Putian Huating Alcohol Rehabilitation Center is there.

Whether Alcoholics Anonymous is right for you, please read 14 points.

1. Treat drinking as the most important or very important thing in life, occupy a central position in your heart, and never forget it.

2. The amount of alcohol consumed gradually increased compared to the initial period of drinking.

3. Drinking speed increases.

4. Frequently drink alcohol secretly alone or behind the back of family members.

5. Use wine as medicine to relieve emotional distress.

6. Have the behavior of hiding alcohol.

7. Often forgetful after drinking.

8. Drinking alcohol unplanned often causes accidents.

9. Drinking in the morning is commonly known as "drinking with eyes open". Some people even drink after waking up at night.

10. Drink alcohol before going to bed.

11. Like to drink on an empty stomach, do not eat staple food and rarely eat vegetables when drinking.

12. Choose a wine brand when circumstances permit.

13. Arguing with family members because of drinking affects family harmony, or drinking affects work.

14. I once quit drinking, but it didn’t last long and my old disease relapsed and I couldn’t control it.

We think we are addicted to alcohol and are determined to stop drinking, no matter what the cost. But over and over again (even hospitalization is ineffective) we can't get rid of the control of alcohol. We are so miserable that we really have a dead end. What can we do to stay sober for a long time?

Here we will introduce some methods, as long as they are implemented carefully, they will help you avoid drinking again.

1. Remember: Alcoholism is an incurable, progressively worsening, and fatal disease.

Alcoholism is a progressively worsening, fatal disease. This disease is caused by the body's sensitivity to alcohol coupled with a psychologically difficult and compulsive desire to drink. Currently, there is no drug or psychotherapy "cure" in the medical community - we cannot simply be hospitalized or take medication to change our traits and return to the normal, moderate social drinking that we experienced in the early days of drinking.

Thousands of alcoholics cannot stop drinking, and not only do we see many alcoholics drink themselves to death - they die from the "withdrawal" syndrome of delirium tremens (D.T.'s) ) or convulsions, or die from cirrhosis of the liver caused by drinking, and there are many more deaths that are not officially attributed to alcoholism but are actually caused by drinking. And when car accidents, drownings, suicides, homicides, heart attacks, fires, pneumonia, or strokes are listed as direct factors of death, the fact is that the alcoholic's heavy drinking behavior contributed to the conditions and direct causes of death.

Most of us are not yet on the verge of the horrific final stages of alcoholism, and so drink now thinking we are far away from that fate. But if we continue to drink, there is no doubt that there is only a dead end.

Many alcoholics who cannot quit drinking will blame their excessive drinking on their weak moral values, or think that it is due to their unbalanced mentality. Yet there is nothing morally wrong with alcoholism because it is a disease. At this stage, it is impossible to overcome it by the power of one's own will alone, because the excessive alcoholic has lost the ability to make free choices in the face of alcohol.

So we don’t need to be embarrassed about our illness, there is nothing shameful about it. It's not our fault, we didn't want to be alcoholics, and we didn't try to get the disease any more than anyone wants to get pneumonia. Experience shows that as long as you have a strong desire to quit drinking, fully understand the seriousness of the problem, and take care of yourself in a way that is free from alcohol and full of happiness, then you can still live a happy, healthy and valuable life like a normal person.

2. Stay away from the first glass of wine

“If you don’t drink the first glass of wine, you won’t get drunk.” “One glass is too much, but twenty glasses are not enough. ”

When we develop from drinking too much to being addicted to alcohol, frequent drunkenness seriously interferes with our life and work, so we reduce the frequency of drinking, or try to control the amount of alcohol to one or two drinks, or Switch from alcoholic drinks to beer or wine to keep yourself from getting too drunk. Maybe we can stay alcohol-free for a while, and then when the opportunity arises (some special occasion, personal confusion, or nothing special at all), we start drinking again, and at first we think of just one drink, since one drink does not cause Regardless of the serious consequences, we feel it is safe to have another drink.

But it turns out that's just a trap - when we've had two or three drinks, we feel good about it, and then we think one or two more drinks will be okay given our level of drinking. As a result, we drank too much uncontrollably and returned to our original drunken state.

