one tip on how to avoid consuming alcohol is to avoid people who encourage you to drink uncontrollably.

Drinking beer becomes more enticing especially if it is done together with peers or a group of people. If you know you already have the tendency to drink when you are with a particular group of people, better make the first move of avoiding them. When you implement avoidance, you gear your focus more towards other things and lesser towards drinking.

Another tip is to also avoid places or circumstances that you know will entice or encourage you to drink. When you do not encounter these places or situations, the desire to drink lessens. The presence of such instances or places acts much like stimulus, so if the stimulus is not there, we do not expect any reaction to happen.

[Related: How to Quit Drinking Alcohol on your Own]

How To Avoid Drinking Tip #4: Find a Hobby and Get Busy

You can also cut back on drinking by focusing your attention on other things and draining your energy on more significant activities. You can do this by selecting new hobbies or getting yourself to do old hobbies once more so long as the hobbies do not involve alcohol consumption.

Focusing your attention on other productive activities is called a diversion technique. Diversion techniques are very helpful when it comes to preventing and even treating addiction tendencies such as alcoholism. So if you know you have such tendencies, start by doing activities or hobbies that interest you the most.

Hobbies or recreational activities keep you busy; when you are busy you spend less time on drinking. Doing recreational activities and hobbies also give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which then leads to a sense of well-being.

Getting physically active is also one way of managing drinking problems. Exercise and participation in sports activities requires a lot of focus and attention, and this lessens the tendencies of a person to engage in activities that involve uncontrolled drinking. Furthermore physical activities, hobbies and recreational activities pave way for socialization and meeting new people. Socialization also helps prevent drinking problems as most resort to drinking due to loneliness.

Passivity and social isolation are just some of the factors why people succumb to drinking problems. If you don’t want to have the same fate, get busy and make sure to follow this tip on quitting  alcohol.

[Related: Stop Drinking Alcohol]

How To Cut Back On Drinking Tip #5: Know Yourself Better

Another tip to stay sober is to get to know yourself better. Nothing beats a good self-assessment when it comes to solving problems. If you want to get rid of your bad drinking habit, then start asking yourself the following questions:

• When Am I Most Vulnerable to Drink?
Ask yourself the situations where you are most likely to drink. Asking yourself such helps you identify what circumstances are you most vulnerable. This then helps you equip strategies on how to manage those vulnerabilities and how to avoid those situations that make you vulnerable to drinking.

• Why Do I Drink Too Much?
Ask yourself why you have such tendencies to drink too much. Is it because you are stressed, or is it because you easily give in to a friend’s request? You have to understand the reason behind your behavior because only then can you effectively think of ways on how to manage them.

[Related: Quit Drinking Alcohol For Good]

How To Stop Drinking Booze Tip #6: Bring home a pet

Pet therapy is a proven way of de-stressing yourself. You could bring home a pet which greatly interests you; this could be a dog, a cat, fishes, parakeet, or anything else. Of course, you should select your pet in accordance with your lifestyle, temperament, and the space you have at your disposal, else the pet can add to your stress. There should be a good chemistry between you and your pet; select the pet accordingly.

Research has shown that pets have made pet owners feel responsible, and thereby have become a reason for the extended longevity of its owners. The effect of touching and cuddling of pets have had a physiological effect on the pet owners. Further, pets like dogs and cats are known to provide non-judgmental and unconditional love and affection. Pets will help you defocus from yourself and connect with the larger world. Pets can greatly help you in bringing down your stress related problems.

Once pets help you gain a control over your stress, your urge for the bottle will decline. This is one of the best solutions to the question, ‘how can i give up drinking?’

How To Give Up Liquor Tip #7: Reward Don’t Punish

The last tip on how to avoid drinking alcohol is to reward instead of punishing yourself. With all the difficulties involved in controlling and avoiding the tendencies to drink uncontrollably, it would be unfair if you go unrewarded. For every good deed that you have completed, you have to reward yourself.

Go out and eat at your favorite restaurant, treat yourself or someone to a movie date, spend quality time with family and friends, play your favorite sport or game, or simply watch your favorite movie or show. Any activity (except drinking alcohol) that you find doing rewarding, remember that this is a reward, and it should only be given when you have committed to quitting alcohol drinking.

Rewarding oneself after a good behavior is called positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is deemed more effective than negative reinforcement which involves punishment, so as a last tip on how to avoid drinking alcohol; reward yourself as this can motivate and give you a sense of well-being.

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