How to Stop Drinking

In early sobriety we might struggle just to stay dry for another 24 hours at a time. 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 alright but as you maintain sobriety you'll see that there is a shift towards self-motivated 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 have all of these attributes in them, but the focus is a bit different for those who are successful in living a sober life.

So you want to know how to stop drinking? My first suggestion is that you do so in a medically supervised facility. This is crucial because not consuming alcohol can actually kill a person if they stop it abrubtly and without supervision. 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 networking that you get from your peers in early recovery is of vital importance, and going to a treatment center will automatically introduce you to these types of connections. Because of these 2 reasons I highly recommend attending a treatment center if you are serious about quitting drinking.

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 recovery is in living your life sober without resorting back to resentment and anger and eventually relapsing. It is not always the drinking that got us in trouble but also the lifestyle itself. If you leave rehab and try to remain sober but go back to the same old life situation then you might have a hard time with sobriety. We have to make large, sweeping change in our daily routine if we are going to maintain recovery. This is not unachievable but it takes some real work on your part.

Most of those who leave a treatment center don't follow through on their aftercare plan. If you want to make recovery work for you then you need to approach it with overwhelming force. We put a lot of time into our alcoholism so we should put a lot of time into our sobriety. 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 know how to stop drinking then you have to take action. At first your goal in recovery will be very concentrated on staying sober one day at a time and figuring out how to live again without drinking. But after a while in sobriety your focus must change to that of caring for your self and trying to grow. In early recovery your networking and support from others is critical. In long term sobriety your drive for personal growth and holistic health is what is key.