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How Can You Prevent Alcohol Addiction?

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February 8, 2021

Reviewed by: Rajnandini Rathod

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It’s essential to understand if you’re a social drinker, an alcoholic, or a problem drinker. It can depend on several factors, such as gender and culture. You might be an alcoholic if it starts to affect your work and social life. You might see subtle signs such as lying or hiding alcohol from your friends and family.

Social drinkers drink in fewer quantities and on fewer days. Alcoholics tend to drink in high amounts and often find excuses to drink. It’s easy for social drinkers to cut back, but alcoholics tend to find it challenging to slow down. The average amount for a woman is 3 drinks and 4 for a man. Alcoholism must be treated as a disease: excessive stress or depression, or family history of alcohol abusers can influence alcohol abuse.

These tips are for people who haven’t an alcohol addiction in the past.

Ask Family and Friends for Help

It’s difficult for you to realise if you’re becoming an alcoholic. The best people to keep a check are your friends and family members. They can look for signs, such as higher tolerance for alcohol, visiting places often that serve alcohol, or increased lethargy.

Your friends and family can help you manage alcohol addiction by taking you to rehabilitation centres or Alcohol Anonymous meetings. Counselling and lifestyle changes are also helpful.

Avoid Drinking with Alcoholics

Many people believe quitting cold-turkey is the best way to stop drinking, but many professionals think that it’s different for everyone. Some people benefit by decreasing the quantity of alcohol with time. You don’t need to quit if you’re able to manage the amount consumed. You must stop if it triggers you to start drinking in higher quantities again.

You should be careful about several things if you’re cutting back, such as drinking with other heavy drinkers. Addicts drink in large quantities and might force you to drink even if you say no. It’s much easier for an alcoholic to abuse alcohol with fellow alcohol addicts. It’s best to avoid drinking with them.

Set Rules for Yourself

Setting rules help to avoid making mistakes that could lead to life-altering problems. It’s also a great way to establish goals for yourself for the future. When you have a set of rules for yourself, you can also use them as excuses to not drink.

Some of the rules that you must follow are:

Never drive drunk. The dangers of drunk driving can lead to jail time and accidents, which can cause someone’s death. It’s also the best way to end the coaxing from people asking you to drink.
Set a quantity limit. It will help you stop alcohol abuse. Stand your ground when others ask and have the willpower not to fetch another drink. You might also say that you have a meeting in the morning and don’t want a hangover.
Track your consumption. Keep a diary to track alcohol consumption, and how you felt on days when you didn’t or did drink. When you maintain a journal, you realise what the ill-effects are of alcohol addiction. You can also plan which days you want to drink and how much alcohol suits you. The diary can help figure out why you decided to drink that day and avoid using alcohol to manage those stressors.
Don’t keep alcohol in the house. You’ll always want a drink whenever you get stressed, or someone comes over. It can help you prevent alcohol addiction.

Reflect

Keeping a diary is most useful to manage this process. Meditate and ask yourself questions. Alcohol abuse can cause health to deteriorate and must be kept in check. Other things you should think about, to prevent alcoholism are:

Are you able to function and do well at work, school, or responsibilities with family?
Have you started to prefer drinking over being social or doing things you enjoy?
Are you always wondering if you have enough alcohol at home?
Are you spending a big part of your income on alcohol?
Does your behaviour change when you drink or forget what you did the previous night?
Have you not been feeling motivated to perform tasks at work or at home?
Have you gained or lost weight, or does your skin look damaged?
Are you having trouble sleeping?

How Stress Can Cause Alcohol Addiction

Stress is a part of life. We feel emotions each day that affect our mental health. Several people find solace in alcohol instead of building resilience to deal with emotional turmoil. Alcohol can provide a temporary solution but is a depressant, and your health will worsen.

It would be best if you always avoided drinking when you’re going through a traumatic experience because it can push you towards alcohol addiction. It can become a habit to manage emotional pain. Try to build resilience instead of fixing yourself a drink.

Last Few Words

Alcoholism and mental illnesses go hand-in-hand. The chances of you becoming an alcoholic increase if you have a mental illness by 37%. It can lead to further problems, such as psychological and social issues, and self-harm or suicidal tendencies. Comorbidity is when more than 1 illness co-occur. These cause a challenge in treatment, and you must take it seriously.

There is no shame in seeking help from mental health professionals for alcohol addiction. Comorbidity or not, there are several routes you can take for treatment. Detoxification means to stop drinking entirely and taking prescription medicines at a clinic or hospital. You can speak to a psychiatrist or get help from a psychotherapist to create a treatment plan that works for you. You could also try to drink in moderate quantities if you can manage the condition.

Alcoholism is a disease that can destroy your mind and body. Track your consumption and see where you stand because it’s worth the extra effort to live a meaningful life.