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’ve confirmed it is safe for you to wean off alcohol at home, set goals for yourself and make a plan as to how you will achieve those goals. Once you know it is medically safe to stop drinking, you should loop in a therapist or addiction specialist. They will be able to help you uncover the underlying causes of your drinking issues and properly diagnose any co-occurring mental health conditions that you may be suffering from.
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When coming off drugs or alcohol tapering is the best way to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms. Tapering is the act of gradually reducing alcohol use until completely abstinent. By creating a schedule to monitor your alcohol use you can see just how much of the substance you are drinking. Quitting abruptly can be dangerous without medical supervision due to potential withdrawal symptoms. Gradually decreasing alcohol intake through supervised tapering can make quitting safer and ease withdrawal severity. Quitting alcohol cold turkey means stopping all alcohol consumption abruptly.
- Early symptoms of alcohol withdrawal usually start about six hours after the last drink.
- The main difference between tapering and quitting alcohol cold turkey is how fast you quit.
- If you have a friend or family member who knows that you’re trying to taper off alcohol, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.
- They suggest this approach because your odds of success are higher.
- If you do relapse, talk to your therapist or addiction treatment specialist who can help you quickly get back on track and prevent it from happening again.
Quitting drinking, “cold turkey,” means you suddenly stop consuming alcohol. Tapering off (or tapering down) alcohol means you gradually reduce the amount of alcohol that you consume over time. The kindling effect is crucial to consider when deciding between tapering and cold turkey methods. Tapering might seem a better choice, but it has a lower success rate.
Delay your drinking by 30 minutes.
- At the end of the day, remember that drinking is just one of the many activities you can do with loved ones, says Gardner.
- You can use the guidelines to get an idea of how many standard drinks you’re used to.
- It is sometimes possible to taper your alcohol use at home if your AUD isn’t severe.
- By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
At Legacy, we’re dedicated to fully healing your mind, body, and spirit from the ravages of alcoholism. We utilize a three-pronged, holistic approach that combines the right psychotropic medications, cutting-edge clinical therapy, and an environment of supportive peers. Weaning off alcohol can not only dramatically improve the quality of your life, but it can also actually save it. If you are looking to reduce your alcohol consumption safely, contact Legacy Healing.
Who Should Consider Alcohol Tapering?
The thought of abstaining from alcohol completely can feel daunting, and in some cases, it can even be dangerous without medical supervision. Below I share some key information so you can determine if weaning off alcohol is right for you. If you find that you sober house cannot stop drinking, even if it is obvious that it is negatively impacting your life, you may need to seek help for alcohol use disorder. There is no shame in this — a chemical dependency on alcohol can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, and seeking medical attention is important to ensure recovery. However, help and support aren’t just something for when you finish detoxing; it is also important while initially stopping alcohol. The Recovery Village at Baptist Health can help you start your recovery with alcohol addiction treatment — safely, comfortably and with your future in mind.
Alcohol Detox at Home
We are dedicated to transforming the despair of addiction into a purposeful life of confidence, self-respect and happiness. We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful. The support of an alcohol detox program may help you wean off alcohol more quickly and with fewer unpleasant side effects. Some detox programs also offer therapy to prepare you for addiction treatment.
It can be tempting to just “rip off the Band-Aid” when getting sober, but tapering off alcohol is often much safer—and much less stressful. Rather than quitting drinking abruptly (or “cold turkey”), many professionals recommend gradually reducing your drinking (or tapering) over time. This can give your body the chance to adjust, helping you avoid the worst of withdrawal symptoms. When it comes to quitting alcohol, tapering off is often considered a safer and more manageable approach. This method involves gradually reducing alcohol consumption over time, allowing the body to adjust to the changes.
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Restricting or eliminating your alcohol consumption for a brief period of time could help mitigate any complications with your mental health. A strong community can go a long way to helping cut down on alcohol use. If you are serious about mindful drinking, ask your friends, family, or other trusted member of your community to help you cut back. You can plan fun events that don’t center around alcohol, and they can assist in keeping you accountable to your goals.
However, it still poses some serious risks, especially for individuals with long-term and/or severe alcohol problems. It is of the utmost importance that anyone considering tapering off alcohol first consult with a medical professional to determine their treatment needs. Only a licensed medical professional can accurately assess your current condition and whether it’s safe for you to taper down. They will also be able to prescribe you medications that can curb your cravings or reduce your withdrawal symptoms. Because symptoms such as seizures and delirium tremens can be fatal, reducing alcohol consumption can be dangerous for some.
Tapering Off Alcohol
Withdrawal symptoms are generally uncomfortable to deal with, but they can be fatal. To avoid or reduce the impact of the withdrawal symptoms, people struggling with alcohol may choose to progressively taper off alcohol rather than quit abruptly. To avoid severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, you should slowly reduce alcohol consumption. Cautious tapering may take longer than medically supervised detox, but it will help you avoid major health problems.
Substituting a prescription drug for alcohol should only happen with the help of a medical professional. No one should ever attempt a substitution taper with prescription medication unless their doctor specifically prescribed it for that purpose in a medical detox program. While it is possible for some to wean off alcohol at home, it is highly inadvisable to do so without first consulting with medical and addiction treatment professionals.
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This approach helps to break the habit of constant alcohol consumption and promotes a healthier relationship with alcohol. Depending on the amount and length of time someone drinks, they may experience symptoms when tapering. Symptoms of tapering are similar to mild or moderate withdrawal symptoms, which include the following. Once your alcohol tapering schedule is complete, maintenance begins.
Learn more about alcohol withdrawal here and, once again, speak to a doctor first. As a rule of thumb, HAMS (a harm reduction support organization) suggests reducing your consumption by two standard drinks per day until you reach zero. For example, if you typically have 10 drinks per day, you could cut back to 8 the first day, then 6, 4, 2, and finally none. If you have 20 or more drinks per day, they suggest one drink per hour the first day, every hour and a half the next, then reducing by 2 drinks per day after that.
Treatment is the best way to ensure long-term abstinence from alcohol. This is especially true if you are suffering from an alcohol use disorder. Addiction alters the chemical balance in a person’s brain, making it extremely difficult to quit drinking alcohol on one’s own.
Local groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can give you the moral support and strength you need. Delamere describes the different stages that you go through while detoxing from alcohol6. An evidence-based rehab offering holistic and experiential therapies, tailoring treatment to each client on a comfortable campus near Austin. Weaning off alcohol is a hard process, but it is something that you should be immensely proud of.