Alcohol addiction is not a simple matter. It is not something that you can easily stop just because you no longer want alcohol in your life. You will have cravings, and you will have withdrawal symptoms. The moment you quit drinking, the cravings and withdrawal symptoms will start to intensify. If you’re not strong enough, these can easily overcome you that, pretty soon, you’ll find that you’ve fallen off the wagon and are back to square one.
If you really are serious about quitting your harmful drinking habit, then here are some tips that can help you.
Commit to Your Plan
If you want to be successful in the first place, then you have to commit to your plan. If you say you want to quit drinking, then you have to mean it and do everything that you can to kick the habit. However, because the process of quitting is very difficult, there are so many alcoholics who revert back to their old ways.
Committing to your plan is not easy. There will come a time that you’ll make so many excuses just so you could have a glass or two. To help you focus though, you can make a list of both the pros and cons of drinking versus not drinking. This way, you will be able to easily see just how much the advantages of not drinking can far outweigh the advantages of drinking. After all, would you sacrifice feeling better physically and mentally over having a little fun while drunk? No, right? Because ultimately your health is far more important than a little fun.
Having good relationship with your love ones is also a great help when it comes to committing to your plan. They can make you feel better when the cravings are too much, and they can help you through the withdrawal symptoms. Remember, quitting alcohol is much easier if you are surrounded by your love ones who are more than willing to help you beat your addiction.
Also, throwing away all your stash of alcohol will help you a great deal, so does avoiding people and places that trigger your cravings for alcohol.
Set Goals
In addition to committing to your plan, you also have to set goals. For example, if you’re a heavy drinker and you’re having a very difficult time quitting, then slowly taper your alcohol intake off. Let’s say you drink daily, why not drink every other day but with smaller amount? If after two weeks you succeeded, then cut back to twice a week until you’re finally no longer touching alcohol.
Be Healthy
There will be changes both physically and mentally when you’re in the process of quitting. However, you have to make sure that you’re getting sober safely. This means eating the right types of food, drinking plenty of water, and exercising. In fact, exercising is a good way to take your mind off alcohol.
Quitting alcohol is not easy. It’s difficult and very challenging. But it’s better than dealing with worse consequences like getting caught driving while drunk, causing a vehicular accident, or killing someone with your thoughtless and selfish action. If this happens, you will need a lawyer to help you defend yourself in court.
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Jennifer Dahline writes for a Broward County dui lawyer. DUI is the one of the leading causes of road accidents, but you can avoid it if you quit your heavy drinking habit.