Ask friends to hold you to your limits when you go out. Whatever works, so long as it gives you some structure, and helps you stick with the plan. Not only is it safer to have others around, it can also give you much needed psychological support. Consider joining a support group—there are now secular alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as online options.
Finally, having a therapist, counselor, or recovery coach to talk to goes a long way. Once again, different strategies work better for different people. But here are some key tips for controlling how much you consume, day in and day out:.
As for the best thing to drink when cutting back, many people recommend beer, or anything with a low alcohol content. This will make it harder to drink to intoxication, and easier to space your drinks. Maintenance medications such as acamprosate and naltrexone can help prevent relapse, as can a regular mindfulness practice.
Ultimately, no matter how quickly you quit, permanent behavior change around alcohol often takes a long time. Find the long-term support system that works for you. In fact, a number of newer treatment methods actually encourage a long-term approach, letting you reduce your drinking over several months to a year. This includes the Sinclair Method , which uses the medication naltrexone to help people cut back, and boasts a 78 percent success rate.
Online treatment programs for alcohol use disorder are also gaining popularity. These options make it even easier to cut back over time, letting you access support from anywhere, on your own schedule. Our members get expert medical care, regular coaching meetings, online support groups, customized treatment plans, and much more. Learn more by scheduling a call with a member of our team today. People who are severely dependent or addicted to alcohol should seek medical support for alcohol detox.
Tapering is a strategy focused on reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms as someone attempts to reduce their alcohol intake. Tapering is not a process that works, or is appropriate for everyone. People with a severe alcohol addiction, or who experience severe withdrawal symptoms, should seek professional help to safely detox from alcohol.
Having backup support from friends or family can be crucial during this time, in case withdrawal symptoms become serious enough to require medical attention. We can help you get your life back on track. Call now to speak with treatment specialist.
The process of tapering yourself off alcohol begins with planning. First, you need to identify how much you have been drinking. From here, you can plan a schedule for gradually reducing how much you drink per day. Ideally, this schedule will be determined with the assistance of a doctor or addiction treatment professional. Medical detox programs for alcohol dependency commonly offer medications to ease the discomfort or pain of withdrawal. Medicines can be used to reduce nausea, severe anxiety, other flu-like symptoms, and treat seizures.
Due to the high alcohol-per-volume measure of hard liquor, it is recommended that those who are tapering off alcohol stick to beer or wine that has a low alcohol content.
Finally, it may be beneficial to keep a journal during this process to track how you are feeling, symptoms, and your progress. Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. A conversation about reducing the harms of social media. Menopause and memory: Know the facts. How to get your child to put away toys. Is a common pain reliever safe during pregnancy? Print This Page Click to Print.
Free Healthbeat Signup Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox! Sign Up. Heavy drinkers, or those with alcohol dependence, who take the risk of tapering off and foregoing professional medical treatment must move slowly to reduce their risk.
Weaning off alcohol can take weeks or months to do safely and avoid severe withdrawal symptoms. The best way to stop drinking, especially for those who are heavy drinkers, is to undergo treatment at an inpatient or outpatient treatment center supervised by a medical professional.
This ensures you receive the supervision and medical treatment needed to manage life-threatening alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal is potentially fatal. Your body will seek homeostasis when you take something from it that it is used to receiving. Sudden alcohol withdrawal is even more serious when you:.
Despite the risks associated with suddenly denying your body alcohol, there are many benefits, including:. These symptoms vary from person to person and their severity is based on how long and how much a person drinks.
Delirium tremens DTs occur when a heavy drinker stops drinking. The condition occurs within 48 to 72 hours after your last drink. DTs are rare and happen only about 5 percent of the time during alcohol withdrawal. Reducing alcohol use is difficult for many people.
Any time you change a habit, even if there is no physical addiction, the process comes with challenges. Some of these challenges include:. The length of time it takes to taper off alcohol use varies based on how heavily a person was drinking before beginning the tapering process. Light to moderate drinkers should plan a tapering process of a week or more depending on their current drinking behavior.
Heavier drinkers can taper off faster with medical supervision, but the process still takes weeks or more. The initial detoxification process takes several days. Quitting cold turkey is rarely safe or successful.
0コメント