Respond to the question,how to stop drinking alcoholis pretty straightforward. It is more difficult to implement this mechanism, the morealone. . . But if you are on this page, ask yourself this question, then you have set a goal for yourself, and that is already a big part of the question of how to implement your plan.
Then,how to stop drinking?The diagram looks like this:
- Understand the cause
- Determination of the reason
- Psychological work
- Adaptation
Pretty simple, right? But this is only at first glance. For the implementation, it will simply become, when we analyze each point, that you will grasp the essence, the so-called wave of reflection.
A psychologist (psychotherapist) will help to understand any problem, find the right attitude, relieve moral stress, get rid of psychological addiction. Or would you consider yourself weak if you sought outside help? This is a big misconception, because in deciding the question of the elimination of addiction, the determining factor is not the will, nor the character of a person, but the professionalism in a clearly defined area of psychotherapy. . Are you a psychiatrist-narcologist?
Willpower is: 1. setting a clear goal, 2. making a firm decision, 3. getting things done. And in subjects requiring skills, attract specialists. And if you are not a psychotherapist yourself, then in most cases refusing to go to a professional leads to wasted time, prolonged abandonment and, ultimately, breakdown.
Even if you decidestop drinking alcohol on your own, you can turn to a psychotherapist at any time to solve any of the problems (reason, motive, relaxation, self-esteem, adaptation, etc. ).
To understand how to stop drinking, you need to understand why you are drinking.
After you have eradicated the cause of drunkenness, the consequence (the craving for alcohol) will in itself become unnecessary, not interesting, simply meaningless. Now you are probably afraid of a sober perspective, you are thinking about how to stop drinking so that life does not become boring, does not become an existence. What about people who don't drink live worse than you?
People are forced to drink a lot of the most diverse needs of the individual:
- Kill time
- It wasn't boring
- Enjoy
- Relax, feel comfortable
- Relieve psychological stress
- Forget, drown misfortune
- Add self-confidence (ie "for courage")
By meeting these needs with the help of alcohol, the quality of life is greatly reduced compared to the previous sober life, not to mention health. As a result, the person always comes to the question,how to stop drinking alcohol. . . And few people manage to do it on their own.
Kill time, get rid of boredom. You have surely noticed that they are highlighted by the first reasons. This is most often the case, the saying "they drink nothing to do" is quite justified. A big role in this regard is played by the psychological moment, the state of anxiety, when a person is obsessively looking for something, just to keep busy. He just doesn't know anything other than drinking when he has free time. This reason is more pronounced in beer alcoholics, because beer is drunk longer, while the hands, mouth and attention are constantly occupied.
Pleasure, relaxation, comfort. You don't know how to appreciate other things. It suggests that there is nothing in a person's life that brings pleasure and joy. One of the two things either he is not interested in anything at all is psychological disorder, depression or the person is too lazy to do even those things that bring him positive emotions. In 90% of cases, the first is still fundamental.
Psychological tension, stress, grief. This is the main reason why alcoholics quickly get intoxicated after some kind of negative emotional upheaval in life. It is also the main reason for systematic use by people who live in almost constant stress and negative experiences.
Self-doubt. This reason is much less common than others, especially among young people, when a person enters adulthood, and it can be quite difficult to find a common language with his peers, a new society, for example, inan institute.
These are the main reasons people drink, and as you have already understood, they are all closely related to human psychology. Having understood this, now we can turn to the question of how you can stop drinking alcohol on your own.
Identify your main motivation for quitting drinking on your own
Ask yourself why are you looking for information on how to quit drinking on your own? What made you think about it? If you couldn't find the answer, close your eyes and imagine that you have already quit drinking alcohol, how has your life changed? What exactly has become different? What came to your mind in the first place is probably your main motive. Each has its own, you can distinguish the most common:
- Family, children (planning, expecting a child is totally incompatible with alcoholism, as well as small children, the illusion of thinking that they are fools, do not see or understand anything. They understand! And they experience a great trauma. The threat of losing a family is also not comparable to alcohol Left alone, a person gets drunk several times faster, hits rock bottom)
- Health (although this reason is the most important (damage to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys), the main motive of a person, alas, as a rule, is not. The only exceptions aresituations where there is a question between life and death. But there is no point in complaining it's sad, the situation is what it is)
- Career (of course, the prospect of personal achievements, recognition of a person as a specialist is very important, especially for male activity, and it is significantly reduced when consuming alcohol)
- Reputation (like health, the main motivator of reputation is extremely rare, this is also due to the fact that alcoholics experience degradation of personality, self-respect ceases to be a value or a person has appearedin your life whose opinion about you is extremely important to you, it is worth fighting for)
- Fatigue due to drunkenness (this is moral exhaustion, day by day the same, the end of the edge is not visible. In this case, a person realizes the desperation of the situation, ofthe absurdity of continuing such a life. The main thing is that in this life a person no longer experiences the satisfaction of those needs which were originally the cause of drunkenness)
- Important changes in life (not common, as it is a matter of luck, but a strong motive. When something extremely important happens that drastically changes your life or such a change is expected. And more importantly, this change is important for you, it is of great importance. It is a powerful motive for two reasons: the expectation of a bright future and the understanding of the gray present, a clear preponderance of the first)
Very important!Get on well, stay motivated tostop drinking alcohol on your own. . .
