How to stop drinking alcohol altogether: proven methods and advice from psychologists

What is alcoholism

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defines alcoholism as a “chronic progressive mental disease.” This means that first of all, a person develops psychological dependence, and not physical, which occurs already in the second or third stages, but more on that later. As long as the disease has not gone too far, you can and should fight it yourself. Medical assistance is required only in the most advanced cases, which, hopefully, will not happen.

You can cope with alcoholism on your own, even after several years of regular “libations”

Signs of alcoholism

It is difficult to determine the degree of dependence on your own, especially since it is difficult to assess the situation objectively “from the inside,” but the following signs should alert you:

• “Non-alcoholic” parties are becoming boring - it’s unclear why you should leave the house at all if you can’t drink where you’re invited. It seems that such an event will be boring, dreary, there will be nothing to talk about, everyone will sit, staring at the ceiling and sipping tea.
• A person begins to drink alone - not in company, as a socially unifying action, but solely to achieve a state of alcoholic intoxication. It doesn’t have to be something strong: it can be beer or a low-alcohol cocktail - the main thing is that it contains alcohol.
• A sober state is associated with increased anxiety and a feeling of discomfort.
• It becomes difficult not to drink for several days in a row - even if objective circumstances require it, for example, taking antibiotics, the need to work or study.
• Suspicious attitude towards non-drinkers. It seems that a normal person simply cannot help but drink - a decrease in criticality towards the problem of alcoholism, a subconscious desire to justify it.
• Amnesia during severe intoxication. More and more often, after drinking, a person cannot remember what happened yesterday and at what moment he lost control over himself and what was happening. The day after the party turns into “time for amazing stories.”

If you find two or more signs in yourself, this is a serious reason to think about it.

Alcohol abuse

My example is not joyful, but with a happy ending: I myself went through a period of alcohol addiction and getting rid of it, so I want to share what helped me and I hope it will help you.

Alcohol consumption statistics in Russia

Between the ages of 19 and 22, I was rarely sober for a single day. In the morning, on the way to the university, I drank a large can of cheap cocktail, at the big break - another, and on the way home a couple. And in the evening I met with friends to have a real drink and something stronger. The Friday meeting often dragged on until Monday morning.

At some point, I realized that I was no longer responsible for my actions while intoxicated - the next morning I felt bad and ashamed, I didn’t remember what I did, but judging by the stories - nothing good. I refused meetings if drinking was not allowed during them. For the sake of the prospect of a good drinking session, on the contrary, she could go anywhere, even 200 km away. from the city by train. One day, a doctor prescribed me antibiotics, but I couldn’t complete the 5-day course: not drinking for several days in a row became an impossible task for me. Alcohol became such an integral part of my life that a special expense item was allocated in the budget for it, and it was this that became paramount.

The first sign of a developing disease is excessive alcohol consumption: more than once or twice a week, the desire to drink even without reason or company

What to do if you no longer have the strength to fight alcohol?

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Low self-esteem

Self-esteem can be measured on a scale from 0 to 100. Where 0 is complete trash with self-esteem, and where 100 is healthy and complete self-esteem and self-love. So, I noticed that those who drink usually are those whose self-esteem on a scale is less than 50. For example, I live in an area of ​​Moscow where quite a lot of people drank in the 2000s, and I actually did too. So some of the boys in the area, who most of all pretended to be the coolest at the moment, are walking around swollen, constantly shooting small things, or simply passing by with their eyes downcast to the floor. Moreover, these same guys 10-15 years ago bullied us and generally tried to build.

But as you understand, the more a mongrel barks, the weaker it is in itself. There is even Krylov’s fable “The Elephant and the Pug.” Read it if you haven't already. So this is what we get. The boys who tried the hardest to prove how cool they were inside had no coolness at all, and in fact it turns out that the external and internal manifestations were different, this is called congruence.

But the external manifestation gradually fades away and the internal one appears, and for prying eyes it becomes obvious that the guy himself does not represent anything. The guy understands that people are no longer respecting and fearing him, but it’s too late. Therefore, take a glass of vodka and pour out your disappointment in yourself. And then follow the pattern. To be honest, these boys should go to a psychologist and everything would be fine with them and they would again receive respect from other people, for example, if they apologized for all the bad things they caused. Like, I confess, I was a fool. And there are such cases, but very few.

Read more: How to become better than you are?

Boredom

My dad often drinks, talks out of boredom, has nothing to do, and so on. This is understandable, he lives in the countryside, alone in the winter with a TV. There is nothing to do, so he often drinks. By the way, I quit smoking, which means I have willpower. But I ask, why won’t you stop drinking? He says it's very boring.

