Thursday, March 13, 2008

7 Tips On How To Stop Drinking Alcohol

It is really difficult to get geared up stop drinking alcohol. Here are 7 tips to get started on the road to recovery:

1. You have to do it for yourself - You hear this and it's true. Not your family, significant other, or whoever might be asking you to stop. If you don't do it for yourself, you will be starting out with a handicap.

2. Physical exercise - Limited studies have shown that the people who get exercise while trying to stay sober are less likely to relapse. It is possible that the reason is at least partially that exercise tends keep the person in a more relaxed state.

3. Give yourself rewards - People forget this aspect of recovery, and it is an important one. Rewards help to keep you in the game. The more frequent the better.

4. Don't guilt trip yourself when you fail - Getting angry with yourself for a temporary setback is non-productive, and will make anyone more prone to give up. If you slip, forget it and move on. This is alcohol addiction, one of the biggest challenges you are ever going to face.

5. Get some kind of outside help - Whether it's A.A., some kind of therapy, or a proven formula to get sober, utilize something outside of your normal scope of thinking and experience. Left alone to ones thoughts and methods is probably not the best thing, since those thoughts and methods contributed to the addiction in the first place.

6. Spend as little time alone as possible - For single people this can be a tall order. If you can't surround yourself with people, get out more which helps generate a fresh perspective on life.

7. Develop a new daily routine that does not include drinking alcohol. Get up earlier, incorporate some exercise into the daily routine, the possibilities are endless. After all, to stop drinking is to make a fresh start on its own.

Everyone is an individual, and will have to operate on his or her own unique timetable. There are no rules or prescribed time limits to step from addiction to sobriety. Go at your own pace.

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