How do you quit drinking permanently?

I found that drinking alcohol interferes with my life significantly, so I quit. Drinking felt good, but the personal price was too high. How do i make this choice permanent? I'd like detailed ...

I found that drinking alcohol interferes with my life significantly, so I quit. Drinking felt good, but the personal price was too high. How do i make this choice permanent? I'd like detailed ideas from anybody who might know.

Trout	First - forget about all the AA crap they just replace one addiction with another - Second your life may be unmanagelable but you weren't and aren't powerless . You made bad decisions you made good decisions - you were in control - not powerless. Now realise you can't take something away without putting somthing in it's place. So find somthing to do with yourself that doesn't involve AA - baseball bowling knitting it does not matter just that you like it it makes you feel conected to a crowd you like. Then on your own ask yourself what did I get out of drinking - there is/was a positive..............answer that and you will find other ways to get it. Maybe with some soul searching and abstinence you can have a beer with your buddies and thats all it will be for you.

Libra	Rehab is a good choice depending on how serious the problem is. U can also use the support from family and friends. And if u r tempted to drink alcohol then ask urself would u rather risk ur life and have that drink or live on happy with out that martini. Also as for creative decision u can try other choices like fruit smoothies which are both delicious and healthy ; ).

dont ask	you are making a good start just admitting that it's a problem and that your life is unmanageable.... that's step one. if you find you need help, AA is amazing. Treatment centers are fine for breaking the cycle, but they will all tell you to go to AA. AA has a program for living and changing that makes the difference between stopping and staying stopped.

Chocolate_Bunny	one thing I found was one night out with friends, we all ordered our favorite heavy drinks....one girl ordered a coke...i asked why she didn't want a drink...her reply was...." so tomorrow I can tell you guys what you did last night.....

unknown u	stop drinking. do something creative instead.

newyorkgal71	Instead of alcohol, find another beverage you like: start with the juice drinks: apple, grapefruit, orange juice, etc. Iced Tea is a good summer drink. If you have a hobby, focus on it, if not, do something you have always wanted to do. Golf, hike, bike, backpack, fish, boating, artwork, write. There are many things on which to re-focus your attention so you don't drink alcohol. If you like dogs, volunteer at an animal shelter, volunteer with the Boy Scouts. Whatever it is, that you like to do, you can probably do it as a volunteer, or, teach it to a community organization, etc. Best of luck.

gypsynuke	Honestly, the secret is to not do it anymore. Each and every time the opportunity comes up say no. 20 years later you'll find you haven't had one drink. It's really that simple. The same goes for cigarettes and food. Not crack though that stuff is hard to let go of.

roybabygurl69	aa will help you stop but you have to be the one who wants to stop forever you have to be the back bone of it

Belie	Don't allow you to be in the position where alcohol is a temptation. No rowdy New Years parties, no bars or clubs, no drinking buddies while watching the game. If you want support, you can also join a group like AA. Whenever you feel you're being "tempted" you can, I believe, call a member to help you through it.

AL	Now that is something you have to do yourself.... it's called will power. Drinking tasted good to me too. At least Budweiser did as I was a beer drinker. I drank up until about 15 years ago when I was told I had an enlarged liver. "Doesn't sound like anything that can't take care of itself now doe's it?" That's what my thoughts were at first too. Well after doing a bit of research on the subject I found out what alcohol can do to your system over a long period of time. I also found that my father had died not from old age but from cirrhosis of the liver. He always drank hard liquor with a beer chaser. I was prompted to try different non-alcoholic beers until I found one that suited my taste. After trying 4 or 5 different types I settled on O'Doul's. Today I only occassionally drink an O'Doul and mostly drink coffee, tea, soda or milk and I'm well satisfied. The main thing still is that you have to have the will power to do it. Try it you might like it like the old saying goes. My liver is in great shape at 71... how's yours and what age are you? Want to try for 71? Will power my boy... Will Power.

sherniedorsey	MY HUSBAND OF 45 YEARS WAS AN ALCOHOLIC. HE GOT UP ONE MORNING AND DECIDED HE WOULD NEVER DRINK AGAIN AND THAT WAS 20 YEARS AGO. YOU , THE PERSON HAVE GOT TO WANT TO STOP ON YOUR OWN. ALL ADVICE IS GOOD BUT IT HAS TO COME FROM WITHIN TO STOP COLD TURKEY. THAT IS THE ANSWER WILL POWER JUST QUIT.

Tim J	pursue a career in what you really like or keep busy with a hobby, travel. I use to drink a lot, but I was not happy with where I was in life. Now I am doing what I like so I quit drinking.

Djembe J	I know that from the perspective of supplementation, there are two key things you can do to prevent cravings: 1) L-Glutamine, prevents the biological need for alcohol carbs 2) Noni, provides the neurochemical cascade - Dopamine and serotonin - that alcohol provokes. These things also have side benefits like increased energy, and general tonic effects.

ma. loen l	Throw all the alcohol from your place.Since,it's world cup,avoid going to the pub,stay @home and watch with your family with a popcorn, crisps..hmmnnnn ,icecream, is ideal because its,too humid this summertime.(Sorry, this might work with you if you live in alaska or Uk)huh! Stay and kiss your girlfriend all the time.If these two ,don't work, you need cognitive behavioral therapy/psychiatrist,counselling,etc,You should also mention it to your family.No other people can help but family. Avoid friends who are pushing you into it.They are not real friends if they insist that you will drink with them.If you get ill ,they might or not visit you anyway and besides ,who will pay your medical thing.YOU!Not only that ,you put your job @ risk too. Anyway,if you are european ,who cares of the bill,you've got free medical services.Then you will have sick benefits.It might not be too much but if you go to Asia ,you'll live like a millionaire there.

