The best way to taper off alcohol is to find healthcare professionals who can assess one’s current intake. This will be the basis of the protocol to taper off the substance to increase the chances of success. If you think you’re tapering too quickly, it’s okay to slow down. Just because you had 8 drinks instead of 6 one day doesn’t mean you’ve failed, especially if you still drank the same or less than the previous day. Maybe you just need to set more realistic goals for yourself and slow your taper. You need to make your own schedule and determine what’s best for you.
BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. As such, there is only limited guidance available about the best ways to taper. Tapering can help you overcome alcohol dependence, which is a side effect of chronic alcohol use that causes cravings and withdrawal.
Done With Alcohol? Here’s How To Stop Drinking
Quitting binge drinking may require different strategies than either tapering or cold turkey. After prolonged alcohol use, your body can come to rely on alcohol for normal functioning, and suddenly going without it can cause potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. This phenomenon is often described as “alcohol dependence.” The most common more mild withdrawal symptoms include headaches, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. Moreover, substituting one kind of beverage for another does not help you taper off alcohol if you consume the same number of standard drinks as you usually have. For example, one 12-ounce can of beer contains the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a mixed drink containing 1.5 ounces of alcohol. For some drinkers, cutting down on the amount of alcohol they drink simply does not work.
Once it begins to leave your body, early symptoms of withdrawal begin. In addition to feeling less anxious and having better digestion, you may notice bigger changes a few months into sobriety. For instance, your doctor might find that your heart and liver are in better shape, or your skin may have a certain new glow.
Tips for quitting alcohol
Getting professional help can mitigate harmful withdrawal symptoms and ensure success. If you’re used to drinking less than 20 beers per day, HAMS recommends reducing your alcohol consumption by two beers per day until you achieve sobriety. The alcohol how to taper off alcohol content in specific beer, wine and liquor products differs. You can use the guidelines to get an idea of how many standard drinks you’re used to. If you’ve been unable to quit on your own, you should consider attending an alcohol rehab center.
If that’s where you’re setting your expectations, you might feel like you gave up something you loved (getting really drunk) for no good reason, even when that’s objectively not true. One way to combat that feeling, Dr. Koob says, is to check in with yourself after a few months of sobriety to take stock of the benefits you’re reaping. If you’re living with alcohol use disorder, treatment at a medical rehabilitation facility is your best option. Through therapy, support groups and medication, you’ll be supported on your path to recovery.
Cold Turkey Method
Alcoholism treatment allows you to detox in a safe environment. It teaches you healthy ways to cope with stress and techniques for overcoming the underlying causes of alcohol addiction. Talk therapy is an important part of treatment for alcohol use disorder, but Dr. Streem says just about anyone who is making a life change, like quitting drinking, can benefit from therapy. When you quit alcohol cold turkey, you quit drinking completely and suddenly. The main downside of tapering off is that it requires discipline.
Licensed medical professionals review material we publish on our site. The material is not a substitute for qualified medical diagnoses, treatment, or advice. It should not be used to replace the suggestions of your personal physician or other health care professionals. If you repeatedly cannot cut back on your drinking or otherwise cannot get lower than a certain point in the taper, this might not be the right method for you. During this taper, you may notice you’re feeling pretty good again. The first days were miserable, but now you’re a week in, you’re at the 5-6 drinks a day mark, and you feel fine.
The alcohol content itself is important, and it depends on the percentage of alcohol, the proof of the alcohol and the actual amount of alcohol in the drink. Weaning off alcohol involves gradually decreasing the amount of alcohol you drink. This can be done by reducing the number of drinks, increasing time between drinks or choosing a weaker drink with a lower alcohol content.
- But if you start having major withdrawal symptoms like bad shakes or pulse over 100 or high blood pressure you are tapering too fast and should slow it down.
- Late symptoms begin between two and four days after the last drink, and they usually include changes in heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.
- As such, there is only limited guidance available about the best ways to taper.
- If you’re addicted to alcohol, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to recover without some form of addiction treatment.
Having said that, gaining an awareness of the principles of an alcohol taper can help you when determining how to detox from alcohol by tapering off. There are two types of triggers that can set off a person’s urge to drink. External triggers are people, places, things, or times that offer opportunities to drink and remind a person of alcohol. Internal triggers are thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations that cause a person to drink. Being exposed to either form of a trigger can result in unwanted relapse.
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