Alcohol plays an oversized role in the lives of many families. Planning for birthdays and holidays or other social events seems always to include adult beverages. For some people, drinking becomes more than just a social matter. It becomes a problem, and it may prompt you to wonder how to stop drinking through an alcohol addiction treatment program. Because the long-term effects of alcohol can sneak up on you, it’s good to ask yourself that question from time to time, whether for yourself or someone you love. That’s because drinking doesn’t have to climb to the level of alcoholism to create problems.
At Atlanta Detox Center, our team provides an alcohol addiction treatment program that addresses and heals the mental and physical toll that this sort of addiction takes on a person. That’s why we have the knowledge and experience to teach you or a loved one how to stop drinking. When you or someone you care about is ready to stop drinking alcohol, reach out to our Atlanta Detox Center team today by calling 470-450-2355 or filling out our online form.
How to Stop Drinking
Modifying your drinking habits short of rehab takes determination and courage. The influences of drinking are all around us. But the Harvard Medical School has compiled a series of steps that can help take the pressure down a few notches. Some of their suggestions include:
- Reduce temptation. Don’t buy alcohol and have it around your house.
- Avoid triggers. Painful as it is, you might have to avoid people who pressure you or places that suggest drinking.
- Lean into activities. Have a hobby, play a sport, take a class.
- Set a goal. Start with one alcohol-free day per week, then expand from there.
- Express yourself. Keep a diary and celebrate achievements.
Just like learning a new hobby or playing a sport, changing habits takes practice. Stick with it, and a new you will emerge before you know it.
When Drinking Becomes a Problem
Alarms don’t go off when someone crosses the line from recreational into problem drinking. It happens bit by bit.
Unlike other more intense drugs, which may require family intervention or addiction treatment therapies, you can sometimes see the signs of alcohol abuse in yourself and begin to orient yourself toward getting help. Some of those signs include:
- Scheduling your life around drinking opportunities.
- Hiding your drinking from loved ones.
- Experiencing blackouts when you can’t remember what happened the night before.
- Missing work or school.
- Family events become tense and filled with arguments.
While no single one of these symptoms alone is a reason for worry, when they happen in clusters, it’s likely time to seek out professional help from a drug and alcohol detox center.
Coping with Alcoholism
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder, is a disease that requires medical attention like any other illness. No two people have the same experience in alcoholism and its aftermath. But treatment has some common elements.
Recovery typically begins with a thorough medical evaluation. Doctors will want to assess your health and understand the factors that brought you to this point. Generally, you can also expect to go through a period of detox, where you stop drinking in order to get alcohol flushed from your system. Doctors monitor your detox to help mitigate the symptoms of withdrawal.
At that point, you’ll enter a period of counseling, either one-on-one with a counselor or in a group. The goal of counseling is to help you develop coping skills to deal with the stresses of life. Finally, there’s aftercare with an alumni program and a series of support programs to reduce the risk of relapse. All these programs aim to provide the tools to understand how to stop drinking.
Learn How to Stop Drinking Today at Atlanta Detox Center
Drinking doesn’t have to reach the level of alcoholism to create problems in your life or your family’s life. Alcohol is a drug, like any other drug, and even short of addiction can cause changes in behavior or other challenges. If you’re wondering how to stop drinking, Atlanta Detox Center can help. Our alcohol addiction treatment program addresses alcohol-use problems of various levels of severity. Often alcohol issues don’t exist alone, so our clinical offers help on various other forms of substance abuse, including a heroin detox center or more general drug addiction treatment program. We also offer an alumni program for aftercare support to mitigate the risks of relapse.
When you’re ready to experience what happens when you stop drinking, turn to our trusted team at Atlanta Detox Center. We understand that it takes courage to face alcohol addiction and begin the road to recovery, so we want to be with you every step of the way. Learn more about how our team can help you stop drinking alcohol today by calling 470-450-2355 or completing our online contact form.
