How to Quit Drinking Alcohol in 14 Days?

Quitting Alcohol, Are you serious? This is how most people who are themselves alcoholics react to your idea or to a discussion progressed of the thought of trying to quit alcohol. Not many people who are themselves alcoholic would actually positively encourage you to quit alcohol.

The reason is obvious. Not that alcohol consumption is a good thing, but the fact that they themselves have either tried or attempted to quit it but have failed. It could be that you are yourself such a case who decided to quit but failed to practically do so.

Anyways, you don’t have to worry thinking that when others could not quit it, you can’t either. You only need the right motivation to do it. Everyone has a thought process about working out a thing. If the alignment of your thoughts is not able to bring any good results in your attempt to quit, you need some inputs that could assist you in the process.

To begin the fight against alcohol (it’s a battle that you want to win) you have not felt really motivated with the long term benefits of quitting alcohol. So you do need some short-term benefits that can help you get out of the habit in an interesting yet useful way.

Some changes and positive outcomes that you get to see as you quit alcohol are:

Improved Socializing:

Alcohol has a repressive effect on the social anxiety and you fail to make lasting impressions on people you interact with. Thus, staying away from alcohol can help you meet strangers and new people in a more welcoming and clear-headed way. It will definitely be a more fruitful meeting and you shall love the changes in your social interactions that follow.

Utilize Lost Time:

The time spent in wretched drunkenness around the house every week, which may be 3-4hrs would help you save a month’s life in a year to add to your full life. You could enjoy and cherish this time reading a book, playing your favorite sport and do something part time to add to your existing income.

Rise Early:

You will become an early riser. Alcohol tends you make you lazy and tired when you want to be energetic. The irony is that it keeps you awake when you want to sleep. Thus you shall enjoy a better sleep and a higher energy level when awake if you quit drinking.

Not only this, you can seek other gratifying reasons to stop alcohol consumption. Once you have the reason, you can follow this 14-day plan to quit and see the results that you have always wanted to see.

Day 1: Consult Your Doctor

Quitting Alcohol can have negative implications in the form of withdrawal symptoms. Any symptoms including panic attacks, severe anxiety, and rapid heart beat demand immediate medical assistance. It is therefore better to keep your doctor informed in advance so that you can call him up any time for emergency situations and get required help. These symptoms should be taken seriously and treated to avoid deadly delirium tremens that can result from a deteriorated condition.

Day 2: Prioritize Your Decision to Number One

Your thought of giving up alcohol has to be taken to top priority as it is something that is quite easy but can become the hardest change that your desire in life. You have to surround yourself with the right environment, frame the right rules and understand that both pain and pleasure have to be experienced in the journey towards quitting alcohol. You will have to be really tough to deny any social requests on drinking.

At the same time remember that it’s your battle which you have to fight alone with only your self-limiting beliefs to rescue you. A commitment that is not whole-hearted will lead to failure definitely. Your decision has to be taken as a self-imposed order which ought to be obeyed in any circumstance.

Day 3: Advertise Your Decision

This is quite a helpful thing to do when you have firmed your decision to quit alcohol and are not willing to see any failure in your attempt. Your goal becomes more accountable as you spread a word about your aim of quitting alcohol amongst your friends and colleagues. This in turn saves your effort in convincing everyone when they ask you to accompany for a party or a drink.

Don’t fear that not drinking will distance you from social gatherings or situations. You can still meet and greet people in the party in a sober manner without carrying the alcohol glass in your hands.

Never shy away from what people say about your decision. It’s important for you and you are going to benefit from it later on.

Day 4: Dump Your Existing Stock

Pour down any bottles into your kitchen sink that are still in your fridge or rack. A challenge that has been accepted must be implemented from the very moment. You may find it worthless to empty down all the stock in your drain if it is worth hundreds of dollars as you are unsure if you would be able to get rid of alcohol.

In a situation like this place all your stock in a non-drinker friend’s house. This will keep you safe and at the same time keep you from drinking one from the stock when you feel low in the probation period.

Also, don’t feel tempted to keep the bottles for any guests who may come in this time. You can offer them lemonade, tea, coffee or any other beverage with utmost pleasure.

Day 5: Leave Your Drinking Buddies

The famous old saying about playgrounds and playmates tells you that your friends may have been having two glasses of wine or beer when have about five glasses. Thus the company you sought was doing more harm to you than them. It is better to fire your drinking buddies. If you keep them at bay, you shall find your social life more possible even without alcohol which was otherwise tightly integrated with drinking friends around you. You have to invest in your relations and you can find friends who shall motivate you even more to quit drinking and encourage you. The former would only act as energy vampires who would attempt to stop you from alcohol withdrawal.

