Secularity and non-confrontation are central to its ethos, and the organization says it’s perfectly acceptable to use SMART alongside other sobriety aids, even including 12-Step societies. If you’ve been curious about how to stop drinking alcohol and get sober, you might be wondering where to start. Keep reading to learn about steps you can take to stop drinking, take back control of your life, and how getting sober without aa to get sober from alcohol to start the path to recovery and long-term sobriety. I worked on my relationship with my familyI focused on bring my self-love to all my interactions with family and saw family relationships transform.2. I worked on developing a relationship with an intimate partnerI had been a serial dater while using substance yet wanted a healthy relationship with a healthy partner.3.
- For people with severe alcohol use disorder, or who expect intense withdrawal symptoms, some form of medical detox may be necessary.
- One of the best middle-ground options out there is online treatment.
- To find a sober coach, search Google for local options or explore coaching databases like Bark and Noomii.
How to Achieve Sobriety Without AA: 8 Powerful Strategies
Share your decision to get sober with friends and family who genuinely care about your well-being. I was already in a methadone treatment program for 4 years before I started working closely with my counselor. While in his office one day, he informed me that my bi-weekly toxicology report was negative. I’m 9 years sober, and I’d like to explore 8 powerful strategies I used to create fulfillment in a life of recovery.
Educating Yourself on the Dangers of Alcohol and Other Drugs
There is no tried-and-true way to determine whether moderation works for you. In other words, try moderation for a short time and see how it goes. With a Reddit account, you can protect your privacy and stay anonymous. Because r/stopdrinking is public, you can read its discussions without commenting or even creating a Reddit account.
How to Find Help for Drug or Alcohol Misuse
It allows you to express yourself freely without judgment, helping you gain insights into your emotional patterns related to addiction. Interventions are a common method used by families to encourage their loved ones to seek help for addiction. These structured meetings allow family members to express their concerns while offering love and encouragement. Detoxification, or ‘detox’, is the process of eliminating harmful substances accumulated through prolonged alcohol consumption. It’s the first step towards recovery, preparing your body for further treatment.
- It is abstinence-focused, and designed to be compatible with a variety of other treatment resources.
- LifeRing focuses mainly on the present – on living a full and positive sober life without dwelling too much on past indiscretions and hurts that may have been the result of problematic drinking.
- While AA meetings can provide a sense of community, it is possible to find support in other ways.
- But don’t beat yourself up – experiencing a relapse doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
- If you start focusing even on the smallest things you are grateful for, you will begin experiencing a shift in your overall thinking which, in turn, can greatly benefit your mental health and recovery.
Diet and Exercise
Researchers stated that mindfulness techniques for addiction usually target addictive behaviors like cravings, and teach you how to apply these techniques in everyday life. If you are able to maintain moderate drinking, it may work for you. But if you find yourself falling into previous unhealthy drinking habits, abstinence may be your better option. Any general advice posted on our blog, website, or app is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute for any medical or other advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation arises in which you require medical advice, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified medical services provider. Workit Health providers can and do prescribe medication (as appropriate) as part of treatment for alcohol use disorder.
LifeRing Recovery
Our treatments are tailored to serve each person’s unique needs and you can read about both Oar members who want to quit drinking entirely as well as Oar members who want to moderate their drinking. While its effectiveness and success is well documented, it is also clear that it does not work for everyone. A 2002 study with 279 people compared AA or similar 12-step programs with other forms of psychosocial treatment. Researchers found that 24% of AA or 12-step participants remained fully abstinent from alcohol after 12 months (2). Finally, if you find all of these options too time consuming, expensive, or fussy, you can always go it alone. This can be a lot more difficult—and even dangerous if you have a severe enough addiction.
Is it possible to quit drugs or drinking without the help of rehab or 12-step groups?
- Celebrating your progress reminds you of your strength and determination to maintain sobriety.
- Regular exercise releases endorphins, serving as a natural mood booster and providing a healthier outlet for emotional release.
- No matter what your sobriety journey looks like, a supportive community can be crucial to sticking with it.
- AA is a peer recovery and self-help program that is spiritual in nature and calls on its members to turn their lives over to a higher power.