Has anyone ever told you that you should cut back on your drinking or, better yet, eliminate alcohol from your life entirely? Have you ever felt that way on your own, especially after waking up super late for work the day after a long night out on the town or getting down in the club with a pounding headache and blurred vision?
To begin, let me state unequivocally that I am not attempting to vilify the drinking of adult alcoholic beverages. I’m the last person to pass judgment on you or anyone else who chooses to drink alcohol sensibly. Instead, as a licensed mental health counselor and certified master addiction professional, it is my job to assist my clients in gaining greater control over their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors by gaining insight into the underlying issues that have negatively impacted their lives.
Is Alcohol Consumption a Problem for You?
First and foremost. Is alcohol consumption an issue for you? Because alcohol is known to impair judgment, you may not even be aware that it is doing so.
Alcohol use disorder is defined as a “problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress,” according to the 5th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or more commonly known as the DSM-5, the universal reference guide used by mental health and addiction professionals to diagnose all substance abuse and mental health disorders.
It is characterized by the presence of at least two of the following symptoms over the course of a 12-month period:
- Alcohol consumed in greater quantities or for a longer period of time than intended
- Persistent desire or failed attempts to reduce or regulate alcohol consumption
- A lot of time is spent on things like getting alcohol, using it, and recovering from its consequences.
- A strong desire or impulse to consume alcohol
- Recurrent alcohol consumption leads to a failure to meet major role responsibilities at work, school, and at home.
- Despite persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused by or aggravated by alcohol’s effects, many continue to drink.
- Significant social, occupational, or recreational activities are eliminated or curtailed.
- Use of alcohol in physically dangerous settings on a regular basis
- Despite knowing that alcohol is causing persistent or dangerous bodily or psychological difficulties, some continue to drink.
- Tolerance is defined as the need for significantly higher doses of alcohol to achieve drunkenness.
- Withdrawal, as shown by any combination of physical and psychological distress following a period of heavy or protracted alcohol consumption.
However, just because you don’t fulfill the criteria for an alcohol use disorder doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop drinking. On the surface, you may appear to be able to handle your drinking, but excessive alcohol consumption has been proved to harm your general health. Alcohol, like nicotine, is a habit-forming substance.
Alcohol, on the other hand, is categorized as depressive, unlike nicotine’s stimulating characteristics. It simply reduces the ability of your central nervous system to absorb feelings, emotions, and information correctly.
Alcohol can make you feel more emotionally sensitive, unhappy, vulnerable, and depressed when your defenses are down—for example, by resurfacing sentiments related to past traumas that you may have worked hard to overcome, or those that you may have never had the time to address properly at all.
According to research released by the National Institute for Health, alcoholics are 60 to 120 times more likely than individuals without psychiatric disorder to commit suicide. Furthermore, while a couple of cocktails may make it easier to chat to a stranger since they lessen your inhibitions, they can also impair your judgment—For instance, by driving while inebriated.
Alcohol has also been known to make people more aggressive and belligerent, particularly when confronted with the issue. According to research released by the World Health Organization, almost 55 percent of domestic violence perpetrators used alcohol before the assault, and women who had been assaulted were 15 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
When it comes to your physical well-being, there are a plethora of ways that excessive drinking can harm you. Alcohol can lead to obesity since it has little or no nutritional value and is frequently mixed with high-calorie mixers. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to a decrease in physical activity, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Excessive drinking also inflames the pancreas, making it more difficult for it to release insulin, resulting in diabetes.
Excessive alcohol use can also cause liver damage, such as cirrhosis, a condition in which the body is unable to adequately eliminate waste materials from the blood as it leaves the stomach and intestines. Cirrhosis of the liver patients may appear jaundiced, bloated, and disoriented as a result. According to a recent Forbes study, even moderate drinking was linked to declines in both grey and white brain tissue. It changes the chemistry and composition of the brain, essentially interfering with brain function.