But I understand it, sometimes I drink out of boredom or have nothing to do. Another thing is that if you constantly have nothing to do, then you need to return to the “No goals” item and try to find a new hobby, business, etc. Yes, at least putting together the same puzzles, at least something

Self pity

Which of us does not feel sorry for ourselves? Everyone feels sorry for themselves to varying degrees. From small to great. Exactly, when a lot of pity lies in the depths of our subconscious and at the same time we are not pitied, a destructive program for self-destruction is activated: no one loves me, respects me, does not accept me, and so on. And naturally I want to wash this whole thing down and forget. But alcohol does not cure, it only alleviates the condition, or rather even strengthens the current condition. So if you are drinking out of self-pity and believe that you are not loved, appreciated or respected, then it is best to look for ways to love yourself. For example, through meditation.

✅Guide to changing yourself .pdf

Causes of alcoholism

Most often, people start drinking in adolescence, around 15-16 years old. It is noteworthy that at first no one likes alcohol - beer is bitter, vodka is too strong and burns, there is no money for more expensive and tasty alcohol. Young adults drink literally beyond their control, and there are several reasons for this:

• “Herd mentality” - in teenage groups, alcohol becomes the main connecting element;
• desire to look more mature and “cooler”;
• Shyness - alcohol helps you feel more confident and make it easier to communicate, especially in a new company.

For adults, the reasons are similar, except perhaps the desire to look older. It is replaced, on the contrary, by the desire to again feel the “unbearable lightness of being”, as in youth, to renounce pressing problems, to relieve oneself of the burden of responsibility.

People start drinking to cope with self-doubt, fear, anxiety

Stages of alcoholism

1. It is difficult for a person to fight the desire to drink. He retains critical thinking and common sense, but does not understand why he should give up what brings him so much pleasure. Moreover, at this stage it seems to the person that he is still in complete control of what is happening, although this is almost no longer the case. Health, career, relationships with people are slowly shifting down the priority scale. Tolerance to alcohol gradually increases - that is, a person slowly gets drunk, but calls it “I’m great at drinking.” Memory loss may occur - a beginning alcoholic does not remember what happened when he had already reached the point. The main thing is that the unfortunate person loses quantitative control; he drinks until he literally falls under the table.
2. Alcohol tolerance reaches its peak - a person drinks and does not get drunk. Physical dependence is added to psychological dependence: if you do not drink, withdrawal syndrome manifests itself - the patient feels bad, as in drug withdrawal. At this stage, willpower is no longer enough and medical attention is required.
3. Tolerance to alcohol, on the contrary, decreases. As they say, a person just needs to smell the cap to get drunk. This is due to the fact that at the previous stage, with increased tolerance, the alcoholic drank alcohol in liters (a healthy person would fall into a coma from such a dose) and over time the liver stopped producing the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Control completely disappears, the alcoholic cannot fight the addiction, social, physical and mental degradation sets in.

20 years, club, liters of beer

I was at the first stage, but was confidently approaching the second. I became immune to alcohol: a daily dose of alcohol no longer intoxicated me, it simply kept me in working order. To get drunk, I needed to drink several bottles of wine.

You can cope with alcohol addiction without outside help at the first stage, while there is no physical dependence yet

Taking medications for alcohol dependence

Another effective method to stop drinking alcohol is to take medications. Usually these are tablets that can be bought at any pharmacy or ordered online. They are divided into 3 groups:

• hangover relievers (drugs Neuromultivit, Metadoxil, Picamilon, Litonit);
• drugs that reduce cravings for drinking alcohol (Grandaxin, Ivadol, Tizercin, Tazepam, Diazepam, Nozepam, Librax);
• drugs that cause complete indifference and aversion to alcohol (Esperal, Teturam, Lidevin).

The chemical composition of such tablets negatively affects the psyche and emotional state, so they can only be taken under the supervision of a doctor. In addition, the products have many contraindications. Doctors recommend caution when using such drugs; they do not guarantee one hundred percent success.

Recently, dietary supplements to relieve the craving for alcohol have been gaining popularity. Their advantage is their natural composition and high efficiency. One such effective remedy is AlcoBarrier powder. Numerous reviews on forums indicate that the powder actually blocks the craving for alcohol and helps fight addiction.

For those who doubt the properties of AlcoBarrier to discourage cravings for alcohol, it is enough to study its ingredients. 90% of the powder consists of natural ingredients that cleanse the body of waste products.

The harm of alcohol

Volumes of medical research have been written about the medical consequences of excessive libations; there is no need to list them here. This includes cirrhosis of the liver, personality changes, heart problems, digestive disorders, increased mortality in men, and hundreds of other diseases.

The trouble is that in youth, while health is still good, all this seems like something very distant. Almost unreal. It seems that this will happen after many years, and perhaps it will bypass it. Therefore, in frank conversations with yourself, you need to focus on something else - what is relevant now.

Loss of beauty and youth

At 20 years old, all girls are beautiful: young fresh skin, chiseled oval face, elastic muscles, clear voice, clear eyes.

