If drinking alcohol has become a way of life for you and you’re not happy about it, there is never a better time than now to take the first few steps toward an alcohol-free life. Here are five tips that will help you get started on a journey that may be difficult, but is certainly not impossible.
Create an alcohol-free environment around you
Did you know that you’re likely to consume way more alcohol when you’re with buddies or colleagues who also enjoy drinking? If you’re determined to cut your alcohol use, start with creating situations where you won’t feel the need or have access to alcohol. For instance, remove alcohol from your home, meet friends who don’t drink, and drive to parties instead of taking a cab.
Taking small but definitive steps to gradually reduce your alcohol intake will likely be more successful in helping you abstain in the long run.
Ask family and friends for support
It’s friends or family that we usually have as our drinking buddies, so it’s the very same people who should support your efforts to give up or cut down on alcohol. Your true friends and the people who love you will offer their wholehearted support to help you succeed. And if some people still don’t get how important this is to you, the best way out is to stop seeing them for a while until you’re sure you won’t give in to coercing, booing or temptation.
Change the way you unwind and entertain
If your weekend plans revolve around drinking, take a firm decision to look for other ways to relax and entertain yourself rather than going on a drinking spree at the local bar. Catch a movie with a friend but let them know that you won’t be drinking. Do this at least for the first few months, till it becomes a habit and you’ve discovered healthier ways to enjoy life.
Also, use this fertile time as an opportunity to adopt a more active and conscious lifestyle by seeking alternatives such as meditation, yoga, dancing, painting, reading, writing, volunteering, and so forth.
Don’t resort to medication as an alternative
If you’ve been using alcohol as an escape, you may need some sort of medication once a while to get through the difficult phase, but avoid turning it into yet another addiction by overly depending on medicines for physical and mental relief. In fact, some medical experts say that several common drugs are useless, therefore relying on over-the-counter or prescription medication should not be your go-to solution to fight withdrawal symptoms.
Sign up for an alcohol rehab program
If self-motivation does not seem to be working and you’re struggling to cut your alcohol intake, find a trusted alcohol intervention programs in your city that offers full recovery over time for alcohol addiction. Do not look at this as alcohol’s victory over your willpower; instead, look at this step as a big boost to your determination to lead a healthier and happier life.
