If you realize you should quit completely, talk to your doctor or addiction counselor about getting help with quitting alcohol and staying sober. Depending on how much you have been drinking recently, it may not even be safe or realistic to quit cold turkey, and your doctor can prescribe medications or refer you to a treatment program. Belinda Gordon-Battle is a licensed clinical therapist and life how to control drinking consultant based in Miami while providing therapeutic services across the globe. BGB, as her clients and colleagues call her, is an advocate of “removing the stigma” and normalizing the therapeutic process. She incorporates cultural relevance and non-traditional interventions and strategies to strengthen her clients’ steps towards goals of behavioral, emotional, social and mental wellness.

Alcohol Moderation Management: Programs and Steps to Control Drinking

• Some people may be able to quit and never have a drop of alcohol for the rest of their lives.
• While we are unable to respond to your feedback directly, we’ll use this information to improve our online help.
• Eating nutritious food, exercising, and getting enough sleep can help reduce some withdrawal symptoms, such as mood swings.
• However, it’s rarely healthy to drink away emotional pain.
• You and your community can take steps to improve everyone’s health and quality of life.

Talking to an addiction counselor can help you better understand the situation and work through your feelings. Programs like Al-anon, Alateen and Families Anonymous offer opportunities for emotional support. A sober life doesn’t have to mean more time at home as you try to block out triggers. It can mean more time for your other interests, and even new interests.

How to Know When It’s Time to Cut Back

Along with medication and other treatment support, a range of alternative therapies may be effective in lessening alcohol cravings and other withdrawal symptoms. In the United States, three drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the general treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD), including cravings (2). A physician or other qualified healthcare provider can assess whether one of the following medications can help you. If you’re living with alcohol use disorder, treatment at a medical rehabilitation facility is your best option.

• There are several things you can do to intervene, show your concern and support for your loved one, and protect yourself from getting too wrapped up in their addiction.
• As a specific example, a small study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence involved 140 adults and indicated that a short session of aerobic exercise reduced cravings for alcohol (10).
• As a practicing physician, Josh helps manage the NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue addiction medicine clinic in adult primary care.
• A physician or other qualified healthcare provider can assess whether one of the following medications can help you.
• Don’t be surprised if your first attempt to talk to your loved one about their drinking is not effective.
• It’s important to note that you may or may not be aware of these external triggers as reasons for your alcohol cravings.

Find Professional Help

Whether you’re sober curious, know for sure you’re ready to quit, or fall somewhere in between, Dr. Streem shares advice for how to stop drinking. If you’re living with alcohol use disorder (also known as alcoholism), you’ll likely benefit from additional medical interventions. Abstinence is not the only solution for recovering from alcohol use disorders, but it is one of the most studied and successful methods for recovering from alcohol use disorders.

Health Categories to Explore

If you recognize yourself as that kind of drinker, it’s important to stay away from alcohol as much as possible. If you drink to ease the pain of loneliness, then make a conscious effort https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to connect with others. Alcoholics Anonymous cautions its members not to get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired—all of which can make you more vulnerable to the urge to drink.

• The most straightforward way to figure out if your drinking is problematic is to know how much you drink.
• If you are having a very difficult time with urges, or do not make progress with the strategies in this activity after a few weeks, then consult a healthcare professional for support.
• Somehow, we have to cope with those feelings or risk relapse.
• It’s common to become overly focused on the drinker’s actions and behavior, and obsessively worried, which takes the focus off your own life.

Support young people

An addiction is a brain disorder, after all, and not something that’s easily resolved. It can take 10 or more attempts at treatment before someone makes progress on overcoming an addiction. Emotionally, you may feel some anxiety or sadness about ending a chapter of your life and nervousness about the future. “You may learn things about yourself and about your relationship to this substance that you never even thought about,” he adds. You can become conditioned to reach for a drink when your environment offers up certain cues.

Get online support.

Being close to someone addicted to alcohol can bring an immense amount of stress into your life. A lot of emotions — frustration, sadness, bitterness and more — may whirl through your mind. Drink plenty of fluids, but you don’t have to drink just water.

Ask your doctor whether any medications may help in the process. Identify a family member or friend who you can call on to provide emotional support. To stick to the above drinking goals, there are other moderate drinking techniques that you can employ, such as avoiding hard alcohol and sticking to beer. Beer has lower ethanol content, and the carbonation can fill you up, so it tends to take longer to drink.