How To Safely Wean Off Alcohol?

What is a safe way to stop drinking?

Normally, we would recommend getting professional support before you try to cut down your drinking. Our free and confidential services are open as usual and can help you detox safely. Use our service finder to find a service near you or talk to us online for advice.

1. Alcohol detox: what to expect If attending a service isn’t possible, perhaps because you are isolating, you can use this advice on safely detoxing from alcohol at home.
2. Make sure you read and follow the advice carefully, and always be prepared to call an ambulance in an emergency.
3. If you’re dependent on alcohol, it can be dangerous to stop drinking suddenly.

Instead, you should try to reduce the amount you drink slowly, over a few weeks. This takes a bit of preparation, but it’s much safer than stopping suddenly. And after cutting down slowly, you’ll find it much easier to stop drinking when you’re ready. Here’s a process we recommend:

What’s the best way to cut down on alcohol?

Tips for cutting down on alcohol –

1. Keep track. Keep a record of how much you drink and see what helps you cut down. You could use the, your phone, a calendar or a notebook.
2. Drink-free days. Choose which days you won’t drink and stick to them. You could try new activities on those days instead. Or learn to make non-alcoholic mocktails.
3. Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic ones, If you tend to have 3 or more drinks at one time, this can help slow you down. Try experimenting with fruit in your water or non-alcoholic versions of your usual drinks.
4. Don’t stock up on alcohol. Having alcohol at home may make it more likely that you’ll have a drink. Try only buying alcohol on the day you plan to drink it.
5. Use smaller glasses. Even if they have the same amount of alcohol in them, small glasses can help people drink less. Or if you’re on a night out, make your ‘usual’ a small.
6. Make booze cubes, If you are drinking wine at home, you don’t need to finish the bottle. Freeze leftover wine and use these ‘wine-cubes,’ in cooking. This can also save you opening a bottle then too.
7. Don’t top-up. Continually topping up glasses makes it hard to keep track of how much alcohol you and your friends have had. Instead wait until glasses are empty before having another.
8. Don’t buy rounds of drinks. If you’re drinking in a group, you don’t have to keep pace with everyone else. If everyone gets their own drinks it gives you more control over how much you’re drinking.
9. Buddy up with a friend or family member. Not drinking when you’re with other people who are can be tricky, but it’s much easier if you’re not the only one!
10. Be realistic and stick with it. The sooner you build changes into your life, the better for your health. But it can be difficult to make lots of changes at once. Try making one change, and when you feel confident make another. Small changes can add up to make a big difference to how much you drink.

Why is cutting out alcohol so hard?

Why Is It So Hard To Quit Drinking? Ironically, the reason it’s so hard to quit drinking is because alcohol makes us feel so good! It produces a lot of the chemistry our brain’s associates with pleasure, neurotransmitters like dopamine. When we drink regularly, our brain gets used to elevated dopamine levels.

• But, when the alcohol gets metabolized and dopamine levels decrease, we start to feel like we’re missing something.
• This is a classic example of too much of a good thing becoming harmful rather than pleasurable.
• Over time, alcohol actually diminishes our ability to produce the pleasure we drink it for in the first place.

When dopamine levels drop far enough, the brain starts sending signals to produce more. Those signals manifest as anxiety and thoughts about alcohol. For example, let’s say we had too much to drink last night, in the morning we wake up feeling hungover and we resolve not to drink that day.

• But, as the day wears on and dopamine levels decrease, we start to have unwanted thoughts like “how long until my shift ends?” Or, “do I have enough alcohol at home? Or, “maybe I’ll have just one tonight!” Most of us can relate to these sneaky thoughts.
• They’re simply our brain’s way of alerting us to low dopamine levels.

But, they occur autonomically and they undermine our desire to not drink. It’s important to understand this mechanism in order to fix it. Without that understanding, “treatment” could look like anything but unfortunately, the outcomes would be disappointing.

