1 - make some goals. Why do you want to stop drinking? Write down your ideas and let this be a template for creating some goals. Whether it is to stay away from drinking events, try controlling your drinking and keep in mind the reasons why you want to stop drinking

2 - Pick a day the next week to start cutting back on your drinking. Choosing a day when you are likely to be at ease and not under pressure and a time  when it is easy  avoid alcohol.

3 -Unfortunately it is not easy to stop drinking, so accept that iyou are facing a tough challenge, don’t “beat yourself up” if you relapse, just keep trying! Remember your goals and the reasons you set these goals in the beginning . If you have too many drinks one night, don’t it get you down, just put things right the next day. 

4 - Talk to others who can support you, check out online alcoholism support forums, there ar lots of people who are going through the same thing and will be more than willing to help you..

5 - Ask your family and friends to respect your decision to stop drinking and to support you by not drinking around you..

6 - have a break, set aside one day a week where you will not drink and spend the time doing something you can enjoy with your family.

7 - Work out what trigger’s your craving for alcohol and initially avoid the places, situations and people which you associate with drinking.

8 - Reward yourself. Use the money you save by not drinking to do something you enjoy!

The crazy thing is that we all have unique,special and admirable qualities which we should be proud of, but we often fail to appreciate these qualities.

Because my self esteem was so low, when I discovered alcohol it served me in two areas firstly it allowed me to block out pain and secondly it made me less inhibited.

Today I am aware of all of my best qualities but also my shortcomings and whenever I feel bad about myself I try to work out how best to deal with my problems. In the past I would turn to drink and blot everything out, but by doing so I’d never progress and would continue to feel bad.

It all comes down to the negative inner voice we have chattering away within us affirming all of the bad things we were told as children. We are worth much more and we all deserve to be happy, we just need to turn the negativity around.

Affirmations are a good way of doing this, I read Susan Jeffer’s book, “Feel the fear and do it anyway” (a must buy) and I learned a few affirmations from it:

• I trust and let go - Whenever I feel insecure I use this one and and however hard it may be, I trust that everything will be good in my life.

• I can handle it - Whatever life throws at me I’ll handle, I’m an independent and versatile individual and I’ll do fine with whatever I do.

• I say yes to the Universe - I accept anything that comes my way, be it opportunity or trouble,whatever happens I’ll be fine.

It’s true I do struggle sometimes, I don’t think I’d be human if I didn’t, but by mentally saying these three affirmations whenever I feel low or insecure, then I do feel a lot better about myself.

Take a look at the reasons why you think that you drink and have a problem with alcohol, I imagine many of you are very similar to me. Try the affirmations I’ve listed, I’m sure that they will help you.

Namaste

Rob

List the  reasons why you want to stop drinking

What makes you want to stop drinking? Do you want to improve your health and sleeping patterns?  If you have issues with addiction, you may want to improve your close relationships You may have had enough of the partying lifestyle and the headaches, blackouts, hangovers and paybacks of your drinking, like missing work and losing your job.

List Goals
You can attempt to control your drinking and gradually reduce your intake until you can eventually stop, although from experience I would say that this is not an effective strategy..

Write your intentions on and pin them where you  can see them regularly , for example on your computer screen or on a mirror.

Keep a “boozing journal”

Make a note of how much you drink and the  circumstances when you do.and how much your consume. This iwill really help you to stop drinking. Total up the amount you drink each day using  a column for the number of drinks, types and where you consumed them.Make sure that you’re really honest about this,because it will help you a lot to ascertain how serious your problem is.

7 useful tips

1. Be cautious at home because it is easy for your drinking to spiral out of control when you have alcohol in the house.

2. Drink slowly and sip rather than gulp your drinks.try alternating between alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and never drink on an empty stomach.

3. Make a point of not drinking on certain days during the week.

4. Don’t feel afraid to say “NO” if someone offers you a drink.

5. Join a gym and do fun physical activities to take your mind off of alcohol

6. Find someone you can talk to about your drinking, try online groups and forums if you don’t have anyone you feel you can talk to about your problem

7. Be wary of the places and people who you associate with drinking as they will make it hard to resist drinking.

Remember never to give up trying to stop drinking, if you are consistent you will succeed.

I discovered that part of my problem was that I was always blaming someone or something else for my addiction. I would never take responsibility and accept that my alcoholism was my problem and only I could do something it.

I think that is why people fail when they try Alcoholics Anonymous, because they want something else to make it easy for them, they don’t realize that they have the inner strength to quit drinking on their own.