Day 6: Drink a Lots of Water

Water is an excellent hydrant and will keep your body replenished and remove toxins. You shall find it helpful in overcoming any temptation you feel for wine or beer. It shall empower your mind and keep you more positive about your determination of quitting alcohol. 3 litres of water for men and 2.2 litres for women is advised. It is the cheapest way of keeping your body fresh and quenches your thirst in the most beneficial way.

Day 7: It’s No big Deal to Quit

The task of quitting alcohol is only as big or small as you want to take it. If you convince yourself that it is quite simple thing to do and that you can give up your addiction without any problem, then there is nothing that can stop you. The task has no magnitude of its own other than what you give it. It is quite similar to ending of a relationship.

Some may think it as the end of their purpose of living, while others may simply consider it as an eventual thing which had to happen and can be managed with time. The more you calm down and compose your mind on the thought of quitting alcohol, the less helpless you shall feel about being able to do so. Thus think, act and talk as if it is possible and doable.

Day 8: Change Your Routine

If you have a schedule for drinking that you follow, say for example after working on long hours, or after having your evening snacks, change your routine. Replace the drinking time with some activity like visit to a friend’s place, playing with children, going out for some sports; join some exercise class or gymnasium to keep you occupied. This will make it easier as you see a better way to enjoy than drinking and not feel the compulsion to drink. Your schedule of drinking shall eventually break, giving you ample positive thoughts to quit drinking altogether. Also involvement in activities shall make you more active and you shall not feel the urge to drink which drowse you and devoid you of all the actual pleasures of life.

Day 9: Bribe Yourself

It’s a very tricky way of getting off the alcohol. Some way you have to understand that if you break your own rules, you have a massive amount to lose. You can choose money to become a form of self-bribery and help break your pattern of consuming alcohol. Withdraw a good amount from the ATM machine and hand over the amount to some friend and tell him/her to return it to you only if you don’t touch a bottle for 30 days that you have committed to yourself. Losing an uncomfortable amount of money shall be an effective bribe for you to not consume alcohol at any cost.

Day 10: Feel Your Feelings

A very important learning curve when you are trying to quit drinking is to enjoy your feelings. Giving a vent to your feelings as and when they take a place inside your heart is an emotional yet practical way to be yourself. Cry when you feel like; laugh when you wish to and similar goes for your eating and sleeping.

Embrace yourself by experiencing these small pleasures until you actually begin to love being so. You shall evolve into a happier and less reserved person in expressing your emotions.

Day 11: Never Feel Guilty About Your Decision to Quit

Never blame yourself once you decide to quit alcohol consumption. Alcohol has been ruling your life and telling you every time that it is the most important thing in your life. Who else other than you would suffer from chronic illnesses or die ultimately due to your addiction to alcohol?

Alcohol has been your enemy who has been deceiving you all the while and would never like to see you happy. You have to choose a better life for yourself, away from this misleading foe and start living so that others too appreciate the new you.

Day 12: Attend a Self-help Group

Some people feel the need for someone to help them to cut down on alcohol as they feel more inspired when they see other people fighting for the same cause. Such groups often are a dedicated group with a speaker and men or women who are addressed by the speaker on a particular topic. Others make use of discussions as a means to bring forth the problems that people trying to get rid off.

Day 13: Learn Meditation

Meditation in the morning can bring you to a calm state and help you make resolutions and keep them with ease. Alcohol only distracts your mind and makes it less peaceful. So once you learn to meditate, the urge of alcohol would reduce as you won’t like to lose your peace of mind.

Day 14: Never Give Up

This is the final and the ultimate rule. Excuses like “I tried this before, but it did not work”, “would try to defeat your commitment” etc are not going to help you in any manner.. Even if alcohol has done a big damage to some body part of yours, quitting it would only enhance the chances of your longer life.

Conclusion

If you are successfully able to follow the advices for stopping alcohol, it will improve your general health and quality of life making you more self-contended. Serious health problems could be kept at bay by reducing alcohol abuse. Your relationships would see a new and positive change. You shall portray a responsible individual before the youngsters by not drinking. Thus, take the task upfront of getting rid of alcohol and with some deliberate efforts and help, you shall definitely succeed.