Be Ready With Concrete Examples Of Why You Think There May Be A Problem
Before seriously confronting someone about their drug or alcohol use, spend some time thinking about the reasons you have for being concerned. Be ready to offer these up as examples when having a conversation with your loved ones. If you say you are concerned but have no solid reasoning, your loved one isnt likely to take you seriously.
Psychological Dependence On Alcohol
As well as becoming physically dependent on alcohol most people develop a psychological dependence on alcohol which is one reason why detox treatment alone is not sufficient to help people stop drinking alcohol.
Research has suggested that people drink alcohol for various psychological and emotional reasons, for example, to help cope with stress, to relax, to improve their mood, or to help facilitate smoother social interactions.
People who drink alcohol for any of these reasons are unconsciously becoming psychologically dependent on alcohol as they are relying on alcohol to achieve a psychological state.
Not Everyones A Fan Though
Some have criticized the sober curious movement as a trend that overlooks the often difficult, complex process of recovery, and its a valid argument.
Giving up alcohol typically isnt easy for people with alcohol use disorder. Maintaining sobriety involves a lot of hard work, and its a lifelong process for many.
Theres nothing wrong with choosing a sober curious lifestyle to improve wellness. But its also important to recognize the difference between sobriety and the choice to go without drinking. Plenty of people cant pick up sobriety and safely set it aside later, no matter how tough it gets.
Its also important to remember, as Turner points out, that alcohol use occurs on a spectrum. People tend to think in pretty binary terms when it comes to alcohol use disorder: Somebody either has a drinking problem and needs to give up alcohol for life, or they dont.
In reality, though, people recovering from alcohol use disorder can go on to drink occasionally. Similarly, people who dont meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder can still have a challenging relationship with alcohol and benefit from taking a break.
Sober curiosity is all about exploring what works best for you.
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Figure Out How Much You Actually Drink
Maybe you dont think you depend on alcohol, exactly, but you still wonder whether you might be drinking too much.
Say you dont have any cravings when you go without drinking. All the same, a quick drink often turns into three or four drinks. When youre having a good time, you find it hard to stop, especially in the company of friends having the same amount.
Reach Out For Support
Quitting alcohol on your own is harder for some than others, but theres no need to go it alone.
If youre having a hard time sticking to your goal or just want some extra guidance, consider reaching out for professional support.
If you feel comfortable doing so, talk about your challenges with your primary healthcare professional. Finding a therapist can also be a great starting point if youre uncomfortable opening up to your healthcare professional.
It might also be worth checking out a 12-step program in your area, like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery, to see if it feels like something that might be useful for you.
You may also consider joining an online support group to help you feel less alone.
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Cutting Back Vs Quitting Alcohol Altogether
Whether or not you can successfully cut back on your drinking depends on the severity of your drinking problem. If you’re an alcoholicwhich, by definition, means you aren’t able to control your drinkingit’s best to try to stop drinking entirely. But if you’re not ready to take that step, or if you don’t have an alcohol abuse problem but want to cut back for personal or health reasons, the following tips can help:
Set your drinking goal. Choose a limit for how much youll drink, but make sure your limit is not more than one drink a day if youre a woman, two drinks a day if youre a manand try to have some days each week when you wont drink alcohol at all. Write your drinking goal down and keep it where you will frequently see it, such as on your phone or taped to your refrigerator.
Keep a record of your drinking to help you reach your goal. For 3 to 4 weeks, write down every time you have a drink and how much you drink. Reviewing the results, you may be surprised at your weekly drinking habits.
Cut down drinking at home. Try to limit or remove alcohol from your home. Its much easier to avoid drinking if you dont keep temptations around.
Drink slower. When you drink, sip slowly and take a break of 30 minutes or one hour between drinks. Or drink soda, water, or juice between alcoholic drinks. Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, so make sure you eat food when you drink.
