Answer the question,how to stop drinking alcoholit's pretty simple. The harder it is to implement this mechanism, the moreon his own. . . But if you find yourself on this page, ask yourself this question, then you have set yourself a goal, and that is already a big part of the question on the way to implementing your plan.
So,how to stop drinking?The diagram looks like this:
- Understanding the cause
- Determining the motive
- Psychological work
- Adaptation
Pretty simple, isn't it? But that is only at first glance. For implementation, it will simply become when we analyze each point, you will capture the essence, the so-called wave of thinking.
A psychologist (psychotherapist) will help to understand any issue, find the right attitude, alleviate moral stress, get rid of psychological addiction. Or would you consider yourself weak if you sought outside help? This is a big misconception, because when deciding to deal with addiction, the deciding factor is not the strength of will, not the character of the person, but professionalism in a clearly defined area of psychotherapy. Are you a psychiatrist-narcologist?
Willpower refers to: 1. setting a clear goal, 2. making a firm decision, 3. doing things. Involve experts in matters that require competence. And if you are not a psychotherapist yourself, refusing to go to a specialist in most cases leads to a waste of time, prolonged abandonment and eventually to breakdown.
Even if you choosestop drinking alcohol on your own, you can consult a psychotherapist at any stage 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.
Once the cause of drunkenness has been eradicated, the consequence (need for alcohol) will in itself become unnecessary, not interesting, simply meaningless. Now you are probably afraid of a sober perspective, thinking about how to stop drinking so that life does not become boring, does not turn into existence. And people who don’t drink live worse than you?
People are forced to drink a lot of different needs of an individual:
- Kill time
- It wasn't boring
- Enjoy
- Relax, feel comfortable
- Get rid of psychological stress
- Forget it, drown the accident
- Add confidence (i. e. , "for courage")
Satisfying these needs with the help of alcohol, the quality of life is sharply 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 few people manage to do it on their own.
Killing time, getting rid of boredom. You must have noticed that they are highlighted for the first reasons. That is most often the case, the saying "they drink because they have nothing to do" is completely justified. A big role in that is played by the psychological moment, the state of anxiety, when a person obsessively asks for anything, just to occupy himself. He simply knows no other occupations than alcohol when he has free time. This reason is most pronounced in beer alcoholics, because beer is drunk longer, while hands, mouth and attention are constantly busy.
Pleasure, relaxation, comfort. You don’t know how to enjoy other things. This suggests that there are no things in a person’s life that bring satisfaction and joy at all. One of two things, or 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 fundamental.
Psychological tension, stress, sadness. This is the main reason for alcoholics who get drunk quickly after some kind of strong negative emotional upheaval in life. This 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 rarer than others, mostly common among young people, when a person is just entering adulthood, so it can be quite difficult to find a common language with peers, a new society, for example, at an institute.
These are the main reasons for people who drink, and as you have already understood, they are all closely related to human psychology. Realizing this, we can now move on to the question of how you can stop drinking alcohol on your own.
Determine your main motive to stop drinking 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 failed to find the answer, close your eyes and imagine that you have already stopped drinking alcohol, how has your life changed? What actually became different? What came to your mind is most likely your main motive. Each 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 delusion that they think they are stupid, do not see and do not understand anything. They understand! And experience great psychological trauma. The threat of family loss can also not be comparedwith alcohol. He stays alone, the person gets drunk many times faster, gets to the bottom)
- Health (although this reason is the most important (damage to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys), the main motive for a person, unfortunately, is not usually. The only exception is those situations where there is a question between life and death. But there is no point in complaining that it is sad, the situation is as it is)
- Career (of course, the perspective of personal achievements, recognizing a person as a specialist is very important, especially for a man. Activity, and is significantly reduced when consuming alcohol)
- Reputation (like health, the main motivator of reputation is extremely rare, it is also due to the fact that alcoholics experience personality degradation, self-esteem ceases to be a value. Or a person has appeared in your life whose opinion of you is extremely important to you, worth fighting for)
- Fatigue from drunkenness (this is moral exhaustion, day by day the same thing, the end is not visible. In this case the person realizes the hopelessness of the situation, the meaninglessness of continuing such a life. The main thing is that from this life a person no longer experiences the satisfaction of those needswere originally the cause of drunkenness)
- Important changes in life (not common, because 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 to you, it is Thisis a strong motive for two reasons: the expectation of a bright future and an understanding of the gray present, the clear predominance of the former)
Very important!Get involved on the right, stay motivated for itstop drinking alcohol on your own. . .