It's a pity that when you're drunk, all this is lost. And with prolonged alcoholism - forever. There is not a single girl who would look attractive if she lost control of her actions. Her facial features blur, she can get dirty in her own vomit or urine and not even notice it, and her behavior becomes obsessive - a drunk woman thinks that she is irresistible and all men are crazy about her, full of passion and love for her.

Morning brings a puffy face, a hoarse voice, uncertain movements, and sallow skin color.

If the disease has gone too far, a girl in her early 20s may look like a “bad” 40.

Alcohol affects not only health - it takes away memory, youth and beauty.

Folk remedies for alcoholism

Before you stop drinking alcohol on your own, you should pay attention not only to store-bought drugs, but also to folk remedies that you can prepare at home.

If you persistently want to know how to stop drinking, folk remedies should definitely help you. The most effective plants are hoofweed, thyme, club moss, wormwood and centaury, sorrel, horsetail and licorice, lovage and laurel, and birch buds. How to use them?

• Hoof. Take one tablespoon of leaves or roots of the plant, boil in 0.2 liters of water. Add one tablespoon of the resulting decoction to 100 ml of vodka and drink. After just a few uses, you will feel an aversion to drinking; Take the unripe green walnut rind and mix it with the hoof in a 2:1 ratio. Pour a glass of wine, add one teaspoon of the mixture, leave for half an hour, then drink. Duration of treatment – ​​a month;
• Sour sorrel . Take 200 grams of sorrel roots, add four glasses of plain water, and leave overnight. In the morning, heat the “anti-alcohol” infusion for 15 minutes over low heat, then let it sit for 1 hour. Drink one hour before meals 3 times a day. Continue drinking for 10 days;
• Horsetail and licorice. Mix two herbs for alcoholism in equal proportions, and then take 100 grams. They are poured with three liters of boiling water, kept on the fire for an additional 10 minutes, and then infused and filtered for an hour. Dosage: a glass three times a day before meals;
• Lovage and laurel. You need to take 2 bay leaves, 1 lovage root and steep in vodka for a week. Strain the resulting infusion and drink. The required disgust must appear;
• Birch buds. Mix the dried buds with sugar, set them on fire and simmer. You need to breathe over the resulting smoke and then drink alcohol. According to doctors, this will be the last drop drunk. Thyme (thyme). Take a teaspoon of herb, pour boiling water in a glass and leave for 20 minutes, strain. You should take this herb for drunkenness three times a day, a tablespoon before meals.Moss-Baranets. You will need plant branches that can be found in an old pine forest. Take just 10 g of branches (dry), boil in 0.2 liters of water for 15 minutes, strain. Drink two tablespoons every hour until signs of vomiting or aversion to alcohol. Wormwood and centaury. Mix wormwood and centaury in a ratio of 1:4 and make a decoction: put one tablespoon in a glass of boiling water. Take one tablespoon before meals three times a day.

If you are aiming to quit drinking forever, it will be much cheaper to do this with folk remedies.

As for the drugs themselves for alcoholism, their classification includes many types. Separation occurs according to the principle of impact on the body. Some medications affect the desire for alcohol, while others cause complete aversion to it.

How to get rid of addiction

The easiest way to stop drinking is to simply stop drinking alcohol. However, this requires remarkable willpower and constant internal persuasion. Therefore, I offer some tips to help cope with psychological addiction.

Find an alternative

The first and most important thing to do is to find a hobby that is not related to alcohol, or better yet, one that conflicts with it. For example - sports, dancing, theater studio. It should be a real passion, something that makes you “burn.” You won’t be able to deceive yourself - the gym just won’t work, you need to choose an activity you like: martial arts, dancing with fire (poi), calligraphy lessons. Very soon it will become clear that even after a bottle of beer, training turns into torture, a fireball tries to fly into your face, the brush trembles in your hand and leaves untidy ink stains on the rice paper.

As a pleasant bonus, you will get an excellent activity (which could potentially develop into a new profession), an additional circle of friends, and new friends.

In my case, it became martial arts - first judo, then Kyokushinkai Karate. This is a very intense sport that requires full dedication; it is impossible to combine it with alcohol and/or smoking. I had to choose, and I chose health and a beautiful, strong body.

27 years old, tatami, sparring

Simple fitness or jogging would not have had the same effect: martial arts are not only a sport, but also a philosophy, cultivating fortitude. On the tatami every day you overcome yourself, accomplish a feat - and the people around you do the same. Having overcome the weakness of the body, having learned to do push-ups and pull-ups a hundred times, and withstand 10 fights in a circle, it would be a shame not to overcome psychological weakness.

