Ways to Quit Alcohol; Getting the Motivation to Stop Drinking

Getting the motivation to stop drinking is not easy; my own drinking history consists of thousands of failed attempts. I began looking for ways to quit alcohol at twenty years old. Over the next seventeen years my attempts to stop drinking became more frequent; during the last few I was constantly looking for anything that would help me beat my addiction. I would sometimes manage to quit the booze for a week or two; I once even managed two whole years. There were many failures but here is what I learnt.

- Surround yourself with recovery resources and materials. These days this is really easy and there is no need to even spend money on them; probably everything you need is on the internet. Check out blogs, websites, podcasts, and even YouTube videos; anything that talks about ways to quit alcohol and the benefits of doing so. I found that this type of material would provide me with motivation; especially the material written by other addicts. I didn't always follow their methods but hearing people make a success of recovery inspired me.

- Consider joining a support group. This is one of the ways to quit alcohol that has worked for me in the past even though it is not something that I take part in these days. Having said that, if I thought there was a risk of me returning to alcohol I would go immediately. Even if you believe the worst criticisms about AA, which I don't, it is far better to stop drinking with a support group then to continue on the downward spiral. AA does have a lot to offer and it does work for many people. Anyone considering an attempt to stop drinking should at least consider a support group.

- A great tool that I found helped me when trying to stop drinking was mindfulness. This is a way of examining your thoughts without becoming caught up in them; it is a type of meditation technique. This alone was not enough for me to give up the booze, but it certainly helped and it still helps me today.

- If you are not prepared to join a support group then it is a good idea to spend some time around the online recovery community. These can offer you support and suggest more ways to stop drinking. Two resources that I found helpful were;

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/

http://wqd.netwarriors.org/forum.php

- The most important thing when it comes to beating the booze is to never lose hope. If you keep on trying you will manage to stop drinking. You will then be free to live a great life.