Regular drinking habits can become too much
Drinking wine to unwind, socialize, or cope with stress is fairly common around the world. In fact, we’ve been told by numerous sources that red wine is actually good for us, but what happens when you’re tired of consuming too much alcohol and want to give up wine?
What do you do when you try and find yourself missing it, craving it, and having difficulty refraining?
As with giving up any alcohol product, you may have to create a plan as to how you will facilitate your giving up of the drink. For example, some people who want to give up wine might want some face-to-face help, so they see an addiction specialist for support and accountability.
Others may simply quit on their own by simply not having wine in the house and refraining from drinking it while out and about. It really is an individual preference as to how you’d like to go about giving up wine.
Here are some tips that may be helpful for you as you go about giving up wine temporarily or forever:
Learn the facts about alcohol.
Alcohol, including wine, is harmful for your health.
Alcohol has a harmful impact on the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and more. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can weaken your immune system and increase your risk of getting cancer.[ http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/alcohols-effects-body]
Knowing how dangerous this poison is to the body, it may help you refrain from picking up a drink.
Keep track.
If you’re not even sure how much wine you’re drinking, start keeping a record for a week or two and track just how much you consume. You may be surprised at the amount you’re drinking and the money you’re putting out to purchase it.
As you keep track, you may notice your drinking behavior as well. Maybe you do well throughout the week, but the weekend you binge. Knowing this can help you when you’re ready to give it up, as you’ll know you may need some weekend accountability to stay dry.
Relax a different way. Many people will drink wine in order to relax. They may become accustomed to having a glass or two after work or nightly before bed. Some use it as a sleep aid, stating that it helps them get to sleep.
All of these things can become a habit. If you want to give up wine, you’ll need to find other ways to relax, such as doing meditation, yoga, taking a walk, sitting quietly in nature, deep breathing exercises, reading, or watching a show you enjoy. There are plenty of ways to wind down other than drinking wine.
Cut down.
You can cut down on your drinking of wine for a while before giving up if cutting it out cold turkey seems to be too much for you. Instead of drinking three glasses of wine each evening, cut that down to one glass and drink it very slowly.
Take very small sips and really make it last. Then, cut that down to one glass every other night and continue weaning it out until you’re no longer drinking it.
Don’t allow wine in the home. If you want to stop drinking wine, do not allow it in your home. If it’s there, it’s too tempting not to pop the cork.
Find other ways to cope with emotions.
Have a bad day? Did someone make you angry? Things not going as planned?
If you used wine to cope with your negative emotions, you’ll have to find healthier ways to cope instead of pouring yourself a glass of wine. Call a friend to vent or you may need to seek professional counseling in order to learn positive coping skills.
Spend time daily reading about addiction.
When you take time daily to learn about the disease of addiction and the facts about alcohol, you just consciously begin to look at drinking differently. Instead of feeling compelled to drink, you may consciously say, “No thanks.
Wine will destroy my mind and body over time and I’m not allowing it in my life. I’m choosing not to drink.” When you feel as if you have a choice, you feel empowered and it’s just easier to leave the wine alone.
Spend 15 to 30 minutes per day reading up on the topic, perhaps getting involved in a recovery forum, watching videos about the topic, and journaling if you’d like. It may be quite helpful in helping you give up wine.
As you move forward with the intent of giving up alcohol, do your best to remain optimistic. If you end up having a drink, don’t beat yourself up. Simply try again. It takes persistence sometimes to accomplish our goals, and giving up drinking is no exception.
Take these tips into consideration and carve your own path to sobriety one day at a time.
