Answers to the questionhow to stop drinking alcoholis quite simple. The more difficult it is to implement this mechanism, the moreindependently. . . But if you find yourself on this page, ask yourself this question, so you have set a goal and this is already a big part of the question of how to implement your plan.
So,how to stop drinking?The diagram looks like this:
- Understanding the reason
- Determining the motive
- Psychological work
- Adaptation
Pretty simple, isn't it? But this is only at first glance. For performance it will just happen, when we analyze each point, you will capture the essence, the so-called wave of thinking.
A psychologist (psychotherapist) will help you understand every problem, find the right attitude, alleviate moral stress, get rid of psychological dependence. Or would you consider yourself weak if you sought outside help? This is a big misconception, because in solving the issue of eliminating addiction, the determining factor is not the will, not the character of a person, but professionalism in a clearly defined field of psychotherapy. Are you a psychiatrist-narcologist?
The strength of will is related to: 1. setting a clear goal, 2. making a firm decision, 3. doing things. And on issues that require competence, attract specialists. And if you are not a psychotherapist yourself, then in most cases the refusal to go to a professional leads to a waste of time, prolonged abandonment and ultimately failure.
Even if you decidestop drinking alcohol alone, you can turn to a psychotherapist at any stage to solve any of the problems (cause, motive, relaxation, self-esteem, adaptation, etc. ).
To understand how to stop drinking, you need to understand why you drink.
Once he has eradicated the cause of drunkenness, the consequence (the need for alcohol) will in itself become unnecessary, uninteresting, just pointless. Now you are probably afraid of a sober perspective, thinking about how to give up drinking so that life does not become boring, does not become an existence. And people who don't drink live worse than you?
People are forced to drink a lot of the most diverse needs of the individual:
- Time to kill
- It wasn't boring
- Enjoy
- Relax, feel comfortable
- Relieve psychological stress
- Forget it, drown the misfortune
- Add confidence (ie "for courage")
Satisfying these needs with the help of alcohol, the quality of life decreases sharply compared to the previous sober life, not to mention health. As a result, one still comes to the question,how to stop drinking alcohol. . . And not many people manage to do it alone.
Killing time, getting rid of boredom. Surely you have noticed that they are underlined by the first reasons. This is most often the case, the saying "they drink because they have nothing to do" is completely justified. A big role in this is played by the psychological moment, the state of anxiety, when a person is obsessively looking for anything just to get busy. He simply does not know other professions than alcohol when he has free time, which is most pronounced among beer drinkers, 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 implies that there are no things in a person's life that bring pleasure and joy. One of the two things, either he is not interested in anything at all, it 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 first is still basic.
Psychological tension, stress, grief. This is the main reason for alcoholics who get drunk quickly after some strong negative emotional turmoil in life. This is the main reason for systematic use by people who live in almost constant stress and negative experiences.
Self-doubt. This reason is much rarer than others, most common among young people when a person is just entering adulthood and it can be quite difficult to find common ground with peers, a new society, for example, in an institute.
These are the main reasons for people who drink, and as you already know, they are all closely related to human psychology. Now that we understand this, we can move on to how you can stop drinking alcohol on your own.
Determine your main motive for giving up drinking yourself
Ask yourself why you are looking for information on how to stop drinking alone? What made you think? If you can't 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 your mind in the first place is most likely your main motive. Each of them 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 of thinking they are stupid, do not see and do not understand anything. They understand! And experience great psychological trauma. The threat of losing a family toonot comparable to alcohol. 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 motive for a person, alas, as a rule is not. The only exceptions are those situations where there is a question between life and death. there is no point in complaining that it is sad, the situation is as it is)
- Career (of course, the prospect of personal achievement, the recognition of a person as a specialist is very important, especially for men. Activity and it significantly decreases when drinking alcohol)
- Reputation (like health, the main motivator of reputation is extremely rare, this is due to the fact that alcoholics experience personality degradation, self-esteem ceases to be a value. Or in your life there is a person whose opinion is extremely important to youfor you, it's worth fighting)
- Fatigue from drunkenness (this is moral exhaustion, from day to day the same thing, the end of the edge is not visible. In this case one realizes the hopelessness of the situation, the futility of continuing such a life. The main thing is that from this life one alreadydoes not meet the needs that were originally the cause of drunkenness)
- Important changes in life (not common, as it is a matter of chance, but a strong motive. When something extremely important happens that changes your life drastically or such a change is expected. And most importantly, this change is important to youThis is a powerful motive for two reasons: anticipation of a bright future and understanding of the gray present, a clear predominance of the former)
Very important!Set right, stay motivatedstop drinking alcohol alone. . .