How To Help Someone Stop Drinking
Alcohol abuse and addiction doesn’t just affect the person drinkingit affects their families and loved ones, too. Watching a family member struggle with a drinking problem can be as heartbreakingly painful as it is frustrating. But while you can’t do the hard work of overcoming addiction for your loved one, your love and support can play a crucial part in their long-term recovery.
Talk to the person about their drinking. Express your concerns in a caring way and encourage your friend or family member to get help. Try to remain neutral and don’t argue, lecture, accuse, or threaten.
Learn all you can about addiction. Research the kinds of treatment that are available and discuss these options with your friend or family member.
Take action. Consider staging a family meeting or an intervention, but don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation. Offer your support along each step of the recovery journey.
Don’t make excuses for your loved one’s behavior. The person with the drinking problem needs to take responsibility for their actions. Don’t lie or cover things up to protect someone from the consequences of their drinking.
Don’t blame yourself. You aren’t to blame for your loved one’s drinking problem and you can’t make them change.
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Symptoms Of Beer Addiction
Like the symptoms of alcohol abuse, the signs of alcoholism do not differ according to the type of alcoholic beverage consumed. Potential indicators of addiction include:
- An intense urge to drink when engaged in other activities
- A repeated inability to set a cap on alcohol intake
- A repeated failure to stop drinking altogether
- A need to drink in larger amounts to feel the effects of beer, malt liquor, wine or hard liquor
- The appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when alcohol intake stops or drops for more than a matter of hours
As with alcohol abuse, not all of these indicators will appear in every affected person. However, whether on their own or combined with alcohol abuse-related problems, multiple symptoms point to the presence of alcohol use disorder.
Quitting Alcohol At Home
If you want to quit drinking at home, first of all ensure you do it safely. Always seek medical advice if there is any possibility you are alcohol dependent.
It is important to have a plan in place to help you stay completely stopped from alcohol
Once you have stopped drinking alcohol, you should then have a plan of how to stay stopped. You may want to include the following tips to stop drinking:
10 Tips for quitting alcohol:
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How To Quit Alcohol In Rehab
How to stop using alcohol? If you think you may be dependent on alcohol and decide to stop drinking completely, dont go at it alone. Sudden withdrawal from heavy drinking can be life threatening. Therefore, the best way to quit alcohol is to speak with your doctor or enroll in a rehab facility that uses a combination of medications and behavioral therapies.
How Can I Contribute To The Prevention Of Excessive Alcohol Use
Everyone can contribute to the prevention of excessive alcohol use.
You can
- Check your drinking, and learn more about the benefits of drinking less alcohol.
- If you choose to drink alcohol, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.12
- Support effective community strategies to prevent excessive alcohol use, such as those recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task ForceExternal.
- Not serve or provide alcohol to those who should not be drinking, including people under the age of 21 or those who have already drank too much.
- Talk with your healthcare provider about your drinking behavior and request counseling if you drink too much.
States and communities can:
- Implement effective prevention strategies for excessive alcohol use, such as those recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task ForceExternal.
- Enforce existing laws and regulations about alcohol sales and service.
- Develop community coalitions that build partnerships between schools, faith-based organizations, law enforcement, health care, and public health agencies to reduce excessive alcohol use.
- Routinely monitor and report the prevalence, frequency, and intensity of binge drinking .
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Withdrawing From Alcohol Safely
When you drink heavily and frequently, your body becomes physically dependent on alcohol and goes through withdrawal if you suddenly stop drinking. The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal range from mild to severe, and include:
- Trouble sleeping or concentrating
- Elevated heart rate and blood pressure
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually start within hours after you stop drinking, peak in a day or two, and improve within five days. But in some alcoholics, withdrawal is not just unpleasantit can be life threatening.
If you’re a long-term, heavy drinker, you may need medically supervised detoxification. Detox can be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital or alcohol treatment facility, where you may be prescribed medication to prevent medical complications and relieve withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor or an addiction specialist to learn more.
Seek emergency medical help if you experience any of the following withdrawal symptoms:
- severe vomiting
- extreme agitation
- seizures or convulsions
The symptoms listed above may be a sign of a severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens, or DTs. This rare, emergency condition causes dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing, so it’s important to get to the hospital right away.
