Many people don't realize that they have a drinking problem. Sometimes, drinking a bottle of beer after a hard day at work, meeting friends at a bar on Friday, lifting a glass for your health on holidays - is this really an addiction? No, but this behavior can develop into alcoholism. Even a rare alcohol drink does great damage to your health. How to stop drinking? In this article, we will share easy and effective ways to stop drinking quickly.
Signs of alcoholism
- Alcohol-free parties are not fun.
- The person starts drinking alone.
- When sober, he experiences constant feelings of anxiety and discomfort.
- Abstaining from alcohol for several days in a row is agony.
- Those who don't drink are confused.
- After severe intoxication, the person does not remember anything.
If you find two or more signs, you should think about possible problems.
Stages of alcoholism
First stage
Main features:
- The amount of alcohol consumed by an alcoholic is constantly increasing. The body becomes resistant to high degrees.
- The vomiting reflex disappears.
- The person starts drinking alone.
- I want to drink at the wrong time.
- The memory is running out.
- A person makes scandals at home, fights with colleagues.
- Interest in important matters disappears.
- If you don't drink for a while, the craving for alcohol disappears.
- It is difficult to keep track of how much you drink.
The second stage of alcoholism
At this stage, the alcoholic becomes more faithful to strong drinks and increases the dose without realizing it.
Main features:
- An alcoholic's behavior becomes difficult to predict, sometimes even dangerous for others and himself.
- Physiological dependency is increasing. In the morning, the person suffers from a strong hangover, it is more difficult for him to work during the day.
- Nausea, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, tremor in the arms and legs, increased fever.
- He finds it difficult to accept external stimuli, such as bright lights or loud noises.
- The alcoholic has a dark mood, constantly feels tension.
- He starts to raise his hand to people close to him.
- The intellect decreases, it becomes problematic to focus attention.
- The patient realizes that he is getting worse while drinking alcohol, but he cannot fight the addiction.
The third stage of alcoholism
What changes are characteristic of the third stage? Main features:
- An alcoholic drinks alcohol almost every day.
- Perceptible degradation of personality.
- Pathological mental changes.
- Grade 3 alcoholism is also accompanied by the following diseases:
- Liver cirrhosis.
- Alcoholic indurative pancreatitis.
- Alcoholic gastritis.
- Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.
- Alcoholic neuropathy.
- Psychic changes are manifested in hallucinations and delusions.
An easy way to stop drinking on your own
Find a substitute for alcohol
To do this, you need some free time. It is advisable that the hobby has nothing to do with alcohol. This is the most effective and easiest way to stop drinking on your own. The best thing to do is to find an activity that completely involves you - sports, dancing, acting. If you find something you like, after a while it will become clear to you that even if you drink just a little, the next day will be difficult. Then you will want to get rid of this discomfort and the alcohol will be forgotten.
Chat with others
Do you usually be friends with people who like fun and don't mind having a few drinks on Friday and after? Think if there is anything besides the parts that connect you to them? Otherwise, nothing catastrophic will happen with the loss of these people in your life.
According to reviews, communication helps to get rid of alcoholism. Communicate with friends who don't drink, preferably with those who are an example for you. So, looking at them, you will want to be the same, and that is an incentive for change.
Don't test your willpower - don't agree to sit at a bar with friends drinking soda when everyone is drinking. They will definitely offer you a drink and, in order not to look boring, you will probably agree.
Praise yourself
Alcohol is expensive. So, if you abandon it, you can save a lot of money. With them, buy something you dreamed of, but did not have the money to buy. This will be a reward for giving up the bad habit.
Stop smoking
When you are sad, you just want to sit on the windowsill, smoke and drink a glass of wine. Smokers must also quit nicotine. Tobacco and alcohol always go hand in hand.
Don't give up alcohol forever
Be clear about what's going on. Don't say goodbye to alcohol forever. Otherwise, you risk falling into depression quickly and, in a moment of weakness, letting go.
Make sure you are reducing your addiction, but this abstinence is not forever. You will be able to drink again when you have the situation under control.
What do you need to remember when fighting alcoholism at home?
- Alcoholism develops slowly. The disease can be noticed in the early stages and immediately stopped.
- With alcoholism in the second and third stages, health, freshness, beauty, youth are lost. Alcoholics start to ruin relationships with other people.
- With the right fight against alcoholism, it can be totally overcome. The ex-patient will be able to buy some glasses on vacation without breaking.
- If an alcoholic falls apart, he shouldn't blame himself for it. Don't be depressed and self-hating. Everything happens little by little, next time it will be easier.