Can Tapering Off Alcohol Reduce Withdrawal Symptoms?

Many people fail to successfully quit drinking at least once before managing to attain sobriety. If you’re unable to reduce how much you drink, you may have a disease called alcoholism that requires professional addiction treatment. Alcohol rehab helps you taper off alcohol, and it treats other side effects and causes of alcoholism. If you’re addicted to alcohol, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to recover without some form of addiction treatment.

Consider professional support

If you want to cut back your alcohol consumption or stop drinking alcohol altogether, tapering may help. Tapering is the process of gradually weaning off alcohol rather than quitting cold turkey. Creating a tapering schedule you can stick with is a crucial part of weaning yourself off alcohol.

How to Stay Free of Alcohol or Drugs

• There is also the matter of the specific type of alcohol in question.
• The phrase cold turkey refers to abruptly stopping drug or alcohol use.
• Conversely, if the individual tolerates the reduction well, the pace of tapering may increase.
• However, the efficacy of tapering alone without medical supervision is questionable, as studies show that withdrawal symptoms can persist despite the gradual reduction of alcohol use.

However, an alcohol-impaired driving arrest can be used as an opportunity to screen people for excessive alcohol use. Brief interventions involve assessing readiness, motivators, and barriers to behavior change. These interventions can be delivered in person or electronically (such as on computers or cell phone apps) in many settings, such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, and universities. Find local support for drugs, alcohol, or mental health with our local service finder. Like deep breathing, meditation can help you stay balanced and relaxed during your withdrawal. At times, it’s easy to forget why you entered recovery in the first place.

Recognize Dangerous Withdrawal Symptoms

Within just a month of not drinking, your body can begin to reap the benefits. Your liver can start to heal, your risks of heart disease and cancer go down, and you may begin to sleep better. Maybe you’ve never been interested in logging your innermost thoughts, but journaling can be a great tool to track your feelings as you work on quitting alcohol. But maybe you’re unsure about quitting completely and don’t want to hold yourself to that goal.

Understanding and Implementing an Alcohol Taper Schedule

Before you decide to go through alcohol withdrawal, write yourself a letter and keep it nearby for quick reference. The letter’s content should be encouraging and remind you why you are going through the challenge of detox in the first place. Pull the letter out and read Sober House it to yourself when you feel tempted. It’s even helpful to read it out loud, as this has been shown to help you retain the information more effectively. This method is safer than abruptly stopping alcohol consumption, especially when switching from hard liquor to beer.

• 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.
• Support systems, such as family, friends, or professional care, provide the necessary encouragement and oversight.
• If you begin to experience DT, you always need to get immediate medical attention, as it can be life-threatening.
• But if you’re living with alcohol use disorder, drinking is more than a habit.

Rehabilitation facilities can help you on your path to sobriety by addressing alcohol withdrawal symptoms and becoming involved in sober living support groups, like AA. Making a schedule to slowly reduce your alcohol intake is a safe way to taper off the substance. This will https://megapolisnews.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ ensure that you are not quitting cold turkey which could result in severe and debilitating  withdrawal symptoms or even death. Depending on how much alcohol you’ve been consuming, it can take days or over a week to gradually reduce your dose safely and get off alcohol.

Triggers: How to Manage and Avoid Them

It’s always best to consult a physician on the best strategy, especially if you drink heavily. The main downside of tapering off is that it requires discipline. You’ll need to stick with gradual reduction every day and not revert to previous levels of consumption, otherwise it won’t work. If it’s too hard to control how much you drink each day, weaning might not be the right strategy. That said, there are now several medications that can help reduce your cravings and make weaning off alcohol easier. Some people are facing problems with their health or personal lives which require them to quit immediately.