Quitting Alcohol: How to Quit Alcohol & Stop Drinking
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“Last night was horrible. I was soaking wet with sweat, I jumped a few times in my sleep, and I had very vivid dreams.” “Shaking so bad I can hardly type, can barely stand up, can’t eat or sleep. Might be time for a trip to the ER.” Alcohol has what doctors call a depressive effect on your system. It slows down brain function and changes the way your nerves send messages back and forth. If you’re having difficulty sticking to your goal or just want some extra guidance, consider reaching out for professional support.
A popular way to taper off alcohol is to gradually reduce the number of drinks you consume over a period of time. For example, if you normally drink 6 glasses of wine each night, you can try reducing that to 5 glasses of wine a night. After several days of 5 glasses of wine, you can reduce that down to 4.
Consider professional support
This is what causes you to feel light-headed or tipsy after multiple alcoholic drinks. There are many resources available for anyone who is ready to stop drinking for good, or who wants to reduce the harm alcohol is causing in their life by cutting down. As you continue to commit to long-term recovery, support group meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or online support communities might be helpful.
From there, you may need social support, consistent self-care, and new routines that can help redirect your mind. Take our short alcohol quiz to learn where you fall on the drinking spectrum and if you might benefit from quitting or cutting back on alcohol. Depending on the extent of liver damage you have, you may need to completely abstain from alcohol in order to give your liver the best chance for recovery. Talk to a doctor about your personal history and what’s right for you. Just like a broken bone or infection needs time to heal, so does an overworked liver. While this depends on the amount of alcohol you have had over the years, your liver can see partial healing within two to three weeks, but this will depend on your health history.
Alcohol Withdrawal: What to Expect When Weaning Off Alcohol
Following the successful completion of an alcohol rehabilitation program, it is important to find avenues of continued support to improve chances of avoiding relapse and remaining sober. For many, maintaining sobriety is a lifelong process that requires commitment, self-compassion, and how to taper off alcohol patience—all of which may benefit from ongoing support via aftercare services. Some of the more commonly utilized aftercare services include 12-Step meetings (AA), regular sessions with a counselor or therapist, sober living residences, and non-12-Step groups like SMART Recovery.
That said, tapering off alcohol doesn’t completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal is dangerous and it’s important to be careful throughout the process. After prolonged alcohol use, your body can come to rely on alcohol for normal functioning, and suddenly going without it can cause potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. This phenomenon is often described as “alcohol dependence.” The most common more mild withdrawal symptoms include headaches, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. Expect to feel some discomfort, including anxiety, sweating or irritability.
Start to reduce
However, it is inexpensive and may be suitable for someone whose job, relationships, and well-being are not in jeopardy. The important thing is to stay safe in the case of a medical emergency. Individuals should be prepared to be uncomfortable during this period and have someone https://ecosoberhouse.com/ on call in case medical help is needed. This is the period in which delirium tremens is most likely to occur, which requires immediate medical attention. During the 12- to 24-hour time frame after the last drink, most people will begin to have noticeable symptoms.
Working with a physician on the Monument platform can help determine what timeline will work for you based on your past drinking habits and risk of withdrawal. Whatever schedule is chosen, it’s important to commit so you can build upon your progress and avoid withdrawal symptoms as much as possible. The phrase cold turkey refers to abruptly stopping drug or alcohol use. Typically, when a person thinks about the word tapering they think of tapering off medications like opioids.
Day Six
While this probably still reduces the risk of a seizure or DTs, it’s certainly better than just quitting completely on day one, you’re going to be putting your body and brain through hell doing this. You may find success decreasing your number of drinks by a set amount each day. You could do one a day if you’re very weary of withdrawal symptoms, but you might drag it out unnecessarily. If you notice severe hallucinations, extreme brain fog, the world slows down around you; you feel drunk when you’re not, you may have warning signs of delirium tremens (DTs). Always have one of your drinks late at night before you go to bed, to prevent this from happening while you’re sleeping. The chances of seizures and DTs are low if you’re tapering, but they happen even in controlled rehab environments.
Whether you feel like you drink too much alcohol, or you have an alcohol abuse issue, quitting drinking cold turkey can be dangerous. Knowing how to safely taper off alcohol can make all the difference in how successful you are in quitting drinking. The term withdrawal refers to the physical and chemical changes the body goes through when a person suddenly stops drinking after prolonged and heavy alcohol use. Symptoms of withdrawal include trembling (shakes), insomnia, anxiety, and other serious physical and mental symptoms. The problem is that this can drag your taper out for several weeks or even months, depending on how slowly you’ve tapered and how much you’ve been drinking to start.