zory	if you really do not want to drink you can do it you do not born drinking is the same with cigarettes you teach your body to drink know do the same in the opposite way say no or you are not strong...remember you do not born drinking you do not need to do it if you do not what to really do it

mamas_grandmasboy06	Local rehabs

Classy Granny	AA and the drug "Antibuse" That may be spelled wrong. Spell check doesn't know how to spell it either.

mkl2695	dont drink one day at a time .maybe make friends with Bill W

unalla	been there .... not easy.... to me, once I decided to get rid of the bottle, relocation to a totally new place helped me get over ..... ...

toyat	Once your alcoholism become habit, you can't stop it 100%. You could reduce your intake slowly. No one can help you, it is up to you to decide, to let alcohol control your life or you to be in control of your life. I have a friend who nearly die because of drinking, well at least now he is not drunk all the time, he is in control, so he still survive. Think about it and make a choice!!

budlover	Many people have been recommending AA to you and I think that it is a good idea. You simply need to be in a support group with people that are going through the same thing as you. You could also see a therapist who can help you deal with the problem. Good luck. I think that so far you have made a great decision that you will thank yourself for throughouth the rest of your life.

Peace	cold turkey

princessmcnatt3	Ask for forgivness from God and he will do the rest, just trust in him

Justin L	first off did you tell any one? 2ND are u seeing a counselor they have very help full medication too get you off of the sauce! such as camprall very low side affects. It's working for me any ? contact me and will chat good luck! Screw the other people WHO COMES first U my Friend!!!!!!

••Mott••	It is difficult to stop entirely on your own, regardless of the amount of willpower. The best advise I can offer is the advise (suggestions) that was offered to me go generously- Alcohol is a drug. It is also addictive and used to satisfy certain wants and needs unsatisfied. My advise is to sit in on an AA meeting in your neighborhood or if you prefer more anonymity, travel 20-30 miles away from your comfort zone. You can get a list of times and place for the meetings by searching the web or calling AA, the are meeting throughout the day and night in every city in the world. It is just a start and if you don't like what you see or hear- you can always keep on drinking. Excessive and Uncontrollable drinking is a disease, they say it can't be cured but it can be arrested or put on hold. It is also a shortcoming of spirituality, There is so much to live for and you will see a huge change in your life, for the better- once you get hold of this dilemma, Good Luck

itskind2bcruel	you could try going to AA meetings and learning more about chemical dependency. maybe volunteering to go to treatment for 60 days would help you make the right choice, not to drink, every time. you need to find an inpatient chemical dependency facility in which you can stay for at least 60-90 days. you will learn a lot from the classes you will be required to attend. not drinking is a choice. you are the one making the choice not to drink. if you relapse, then it was your choice to do so.

Sunflower	AA Prayer. Reading Self-Help Books. Seek Support. Also, you stated that the "personal price was too high". you may have hurt others during this time. Look to repair any repairable relationships. Best of luck.

DeltaQueen	Sounds like you have made a good start and wise choices, why don't you check out a 12 Step program. Alot of people start enjoying alcohol is high school or college and when they make the decision that it isn't the course that they want to follow, they have trouble realizing how to have fun without drinking. 12 step programs make a lot of tools available so that you can learn to "live" without drinking.

Tami P	How I did it was I changed all the people, places and things that were associated with my drinking and started hanging out a AA meetings and functions related to recovering people I made new non drinking friends and went lots of places that didn;t involve alcohol and my life has been richer since I won;t say it isn't hard because it is the only thing you HAVE to have is the real desire to not drink again all the other is simple then Best of luck take one day at a time living with one foot in the past and one in the future never makes today any better.

hypwoman	Have you ever thought of self-hypnosis? What you have done thus far is probably the hardest step thus far. You have already recognized one of the most important things of all and you have come from such a mature standpoint on this that I would say your chances of quitting for good are already quite high. Hypnosis is a way to take your conscious messages and put them into the part of your brain that really controls your behavior; your subconscious mind. Here is one way to do that. After you finish reading this, close your eyes and imagine the following scenes. You will imagine two screens. The first one you will imagine will have a dark frame around it. I want you to spend some time imagining a movie in this dark frame about the negative effects of alcohol; the reasons you want to quit; the personal prices you paid, and how it has interferred with your life, the bad feelings you get etc ... Now, the other screen, I want you to imagine is bright and illuminated and beautiful. On this screen picture yourself healthy, well, successful, and having quit drinking permanently and all the benefits and positive feelings you have associated with being free of alcohol forever. Imagine the people in your life being proud of you and what you are accomplishing as a result of being free of this problem. Now, you likely will need support ... however, why not your friends, your family ... some people who care about you. If they don't know that you drank or had a problem, tell them about it and tell them that you want their support. I don't recommend AA. I have seen what these meetings are all about and they, in my opinion, reinforce the negative. Anything that suggests you keep reminding yourself that you are an alcoholic or suggesting that you are "powerless?" this is a lie that many people choose to believe, but I recommend that when you repeat a suggestion to your brain, that it be one that you want, not one that you don't want. I also have an issue with the fact that all these alcholics sit there remembering about all the shame and mistakes they made when they drank or even the good times they had. I realize that for some people this works. But the system very DISempowering. You are much better off right now to take what you have already learned and apply this through self-hypnosis, reinforcing the positive, and creating your own support system.