Answer the question,how to stop drinking alcoholit is quite simple. It is more difficult to implement this mechanism, the moreon your own. . . But if you are on this page, ask yourself this question, then you have set a goal for yourself, and this is already a big part of how you implement your plan.
Then,how to stop drinkingThe diagram looks like this:
- Understanding the cause
- Determination of motive
- Psychological work
- Adaptation
Simple enough, right? But this is only at first glance. For the implementation, it will simply become when we analyze each point, it will capture the essence, the so-called wave of thought.
A psychologist (psychotherapist) will help to understand any problems, find the right attitude, ease moral stress and get rid of psychological dependence. Or would you consider yourself weak if you sought outside help? This is a big mistake, since when deciding the topic of getting rid of addiction, the determining factor is not willpower, nor the character of a person, but professionalism in a clearly defined area of psychotherapy. Are you a psychiatrist-narcologist?
Willpower is about: 1. setting a clear goal, 2. making a firm decision, 3. getting things done. And in matters that require competence, attract specialists. And if you are not a psychotherapist yourself, in most cases, refusing to see a professional leads to wasted time, prolonged abandonment, and ultimately collapse.
Even if you decidestop drinking alcohol on your own, you can go 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 must understand why you drink.
Having eradicated the cause of drunkenness, the consequence (the need for alcohol) will by itself become unnecessary, uninteresting, 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 existence. And do people who don't drink live worse than you?
People are forced to drink many of the most diverse needs of the individual:
- Killing time
- That was not boring
- Enjoy
- Relax, get comfortable
- Relieve psychological stress
- Forget, drown misfortune
- Add self-confidence (ie "out of courage")
By meeting these needs with the help of alcohol, the quality of life is drastically reduced compared to the previous sober life, not to mention health. As a result, the person still comes to the question,how to stop drinking alcohol. . . And not many people manage to do this on their own.
Kill time, get rid of boredom. Surely you noticed that they stand out for the first reasons. This is the case most often, the saying "they drink because they have nothing to do" is quite justified. An important role in this is played by the psychological moment, the state of anxiety, when a person obsessively seeks anything, just to occupy himself. He just doesn't know about other occupations besides alcohol when he has free time. This reason is more pronounced in beer alcoholics, as beer is drunk longer, while the hands, mouth, and attention are constantly occupied.
Pleasure, relaxation, comfort. You don't know how to enjoy other things. This suggests that there is nothing in a person's life that brings him pleasure and joy. One of two things, either he is not interested in anything at all, this is a psychological disorder, depression, or the person is too lazy to do even those things that bring him positive emotions. In 90% of cases, the former is still essential.
Psychological tension, stress, grief. This is the main reason why alcoholics quickly become intoxicated after some kind of strong negative emotional upheaval in life. It is also the main reason for the systematic use by people who live in almost constant stress and negative experiences.
Self doubt. This reason is much less common than others, generally common among young people, when a person is entering adulthood, and it can be quite difficult to find a common language with their peers, a new society, for example, in an institute.
These are the main reasons why people drink, and as you already understood, they are all closely related to human psychology. Having understood this, we can now move on to the question of how you can stop drinking alcohol on your own.
Identify your main reason for quitting on your own
Ask yourself why you are looking for information on how to stop drinking on your own. What made you think about it? If you could not find the answer, close your eyes and imagine that you have already stopped drinking alcohol, how has your life changed? What exactly has become different? What came to mind in the first place is probably your main motive. Each one has its own, you can distinguish the most common:
- Family, children (planning, expecting a child is completely incompatible with alcoholism, as well as young children, the illusion of thinking that they are stupid, they do not see or understand anything. They understand! And they experience great psychological trauma. The threat of losing a family is also not comparable to alcohol. If left alone, a person gets drunk many times faster, reaches the bottom)
- Health (although this reason is the most important (damage to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys), the main reason for a person, unfortunately, as a rule, it is not. The only exceptions are those situations in which there are a question between life and death. But it makes no sense to complain, it's sad, the situation is what it is)
- Career (of course, the perspective of personal achievements, the recognition of a person as a specialist is very important, especially for a man's activity, and is significantly reduced when drinking alcohol)
- Reputation (such as 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 appeared in their life whose opinion of you is extremely important to you, is worth fighting for)
- Drunken fatigue (this is moral exhaustion, the same day by day, the end of the edge is not visible. In this case, a person realizes the hopelessness of the situation, the folly of continuing with such a life. The main thing is that from this life a person no longer experiences the satisfaction of those needs that were originally the cause of drunkenness)
- Major life changes (not common, as this is a matter of chance, but a strong motive. When something extremely important happens that drastically changes your life or such a change is expected. And most importantly, this change is important for you, it is of great importance. This 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 former)
Very important!Tune in well, stay motivated tostop drinking alcohol on your own. . .
