You may want to take a family member or friend along, if possible. Staging an intervention involves a doctor or an intervention specialist approaching the person along with family and friends. It might also be useful to contact a healthcare professional who specializes in addiction. They may be able to provide guidance on the best ways to approach someone with AUD. If a person is worried that someone they know has alcohol use disorder (AUD), there are ways in which they can provide support.
Signs of an Alcohol Problem
While the addict is the only person who can stop their own alcohol use, loved ones can still take certain steps to try and curb addictive behaviors. If you’re exploring how to help an alcoholic stop drinking, the following methods may help bring lightto your loved one’s drinking or drug problem. Here are some tips on how to help an alcoholic stop drinking. Because AUD is a chronic, relapsing disorder, persistence is key. It is rare that someone would go to treatment once and then never drink again. More often, people try to quit or cut back over time, experience recurrences, learn from them, and then continue on their recovery journey.
Have a problem with alcohol? There is a solution.
That said, they also may be more apt to see and apprehend the negative effects of their drinking in the immediate aftermath of a hangover. If you know someone who has successfullyquit drinking, speak with them. Ask them how they finally came to terms with their problem and how they were initially approached.
When does alcohol use become a problem?
Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, so make sure you eat food when you drink. Keep a record of your drinking to support for those who struggling with alcohol addiction help you reach your goal. For 3 to 4 weeks, write down every time you have a drink and how much you drink.
- Listening to others facing the same challenges can serve as a tremendous source of comfort and support, and help you develop new tools for coping.
- Once you’ve made the decision to change, the next step is establishing clear drinking goals.
- Talking to your loved one, who engages in unhealthy or hazardous drinking can be extremely effective and constructive if done tactfully, with compassion, and with the proper tools.
- Help your loved one plan how they’re going to avoid triggers to drink, deal with alcohol cravings, and cope in social situations where there’s pressure to drink.
- It’s OK to make choices that are good for your own physical and mental health.
- It’s important to acknowledge your ambivalence about stopping drinking.
What Are the Legal Consequences of Alcohol Abuse?
You’re likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider. If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider. Primary care and mental health providers can provide effective AUD treatment by combining new medications with brief counseling visits. Your provider may also be able to suggest an online self-guided program. Such e-health tools have been shown to help people overcome alcohol problems. Your health care provider can help you evaluate the pros and cons of each treatment setting.
Identifying Relapse Triggers
- Did a night of excessive drinking leave cans or bottles littering your living room floor?
- To help someone stop drinking, focus on being supportive without being judgmental.
- Psychreg is a digital media company and not a clinical company.
- For more information on a return to drinking, see An Ongoing Process.
- Alcohol recovery is a process—one that often involves setbacks.
It can test your patience and shatter your feelings. Do your best to understand that they’re dealing with an illness. Consider staging a family meeting or an intervention, but don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation.
Deaths from excessive alcohol use
That means you’ll need plenty of patience when supporting your loved one’s recovery. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone in your struggle. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse affects millions of people, from every social class, race, background, and culture. While you can’t do the hard work of overcoming addiction for your loved one, your patience, love, and support can play a crucial part in their long-term recovery.
It might be an unpleasant conversation, but you should begin it politely. Take into deliberation a suitable situation to intervene. You clear the first stage of the mission if your loved ones listen to you and respond positively. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use.
The above mentioned scenarios are referred to as triggers—the people, places, situations, and things that can increase an individual’s risk of relapse. After graduating with a master’s degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women’s issues. «I never thought it would happen for me, but it changes your whole life. The biggest reward was feeling like you can trust and respect yourself again,» she says.