Alcohol is one of those indulgences that often results in regret. I originally strove to give up alcohol to end hangovers and maintain a healthy weight. However when I started to research the negative effects of alcohol, I understood how important it was to give up alcohol.
Quitting alcohol was a lifestyle choice I wish I’d made much earlier. All those wasted days, disturbed sleep, financial costs…made me regret my decision to drink alcohol.
Checkout ‘7 Compelling Reasons To Quit Alcohol‘ and discover the dark side of alcohol. This information would have encouraged me to make different choices and change my lifestyle earlier, so have a read.
Important: If you’re more than a casual drinker and feel that you’re dependant on alcohol, or you're not sure, then seek reassurance, please seek help from a medical professional.
If it’s time for a lifestyle change, to cut down or quit alcohol, these simple techniques will help.
Helpful tips to give up alcohol
Make it public
Tell others that you’re giving up alcohol, give them the reasons and make it public. You can put it on social media or simply tell friends and family.
However be prepared for people to react negatively. This usually takes the form of teasing, telling you how they’ll enjoy a pint or two after work. This and other critical attitudes could mask that they’d like to quit themselves, but don’t have the inner strength.
You may find yourself shunned by some people, especially your drinking buddies. This betrayal simply begs the question – are they someone you should be spending time with?
Be adamant you want to give up alcohol
If you want to quit permanently or for a set time make sure that you’re fully invested.
Being half-hearted about it and having doubts will make it harder and you’ll falter.
Personally I’ve found it easier to give up alcohol 100%. A personal choice, some of us are wired to carry on drinking after the first alcoholic beverage.
When I referred to myself when quitting I would tell people I used to drink alcohol, but no longer, you should do this too, and have lots of reasons why you quit, because they’ll ask why.
Replace alcohol with something else
The obvious replacement here is alcohol free drinks, they’ve come along way since their first introduction.
There’s now a large selection of wines, beers, ciders and even spirits. I can say first hand that I have enjoyed the alcohol free wines and beers.
When alcohol free beer was first introduced it wasn’t great. However, there’s now a large selection of alcohol free beers. You can pick and choose what you like the taste of, there are many top 10 recommendations. Some of them even taste very similar to their alcohol filled counterpart, although without the ill effects.
If these don’t sound appeal, replace alcohol with your favourite beverage or select some tasty snack. But be cautious not to over eat as a replacement for alcohol. The replacement doesn’t even have to be a drink substitute something that distracts you when you normally drink will help, reading is a great example.
Change your mindset
The things that you say to yourself have an impact on you, if you continuously tell yourself how great alcohol is and how you want a drink, you will struggle. With the right mindset you can achieve anything, read here for more about mindset.
Instead convince yourself that you’re not interested in having a drink, and have a big list of reasons why you shouldn’t. Really believe you’re not a drinker, give yourself the hard sell.
Visualisation is important, visualise how you will look and feel when you quit. The things you’ll be able to do. If you visualise yourself in the pub having fun consuming alcohol, imagine the same scene but without alcohol and having a better night, a night without the drunken consequences.
You can quit alcohol, think of something negative you’ve quit like: smoking, nail biting, a negative relationship. Use this as an impetus, you got through that, you can get through this.
Give up alcohol with someone
Drinking, like smoking and over eating is one of those things that many people want to cut down on or give up.
If you have family, a friend or colleague who wants to quit then do it together. Having support from someone who is in the same situation as you is invaluable.
Being able to discuss with them when you’re struggling is a burden shared, they can support and encourage you.
Avoid situations you would normally drink
You often drink at certain times or certain places. There are things that trigger you to drink. It could be Saturday evening down the pub, birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions. If you know you couldn’t help yourself but drink, the only option would be not to go.
If you still want to attend these events or go out and be social, then drive, you could drive yourself or be the designated driver, either way it would be harder for you to find a way to drink alcohol.
Being sober around drunk people may not be fun, but it’ll help you experience people drunk whilst sober, you might see how pointless drinking alcohol is when people are slurring and doing stupid things.
Reward progress to help give up alcohol
When we reward ourselves or look forward to receiving a reward of some kind we feel more motivated to do something we don’t really want to do.
When using rewards as a motivator it helps to have set yourself a challenge. This challenge could include not drinking for 30 days or going out on a weekend without having a drink.
Having set a challenge, identify your reward, it could be anything from a shopping trip, to a spa day to simply allowing yourself a lie in on the weekend.
However be careful not to reward yourself with the thing that you’re trying to give up or something worse.
Identify the pros and cons of alcohol
Make a note of all the benefits you get from alcohol and also note down all the negatives. This could include: I can socialise with friends, I have a hangover the day after.
By doing this you’re able to recognise your perception of alcohol and how it impacts on you. Many people have an unrealistic perception of alcohol, and don’t realise the consequences of its consumption.
Unfortunately people put the blinkers on and don’t recognise or want to accept the negative side of alcohol, for further information here is a thorough list.
You can experience new things
If there are situations which will make it very hard for you to resist temptation, then best avoid them.
This doesn’t mean you have to miss out, instead it means that you now have the freedom and time to do whatever you want to do, or have ever wanted to do.
Rather than doing the same thing you do every week for example: go down the pub or drink in front of Saturday night TV. You can do something new and different, have a think of what you’ve always wanted to do.
The options are limitless, you could: go back to college to do an evening course, go to yoga, visit long lost friends – the only limit is your imagination.
Additionally, explore things you used to enjoy, rediscover the benefits of fitness or reading. Not only will you benefit from such pursuits, they’ll be a distraction from cravings.
Conclusion
We all have our own reasons for wanting to cut back or quit alcohol, they’re personal reasons and may even seem illogical or nonsensical to others.
But don’t let this stop you from doing something that you really want to do and something you know you should be doing.
Here we have a number of techniques which will help you to be able to nudge yourself into the right direction, the direction you want.
These helpful tips to give up alcohol, can set you on the right track and support you in the moments when you’re feeling at your weakest.
The benefits of giving up drinking alcohol massively out way any drawbacks, remind yourself of them here. Don’t put off making this change, don’t wait until the new year, do it now, commit, you’ll always thank yourself for it. Good luck.