If you are an alcoholic, stop pointing the finger at other people and instead accept that you are the one responsible for your condition and only you can do something about it. Start believing in yourself and accept that quitting drinking is not only possible but you are going to do it.

It is likely that you will need medication from your doctor to get you through withdrawal and you should be able to get some counseling too . Once you’ve quit try  SMART, you’ll be able to find help from people on their forum.

The most important thing is to realize that you have the inner strength to beat your addiction, If you can believe that then you will be able to quit drinking for good.

I purchased cognitive behavioural therapy for dummies on Amazon and thie book and worksheets were very helpful.

I also use brainwave entrainment for relaxation and meditation that also works very well for me.

Rational recovery helped me too and enabled me to understand the nature of my addiction.

Writing a blog about my experiences and feelings after stopping drinking and contributing in forums was also helpful and continues to be.

Hobbies can be great to, I was able to transform my hobby into an online business and I now make enough money to be able to work from home and that feels truly liberating.

I’m also a self-help book junkie and my bookshelves are lined with useful books which have helped me to make the most of my life and my abilities.

Making a list of my goals has also been a great help and I’ve found that I can accomplish so much.

Can’t really think of anything else of the moment

Rob

I would start each day with a can of strong cider and I’d proceed to drink for the rest of the day. I would often drive my motorcar while under the influence of alcohol, putting not only myself but other people in danger. I’m embarrassed and nauseated to acknowledge it now, but I would often wake up in the morning after a hard nights drinking, not only with a hangover but in a pool of my own urine.

I serially cheated on my partners and put myself in peril of catching venereal diseases and giving them to my partner. I often had blackouts and woke up in strange places with no recall of how I got there. I would forever do things that I regretted while under the charm of alcohol and yet in spite of all this I continued to drink. I at last decided that enough was enough after an unsuccessful suicide attempt and I haven’t had a drop since.

Here is the precise method that I used to stop drinking alcohol and I am confident that if you follow these simple steps you will be able to give up drinking too.

Admit that you have a problem

Accepting that you have a problem with alcohol is the first step that you must take. The individual who is ready to quit drinking alcohol is someone who is not in denial. The alcoholic’s finds it difficult to admit that they have a problem and will reel off lame excuses for their habit . It took me over 25 years to be able to say that I was an alcoholic and to stop using excuses for my addiction.

Make a commitment to stop drinking alcohol

When you have admitted to yourself that you are an alcoholic, the following thing you need to do is to establish the cause of your addiction, ask yourself some questions. For example, why is the thought of a life without alcohol unbearable? What incites you to drink? why do you carry on drinking even though it’s destroying your relationships and your health? I’m certain you can think of several other questions, just get a pen and paper and write down everything that springs to mind.

Seek medical assistance

A chronic alcoholic will need to quit alcohol under medical supervision, and if you are chemically dependent on alcohol then you will need medical help, as to quit without it can be fatal. Fix an appointment to see a doctor and talk to them truthfully about your drinking habits and your intention to stop. They will be able to prescribe you with medicinal drugs to make the withdrawal process a comfortable experience.

Quit drinking

Once you have stopped drinking alcohol it will be essential in the early days to avoid the people and places you connect with alcohol. It may also be a good idea you to find a support group where you can discuss your feelings and ask for help should you need it. I would recommend that you look at SMART and Rational Recovery as these are two good resources accessible to you on the Internet. I personally would not recommend Alcoholics Anonymous as I didn’t find them helpful and I don’t believe that their recovery statistics are that great, but that is only my opinion.

Create a plan

Now you have stopped drinking alcohol, develop a strategy to keep yourself from returning to it. In the early days of not drinking you will come up with all manner of excuses to return to to the habit. You may believe that you will be able to control it and will start to see it as less of a problem and you will only remember only the good times that you had whilst drinking etc. For every argument you will need to have a solid counter argument. So think about all of the reasons why returning to drinking could be an option and write them down along with all of the reasons why you prefer to stay stopped.

Get support from your family and friends

Tell your family and friends how sincere you are about quitting drinking and ask them to be considerate of your decision. Ask them not to drink around you in the early days and avoid having alcohol in the house. The support of your family will make not drinking a lot easier.

Keep a journal

It’s a very good idea to keep a journal when you quit drinking and it can serve as a effective tool in your recovery. Writing down how you are feeling and all the problems that you are experiencing can be liberating and will keep you firmly committed to defeating your addiction

About the Author

Rob Maggs is a reformed alcoholic dedicated to self improvement and personal development. He is a developer of powerful meditation software.

