Identify the benefits of quitting and write them down as a reminder of why you’re doing this. Not feeding the habit comes down in part to changing the ways you enable or encourage drinking. The less you drink, the lower your risk of alcohol-related harm. Mindfulness practice has also been shown to help drinkers to change their drinking.
- Or, see below for some of my practical tips for getting through 30 days sans alcohol.
- As you begin to notice those health benefits, you’ll likely feel more energized and inspired to keep up your progress.
- While drinking could help you fall asleep, it suppresses REM sleep, the restorative part of your sleep cycle, Dr. Leavey says.
- This study found that their drinking days fell on average by one day each week, with their units consumed falling by 1.5 units.
- But evaluations show, regardless of successful completion, taking up a month-long challenge to quit alcohol is linked to reductions in alcohol consumption six months and up to a year later.
Taking a break at any time gives you a chance to evaluate your relationship with alcohol and allows you to gain an understanding of what is motivating you to drink and how it is impacting your life. The insights gained while taking a break from alcohol can help guide better choices moving forward. The person recovering from alcohol and its long-term effects will seek support actively at this time. If this is the case, it is recommended they get a friend or relative to monitor them and be ready to call for emergency medical help if they begin experiencing hallucinations, seizures, or other grave symptoms. When a person begins recovering from alcoholism, they start a journey through six specific stages of alcohol recovery as they learn to lead a life without alcohol.
Body Electric
It can also enlarge or damage blood vessels—all of which have the ability to impact your skin’s appearance. So, SELF connected with experts to find out what actually happens to your body when you go sober. Generally, I feel more secure and happier without alcohol — largely because I recall that my times with alcohol weren’t always merry, and I feel my health has improved without it.
Assess what you want to change with regards to your drinking before you start again. Write down your goals, for example, drinking only a certain amount, having more water, or avoiding shots. The new year in January holds the potential to shed old baggage and cultivate new habits.
Are there downsides to taking a break from alcohol?
This was especially clear in the preliminary results of the 2023 study conducted by Columbia University Medical Center in partnership with NPR. Participants were asked to take gentle movement breaks every half hour, every hour, or every two hours – and early findings indicate that the more participants moved, the more their mood increased and their fatigue levels decreased. It’s also a good way to communicate with your friends your choice to quit drinking, so they can better support you.
Deciding to quit drinking is not easy, but with a firm resolve and adequate social and emotional support, the chances of a positive outcome are much higher. The six steps to alcohol recovery described here are based on an approach developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. For many people, abstaining from alcohol is a major lifestyle change. Some people can decide to quit drinking and do it without help.
Where to find support for a drinking problem
If you’re reading this page, you probably aren’t one
of those people. If you’ve struggled to quit drinking or overcome alcoholism, you may require rehab. Formal treatment for
alcohol addiction allows you to detox in a safe environment and provides comprehensive therapy to teach you how to stay
sober. The app store on your cellphone has several sobriety apps that can inspire you to quit drinking and stay sober.
She has previously been awarded funding by Australian and state governments, NHMRC and other bodies for evaluation and research into drug prevention and treatment. You can begin setting boundaries by creating a little distance from big drinkers in the initial phases of sobriety and also find others who are in the same boat as you, says Mehta. If you’ve thought about it and want to try sobriety, for a brief period of time or for who-knows-how-long, getting started can be simpler than you think. “It will take time to adjust to a new normal but implementing mindfulness (such as deep breathing) when in a social setting helps you to focus on being fully present to the people you are talking to,” Stewart says. Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy.
Stage Five: Sustaining Abstinence
New draft Australian alcohol guidelines recommend healthy men and women should consume no more than ten standard drinks per week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day. With the recent popularization of 30-day challenges like Dry January and Sober October, people are beginning to recognize that there can be benefits to cutting out alcohol for a period of time. But if you’re new to sober curiosity, you may not know where to begin thinking about your relationship with alcohol. Symptoms of a drinking problem might include relationship struggles because of the substance, financial issues caused by buying alcohol, legal issues, and using alcohol to deal with stress. Some physically manifested signs include restlessness, nausea, insomnia, shakiness, and sweating.
All the same, “a quick drink” often turns into three or four drinks. When you’re having a good time, you find it hard to stop, especially in the company of friends having the same amount. One thing that many listeners who’ve tried a dry January — or any break from alcohol — told us is that their friends didn’t really “get it.” “Why, why, why,” people told us they were asked.
And often that includes new ways to take agency over our health. For example, the concept of having a dry month (abstaining from alcohol during Dry January) how to take a break from drinking has become more prevalent. And I have had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol in the past so have been trying to get it to a healthy 14 Units or under.
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