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Make a plan.
- If you’re living with alcohol use disorder, treatment at a medical rehabilitation facility is your best option.
- A smart recovery strategy is to completely embrace a new identity as a person that does not drink.
- The Recovery Village’s addiction specialists develop personalized treatment and therapy to meet our clients’ unique needs.
- I developed a unique framework for getting sober and dealing with vices.
Make sure you have someone with you if you decide to use again. Once you are clear on your goal, you may still need to prepare to change. Preparations include removing addictive substances from your home as well as eliminating triggers in your life that may make you more likely to use those substances again.
Build a Support System
Whatever the case may be, self-assessment can help you better understand your relationship with alcohol and make quitting feel more achievable. Alcohol causes changes in your brain that make it hard to quit. Trying to tough it out on your own can be like trying to cure appendicitis with cheerful thoughts.
Helping Someone with a Drug Addiction
In January 2020, more than 6 million people reportedly participated in Dry January, a campaign to reduce alcohol consumption organized by Alcohol Change UK. Follow-up research suggested that most tended to drink in healthier amounts afterward. “Once you have a sense of how much you’re drinking, it’s helpful to track how many drinks you’re having per day,” says Witkiewitz. “You could use a calendar, journal or any number of tracking apps.” Drink Control Alcohol Tracker or Less are two examples of free tracking apps available on iOS devices.
- You learned something, made progress, and put yourself in a better position for success.
- Dr. Streem says that if your goal is to stop drinking altogether, you’re more likely to have success quitting all at once, rather than weaning off alcohol.
- Alcoholism treatment allows you to detox in a safe environment.
- Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.
- If you think you may have a drinking problem, you’re definitely not alone.
It is important to find outlets other than drinking to deal with negative thoughts. Remember where you are in your recovery journey and how you generally respond how to overcome alcoholism to treatment. Research has found that of the 20.3 million adults in the U.S. who have a substance use disorder, 37.9% also have another type of mental illness.
Make a table like the one below, weighing the costs and benefits of drinking to the costs and benefits of quitting. In addition to feeling less anxious and having better digestion, you may notice bigger changes a few months into sobriety. For instance, your doctor might find that your heart and liver are in better shape, or your skin may have a certain new glow.
The study also showed that there was no single treatment approach that was right for every individual. This stage typically starts 3–5 years after you’ve stopped drinking. People often need to address past trauma or familial issues during this time. As a result, overcoming guilt and negative self-talk is vital. Some people may feel so “broken” that they almost feel they can no longer experience joy and confidence, or have healthy relationships again. That said, there are four general stages of recovery, as compiled by addiction expert Steven M. Melemis, MD.
Serious symptoms caused by delirium tremens include hallucination and seizure. Before beginning a tapering schedule, speak with your doctor about the risks of detoxing at home. Tapering off alcohol may complicate other medical conditions or co-occurring mental health disorders. The alcohol content in specific beer, wine and liquor products differs. You can use the guidelines to get an idea of how many standard drinks you’re used to.
How to offer support
If you want to stop drinking for good, don’t let past relapses discourage you from trying to quit. It is normal and even expected for people to try to quit at least once before achieving sobriety. Your body has acclimated to quitting drinking over the past couple of years. To avoid a relapse at this stage, your mental health is vital. For many people, abstaining from alcohol is a major lifestyle change.
Why is it so hard to overcome an addiction?
I did it, but I wish someone had warned me about the emotional challenges I’d face when I quit drinking. While admitting that you have a problem is the first step in many recovery programs, part of that process is realizing that you’re afraid. You might be afraid of what happens if you keep drinking, but you’re more afraid of what happens when you stop. Whatever your reason to quit drinking, know that you’re doing yourself a favor.