As usually happens when we decide to stop drinking alcohol alone. Today we feel terrible, we curse yesterday's alcohol, we are determined to send it away forever. The right attitude! We understood why we started drinking (the reason for drinking), we know why we want to give up alcohol (our own motive). The soul rejoices and sings, it seems that we can turn the whole world upside down.
The sober lifestyle lasts for several days. But this does not bring anything good, because it does not leave the feeling that you have lost your life, but have not found a new one, health is not important, the desire to drink haunts, and in the evening it is boring and there is nothing to do. There are thoughts that you can drink a bottle of beer to improve your mood, it will not hurt anything, because you have lasted so many days, it will not be difficult to endure after a bottle.
The excitement at the beginning gives you the feeling that everything will go smoothly and easily. And this is far from the case, as the enthusiasm will not last long. Therefore, it is necessary from the very beginning to adjust to what will be difficult, but only for the first time, as you rebuild your life in a new way, to adapt.
Psychological work before and after you stop drinking
Any addiction, including alcohol, is mostly mental, to a much lesser extent (according to the drinkers themselves, but not doctors) - physical. The physical consists of malaise after cessation of use (hangover, withdrawal symptoms). It is not an addiction as such, just a reluctance to endure a painful overload. The hangover is removed quite easily and quickly.
After you stop drinking alcohol, the body will quickly get used to the lack of ethanol and will recover, there will be no physical desire for alcohol. The situation with the psychological desire to satisfy needs is much more complicated due to the reasons listed 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, the very meaning of it disappears, and therefore the desire. Well-being, excellent mood, freedom from addiction (and this is moral oppression) quickly, but not immediately, of course, will form a program of "anti-alcohol" in your mind, so as not to return to the past.
So, there are not so many basic guidelines for psychological work, but you can 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
- Increase self-confidence, build self-confidence
Activities, hobbies. It is worth finding many other joys and in the beginning better than those that are incompatible with alcohol, as another stimulus, how you will have fun, you will find what to do in your free time and most importantly, you will not need alcohol, there will be nothing to replace it.
Relaxation. If you learn to relax on your own, without the help of any substances, you will make the most valuable gift in life. The relaxed state gives the body rest, otherwise it wears out quickly, gives excellent health and mood, peace and comfort not only in society but also in solitude and increases mental capacity.
There are many methods of relaxation: meditation, certain methods of psychotherapy, yoga, music, massage, etc. You will feel that you no longer need to spoil your health, to waste time drinking, to endure a hangover, etc. Necessaryis to learn how 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 drink beer and relax. But when you can already do it and then you are calm, relaxed and in a good mood, then why drink? Why suppress this mood with stunning intoxication?
Relaxation is the basis for all other causes. It gives peace and tranquility, self-sufficiency, freedom from emotions, fears and worries. With the ability to achieve this state, the need for alcohol will gradually weaken and you will feel good even without it.
Once you stop drinking alcohol, you need to adapt 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, profession, environment, feelings, mood and so on. It is important to understand from the beginning that a serious condition afterhow to stop drinking alcohol, is that the discomfort without alcohol is a consequence of addiction.
After all, panic involves, if you think there will be no drunken gatherings in bars, intimate conversations about life on the topic "Do you respect me? "Noisy corporate parties with stirring, beer with kebab, a bottle of foam for a movie after work 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 by soberlife.
Over time, there will certainly be other moments that will deliver pleasure without drinking, many ways to have fun and have fun, the ability to relax soberly. But this will not come immediately, you will have to endure. It will take time and a little work on yourself.
And finally. The question is often asked whether drinkers should be avoided. 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 drink from time to time, you will most likely stop communicating due to lack of common interests. So be ready to change the people around you immediately.