How to Quit Drinking

In early recovery it is all we can do to just stay sober for another day. We might struggle to stay sober for a 24 hour period and in order to make it through this tough time we might have to focus on networking and getting help from the fellowship. This is OK but as you stay sober for longer you'll realize that you are becoming more reliant on your self and on your level of growth. This does not mean that you are permanently healed of alcoholism or that you no longer need others to recover, but only that there is a shift in what you focus on. Recovery is fueled by passion and purpose and the striving for personal growth, whereas early recovery is more about learning and networking with others. Both stages use all of these strategies, but the emphasis is going to be different for those who find success in recovery.

So you want to know how to stop drinking alcohol? My first suggestion is that you do so in a medically supervised facility. This is important because stopping drinking can literally kill you if you are not careful. There is also a plus side to attending rehab that you will meet a ton of peers who can help you on your journey. The associations that you have from others in eary sobriety are critical, and if you go to drug rehab then you will invariably make friends with those who can help you. Because of these 2 things pointed out, I strongly urge anyone to go to a medical drug rehab if you really want to get sober.

Now at this point many people think that their job is done when they walk out of the treatment center but in fact it has not even started yet. The real challenge in long term sobriety is in maintaining it without slipping back to your old ways and eventually drinking again. It is not just the liquor that got us into a world of hurt, but also the fast life that came with it. If you leave treatment and try to stay off the sauce but revert right back to the same lifestyle then you're probably not going to stay sober. We need to make big, structural changes in our lives if we are to maintain long term sobriety. This is not unachievable but it takes some real work on your part.

So many people who leave treatment do not follow up with the action required to stay sober. If you want to be successful with your sobriety then you're going to have to go way overboard when it comes to your recovery strategy. We put a bunch of time and energy into our drinking so we have to put an equal amount of energy into getting well. Most people underestimate what it will take to stay sober. The answer is to go further than what you think it will take in order to remain sober.

And that is the bottom line right there: If you want to stop drinking then you have to take action. At first your actions will be very specific and focus on getting you detoxed and learning how to live a sober life. But as time goes on in recovery your actions must shift towards those of personal growth and development. In early recovery your networking and support from others is critical. In the long run in recovery, your push for growing as a person and your overall health consciousness become important.