As often happens when we decide to stop drinking alcohol on our own. Today we feel terrible, we curse yesterday's alcohol, we are determined to send it all away and forever. The right attitude! We understand why we start drinking (the reason for our drinking), we know why we want to give up alcohol (our own reason). The soul rejoices and sings, it seems that we can turn the whole world upside down.
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 you have not found a new one, the state of health is not important, the desire to drink lurks, and at night it is boring and there is no nothing to do. There are thoughts that you can drink a bottle of beer to improve your mood, it will not hurt you, since you have endured so many days, it will not be difficult to endure after one bottle.
The excitement at first gives you the feeling that everything will go well and smoothly. And this is far from the case, as the enthusiasm will not last long. Therefore, it is necessary from the beginning to tune in to what will be difficult, but only for the first time, while rebuilding your life in a new way, to adapt.
Psychological work before and after stopping drinking
Any addiction, including alcoholic, is primarily mental, to a much lesser degree (according to the drinkers themselves, but not the doctors): physical. Physical consists of feeling bad after stopping use (hangover, withdrawal symptoms). This is not an addiction as such, just a reluctance to endure a painful overwhelmed state. Hangover is quite easy and quick to get rid of.
After you stop drinking alcohol, the body will quickly get used to the absence of ethanol and rebuild itself, there will be no physical cravings for alcohol. The situation with the psychological craving to satisfy needs is much more complicated for the reasons listed at the beginning of the article. So before you stop drinking alcohol, especially on your own, make a work plan to combat these causes.
When you learn to satisfy your needs without alcohol, the meaning itself disappears and, consequently, the desire. Well-being, excellent mood, freedom from addiction (and this is moral oppression) will quickly, but not immediately, of course, form an "anti-alcohol" program in your mind so as not to return to the past.
So there are not so many main directions for psychological work, but you may have completely different, different from all:
- Get rid of boredom, find something to do in your spare time
- Learn to relax, have fun
- Relieve psychological stress
- Raise self-esteem, develop self-confidence
Activities, hobbies. It is worth finding many other joys, and at first better than those that are incompatible with alcohol, as one more incentive, how will you cheer up, find something to do in your free time, and most importantly, you will not need alcohol, there will be no nothing to replace it.
Relaxation. If you learn to relax on your own, without the help of any substances, you will become the most valuable gift in life. A relaxed state gives the body a rest, otherwise it wears out quickly, brings excellent health and mood, calm and comfort not only in society, but also in loneliness, and increases mental capacity.
There are quite a few relaxation methods: meditation, certain methods of psychotherapy, yoga, music, massage, etc. You will feel like you no longer need to ruin your health, waste time drinking, endure a hangover, etc. It is necessary to learn to relax with a psychologist who will study well the peculiarities of your psyche and will select exactly your relaxation techniques.
It used to be nice to be nervous and tired to have a beer and relax. But when you can do it, and after that you are calm, relaxed and in a good mood, then why drink? Why end this state of mind with a heady drunkenness?
Relaxation is the foundation for all other reasons. It gives serenity and tranquility, self-sufficiency, freedom of emotions, fears and worries. With the ability to reach this state, the need for alcohol will gradually disappear and you will feel good even without it.
After you stop drinking alcohol, you must adjust to your new life.
The main job after a person stops drinking is to get used to a new way of life. Much will be new: you, the joys of life, hobbies, habits, occupation, environment, sensations, mood, etc. It is important to understand early on that a serious condition afterhow to stop drinking alcohol, is that discomfort without alcohol is a consequence of addiction.
After all, panic takes over, if you think that there will be no drunken meetings in bars, intimate conversations about life on the topic "do you respect me? ", Noisy corporate parties with a fight, beer with a kebab, a bottle of foam for an after work movie to relax. We get so used to these things, to the 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 amusement, the ability to relax soberly. But this will not come right away, you will have to endure it. It will take time and some work on yourself.
And finally. It is often asked whether people should be avoided drinking. At first, you will try to avoid them so as not to break. Then you will not care, because alcohol itself will not interest you, people have nothing to do with it. With friends and acquaintances who occasionally drink, you will most likely stop communicating due to a lack of common interests. Therefore, immediately prepare to change the people around you.