How to Give Up Alcohol & Be Glad You Did

One needn't be a raging alcoholic in order to give up drinking. Alcohol contributes to a number of health problems, including strokes, heart condition, liver disease and excessive weight gain. In the most extreme cases, you may need to check into a rehabilitation clinic. They can help you handle the physical cravings and detoxification process that full-bore alcoholism entails. If things haven't progressed that far--and even if they have--you can still take a number of steps to quit drinking, which help you feel great in the process. 

Instructions:

1. Talk to your doctor before you stop drinking and ask him for advice. He can provide a schedule to taper off your alcohol intake and provide other health care tips to ensure that you don't endanger your health. He can also tell you whether you can reasonably quit alcohol on your own or if you may need help from a clinic or a 12-step program.

2. Clear out every bit of alcohol in your home, including bottles and cans. If you have cooking sherry or wine for recipes, switch to a non-alcoholic substitute. There's no sense in keeping temptation around.

3. Every time you think about buying alcohol, set the cost aside in a can or a large glass jar. At the end of a week (or a month depending on how often you drink), take that money and do something fun with it: a trip to an amusement park, a nice dinner or a present for yourself that you wouldn't ordinarily purchase. It demonstrates both how much the alcohol was costing you and all the fun things you were denying yourself by drinking. Make sure the purchase doesn't involve alcohol of course.

4. Identify problem points in your previous drinking habits--specific places or set times where you used to drink. Avoid those circumstances in the future. Stay away from the bar you used to go or have something fun planned for the time of day you used to take a drink, in order to take your mind off of it.

5. Take up a hobby or pastime that you've always wanted to try but never did. The time you spend on it can fill the time you used to spend on drinking. Exercise, in particular, is an excellent way to feel better and channel any agitation or nervous energy fostered by your quitting in a positive direction.

6. Develop a list of non-alcoholic beverages you can order in situations where you used to order alcohol. It can be soda, near beer, cranberry juice--anything works so long as you enjoy the taste and there's no booze in it. Water in particular is very useful in these circumstances: drink as much of it as you can. Once you have a taste for such drinks, you can still go out and have a good time without resorting to alcohol.

7. Remind yourself of all the good things in your life--your job, your family, your passions--and how you don't need alcohol to enjoy them. It helps you prioritize the truly important things and demonstrate just how marginal drinking is to quality of life.

Tips & Warnings

• Quitting drinking can be a big step, and in some cases it requires you to acknowledge that you have a problem first. Don't be afraid to confront that truth about yourself: it provides additional resolve to help you quit drinking. Speak to a local support group like Alcoholics Anonymous for further information on quitting drinking.