Put yourself in a situation of uncompromising choice, such that alcohol loses

Change your social circle

Chat with friends who don't drink. There is no need to test your willpower and heroically go to drinking parties - you won’t be able to stand it. Don’t agree to “sit with a beer”, thinking that you will limit yourself to just juice - no, friends, not understanding the depth of the problem, will definitely encourage you to drink a glass.

At the same time, check who in your circle really appreciates you, and who only needs you as an escort to the nearest bar.

For me, giving up alcohol meant losing 80% of my contacts, and at that moment it seemed like a tragedy, but after a couple of years it became clear that everything had worked out for the best. I'm 34 now, and many of my old friends are still living that teenage lifestyle, doing odd jobs and being dependent on their parents. Someone has already drunk himself and died or died while intoxicated. Many began to have irreversible health problems.

The sports section gave me great motivation and strong support - I was surrounded by people who supported my passion for sports, and each of them fought their own demons. Everyone came to karate for a reason.

Reward yourself with rewards

You save a lot of money on alcohol - buy yourself something you’ve been dreaming of for a long time, go to an expensive event, treat yourself to a good restaurant.

I used the freed money on expensive teas and elite coffee.

Let's look at the cost of drinking alcohol. Suppose a person lives in St. Petersburg, drinks only beer (in the evenings to relax after work), wine (in company, on weekends) and vodka. In this approximate calculation, I do not take into account “fine” drinks such as vermouth, liqueurs, luxury wine, etc. I take average prices, assuming that a drinker will not run around the city looking for discounts, but also will not buy the most expensive things indiscriminately.

According to the most conservative estimates, the savings are about 6,000 rubles per month. This is 72 thousand rubles per year. That's the cost of a nice family vacation to the sea, two dental implants, several smartphones, ten annual gym memberships - in general, there is a lot to choose from.

Give up cigarettes

If you smoke, it is better to gradually give up this habit. Alcohol is closely related to cigarettes, it’s like a ritual: after a glass of good red, you’re irresistibly drawn to smoke, and a cigarette without a glass seems “incomplete,” like fake Christmas tree decorations from a joke: just like real ones, but they don’t make you happy.

Again, sport helps a lot here: lungs exhausted by nicotine cannot withstand a full workout

Don't limit yourself forever

Keep a light-hearted attitude towards everything that happens. There is no need to think in monumental categories: “I quit drinking because I’m an alcoholic.” This will cause anyone to feel hopeless, develop depression, and be uncontrollably drawn to alcohol. Think: “I am reducing my addiction, but this is not forever. As soon as I regain control of the situation, I will be able to drink again.”

Despite the popular belief that alcoholics can never, ever drink half a drink or a quarter sip, the statement above is not a lie. As soon as the addiction disappears, you can safely drink alcohol in moderation, while remaining your own master, without falling into alcohol amnesia and enjoying the “get-togethers” to the fullest.

I never put “fat points”, I never decided that this was “forever, forever” - this thought made me very scared and my motivation disappeared. Like Solomon, I told myself: “This too shall pass.” I kept thinking about the fact that I don’t forbid myself anything. I can drink if I want - but I - the real me - didn't want to.

I didn't drink at all for about 5 years. Once I realized I was no longer an addict, alcohol came back into my life—in the form of a glass of champagne on New Year's Day or a pint of craft beer on Friday with friends. My alcoholic past has taught me something: I recognize the onset of intoxication well and know exactly when I’ve had enough. I’m no longer one of those people who slur their tongues and say, “I’m sober!” I stop as soon as the noise in my head starts, because I remember very well how bad, ashamed and dreary I will feel tomorrow. I like to maintain control over my body and mind - something that is given to everyone from birth, and we voluntarily give it up.

Loss of quantitative control is believed to be one of the first signs of developing addiction and is irreversible. I don’t argue with doctors in any way, but I believe that a strong will, provided that the disease has not gone too far, can cope with him.

The right psychological attitudes will help you get rid of alcohol addiction

Video: how to stop drinking forever

The author of this video, Arseny Kaisarov, talks about his method of getting rid of alcohol addiction. He suggests thoroughly studying the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which are a kind of mental disorder (they are characteristic of a person who is in a state of sobriety, but systematically drinks alcohol). Then you should become familiar with the process of failure and its first symptoms. This is done to prevent further breakdowns. Then you should go through a difficult and long period of withdrawal, after which you begin to learn to live comfortably in sobriety (you will have to constantly work on this). This is not an easy but very effective path that allows you to quit drinking forever.

Memo

1. Alcoholism does not develop immediately. In the early stages, the disease can be recognized and stopped.
2. In the second and third stages, the alcoholic loses not only his health, but also his beauty, youth, and social connections.
3. With the right psychological attitudes, over time, a former alcoholic will be able to drink a couple of glasses on holidays, maintaining quantitative control.
4. In case of a breakdown, it is important not to scold yourself, not to fall into despair and hatred. It will be easier to hold on each time.

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