As is usually the case when we decide to stop drinking alcohol on our own. Today we feel bad, we curse yesterday's alcohol, we are determined to send it all back forever. The right attitude! We understand why we started drinking (the reason for our drinking), we know why we want to stop drinking (our own motivation). The soul rejoices and sings, it seems that we can upset the whole world.
A sober lifestyle continues for several days. But it does not bring anything good, because it does not leave the feeling that you have lost your life, but have not found a new one, the state of health is not important, the desire to drinkhaunts, and in the evening it's boring and there is nothing to do. There are thoughts that you can drink a bottle of beer to improve your mood, it will not hurt, since you have stood for so many days, it will not be difficult to hold on after a bottle.
The excitement at the start makes you feel like everything will go smoothly and easily. And this is far from the case, since the enthusiasm will not last long. Therefore, it is necessary from the start to tune in to what will be difficult, but only for the first time, as you rebuild your life in a new way, to adapt.
Psychological work before and after stopping drinking
All addiction, including alcoholic addiction, is mostly mental, to a much lesser extent (according to drinkers themselves, but not doctors) - physical. Physical is feeling bad after stopping use (hangover, withdrawal symptoms). It is not an addiction as such, just a reluctance to endure a state of painful overwhelm. Hangovers are fairly easy and quick to remove.
After you stop drinking alcohol, the body will quickly get used to the absence of ethanol and rebuild itself, there will be no physical craving for alcohol. The situation with the psychological urge to satisfy needs is much more complicated for the reasons listed at the beginning of the article. Therefore, before you stop drinking alcohol, especially on your own, make a work plan to tackle these causes.
When you learn to meet your needs without alcohol, the very meaning of alcohol disappears and, therefore, the craving. Well-being, good humor, freedom from addiction (and that is moral oppression) will quickly, but not immediately, of course, form an "anti-alcohol" program in your mind so as not to return tothe past.
So, there are not so many main directions for psychological work, but you can have completely different directions, different from everyone:
- Get rid of boredom, find something to do in your free time
- Learn to relax, have fun
- Relieve psychological stress
- Increase self-esteem, develop self-confidence
Activities, leisure. It is worth finding many other joys, and at first better than those incompatible with alcohol, as another incentive, how to lift your spirits, find something to do in your spare time, and most importantly, youwill not need the alcohol, there will be nothing to replace it.
Relaxation. If you learn to relax on your own, without the aid of any substance, you will have the most precious gift in life for yourself. A relaxed state gives the body a rest, otherwise it wears out quickly, gives excellent health and mood, calm and comfort not only in society, but also in solitude, and increases mental capacity.
There are quite a few methods of relaxation: meditation, some methods of psychotherapy, yoga, music, massage, etc. You will feel like you no longer need to ruin your health, waste time drinking, enduring hangovers, etc. You have to learn to relax with a psychologist who will study the peculiarities of your psyche and will select exactly your relaxation techniques.
It was nice to be nervous and tired to have a beer and relax. But when you can already do it, and then you are calm, relaxed and in a good mood, then why drink? Why reverse this mood with a stupefying drunkenness?
Relaxation is the basis for all other reasons. It provides serenity and peace of mind, autonomy, liberation from emotions, fears and worries. With the ability to achieve this state, the craving for alcohol will gradually subside and you will feel great even without it.
After you stop drinking alcohol, you need to adjust to your new life.
The main job after a person has stopped drinking is to get used to a new way of life. Many things will be new: you, the joys of life, hobbies, habits, occupation, environment, feelings, mood, etc. It is important to understand from the start that a serious illness afterhow to stop drinking alcoholis that the discomfort without alcohol is a consequence of addiction.
After all, panic takes hold of you, if you think that there will be no drunken gatherings in bars, intimate conversations about life on the theme of "do you respect me? "Loud company parties with brawl, beer with a kebab, a bottle of foam for an after-work movie to relax. We get so used to these things, this way of life, that we can't even imagine how they can be replaced in a sober life.
Over time, other moments will surely appear that will bring pleasure without drinking, many ways to have fun and have fun, the ability to soberly relax. But it won't come right away, you will have to endure. It will take time and a bit of work on yourself.
And finally. The question is often asked whether to avoid drinking. At first, you will try to avoid them so as not to crack. Then you won't worry about it, because alcohol by itself won't interest you, people have nothing to do with it. With friends and acquaintances who drink occasionally, you will likely stop communicating due to lack of mutual interests. Therefore, immediately be ready to change the people around you.