The Process Of Neuroadaptation
The reason that withdrawal symptoms appear is that after a period of heavy, sustained drinking our brain and internal physiology has slowly adapted to the presence of alcohol and makes adjustments to allow us to carry on functioning at an optimal level.
Alcohol, after all, is a psychoactive substance that affects the chemical and biological processes in our brain, so it needs to make internal physical and neurochemical changes to ensure that continuous alcohol consumption has a minimal effect on us.
Having adapted to alcohol if a person then decides to stop drinking the body and central nervous system are thrown into a state of confusion as it has become used to functioning with alcohol present.
The result of this confusion is reflected in the withdrawal symptoms our body will begin to generate in response.
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The Community Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations
The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, nonfederal, volunteer body of public health and prevention experts, recommends several evidence-based community strategies to reduce harmful alcohol use. Learn more about the Community Guides findings.
Recommendations
- Electronic Screening and Brief Intervention Externale-SBI uses electronic devices to facilitate delivery of key elements of traditional screening and brief interventions. At a minimum, e-SBI involves screening individuals for excessive drinking, and delivering a brief intervention, which provides personalized feedback about the risks and consequences of excessive drinking.8
- An enhanced enforcement program initiates or increases compliance checks at alcohol retailers .9
Recommended against
- The privatization of retail alcohol sales refers to the repeal of government control over the retail sales of one or more types of alcoholic beverages. 10
US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is an independent panel of non-Federal experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine and comprises primary care providers. The USPSTF conducts scientific evidence reviews of a broad range of clinical preventive health care services and develops recommendations for primary care clinicians and health systems.
How To Stop Drinking Alcohol Every Night
If you have been spending time searching online for information on how to stop drinking alcohol every night, you may have started to become a little concerned about your drinking habits.
Within this blog, we will help you to identify whether your drinking is something to be concerned about. We will also look at different approaches to you can use to stop drinking alcohol every night, which range from at-home strategies to professional addiction support and treatment. The approach that will be most suitable for you will depend on a number of factors, which we will also look into.
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Offer Resources To Your Loved One
Sobriety and recovery will seem a lot less daunting if they have a starting point. Be ready to direct them to a treatment program you think may be a good fit or to online resources. There is a wealth of information about recovery, and it can be overwhelming to decide where to start in the early stages of sobriety. If you can make that task a little more manageable, your loved one is more likely to take advantage of the work youve put into their well-being.
How To Stop Drinking Alcohol
Ashraf Ali, MD Chris Elkins, MA 6 sources
Before you try to achieve sobriety, you need to think about your drinking habits. The way that a social drinker stops drinkingis different from the way that ahigh-functioning alcoholic quits drinking. People with the disease of alcoholism require formal treatment. Thosewho arent addicted to alcohol may be able to quit on their own or with the help of friends.
You can find out if youre addicted to alcohol by taking analcoholism assessment quiz. These quizzes help you determine whether you meet the criteria for an alcohol use disorder the medical term for alcoholism, alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. Thediagnostic criteria for an alcohol use disorder were published in the American Psychiatric Associations fifth editionof the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
You can decide how much help you need to quit drinking based on the results of the quiz.
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How To Quit Alcohol On Your Own
Quitting alcohol at home should only be done through a slow taper with the support of your primary care doctor. For someone who has an AUD, abruptly stopping alcohol can result in life threatening withdrawal symptoms. With that being said, a few strategies for quitting alcohol on your own are to seek out alternatives to drinking, avoid your triggers, create a plan to handle urges, learn how to say no, seek out support.
Ways To Cut Down Drinking
There is no one best way to stop drinking alcohol. Different strategies work for different people. However, certain constants should be adhered to in the path to recovery. The first is to commit to the purpose of the decision to stop drinking alcohol.
Once a person understands that alcohol is not needed to survive, they need to commit to quit for good.
Here are Ten Tips on How to Quit Drinking that are Easy to Implement:
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