I’ve never relapsed and today I am not bothered by alcohol in the slightest.

If you would like to be the same and reclaim your dignity and improve your life, then I strongly urge you to sign up for my tips.

It may very well be the best thing you have ever done.

You can also download an ebook describing exactly how I stopped drinking and successfully beat my alcoholism from HERE

If we call alcoholism a disease then we are accepting that we cannot control our use of alcohol from the outset, are powerless over our alcohol consumption, are spiritually inadequate and need to surrender ourselves to a higher power and accept that we will have the disease for the rest of our lives.

This type of belief takes away your own personal power and strength and will keep you addicted.

Alcoholism Early stage
In the first stage ofalcoholism the individual begins to depend upon alcohol to influence their mood. They drink to allieviate problems, and become increasingly preocupied with thoughts about drinking.l. The individual and other people close to them may not realize that they are in the earliest stage of alcoholism. As addiction takes hold, tolerance is developed and it takes more and more alcohol to achieve the desired effect. Frequently, the individual can take large amounts of alcohol without seeming inebriated.
In the early stage, the body adapts to increasing amounts of alcohol and a person’s functions are likely to be improved as blood alcohol levels rise. For example, they can behave normally and walk in a straight line without difficulty. However, with continued alcohol intake over time, the body starts to lose its power to cope with high alcohol levels and as a result when the alcoholic stops drinking and their blood alcohol level decreases, thinking, talking or walking functions deteriorate, and they have progressed to the next of the stage of alcoholism.
Middle Alcoholism Stage
The need and to drink becomes more and more intense. Drinking greater amounts and more frequently has started tooccur and the individual is likely to drink early in the day The alcoholic has started to lose control of their drinking, and the body is no longer effective at processing alcohol as it did before and as tolerance diminishes they become intoxicated easily and withdrawal symptoms get more severe when alcohol is reduced.
The individual might now realize that they have a drinking problem, and other people might notice as well. Regrettably, the alcoholic is unable to judge how much alcohol they can handle. The drinker denies to themselves and other people that alcohol is a problem to avoid their inner turmoil. Hangovers, blackouts and stomach problems start to occur on a regular basis.
End Stage Alcoholism
As alcoholism advances, the alcoholic has become preoccupied with drinking to the exclusion of almost everything else. Everybody can tell that there is a major problem. During the llast stage of alcoholism the mental and physical health of the alcoholic are severely deteriorating. Many of the body’s organs have been harmed and the alcoholic is susceptible to disease. Relationships both at home and socially may have been gravely damaged, and there can be growing financial and legal problems due to the alcoholic’s inability to control alcohol.
Malnutrition has become a problem as large amounts of alcohol interferes with the digestion process and the passage of nutrients from the intestines to the bloodstream. Liver function has been impaired and conversion of nutrients into a useable form is no longer effective. The damaged cells are unable to repair themselves and deterioration continues. Nutritional deficiencies cause a plethora of associated problems. For example, vitamin B-1 deficiency is a common problem resulting in decreased mental alertness and appetite, tiredness, mental confusion and emotional instability.
If the alcoholic continues to drink, alcohol will cause the death of the alcoholic, from suicide, accidents or related injuries.
If you recognize any of these traits in either yourself or someone you love,please do something about it before it is too late.

It took me a few weeks before I became comfortable around alcohol and there have been times when I found it hard. To beat alcohol you might find it helpful to give yourself “choice”, what I mean by that is that you acknowledge that you can drink if you want to but you choose not to.

If you use “choice” then you will be able to overcome the anger and frustration that you will feel about not being able to drink and it will be a lot easier to stay sober. This is why Alcoholics Anonymous fails, because members are told that it is ok to have a relapse. That in essence allows you to fail and gives you permission to “go on a bender” when things get tough.

Make a list of why you quit drinking and put it somewhere where you can see it regularly, do you really want to go back to such a self-destructive habit? Remind yourself of all the bad times that you had as a result of your drinking. You may have fond memories of being drunk, but the bad ones will by far outweigh the good. Remember this as it is important and will stop you from returning to drink.

It has been over two years for me and I have only been tempted to drink on two occasions, both whilst on holiday in Spain. Holidays and seasonal festivities will be hard, but as long as you remember why you quit and why you want to stay sober you will succeed, I am a living example of that fact.