Doctors who specialize in alcohol dependence tell us that it is the first drink that triggers the underlying desire to drink, which in turn makes us lose control. This repeated experience leads us to conclude that trying to control how much we drink and planning how not to get drunk is impossible, and that avoiding that crucial drink—“never the first drink”—is the key to long-term sobriety.

Alcohol dependence is an addiction to alcohol. Alcohol is a soft drug like any other addictive substance, and the only way we can stay in recovery is to stay away from the first dose of the narcotic that caused our addiction.

3. Use the "24-hour" plan

In the days of alcoholism, we often solemnly swear "never drink again" when we are very uncomfortable. "I vowed not to drink for a year." From the bottom of our hearts, we really didn't want to get drunk again. Of course some people will have reservations: that the pledge is only for "hard liquor", not beer. In fact, beer and wine can also make us drunk, but we need to drink more to achieve the same effect as liquor. We suffer just as much damage from drunkenness with beer and wine as we do from hard liquor.

However, after a while, the vows and painful memories will be left behind. We started drinking again at some point. Our "forever" never lasts.

Of course, some of them did keep their promise and quit for a long time, for 2 months, half a year, or a year, until the time came and we felt that we should be able to drink freely and in a controlled manner... and we started drinking again. , and soon fell into the original troubles, along with new guilt and regret.

Alcohol dependence is a permanent, irreversible disease, and experience tells us all that we should not make a long-term commitment to staying sober. A more practical and effective way to say it is: "I'm just not drinking today."

Maybe we drank yesterday, but we can decide not to drink today. No matter what temptations and irritations we encounter, we try as hard as we can to avoid having that first drink of the day.

If the desire to drink is too strong, then break the 24 hours into smaller units - at least one hour - and we can tolerate the discomfort caused by this temporary suspension, then add one more hour ! One more hour! Keep going. If we succeed today, we have reason to believe we can do it tomorrow.

The "24-hour" plan is very casual. We can start over at any time, no matter where we are. At home, at work, in the hospital room, at 4:00 in the afternoon or 3:00 in the morning, we can decide at any time not to drink for the next 24 hours or 5 minutes.

We're just trying to live today (now) just to stay sane - and it works. Once this way of thinking becomes part of our thinking, we find that living in 24-hour blocks is equally effective and satisfying for dealing with other things.

4. Take Action

The more we want to stay away from alcohol, the more lingering thoughts of drinking will linger. So simply staying away from alcohol (or not thinking about it) isn't enough.

Once you stop drinking, how do you spend the free time? Most of us have formal jobs to do, but there is still a lot of free time that must be spent. Therefore, we must develop new hobbies and arrange colorful activities to fill these times, and at the same time find appropriate outlets for the energy that was once addicted to alcohol.

There are many things we can do that are suitable and meaningful for us.

1. In the early stages of quitting drinking, you can take a walk or brisk walk. Especially going to new places you’ve never been before. Go for a leisurely stroll in a park or country lane, but not a tiring march.

2． read. Although some of us cannot make up our minds to read books, we should really read some books to broaden our horizons, increase our life experience, and be more attentive.

3. Visiting a museum or gallery, some people choose photography is also a good idea.

4. Swim, run, bike, yoga, or other exercise recommended by your doctor.

5. Tackle those long-neglected household chores.

Organizing wardrobes and dressing tables, filing documents into categories, or dealing with things we have put off for a long time. But when we do these things, we should not be greedy for more and act within our capabilities. Instead of cleaning out the entire kitchen or organizing all the files at once, clean out one drawer or file folder at a time and do the rest another day.

6． Try taking up a new hobby. Choose activities that are not too expensive or demanding, that are purely recreational, that are refreshing and invigorating without the pressure of competition. For example, singing, writing, tropical fish, carpentry, basketball, cooking, bird watching, amateur performances, wood carving, gardening, guitar, movies, dance, stone carving, potted plants, collection, etc. Many people find that the activities they really enjoy now are hobbies they never considered trying.

7. Rediscover the fun of the past. A watercolor painting, billiards or Go game, reading notes, etc. that you have not polished for many years, to continue these hobbies. But if you feel it is no longer suitable for you, just give it up.

