For many people drinking helps them cope with stress and helps them remedy insomnia or anxiety even. It is largely accepted as a social activity and as an acceptable way to cope with such ailments.
Though alcohol doesn’t really do much to relieve these issues in the long-term and it does come with significant downsides. If you or someone you know has an alcohol addiction or needs help to quit drinking, contact us here at Harmony Health Group today.
Alcohol’s Health Effects
The more health effects you will experience the more you drink, such as:
- Disrupted sleep
- Memory problems
- Digestive issues
- Disagreements and another conflict with loved ones
- Increased anxiety, depression, and irritability
Explore Your Relationship with Alcohol
In order to give up anything, it is important to identify why you are even doing it to begin with.
Why Do You Drink? Identify Alcohol Triggers
Many people drink alcohol to self-medicate and that can help to numb their emotional pain, or even help them to handle stressful situations easier. It’s common for people to drink to lessen the tension they might have on a first date or prior to a difficult conversation.
It’s worth considering when it comes to facing challenges without alcohol. If drinking prevents you from finding more helpful ways of managing your emotions. Which is knowing why you drink is essential.
Common alcohol triggers include:
- Insomnia
- Relationship stress
- Trouble at work
- Social events
Having awareness of your alcohol triggers and the reasonings for your drinking can help you plan ways to manage the urge to drink.
Talk About It
Having others know about your decision to quit drinking may help motivate you to keep up with your decision.
Involving Your Loved Ones
Family and friends can provide great encouragement and support when you make the decision to quit drinking.
When you open up about your relationship with alcohol, you might inspire others to question their drinking habits.
Bringing a person who you can trust when attending events where alcohol will be present can be beneficial. It is often a lot easier to turn down a drink when you don’t have to say no, alone.
Finding a Community
It can reap a lot of benefits by building new relationships with people who choose to avoid alcohol. The more support you have the better!
Changing Your Environment
When feeling stressed or overwhelmed, drinking can become an automatic response. It can also make up your typical routine as well.
You may not need to completely redo your whole life in order to quit drinking, but you may need to make a few changes nevertheless. You may need to make changes to your surroundings and some of your routines in order to avoid alcohol triggers.
Preparing For Potential Alcohol Detox
Those who are more dependent on alcohol may start to experience an alcohol detox. It’s when alcohol is significantly reduced or stopped being consumed. When this happens their body starts removing alcohol from their system. In doing so, the detox process can start a list of alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as:
- anxiety
- fatigue
- sweating
- Headache
- shakes
- mood changes
- insomnia
It’s important to speak with a health care professional if you care about experiencing detox symptoms when quitting alcohol or cutting back.
Make Time For Self-Care
It can be very stressful when you decide to quit drinking. If you turn to alcohol for emotional distress, the additional overwhelm can prompt you to drink at every turn. Which in itself makes the success of quitting drinking so far out of reach.
However, with good self-care practices, you can replace drinking with the practice of self-care instead to help manage your emotional distress. It can help you manage the overwhelming feelings and it will help you take care of your mind and body.
Rediscover Hobbies
People who tend to get bored a lot will turn to alcohol as well. Satisfying hobbies can be helpful in helping you to quit drinking. Hobbies can also be relaxing as well as fun!
If you’ve recently found yourself thinking about an old hobby, now is the time to get back into it. If you never had a real hobby before, now is a great time to explore all the hobbies out there to possibly get involved in!
Technology nowadays makes it so much easier than ever to learn new skills and find numerous ways of connecting with other people. Even if you can physically participate in activities with others.
You could try the following ideas to help you quit drinking:
- Building or painting models
- DIY home projects
- Volunteering
- Board or video games
- Reading
Explore Some New Ways to Cope
You can start to find new ways of addressing the triggers once you identify some of the main reasons why you drink.
The most helpful coping mechanisms often dictate the circumstances:
- When you are sad but you need to be alone, you might consider a favorite playlist or comforting book.
- If loneliness triggers your desire to drink, you might look into ways to connect with distant friends or find ways to make new friends.
- When you would like to drink to avoid any stress or conflict, you might start venting to a person you can trust.
In the midst of it all, it is important to always allow yourself to have self-compassion.
Remember no one is perfect, and instead of criticizing yourself for slipping up and having a drink give yourself grace. What matters is your ability to keep an open and curious outlook as you learn what does and doesn’t work for you personally.
Reach Out For Support
There is no need to go it alone. If you want to quit drinking, it isn’t easy, but there is help available.
If you are having a difficult time following through with your goal or you just are in need of additional support and guidance, think about reaching out for professional help like you can get here at Harmony Health Group.
Here at Harmony Recovery Center, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, we have many treatment options and programs available to you.
We help not only with substance abuse but also with other mental health illnesses as well. Including co-occurring mental health issues, which consist of substance abuse coinciding with a mental health illness.
Contact us today, to find out more as to how Harmony Recovery Center can be beneficial for you in your journey to quit drinking.