Any effective treatment needs to restore the down-regulated dopamine response. That’s what does. When we occasionally drink alcohol in moderation, the experience is generally relaxing and enjoyable. The changes that happen in the brain are temporary. However, when we begin to drink alcohol on a consistent basis, especially in larger quantities, our brain chemistry begins to change, making it more challenging to manage our pattern of drinking.

The first noticeable difference is that we need more alcohol to achieve the same effect. As we continue to increase the amount and frequency of drinking, the alcohol begins changing the way that certain parts of our brain function, which then impacts how we feel.

1. As we drink more and more alcohol to achieve that same effect, our brain chemistry is altered more and more.
2. Ultimately, it becomes harder and harder for our brain to function as it originally did before the excessive consumption altered it.
3. We will actually feel as if we need alcohol to feel normal.
4. To feel happy.

To have fun. While the specific thoughts can vary from person to person, the longer that we go without drinking, the more our brain craves alcohol to feel normal. The experience is similar to being hungry when we haven’t eaten. And just like being hungry, the longer we wait, the more intense the hunger pains. The good news is that alcohol’s damaging effects on the brain can be undone. Go Sober’s unique outpatient program is designed to undo the damaging effects of alcohol on your brain and to help you change your life. We achieve amazing results with a comprehensive, systematic approach that works.

1. Our program focuses on both the medical and lifestyle components of alcoholism and we personalize each plan to the needs of the individual.
2. As much as possible, we design our program to work with your life and your schedule.
3. Together, we craft a plan that helps you achieve the alcohol-free lifestyle you want.

In very little time, you can go from constantly “thinking about drinking” to simply enjoying your life and having fun again. Go Sober is here to help you enjoy life free of alcohol. Go Sober integrates a medical protocol, behavior and lifestyle modification, and transitional support into one complete, out-patient alcohol treatment program.

Does giving up alcohol make you tired?

Short-term benefits – It may sound obvious, but stopping drinking means you will no longer suffer from hangovers. The nausea, headaches, or tiredness you may have felt the morning after drinking could be replaced with improved mood as well as feelings of productivity. Hangovers – fact or fiction? Regular, heavy drinking interferes with chemicals in the brain that are vital for good mental health.2 So, while you might initially feel relaxed after a drink, alcohol can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety.

And stopping drinking could make feelings of stress easier to deal with. Boost your mental health with these tips If you stop drinking completely, one of the first things you notice should be improved energy levels, better sleep and finding it easier to wake up in the morning. Regular drinking can affect the quality of your sleep making you feel tired and sluggish during the day.

This is because drinking alcohol disrupts your sleep cycle.3 Although some people find drinking alcohol helps them get to sleep more quickly, the quality of sleep is affected. Alcohol disrupts the important Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep, which can leave you feeling tired the next day – no matter how long you stay in bed.

• Improve your sleep with Drink Free Days Drinking less alcohol can have a positive impact on your appearance – and your skin in particular.
• Alcohol dehydrates your body, including the skin, and this happens every time you drink.
• This can cause your skin and eyes to look dull.
• But stopping drinking could help your skin’s hydration.

How alcohol affects your appearance If you’re overweight and regularly drink alcohol, you should find that your weight falls noticeably if you stop drinking.4 And not drinking at all will make it easier to maintain a healthy weight. For example, a typical pint of lager contains the same number of calories as a slice of pizza, and a large glass of wine the same as an ice cream sundae.

How long after quitting drinking does your liver heal?

Alcoholic fatty liver disease – Drinking a large amount of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver. This is called alcoholic fatty liver disease, and is the first stage of ARLD. Fatty liver disease rarely causes any symptoms, but it’s an important warning sign that you’re drinking at a harmful level.

What happens on day 2 of no alcohol?

Day 2: the tests – Let’s face it, Day 1 was probably no picnic. It’s possible that we were still hungover from the day before and we spent most of the day on the sofa, under a blanket, with our favourite hangover food, waiting for the symptoms to pass.

