How To Quit Alcohol? 11 Effective Methods And 9 Benefits Of Taking This Step

Drink alcohol It is often considered a social act. Many people even turn to alcohol as a method to deal with stress or other psychological problems such as insomnia or anxiety.

Although we have all normalized the regular consumption of alcohol, the reality is that there are many consequences of drinking alcohol daily for both our mental and physical health. If you are considering quit alcohol Due to the effects that this substance is having on your life, here we will show you the benefits as well as the best method to abandon this bad habit.

Consequences of drinking alcohol daily

One of the main consequences of drinking alcohol is the damage that this substance can cause in our brain. In fact, people who turn to excessive drinking may suffer from Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. This condition occurs when alcohol consumption is very abusive and causes a wide variety of mental problems such as confusion, paralysis, coordination problems, psychosis, as well as problems with learning and memory. In addition to damaging our brain, alcohol also has the following effects on our mental and physical health:

• Insomnia and sleep problems
• Digestive problems
• Memory problems
• Increased anxiety, depression and irritability
• Conflicts with loved ones, isolation
• Changes in personality
• Development of a mental disorder

How to quit alcohol?

If you think you have been drinking alcohol abundantly and that you should reduce or stop your consumption, here we discuss some tips to help you stop drinking alcohol. Despite this, if you think that alcohol is affecting your life, it is important to go to a professional psychologist.

1. Think about why you drink: You may turn to alcohol because it is a way to let off steam from your worries. Many people use alcohol both to numb their emotional pain and to deal with daily stress. There are even cases in which people turn to this substance to cope with their social anxiety. In this way, knowing the reason why you drink is essential to be able to focus on solving the problem that leads to abusing this drink. In many cases, alcoholism comes from trying to face our problems through this substance, therefore, the best help to stop drinking alcohol is precisely by facing these problems.
   Involve family and friends: Let others know you want stop drinking alcohol It’s a great way to find the help you need to cope with the times when you can return to this drink. Additionally, by opening up and saying that you want to reduce or quit alcohol because of the mental and physical consequences it can have, you can encourage others to make this change.
2. Prepare an explanation: Unfortunately, there are many people who see it as ‘strange’ someone not to drink alcohol in certain social situations. This is why alcohol as a drug is so normalized that we do not even consider that it is actually a very harmful substance for our health. In the event that someone asks, it is always good to prepare an answer because of the discomfort it can cause you if you have an alcohol addiction. In these cases, if you want to stop drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages, you can say that you are trying to improve your health or that you don’t like the way alcohol makes you feel.
3. Get rid of all your alcohol: If you have decided stop drinking alcohol It is important not to keep even a bit of this substance anywhere in your home. So, if you feel like drinking, knowing that you’ll have to go out and make a purchase may deter you enough to find a good distraction from doing so. You should know that it is not necessary to offer alcoholic beverages to others to be a good host. Let the guests themselves bring their own alcoholic beverages if they wish.
4. Find something that serves as a reward or relaxer: He problem of quitting alcohol cold turkey is that this is a ‘social’ drink. This can cause a problem when you meet friends, your partner or family and you don’t know what to have with them. Therefore, it may be a good option to try to find something that can replace alcohol in these social situations, such as coffee or chocolate.
5. Vary your routine: If drinking alcohol had become a habit for you, it is important to break this pattern. In this way, it is ideal to find hobbies that keep you distracted from work. Alcohol addiction In general, those that involve activities with others or outside the home tend to be the most effective in these cases.
6. Use coping methods: Yes, for you the alcohol It is a method to calm anxiety, it is important to find a substitute to relieve these negative emotions. Among the most effective, you can use positive affirmations, as well as use deep breathing or go to meditation to deal with this anxiety. Furthermore, another way to deal with this negativity is to talk about it with a loved one or by watching a favorite series or movie that distracts you from these sensations.
7. Prioritize your personal well-being: Quit alcohol cold turkey It can be very stressful. This happens because, as we have said, many people turn to alcohol to control their emotional distress. In these cases, it’s normal to have trouble making big changes, but good self-care practices can help you manage these overwhelming feelings to take care of your mind and body. For example, to focus on taking care of your mental and physical health you can change your diet to a much healthier diet, do regular physical exercise, as well as make sleep your highest priority.
8. Rediscover your hobbies: Many people they turn to alcohol to cope with boredom. In this case, the priority is to rediscover those hobbies that you are passionate about and allow you to feel better about yourself.
9. Avoid loneliness: Another reason why people can turn to alcohol It is like a method to relieve ourselves from loneliness. Therefore, if this is your case, it is important to try to deal with these feelings through other alternatives to solve this problem. For example, you can get out of your comfort zone and try a new activity to meet people who have similar interests to yours.
10. If you relapse, go back to the plan: It is completely normal that quit alcohol cold turkey People may relapse into its consumption due to how normalized this drink is in our society. Despite this failure, it is important not to let yourself be overcome by shame and regret and get back to it. In fact, relapse can give you information about what you may have done wrong and how to change it so you don’t fall into it again.
11. Find support: Finally, if you think you cannot stop drinking alcohol, it is essential to go to a professional psychologist. Addiction specialists will be able to offer you the necessary tools so that you quit alcohol successfully

Benefits of stopping drinking alcohol

To help you with this process, it may be helpful to remind yourself of all the benefits it will bring you. do not drink alcohol and leave this substance aside. Among the most notable advantages, we find the following:

• Better looking skin: He alcohol abuse It makes our skin look worse.
• Improved sleep: Drink alcohol routinely can also lead to experiencing different problems in our sleep. This is because alcohol interferes with sleep-wake cycles, which also makes it difficult to fall asleep at night.
• Healthier weight: Another advantage of stop drinking is that we manage to obtain a healthier weight for ourselves. In fact, alcohol robs our body of essential nutrients, as well as causes our metabolism to be affected. In addition, alcohol is a low-calorie drink full of sugars and empty calories, which means that you can easily consume more than 600 calories in a single night.
• Better mental health: The relationship between alcohol and mental disorders is very close. In fact, drink alcohol increases the possibility of suffering from depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
• Enhanced Immunity: One of the benefits of quitting alcohol It is the best of our immune system. The reason behind this is that this substance interferes by preventing the production of enough white blood cells that allow our body to defend itself against germs and bacteria.
• Improved Nutrition: Drink alcohol It can also deplete our body of vital nutrients. In fact, there are many people who skip meals due to alcohol.
• Lower risk of cancer: Research has shown that the alcohol It is a well-known carcinogen. So much so that the greater the alcohol consumption, the greater the risk of developing some of the different types of cancer.
• Reduced cardiovascular risk: If you start to stop drinking, your heart will thank you. Recurrent drinkers are approximately twice as likely to have a cardiovascular problem.
• Better memory and thinking: Another advantage that it offers us quit alcohol On one side is the improvement of our memory and cognition. This happens because drinking alcohol excessively can cause our hippocampus, a region of our brain essential for memory and learning, to shrink.

Stop drinking alcohol Not only will it benefit you on a personal level, but it will also improve your relationships with others because you will feel much better about yourself. Take the step and leave aside this harmful substance for both your body and your mental health.