Some people can taper quickly and quit alcohol completely, while others may take longer. But deciding to cut back on drinking is much more important than the length of your alcohol taper. A medical professional can help you determine if a fast or slow taper, or quitting altogether, is appropriate based on a thorough medical assessment and evaluation of your withdrawal Top 5 Advantages of Staying in a Sober Living House risk. Ria Health offers access to many of these tools, including prescription medications, recovery coaching, and online support groups—all through a HIPAA-compliant smartphone app. We support both moderation and abstinence as goals and, although we cannot provide medical detox remotely, we can help you design an effective tapering schedule to reduce your drinking.
What To Do After You Complete Your Taper
It’s also important to monitor withdrawal symptoms closely, adjusting the taper schedule if severe symptoms occur. Whether you’re a daily imbiber, heavy drinker, or frequent binge drinker, you’re likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit. Unfortunately, there’s little to no evidence that tapering https://thearizonadigest.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ off reduces the effects of alcohol withdrawal, some of which can be severe or even life-threatening. Quitting with proper medical supervision may be more important than whether you stop gradually or all at once. For people who experience mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms, there are safe ways to detox at home.
– Rekindle an old hobby or start a new one.
This is a highly personal decision, which can be made through self-reflection, and with the support of a medical professional and your peers. If it’s safe for you to quit cold turkey, you may find that cutting alcohol out entirely from the start helps you clearly uphold your boundaries. Or, you may find that quitting all at once is too drastic and decide to start by practicing harm reduction.
Gradual Reduction Methods
- Ideally, your support network will include mental health, medical, and addiction treatment professionals, as well as friends and family.
- Keep a list of emergency phone numbers on hand that includes contact info for your doctor, the police, a nearby hospital, and someone you trust.
- It’s common to have a difficult time when making big changes, but good self-care practices can help you manage overwhelming feelings and take care of your mind and body.
- Often, people with alcohol use disorder find that other people in their lives spot their addiction long before they do.
- This personalized plan should consider several important factors to ensure safety and success.
The typical warning signs that someone is going to experience Delirium tremens include tremors, an extremely elevated heart rate, and a drastic increase in body temperature. This is because Delirium tremens is caused by hyperactivity in the nervous system, which is now without the depressant effects of alcohol and is instead going into overdrive. As you navigate this question, it can be helpful to think about how you typically prefer to approach change. Metaphorically speaking, do you like to dip your toe in first, or cannonball right in? As long as safety precautions are taken, there’s no wrong way to begin a sobriety or moderation journey.
- There are advantages to the 12 step method, and many people experience success with it.
- If you drink to ease the pain of loneliness, then make a conscious effort to connect with others.
- Rather than quitting drinking abruptly (or “cold turkey”), many professionals recommend gradually reducing your drinking (or tapering) over time.
- It can also involve substituting the drink of choice with another drink; for example, a person may taper off hard alcohol with beer.
Avoid loneliness.
That said, tapering off alcohol doesn’t completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal is dangerous and it’s important to be careful throughout the process. These symptoms may start a few hours or a few days after your last drink of alcohol.
– Ride out the cravings.
Keep a list of emergency phone numbers on hand that includes contact info for your doctor, the police, a nearby hospital, and someone you trust. And consider joining a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous. That said, it’s also important for your well-being and personal health is to set clear boundaries. There are groups, such as Al-Anon and SMART Recovery that can help you navigate this challenge. If you have a loved one who struggles with alcohol, the best way to help them may not always seem obvious. Depending on the person, this issue may cause a lot of frustration and instability.
Reduce Your Number of Drinks Per Day
- All of these and more are good reasons to consider moderating, or cutting back on your drinking.
- Taking a break for a month can give you some perspective on how much you drink, and what it feels like when you don’t.
- For many other drugs, tapering is actually a standard treatment during medical detox.
- The above groups for family members of alcoholics, as well as traditional therapy options, may help support you.
- Even if you don’t want to quit through an existing program, you should still tell others what you’re doing.
