Often when people come to one of my alcohol awareness classes, they know that they need to stop drinking alcohol. But they don’t know exactly how they should stop. Here are some tips that you might find useful:
1. Don’t hang around people who are drinkers or who might tempt you to drink.
2. Don't go to places where you might be tempted to drink. Don't go to the taverns where you used to drink and don't hang out with people who might pressure you to drink.
3. Look through your cabinets and find and throw away every single container of alcohol that you can find. If you have a spouse or roommate who consumes alcohol, kindly ask them if they could drink when you're not around.
4. Let the world know that you want to stop drinking. Seek the support and encouragement from your family friends, and others who have been in your shoes and can help you achieve your goal.
5. Get help with the mental and emotional issues related to your drinking Many people begin drinking alcohol to get away from problems. Or some people find that their alcoholism is something that has been going on in the family for some time. Find a professional therapist you feel comfortable talking with about these issues.
6. Find positive and interesting hobbies to keep you busy. Often something as basic as a distraction can push away the thoughts of drinking.
7. Give yourself realistic goals and take it one step at a time. possibly you can't stop all at once, so perhaps you could just slowly slow down your drinking day by day.
8. Reward yourself when you don't consume alcohol. For every day, week, or month that passes and you don't drink, celebrate with a gift! Give yourself incentives to keep going.
9. Visualize yourself and how it will be when you've completely stopped your drinking habit. Visualization is very powerful in implanting into your mind that you are dedicated to this goal. Do these visualization exercises in the morning and at night.
10. Sign up for an alcohol class so you can find out more about your drinking and it’s effects on you. Knowledge is power!
Remember that stopping drinking is hard. Sometimes it takes more than willpower... don't forget to seek professional medical advice!
Mike Miller is the Education Director at Online Alcohol Class, a website specializing on alcohol awareness classes and minor in possession classes. You can visit his site at http://onlinealcoholclass.com