Overcoming Alcoholism: 7 Essential Tips About How to Overcome Alcohol Addiction

Are you ready to quit drinking? Overcoming alcoholism is about following proven steps.

Alcoholism can be a dark and mysterious path that could sometimes feel impossible to trudge. But it’s not. If you’re struggling to stop drinking but are willing to do the work you need to get clean, learning how to overcome alcoholism is more straight forward than you might think.

No matter how powerless you feel or how heavy your drinking is, you can switch gears at any time.

Overcoming alcohol addiction is a gradual process that you can commit to. Whether you want to cut down to healthier drinking levels or get to a place where you quit drinking altogether, you can get on the road to recovery today.

1. Know That Overcoming Alcoholism Is Possible

There are 12-step programs that may tell you that you are powerless before alcohol, but in reality this admission is your first step to be willing to recognize the power in asking for help, and knowing you are so far from being alone in the struggle.

Knowing how to battle alcohol addiction will activate a certain level of empowerment you may have never experienced in life.

2. Understand Your Weaknesses

Overcoming alcoholism gets complicated since there are many different stages people can find themselves in the grips of this fatal disease. Especially living in a society where consumption is regularly suggested and highly welcomed by your peers.

Over time, you have probably developed your own relationship with alcohol and have gravitated toward one or two particular kinds of alcohol. That then initiates how often you drink and reveals how much you may depend on it. Regardless of the label, purity, price tag, or overall quality, for an alcoholic it is used as a sedating elixir that settles you and then controls you.

For example, you could enjoy a few glasses of wine with your dinner or appreciate sharing a couple of bottles of it with friends. That could be a tradition that your body becomes used to, which is not something you should ever beat yourself up over, but does it just stop there with a few glasses of wine? Does a certain persona activate which then begins to thirst for more and more?

Perhaps you’re choosing the strongest wine or the most wine in attempts to act with sensibility and control. Analyze the why, the what, and the where of your use. Are you rationalizing an unhealthy habit? Can you have a glass or two and then call it quits for the night more regularly than not?

3. Understand Why You Should Quit Drinking

Out of all of the many great reasons to stop drinking alcohol, from your physical health to your finances, to your romantic life, to your mental health and spiritual life. Create a list of all of the benefits to stopping and ask a close friend or family member to verify your list. What are you missing?  

It’s important to realize your reasons for quitting should be independent of your job, wife, kids, etc. Some reasons you have may appear silly or even embarrassing, but they are yours. The act of writing down your reasons so you can see them serves as a helpful reminder of why you are addressing your alcoholism, to begin with. There is a strong connection between the hand and heart that that helps to unearth truth that the mind regularly hides as a coping mechanism.

4. Adjust Your Language

You should be very aware of how you speak about alcohol aloud. Using statements such as “I hope to stop drinking” rather than “I will stop drinking” can make a huge difference. The power of using your voice to affirm things positively is key to overcoming alcohol addiction. 

Our words have a much more impactful influence on our actions and beliefs than you may think. Do not be afraid to tell the people in your life that you are quitting alcohol. By saying out loud that you are reinforcing and reaffirming what you are already on your way to accountability and action. But remember, you aren’t in this battle alone any longer.

5. Visualize a Healthier You

Focus on your future, sans alcohol, and how much more life will flow to you when you are not being held in bondage by substance.

The future of you overcoming alcoholism starts the moment you decide that alcohol will no longer be in your life. Your future is dependent on the action steps you take today. Remember that your past mistakes do not matter as much as the choices to make today. Many who find themselves in a position where they feel they are too far gone can also benefit from medical intervention. You should also consider an alcohol detox to jumpstart your path towards a healthier lifestyle. This aids in clearing the body and mind to a point where you can approach life with more clarity and good sense. A body badly burned by years of addiction doesn’t heal overnight.

6. Focus on Your Day-to-Day Actions

Instead of driving by your local pub on the way home, change your route from work entirely. Eliminate alcohol bottles from your view at home or even at work (if your work environment has alcohol). Most alcoholics will replace their habit of drinking with a healthier and safer plans for their day to initially keep themselves in a place of safety while they adjust a completely new approach to life and freedom.

7. Change the Company You Keep

One of the hardest things to do when overcoming alcoholism is avoiding social situations that can easily trigger you. In early sobriety, if your social circle includes people who always have a drink in your hand, it’s time to remove yourself from such an environment until you find yourself on steady ground in your recovery. Find new friends who share similar paths with you and are on the same healthy road.

Make a point to see your long term friends in different social settings. You can welcome new things to do with these friends, enjoying life and fellowship without the presence of drugs or alcohol around. Having people who genuinely want to see you strive and beat alcoholism is the company you want to surround yourself with is going to be vital.

You Are No Longer Alone In This Nasty Battle.

Don’t think that asking for help is a weakness. You have yet to tap into a source of power in life that will produce a freedom like no other. Seek and receive the support you need for overcoming alcoholism once, no more thought or consideration is needed. You are worth living a life without suffering, and life can and will begin to live life without alcohol.

Disclaimer: The information in this blog post about the effects and remedy to alcoholism/addiction is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect current medical thinking or practices. No information contained in this post should be construed as medical advice from the medical staff at GrowthGuided Inc., nor is this post intended to be a substitute for medical counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate medical advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a licensed medical professional in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.