Are you planning on quitting alcohol? Are you in the early stages where you’re thinking that you might have a problem and you’re starting to toss around the idea of quitting?
Even if you don’t have concrete plans to stop drinking yet, and even if you aren’t fully convinced that you even have a problem with drinking in the first place, these are useful introspective exercises to understand yourself and what you’re dealing with.
Let’s be honest, though. If you’re wondering if it’s possible to stop drinking on your own, there are two likely situations that are happening here:
- A loved one, a co-worker, or somebody else that you care about is struggling with alcohol, and you want to help them. Maybe you’ve offered help, and they’ve told you that they’re going to handle it on their own, and now you’re wondering if that’s possible?
- Or, you’re here on your own behalf, because you’re starting to think that it’s time to cut back on the drinking a bit. Maybe somebody has talked to you about your drinking habits, and you’ve told them you’ll take care of it on your own, and now you’re looking into that?
Whether you fit into one of those two categories or not, let’s answer the answer:
Is it possible to stop drinking on your own without rehab or meetings?
Yes, it is possible to stop drinking on your own.
We would be lying if we said it’s impossible to cut back on alcohol, or to stop drinking altogether, on your own. People manage to give up alcohol on their own all the time. It happens, it’s possible…
But, it’s not always the easiest way.
Also, everyone’s level of addiction to alcohol will vary.
If someone isn’t a heavy drinker, or they drink a bit too much but they aren’t an alcoholic, then they’ll have a much easier time quitting alcohol and never drinking again, or simply cutting back to a more sustainable level of drinking.
On the other hand, if someone’s alcoholism is a lot stronger, they’ll have a much harder time quitting alcohol without the help and support of a community to look for the stages of relapse, to develop a system, a strategy, help and support for their mental health, help and support for physical withdrawals, and so on.
So, all of this is to say: It’s possible to stop drinking on your own, but in some cases, it’s going to be incredibly challenging, and for some people, it might not be possible.
If you feel like you’re not fully dependent on alcohol in a physical and mental way at your stage of drinking, you may be able to decide to stop, come up with a plan for yourself on how to avoid alcohol, and stick to it. That’s entirely possible, and it’s definitely worth a try.
But what happens if it doesn’t work?
If you try to give up alcohol on your own and you struggle, then it’s possible that you didn’t quite realize how serious your addiction was yet.
As soon as you discover that you’re unable to stop drinking on your own, then it’s time to reach out and get help.
You can explore if your local community has any resources for people who want to stop drinking, such as meetings and support groups, and you can also call the number below to learn about additional support, to determine if you’re covered for it, and to talk about the next steps towards sobriety and freedom from alcohol’s grasp.