With that stated, if you believe that drinking alcohol is interfering with your ability to live a healthy lifestyle, I urge that you examine these six simple strategies to quit drinking alcohol for a better mind, body, and soul.
1. Don’t Touch the Bottle
If you’re a recreational drinker—someone who has a few drinks here and there, every now and then or once in a blue moon—and you want to stop drinking alcohol completely, the simplest method to do so is to avoid it as much as possible. I mean, isn’t it really that simple? Not so quickly! From the grocery to the soccer field, alcohol can be found.
Despite the risks, people continue to consume alcohol at a variety of social events, business meetings, and even religious rituals, activities that are difficult to entirely avoid in many situations. Sporting events, for example, appear to be sponsored by brewers that are sleek, seductive, and very socially conscious.
Nonetheless, despite the prevalence of alcohol, the next time you go out with your buddies to your favorite hangout, order tonic water with lime. Instead, try a virgin version of your favorite drink, such as a pina colada or strawberry daiquiri, so you can keep the umbrella but skip the rum.
2. Communicate Expectations to Others
Unless you’re willing to cut relations with all of your alcoholic friends and family members, be prepared to set some ground rules for them when it comes to drinking when you’re around them.
To begin, let them know that you are not passing judgment on them; rather, you are making a personal decision not to use alcohol. Then, with them, establish clear limits by stating whether or not you are comfortable being around them if they want to drink. Keep in mind that you are the most powerful gatekeeper of everyone and everything in your environment.
3. Take ownership of your problems!
The first step toward quitting alcohol—or any other habit-forming, mood-altering substance for that matter—is to recognize that you have a problem with it, whatever it is. I recommend that you begin by identifying how alcohol has already impacted your life or how it may continue to do so if you continue to drink.
Take a personal inventory of everything that matters to you, including your relationships with family and faith, as well as your health and personal finances. Then analyze how drinking might have a negative impact on each thing. Set aside some personal quality time to write out all of your thoughts in black and white in order to gain a more objective perspective on the situation. Take it from me: admitting that you have a problem is difficult, but once you do, it can be a freeing experience.
4. Seek assistance
After you’ve admitted to yourself that you have an alcohol issue, you can tell someone else about it, preferably someone who can help you process your feelings and concerns in a safe, constructive, and non-judgmental manner. Although your family and friends may be very supportive, you may want to work with a therapist who can provide a more objective perspective as well as a variety of tools to help you not only stay sober but also process and work through any underlying issues that may have caused you to drink in the first place.
Furthermore, if you have grown physically dependent on alcohol to get through the day, medical care may be required to help you handle a variety of withdrawal symptoms, such as restlessness, anxiety, chills, nausea, and even potentially life-threatening seizures.
5. Become a member of a support group
When you’re trying to protect yourself against a sophisticated, perplexing, and powerful adversary, numbers usually help. Joining a support group is a wonderful method to reinforce your foundation for recovery from alcoholism, in addition to seeking professional help to address any underlying issues that may be preventing you or others from staying sober.
Members of your support group may be able to offer a far more objective step-building approach for long-term recovery than concerned friends and family. Thankfully, support group gatherings can be found all over the world. All you have to do now is hunt for one that suits your requirements.
6. Make a Dedicated Effort to Remain Sober
After you’ve accepted responsibility for your problems and learned how to stay clean, the next step is to commit to keeping sober. Breaking a bad habit isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s usually a lengthy procedure that demands patience and perseverance. When it comes to stopping drinking, there are no exceptions.
Nonetheless, many people find themselves frantically attempting to stop drinking following a series of bad, unpleasant, and often unforgiving events, such as being fired from a job, having a quarrel with a loved one, being caught driving under the influence, and so on and having medical problems as a result of alcohol abuse, such as liver failure.
Last Thoughts
Finally, if you honestly want to stop drinking, make an open and honest pledge to yourself that you will not only put the bottle away, but also use the tools to stay psychologically, physically, and spiritually sober every day.
What do you think?