• Day 1 is all about self-care and looking after our immediate physical symptoms.
• Day 2 isn’t without physical symptoms, either, but instead of a hangover, these will be the beginnings of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
• Some symptoms, like nausea, headaches, and fatigue, are similar to a hangover.
• It’s not unusual on Day 2 to be experiencing shakes, sweating, and insomnia as part of alcohol withdrawal.

These symptoms indicate that we’ve become physically dependent on alcohol. While this isn’t a pleasant reality, it is a sign that the body is beginning to detox from alcohol and we’re on our way to being less dependent every day. This is a testing time as the last thing we feel like doing when we’re feeling physically ill is to give ourselves a positive pep talk, but treating ourselves kindly – with lots of fluids and rest and healthy food – will definitely help.

Will I live longer if I don’t drink alcohol?

Moderate Drinking and Longevity – Like so many questions around alcohol’s health effects, the picture is mixed when it comes to longevity. For example, one study following more than 333,000 adults for about eight years found light-to-moderate drinkers were more than 20 percent less likely to die prematurely from all causes and from cardiovascular disease in particular than people who never drank at all.

In this study, heavy drinkers and binge drinkers were more than 10 percent more likely to die prematurely from all causes and 22 percent more apt to die from cancer. Similarly, a meta-analysis of data from 34 studies with more than one million participants also found a survival benefit to moderate drinking.

In this analysis, men who consumed up to four drinks a day were up to 17 percent less likely to die prematurely, while women who consumed up to two drinks daily had an 18 percent lower risk of premature death. But another large study that followed 600,000 drinkers over time found that moderate drinking may actually hasten death even when people limit their consumption to one or two drinks a day as recommended by U.S.

Dietary guidelines. In this study, adults who consumed 7 to 14 drinks a week had a six-month shorter life expectancy by age 40 than people who drank less often. And the meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open that involved 107 studies with more than 4.8 million participants also found no longevity benefit for drinkers.

This research showed that people who have one or two drinks a day have essentially the same risk of dying prematurely as people who’ve never had alcohol.

What happens after one year without alcohol?

Challenges of Maintaining Long-term Sobriety – After one year sober, it typically becomes easier to maintain long-term sobriety. That said, it’s still common to experience challenges and setbacks over time. It’s important to remember that a setback doesn’t erase your progress.

1. Becoming disconnected from your goal, Some people decide to explore moderation after a year of sobriety. While there’s nothing wrong with changing your goals, some people find that moderation is not achievable for them, and this can lead back to unhealthy drinking habits. If you’re looking to revisit your goal, we recommend doing so with the guidance of a Care Team.
2. Losing touch with your sobriety toolkit. It can be challenging to maintain your sobriety without a support network. Some people stop attending support groups or therapy because of financial constraints, or other barriers. Finding accessible ways to stay engaged can help prevent setbacks, such as free therapist-moderated alcohol support groups,
3. Encountering other life challenges. Life is unpredictable, and navigating major life events and difficulties, such as grief, can challenge even long-term sobriety. That’s why it’s important to continue practicing self-care and have tools ready to help cope with unexpected triggers in a healthy way.

Can you stop drinking alcohol on your own?

Physical symptoms – Most people don’t experience any physical symptoms from stopping drinking. But if you are a heavy drinker or alcohol dependent, going ‘cold turkey’ (suddenly drinking no alcohol at all, if you are used to drinking heavily) can cause serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

1. These physical withdrawal symptoms can include trembling hands, sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, and lack of appetite.
2. In severe cases, symptoms can include convulsions, fever and even hallucinations.4 That’s why – for people who are alcohol dependent – it’s important to talk to a knowledgeable health professional before stopping drinking.

Your doctor may be able to prescribe medication that can help, or you can usually refer yourself to a specialist alcohol team for support. Your GP may be able to arrange or signpost you to counselling and psychological support, and you could access local support groups to help you stay on track.