How to Stop Drinking Alcohol Without AA or Rehab

Acknowledge what sparked your desire to drink and hone in on that trigger. Assess what needs to change to decrease the impact or frequency of that trigger.

But you might be surprised at what counts as a drink. A 5-ounce glass of table wine, a 12-ounce glass of regular beer, and 1½ ounces of hard liquor each contain the same amount of alcohol, and each counts as 1 drink.

How to stop drinking and get back in control of your life:

When you’re doing things you find fulfilling, you’ll feel better about yourself and drinking will hold less appeal. The symptoms listed above may be a sign of a severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens, or DTs. This rare, emergency condition causes dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing, so it’s important to get to the hospital right away.

Our editorial content is based on thorough research and guidance from the Forbes Health Advisory Board. Our experts continually how to control drinking monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

How to Know When It’s Time to Cut Back

Dry January has become a popular way for people to experiment with drinking less. Officially begun in Great Britain in 2013, it has grown quickly, with over four million people in the U.K. For those who have already quit and want help managing cravings, there is also acamprosate, an abstinence maintenance medication that helps rebalance your brain chemistry. And beyond these, there are several off-label medications that can be useful, including gabapentin, topiramate, and baclofen. Quitting on your own is a complicated process, and people often have greater success with some kind of coaching, support group, or medication to help things go more smoothly. At Ria Health we want to ensure that the information we provide our readers is credible and evidence-based. Certain topics on our site require clinical accuracy and are therefore reviewed by medical experts.

In using this technique, it is recommended that you discuss your upper limit with a certified addiction professional or addiction psychologist. Sunnyside uses a psychology-based approach to help you drink more mindfully, no matter what your goal is. You’ll get a 100% custom plan, then use daily texts to track your progress and help you stay on target. Ask your doctor or counselor for a referral and/or work together to develop strategies for controlling your alcohol consumption and drinking responsibly or quitting all together. If you feel that avoiding alcohol completely is not for you, there are other options.

Replace drinking with a healthier habit

Furthermore, eating while you drink can change how your body processes the alcohol. Here are nine tips on how to curb your drinking, according to addiction specialists.

I want to build myself as a new person who can enjoy drinking responsibly. I compare my situation to a person with an eating disorder; they don’t just stop eating food, they learn to control their cravings. I see it as more of a habit that it has become. I am currently seeking counseling with my wife and trying to work thru this. She does not agree with me, thinks abstaining is the only way. I am encouraged and look forward to gaining her trust back and showing her, and myself, that I am strong and can do this.

Prepare for potential alcohol detox

While this may overlap with alcohol use disorder, it doesn’t necessarily. Some people binge only occasionally and may not qualify as addicted to alcohol. On average, however, one in six Americans binge drink at least once a week. Between the two options, there is also telemedicine. This option is increasingly popular—especially during the pandemic era.

• It is also available as a monthly injection , or as a daily pill.
• Excessive drinking has numerous impacts on your body and mind, ranging from mild to severe.
• Even cutting back one drink per in-person or virtual gathering can add up to big wins over time.
• Drinking too much alcohol clouds your judgment and can lead to actions that put your health in danger.
• A modest reduction in alcohol use can help prevent these potentially dangerous changes.
• Of course, putting these into practice will depend on how much you drink, in what situations you drink, and what your reasons are for reducing your consumption.