Steps....
- Talk to your doctor. If you choose not to, bear in mind that alcohol withdrawal can potentially be deadly. If you start experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms (panic attacks, severe anxiety, the shakes, rapid heart beat) you should seek immediate medical assistance. The condition could potentially deteriorate to deadly delerium tremens if left untreated.
- Change your attitude about quitting! Remember, you're not being forced to give up a good friend who has treated you well. Instead, you are finally ridding yourself of an. #Try to pick some significant date to quit. Be ambitious, but reasonable. If you are very heavy drinker you must first slow down to avoid withdrawal symptoms (in this case it is best to have your doctor help you plan your quitting date).
- Get rid of all bottles, cans, etc. And don't feel that just because you are having guests over that you need to offer them a beer, wine, or cocktail. It is perfectly fine to offer people tea, lemonade, coke, or the like.
- Feel your feelings. Cry when you need to. Laugh when you can. Eat when you are hungry. Sleep when you are tired. This is going to be really weird at first, but embrace it. You haven't felt your feelings for a long time. You will have a learning curve.
- Don't do anything you don't feel ready to do. If going to the beach is a time when you drank a lot, don't go this year. If going to a certain friend's home for dinner is a time when you drank a lot - get a rain check this time. Protecting your sobriety is the most important thing you are doing right now. Take care of you! Don't worry about everyone else right now.
- There's an old saying about 'Playgrounds and Playmates' - look at yours - you may need to leave some of your old drinking buddies and watering holes behind. That said - It can be quite a revelation to find out that the friends you used to drink with were drinking with you only occasionally and were having two beers or two glasses of wine to your five.
- Revise recipes that call for wine so you do not have it in the kitchen, or use non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
- Buy a wallet and whenever you think about buying a bottle or a drink, put that amount of money in your sober wallet. It will shock you. Use this for healthier stress relief: massage, visit to a day spa, yoga class...
- Buy a small piece of inexpensive jewelry like a ring or bracelet, or henna your hand, or get a special manicure to remind you that these hands no longer buy or touch alcohol.
- Drink a lot of water.
- Consider joining a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery. But do not feel guilty or defeated if you do not find AA to be a fit for you. It is not for everyone. Most people who quit do so without the help of AA. The vast majority of people who have quit drinking and put that phase of their lives behind them have done so by making a conscious commitment to themselves to stop drinking once and for all - and never look back.
- Never take another sip.
- After 90 days completely sober your whole outlook will be changed and your body will be in full recovery mode. You will be like a completely different person and you will likely have lost weight!
- Make lists of ways to 'do' all the things you did by using alcohol without alcohol. A list of ways to celebrate. A list of ways to have a romantic dinner. A list of ways to relax and unwind. A list of ways to be sociable.
- Feel how good it feels to go to sleep at night without 'slipping into a coma' only to awaken at 3 a.m. with a dry mouth and a splitting head.
- Don't try to explain quitting to people. Most people do not drink like we did. They are not like us and therefore they cannot understand the fact that we truly have a problem with alcohol. Of course, there are others who have the problem too - Either way the people are going to say 'You don't have problem!' When you quit drinking just say 'No thanks, I'll have a Diet Coke - I'm trying to watch my weight.' If you hang out with them very much they'll figure it out - and they'll think 'Good for him!'
- Admit to yourself, and remember it, that there is absolutely nothing in your life more important than this one thing.
- Have a good reason! Like - I never want to miss work because I have a hateful hangover again. Or I never want to embarrass my child in front of her friends again. Or I never want to be ugly to my spouse because I've had one too many again. Or I never want to get a DUI(again). Or I never want to 'drunk dial' my friends and relatives and act like an idiot again. Or I never want to hide bottles all over the house again. Or I never want to have to pretend I remember what happened the night before when I do not recall anything after X o'clock again. Or I don't want to lose this marriage the way I lost my first marriage to the ravishes of alcohol again. Or I wonder what it would be like to feel good again.
- Do not avoid all situations where you would normally drink. Instead approach them with a good attitude and remember that you can have a good time without drinking.
- Memorize a prayer, poem or something (i.e. Hamlet's speech "To be or not to be") to repeat to yourself when you are losing your mind; trying to remember it will keep your head together sometimes.
- Give yourself a prize for every day or every hour that you haven't had a drink.
- Talk to your doctor. If you chose not to, bear in mind that alcohol withdrawal can potentially be DEADLY. If you start experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as severe anxiety or elevated blood pressure you should seek immediate medical assistance before the condition deteriorates to delerium tremens.
- "He who conquers others is mighty. He who conquers himself is almighty."
- "Pick up yoga! It will help you deal with stress and calm your mind."
- Take a B-vitamin supplement daily for your first week off alcohol. Alcohol affects the ability of the body to absorb these (specifically thiamine). Deficiency can cause severe cognitive impairment (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or wet brain).
- If you are tempted, try to visualize what you might look like totally out of control. Do you really want to be that person again?
- If you are a scheduled drinker, like after work or when you go home, change your routine to involve another activity like visiting your parents or a friend.
- Have food before you drink, this will reduce your interest for drinking.
- In the initial stage, reduce the quantity of alcohol intake. Imagine that due to excess alcohol, you are vomiting and having head ache on the next day and stop drinking any more.
- Learn meditation. Do meditation regularly especially in the morning and at the end of the session, vow not to drink alcohol. Remember your calm mind of meditation later when you feel like drinking. It will distract you.
- Don’t give up on yourself – Many people will find excuses like, “I’ve been drinking for so long, it probably won’t make any difference” or “I’ve tried so many times, I just can’t do it”. Some will feel hopelessly defeated if they find that they have something highly progressive like Cirrhosis of the liver. Quitting drinking can extend life no matter what’s going on. How long it extends is entirely up to the individual; everyone’s physical makeup is different and some are more resilient. You should remind yourself that if you were willing to try quitting so many times in the past, you have the ability to try again. There is no age limit nor is it EVER too late to try to quit drinking.
- Don’t let guilt consume you – Some will feel a sense of foolishness and guilt over not having done something sooner. Don’t pass blame to anyone including you. Alcohol is the enemy. It has been whispering in your ear and telling you that it’s more important than anything else. There is nothing more important than you. You are of no use to anyone if you die. Hence, YOU must overthrow the oppressive rule of alcohol and start fresh, just as any country in revolution. It will be hard and you must learn from the past, but remember that you were mislead and lied to by alcohol; now that it’s gone you can really start living. Those around you will appreciate it too.
