There are so many reasons you might want to stop drinking or at least reduce your alcohol intake.
There could be a drastic reason you have to stop drinking. For example, maybe you got a DUI or you’re facing other legal trouble related to alcohol.
There can also be perhaps less severe reasons you want to lower your alcohol intake at least. Reducing how much you drink or stopping altogether can help your mental and physical health, reduce your risk of certain illnesses like cancer, and it can help you enjoy your life in new, exciting ways while being mindful and present.
Regardless of your reasons, the following are some tips and strategies to keep in mind when it comes to curbing your use of alcohol.
Know Your Whys
If you have concrete reasons for why you want to quit drinking, it will help you stay motivated. When you have a few of your core reasons, write them down. Put them somewhere you’ll see them often so you can be reminded why it’s so important to you.
Set Goals
Our brains tend to do well when we set goals for ourselves that are manageable. Then, when we achieve them, we feel accomplished, and that’s a motivator for us to keep doing whatever it is that’s making us feel good about ourselves and our lives.
Just like you write down your whys so you can remember them when you need a nudge in the right direction, do the same with your goals.
Set daily and weekly goals, monthly goals, and then bigger goals as well.
Maybe you start very small. For example, you could have one day a week where you’re alcohol-free, or perhaps you set a limit for yourself on how many drinks you have at any given time.
Then, as you achieve those small goals, move upward from there. Connect your goals to your whys.
Track Your Progress
We all want to feel accomplished, which is why goal-setting is such a vital part of stopping drinking or cutting back.
Create a drinking diary as a way to track your progress as you work toward your goals.
You can use an app for this or do it the old-fashioned way on paper.
Your drinking diary should include not only how much and what you drank but also how you felt and who you were with. Write down what you ate, any other accomplishments you achieved on that day, how productive you felt, and your sleep quality. This will help you celebrate your victories and see how much better you feel in your everyday life when you limit alcohol or don’t drink at all.
A drinking diary is also an excellent way to start identifying your triggers to avoid them.
For example, stress might be a trigger for you, and when you realize what causes you stress and how you respond to it typically, by drinking, you can start to change those behaviors.
For some people, feeling excited or happy is a trigger, so you have to reframe what celebrating looks like for you.
Have a plan for what you’ll do when you want to drink or feel like there’s a trigger.
An if-then plan is a good approach. We keep repeating this but write it down. Writing anything down is going to make you more likely to stick with it.
Write down the if—for example, if I’m feeling stressed… and the then, which is what you’ll do instead of drinking. Make it highly specific. For instance, if I’m feeling stressed then I’ll take a walk outside. Another example—if I’m out with friends, I’ll have a glass of water for every drink.
Make Drinking Inconvenient
The more inconvenient anything is, the less likely you are to do it. Make drinking difficult for yourself. For example, don’t buy it at all. Having no alcohol in your house is a great way to limit how much you drink.
If you’re going out with friends, don’t bring your ID if you aren’t driving. That doesn’t guarantee you won’t be able to drink, but it can help.
Share What You’re Going Through
When you tell your loved ones that you want to cut back on alcohol or quit drinking, first, it can help you because you’re sharing your feelings. Social support is such an important part of reaching any goal you have.
At the same time, it also gives you more accountability than if you keep your goals to yourself.
Maybe you’ll find that a friend or family member wants to join you.
If not, that’s okay, but there are other ways to find supportive people working to avoid alcohol. There are apps for example, where people can support one another as they eliminate alcohol from their lives.
Change Your Routine
Sometimes your drinking habits are heavily tied to your routine. You might not have an alcohol problem, but you’re someone who’s on autopilot with everything you do. For example, maybe at the end of the workday, you have a glass of wine, and it’s just always something you do.
Changing up your routine can be extremely helpful if this is you.
Even just making a small change can help you alter your drinking patterns as well. For example, don’t go home straight after work. Make a detour and go to the park for a quick walk instead.
If you find that you drink when you go out to dinner, go somewhere that doesn’t serve alcohol.
Finally, as you embark on a journey to change your relationship with alcohol, take care of yourself. You’ll start to feel and look better the less you drink, so build on those positive changes by engaging in regular exercise, eating well, and making quality sleep a top priority. The better you feel over time, the more encouraged and motivated you’re probably going to feel to keep up with the good things happening in your life.