How to Stop Drinking: 14 Tips for Success
“Just get a sparkling water, put a lime in it, and have fun,” he says. “Say, hey, it’s dry January,” and tell them why you’re taking a break. If a friend isn’t supportive, it may be time to assess that friendship. Rachel Kazez, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist with All Along, says to begin with how to take a break from drinking some basic questions to get a little perspective. 6 tips to help you try dry January, or taking any break from alcohol. But evaluations show, regardless of successful completion, taking up a month-long challenge to quit alcohol is linked to reductions in alcohol consumption six months and up to a year later.
Recognize if you need professional help to quit
And the benefits of sobriety might be years, not months, down the road. Still, it’s good to know that the protective effects can be both fast-acting and long-lasting. If you weren’t drinking much before you cut it out entirely, it’s unlikely that you’ll see a difference, but it’s still worth mentioning here.
Change up your routine
Sans Bar has become so popular that Marshall took the concept on the road this year. He organized pop-up bars in Washington, D.C., New York and Anchorage, Alaska. And he has opened new sober bars in Kansas City, Mo., and western Massachusetts.
- Excessive alcohol use can also impact your liver, where alcohol is metabolized, causing a build-up of fats, inflammation, and scarring , significantly disrupting its normal functioning.
- Relapses happen during rehabilitation, but what’s important is how you move forward from it.
- If these emotions become excessive, they can hold you back from recovery.
- For some people, heart damage from alcohol overuse isn’t reversible after any amount of time.
Get a snapshot of your health – right now.
You may also need to change your route to work or home in order to avoid any triggers, or people, places, or things that make you want to use drugs or drink again. If PAWS is severe or if you’re experiencing prolonged symptoms, a medical professional can help you work through them and remain in recovery without relapse. The more tools you have for identifying triggers, coping with stress, and managing your new sober life, the easier you’ll prevent relapse. Lasting recovery requires lasting effort, but relapse is not failure or weakness; it takes more than willpower to maintain sobriety.
Can cutting out alcohol bring about health benefits?
- Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to avoid repeating mistakes and build better habits.
- It can also enlarge or damage blood vessels—all of which have the ability to impact your skin’s appearance.
- Alcohol is high in sugar, so when you quit it, you may find yourself reaching for other sugars (this was definitely the case with me).
Strictly speaking, sobriety is the state of being sober—not being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence, which means never using the substance again. Other definitions, however, focus on the process of recovery and coping habits that support health and wellness over the long term. Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place.
Generally, I feel more secure and happier without alcohol — largely because I recall that my times with alcohol weren’t always merry, and I feel my health has improved without it. And while there is virtually no downside to taking a break from drinking alcohol — or quitting altogether — science is just beginning to study the ways abstinence might be good for you. The “sober curious” or “sober sometimes” movement started https://ecosoberhouse.com/ as a challenge for those who felt they’d partied a little too hard over New Year’s weekend. First there was “Dry January,” when people could brag on social media about how they were taking a break from booze. Now there’s “Dry July” and even “Sober September.” And the movement has spread across the U.S., with people challenging each other to see what life is like without alcohol and share in that experience.
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