How to Stop Drinking Alcohol: A Practical Action Plan
[scriptless]If you’ve reached the point where you find yourself consistently reaching for the bottle despite wanting to stop, you may be desperately searching for effective ways on how to stop drinking alcohol. Thinking of strategies to curb your drinking is a significant first step.
Help to stop drinking.
How long it takes to stop drinking alcohol and the best way to stop drinking for you will be based on the length of time you have been using and how much.
You may be asking yourself how you let it get to this point. How it became so bad without you noticing? And why is it you just can’t seem to leave alcohol alone?
Before you can decide on a stop drinking action plan, you will need to decide whether you are binge drinking and drinking heavily or if you are physically addicted to alcohol.
On the other hand, you may be someone who wants to stop drinking for health reasons or because it is affecting your career or relationship.
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to put the cork in the bottle permanently, Rehab Guide has some suggestions that may help you to stop drinking – If that is what you want.
Get free advice from our alcohol addiction experts today on 02072052845
When setting out ways to stop drinking, it needs to be tailored to you as an individual.
- When are the times you most struggle with resisting alcohol?
- What do you experience when trying to stop alcohol?
- What are your individual circumstances at home?
- Do you have support or family or friends who could help you?
- How is alcohol currently affecting your life?
- What would be the benefits of you quitting alcohol?
These are all questions that only you can answer! We can only make suggestions that can help and that you will need to adapt to you as an individual.
We recommend that you write your action plan down on paper so that you can refer to it daily and whenever you feel the urge to drink. You can share your action plan to stop drinking with a trusted friend or family member so that they understand what you are trying to achieve and can support you.
How do I stop drinking alcohol?
Rehab Guide suggests the following tips to stop drinking alcohol:
- Set yourself a quit date and rid your environment of all alcohol and empties. This may sound obvious, but there also needs to be room for flexibility here. If on your quit date, you find yourself with no desire to stop drinking, wait until the urge comes. Keep referring to your action plan daily for motivation.
- Identify the times of the day or the scenarios which make you more vulnerable to reaching for the booze. Write these down. This can help you to understand your triggers and when you will most likely need help and support.
- Write down the reasons why you want to stop drinking. These reasons can help to motivate you and remind you at times of vulnerability why you are doing this.
- Plan each day. The structure is fundamental when giving up alcohol. You will need to find a healthier replacement. Writing a list of things to keep you occupied each day will help to maintain your focus. Your daily plan should include an alternative means of relaxation such as yoga, tai chi, mindfulness or meditation. All of these things can be learned through classes or from the internet if you do not have the means to join a class.
- Make a list of people you can call if you feel tempted to drink. These people need to understand your reasons for wanting to quit alcohol. They need to be people who understand you and whom you can trust.
- Commit to asking for help from the very start. This may be in the form of attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, SMART recovery meetings, or enlisting the help of an alcohol counsellor or your local drug and alcohol team. Any focused help will help to keep your mind on track and help prevent alcohol relapse.