As is usually the case when we ourselves decide to stop drinking alcohol. Today we feel terrible, we curse yesterday’s booze, we are determined to say goodbye to it all forever. The right attitude! We understand why we started drinking (the reason we drink), we know why we want to stop drinking alcohol (our own motive). The soul rejoices and sings, it seems that we can turn the whole world upside down.
A sober lifestyle lasts for several days. But it doesn’t bring anything good, because it doesn’t leave a feeling that you’ve lost a life but haven’t found a new one, health doesn’t matter, the urge to drink haunts you. it's boring in the evening and there's nothing to do. There are thoughts that you can drink a bottle of beer to improve your mood, nothing will hurt you, since you have lasted so many days, it will not be difficult for you to endure after one bottle.
The excitement at first gives you the feeling that everything will go smoothly and easily. And that’s far from it because the enthusiasm won’t last long. Therefore, it is necessary from the very beginning to adapt to what will be difficult, but only for the first time, as you renew your life in a new way, to adapt.
Psychological work before and after cessation of drinking
Any addiction, including alcohol, is mostly mental, to a much lesser extent (according to the drunks themselves, but not doctors) - physical. Physically it consists of feeling unwell after cessation of use (hangover, withdrawal symptoms). This is not an addiction as such, just an unwillingness to endure a painfully overwhelmed state. The hangover is fairly easy and quick to remove.
After you stop drinking alcohol, the body will quickly get used to the lack of ethanol and rebuild, there will be no physical cravings for alcohol. The situation with the psychological desire to satisfy needs is much more complex for the reasons stated at the beginning of the article. Therefore, 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, only its meaning disappears, and therefore your craving. Well-being, a great mood, liberation from addiction (and that is moral oppression) will quickly, but not immediately, of course, form a program "against alcohol" in your mind so that you do not go back 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
- Get rid of psychological stress
- Raise self-confidence, build self-confidence
Activities, hobbies. It is worth finding many other joys, initially better than those that are not compatible with alcohol, as another incentive, how you will cheer up, find something to do in your spare time, and most importantly, you will not need alcohol, there will be nothing to make itreplaced.
Relaxation. If you learn to relax on your own, without the help of any substances, you will make yourself the most valuable gift in life. A relaxed state gives the body rest, otherwise it wears out quickly, gives excellent health and mood, calmness and comfort not only in society, but also in loneliness, and increases mental abilities.
There are many methods of relaxation: meditation, certain methods of psychotherapy, yoga, music, massage, etc. You will feel that you no longer have to disturb your health, waste time drinking, enduring a hangover, and so on. You need to learn how to relax with a psychologist who will study the specifics of your psyche well and choose exactly your relaxation techniques.
It used to be nice to be nervous and tired to drink a beer and relax. But when you already can, and after that you are calm, relaxed and in a good mood, then why would you drink? Why drive away this mood with stunning intoxication?
Relaxation is the foundation of all other reasons. It gives peace and peace of mind, self-sufficiency, freedom from emotions, fears and worries. With the ability to achieve this state, the need for alcohol will gradually disappear and you will feel good without it.
Once you stop drinking alcohol, you need to adjust to your new life.
The main job after a person stops drinking is getting 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 outset that a serious condition has occurredhow to stop drinking alcohol, is that discomfort without alcohol is a consequence of addiction.
After all, there is panic, if you think that there will be no drunken gatherings in bars, intimate conversations about life on the topic "do you respect me? ", Noisy corporate parties, beer with kebabs, bottles of foam film after work to relax. We are so used to these things, the way of life, that we can not even imagine how they can be replaced in a sober life.
Over time, there will surely be other moments that will bring pleasure without drinking, lots of ways to have fun and entertainment, the opportunity to relax soberly. But it won’t come right away, you’ll have to endure. It will take time and a little work on yourself.
And finally. The question is often asked whether people who drink should be avoided. At first you will try to avoid them so as not to break. Then you won't care, because alcohol itself won't interest you, people have nothing to do with it. With friends and acquaintances who drink occasionally, you will most likely stop communicating due to a lack of common interests. Therefore, be ready to change the people around you right away.