How to Quit Drinking if You Have a Drinking Problem
If you believe that you have some sort of issue with alcohol then your first course of action is to properly diagnose your problem. What is the exact scope of your problem with alcohol and how deep does it really go? Is your problem really with drinking too much or does your problem really get nasty when you actually stop drinking?
If you tend to drink large amounts but can basically go without booze for long periods of time when you want to, then you are likely just a problem drinker.If you don’t have the ability to walk away from alcohol for long time frames without going nuts about it then you are probably addicted.If you are not sure if you are an alcoholic or if you are a problem drinker, then you should do these trial runs:
1) Allow yourself to have, at the most, one drink per day for the next half a year, never to go over that amount. No freebies allowed.
2) No drinking allowed, at all, for at least half a year. No sneaking an extra drink in here or there allowed.
If you can do either of these challenges without any problems and without slipping up at all then you are likely not an alcoholic. But if you find yourself struggling with the experiment and actually resenting it then you might be suffering from alcoholism. If you’re a problem drinker then you will screw up the first trial and won’t be able to curtail your drinking at some point in time. If you are genuinely addicted to alcohol then you will struggle with the second experiment and you won’t be able to maintain sobriety for six months without some sort of treatment.
If you think that you have some problem wth alcohol then the best course of action is to ask for help. If it turns out that you are alcoholic then you might want to find a treatment center that can provide you with a safe detox from alcohol. This is recommended because alcohol withdrawal is extremely dangerous and can actually kill you.
On the other hand, if you have a drinking problem, then you might seek counseling or therapy in some way. This can illustrate to you whether or not you really want to take steps to quit drinking or simply to cut down a bit.
