Educating yourself about alcohol can help you learn more ways to help and offer support. It takes humility to recognize that you need to stop drinking, and it takes bravery to reach out for support. If you how to control drinking are exploring ways to stop drinking, you have already made a big step towards healing.
External Triggers For Alcohol Consumption
Over time, meditation can help you become more comfortable with the thoughts and feelings that arise in moments when you crave alcohol, which will help lessen cravings in that moment and in the future. Ashwagandha is an herbal supplement used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine. It has long been used to prevent alcohol cravings, improve immune function, and reduce stress. The protein in poultry and fish helps in the production of dopamine, which can help Halfway house improve your mood as you fight alcohol cravings. The fiber-rich, complex carbohydrates in whole-grain breads and foods like brown rice, quinoa, barley, and farro are digested more slowly, which help keep blood sugar levels steady. This is key to keeping cravings under control, especially when your body is used to using alcohol as a quick form of fuel.
Change how you think about drinking & alcohol
You may be worried that quitting comes with bad physical symptoms such as trembling hands, nausea, sweating and other effects. However, these are extremely uncommon and any site that mentions them will say that too in the small print. So please read our world-famous tips but you must remember that drinking is like being trapped in a maze. As long as you use a drug-free method that also ensures that you understand the psychological aspects of alcohol addiction – these tips will help you. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Remind yourself of why you want to cut back, talk to a friend about it and distract yourself with a hobby or exercise, the NIAAA suggests.
Be cool about withdrawal symptoms
Acamprosate is prescribed to people after they’ve quit drinking alcohol to help them maintain abstinence. The drug helps ease alcohol withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, and depression. To stick to the above drinking goals, there are other moderate drinking techniques that you can employ, such as avoiding hard alcohol and sticking to beer. Beer has lower ethanol content, and the carbonation can fill you up, so it tends to take longer to drink.
Try a dry challenge.
- The alcohol you drink today can make you feel depressed days and weeks later, and these small amounts can contribute to depressive feelings over time.
- Trying to quit drinking alone is much harder than having support, and there is no shame in needing help.
- Prepare pitchers of infused water or iced tea for a refreshing drink throughout the day.
To make your alcohol reduction journey more manageable, break down your long-term objectives into smaller, short-term milestones. To make non-alcoholic alternatives more accessible, keep a variety of options on hand at home. Stock your fridge with sparkling water, fruit juices, and other healthy beverages. Prepare pitchers of infused water or iced tea for a refreshing drink throughout the day.
- Keep reading to discover how to put these techniques into action and achieve your alcohol reduction goals.
- So, as you gain confidence in not drinking or overdrinking, there’s another step you can take.
- “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.
- By setting a goal to wait 30 minutes before you order your first glass of rosé, you can learn to tolerate any discomfort—and discover that you don’t need the alcohol in the first place.
- And you’ll be able to see your progress in dealing with them as they lessen over time.
