Quit Drinking

Ever wanted to quit drinking but could never get around to doing it? There are many excuses to keep drinking, many reasons to not stop such as the concept that the answer to a severe hangover is to drink some more. Many drink to forget, to heal themselves of a traumatic past or simply for the pleasurable touch of alcohol running down their throat.

To quit the habit of drinking, one must first identify that they have a problem with alcohol. A problem cannot be remedied if the problem is not even acknowledged. Note that this is not admittance of being completely alcoholic or powerless to the demands of a drink. It is, however, an admittance that the person has fallen to the problem of excessive drinking. One may be completely dependent on it while another may have form a physiological problem associated with alcohol.

Following this are several means to quit drinking. One is through intervention like cutting the flow of alcohol to the body such as moderately lowering the amount of alcohol one intakes. Another mean is to lessen or eliminate the amount of alcoholic drinks surrounding the person. This does not only pertain to the physical bottles of beer and wine in the refrigerator or wine cellar- it includes friends and families that influence one to continuously drink. One common method of intervention is to substitute alcohol with a less-dangerous substance or activity such as bubble gum or video games. Many times this method is accompanied by a professional such as a doctor or social worker.

Besides intervention, there are more professional methods to quit drinking. This is where medical prescriptions such as Benzodiazepine and Disulfiram come in. Benzodiazepine is used as a substitute substance although it may lead to dual addiction if taken on a long-term basis. Disulfiram basically stops the body from preventing hangovers. By increasing the discomfort one experiences when drinking, the alcoholic is further discouraged to drink. This method to quit drinking is highly effective when closely monitored but surveys do show that many people fail and fall to alcoholic relapse because they choose to heal in a more secluded manner.

A third method to quit drinking is to join peer-support groups and mutual-help societies such as Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery. These groups follow up on patient progress through group discussions and numerous philosophical approaches to help one to quit drinking. If not available to join a group in person, there are several online groups one can join and may achieve the same result, depending on the commitment of the one involved.

There are institutes and other residential programs built for alcoholic rehabilitation. These facilities are structured to follow a strict regimen from the amount of alcohol the patients receive all the down to the design of the building as all of it contributes to the patient’s desire to drink. This type of inpatient therapy usually works for those who have failed in the methods listed above.

Drinking can be stopped if only identified and if one is committed to quit drinking. There are several methods available and the only thing preventing people from quitting are themselves.