Have you quit drinking alcohol recently? Or thinking of giving up? Our tips can help you stay off alcohol for good.
Manage how you respond to stress
Stress and alcohol often go hand in hand. Breaking those bonds can feel difficult.
Perhaps triggered by external circumstances, we can sometimes slip into giving our anxious thoughts lots of attention and building stories around them until it all feels vividly real. Try to become aware when this happens, remembering that all thoughts and their associated feelings pass. Much of our anxiety often comes from living in our thinking about the past or future, so keep bringing yourself back to the present moment.
How we feel is a really useful indicator of what’s going on in our mind. Are you feeling in a state of ease, taking each moment in your stride or have you shifted away? If you’ve shifted away, clock the uncomfortable feelings, then get curious about where you’re placing attention in your mind. What do you notice?
The more we observe that our experience is coming from where we’re placing attention in our mind, the more we see we can play around with that – we can get choosy!
The moment we let go of an unhelpful thought, we create space for a more helpful one to come along! This is one of those tips that, the more you play around with the idea, the more you’ll see for yourself.
Identify your triggers
Knowing what triggers you to drink is really helpful in identifying any adjustments you need to make. For some, this might be avoiding situations at first where you’re tempted to drink, for example the pub or parties. As you develop more of a habitual pattern of not drinking, you’re likely to find these situations less of a trigger.
This isn’t about never doing anything fun. It’s about making the adjustments that feel right for you. You know what you want to achieve – not drinking – you know what’s getting in your way – and you can creatively problem solve around that. It can also be helpful to practice how you might respond when the next trigger comes along as it makes it easier to overcome them.
Support from others
It may be a good idea to remind those close to you that you’re not drinking. Perhaps consider asking them to help by not talking about or buying alcohol when they’re with you. That may even encourage someone else to give up or cut down with you.
Those who are close to you aren’t the only sources of support. Alcoholics Anonymous is a helpful organisation whereas AI-Anon Family Groups UK & Eire, supports family and friends who have been affected by a loved one’s drinking.
Distraction is very effective
You could try filling the times when you normally drink with other activities. Go to the cinema instead of the pub, for instance.
Alternatively, you may find trying something active or completely new does the trick for you – rather than drinking in front of the TV. Exercise, perhaps, could help you wind down? Whether it’s yoga or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), physical activity and sports can work wonders for boosting your emotional health too.
Notice the benefits of being alcohol free
You might find you have more energy, that you’re sleeping better, or that you’ve lost some weight, and even saving extra cash.
And of course, you’re reducing your risk of developing alcohol-related cancer, liver disease or heart disease and high blood pressure.
If you feel that alcohol is having a bad effect on your life, please contact your GP. There’s lots of help available. You can also find alcohol addiction support services: here.
Take control
Taking control of your health and wellbeing doesn’t always feel easy but quitting and staying off alcohol will have many benefits.
We’ve shared some ideas that you may find, once you’ve explored them, work for you and keep you off alcohol. We’d also encourage you to reflect honestly, asking yourself why you believe you drink. Be kind to yourself during this process; identifying your underlying reasons is often the key to overcoming the issue in the long-term.
There are services available to support you in doing this via the NHS or privately. You can find NHS alcohol addiction support services near you here or, if you’ve already quit drinking, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme can offer continued support.
Caring for other areas of your wellbeing can help enormously too, eating well can make a huge difference to how you feel, for example. The Evergreen Life app can help you notice areas of your wellbeing where you could improve, with questionnaires on happiness, fitness, and nutrition, and more released along your wellbeing journey, such as those about alcohol consumption and sleep.
If you’d like more support with taking control of your health, you can download the app by clicking below:
Reviewed by:
Anna Keeble MA BA Wellbeing Expert
- Al-Anon UK Family Groups UK & Aire (n.d.) Are you one of the people affected by someone else’s drinking? Al-Anon UK Family Groups UK & Aire.
- Alcoholics Anonymous (n.d.) A Helping Hand. Alcoholics Anonymous.
- American Addiction Centers Alcohol.org (2022) Staying Sober: Alcoholism Relapse Prevention Tools American Addiction Centers Alcohol.org.
- NHS (2019) Alcohol Support. NHS.
- NHS (2022) The risks of drinking too much. NHS.
- NHS (2022) Find alcohol addiction support services. NHS.
- NHS England (n.d.) Adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. NHS England.