8. Go to class. Studying Japanese or English? Love history or math? Want to learn about archeology or anthropology? Or cooking, computer operation, then take correspondence courses, TV universities or adult education (just for interest, not necessarily with a credit certificate). There are also many places that offer classes that only take one day a week, why not give it a try? Taking classes can not only broaden your horizons, but also broaden your areas of life. If you get bored of the class content, don't hesitate to quit immediately. Only by learning to give up activities that are not beneficial to us or have no positive, positive, or healthy meaning can we muster the courage to face it again, and only then can we have the opportunity to experience a new dimension of life besides drinking.

9. Volunteer to do some useful service. Many hospitals, children's service agencies, and social welfare groups are in great need of volunteers to provide various services. We have many choices. When we can contribute to others, even if it is just a trivial service, we will feel particularly useful. We will even feel very interested when talking about the process of participating in these activities and related information. And particularly devoted.

10． Dress yourself up. Most of us know that there are many ways that a new haircut, new clothes, a new pair of glasses, or even new teeth can have unexpected and pleasing results.

11. Play with ease! Not everything we do in our daily lives must be proactive and innovative. We also need to do some activities that are purely for fun, such as kites, zoos, comedy movies, soul music, detective novels, etc. that you like; if you don’t like it, find other fun activities that have nothing to do with drinking, purely To reward yourself.

5. Change old habits

In the process of our alcoholism, there are fixed time periods, familiar places and accustomed activities. Especially when we are tired, hungry, lonely, angry, or particularly happy, these seemingly ordinary and recurring scenes are dangerous traps for our waking lives.

When we first start sobering up, it can be helpful to look back at our past drinking habits to find ways to overcome our addiction. The place where we often buy alcohol may be a supermarket on the way to work. Each of us always has our own favorite place to drink. Whether it’s drinking with friends for fun or a habitual drink at a fixed time every day, we can find out from our past drinking patterns what time and days we are used to drinking.

We can adjust all the details of our lives that are related to our drinking problem.

For example, many people are accustomed to drinking a small cup of refreshing drink and then rinsing their mouth as soon as they wake up early. We can instead go to the balcony to exercise for a few minutes. There are also people who have learned to take a new route instead of taking the usual route when leaving home in the morning. Some people have stopped driving and taken the bus, or they have taken the subway instead of riding a bicycle, or taking the bus instead of walking. Others try to change old habits by changing parking locations.

6. Use sweets or drinks

Try not to let yourself go hungry - when you are hungry, the urge to drink is even stronger. Eating sweets, snacks, and nutritious foods at this time seems to reduce our desire for alcohol. Because sweetness can suppress the urge to drink, the eating process itself will also bring about a series of new body movements: chewing, swallowing, etc. when drinking drinks, milk, eating cookies, fruits, etc., which is also very helpful in changing the old drinking habits in the past. Helpful.

When some alcoholics are advised to eat more instead of drinking, they may worry about whether they will gain weight as they eat.

In fact, after replacing the caloric supply of ethanol in alcohol with a healthy and balanced diet, some overweight people actually lost excess fat and lost weight. Of course some people may gain weight, but this is manageable - after all, losing weight is much easier than quitting drinking.

According to the conclusions of current medical research, eating more foods rich in vitamin B can not only make up for the vitamin deficiency caused by our long-term alcohol addiction, but also help reduce alcohol addiction. Therefore, daily supplementation of multivitamins is particularly important. It's the B vitamins that make sense.

So next time we face the urge to drink, try having something sweet or something to drink. At least you can put off the thought of drinking for an hour or two.

8. Get adequate rest

People who are serious alcoholics generally do not understand why their bodies are tired. In fact, there are at least three reasons stemming from the characteristics of alcohol: ① Alcohol is a high-calorie drink that can quickly provide energy; ② Alcohol paralyzes the central nervous system, making alcoholics unable to detect symptoms of physical discomfort; ③ When drunk and paralyzed After gradually disappearing, the anxiety that followed caused another feeling of tension.

Feelings of anxiety and uneasiness may continue for some time after we stop drinking, leading to bipolar disorder and insomnia. We also often feel very tired and drowsy, often alternating between the two conditions. As the process of stopping drinking continues, both of these problems will gradually improve, so there is no need to worry.

This reminds us that we must have adequate rest during the initial stage of stopping drinking. Because when we are tired, we often have the idea of ??picking up the first glass of wine again.

Many of us are eager to understand why we sometimes have the sudden urge to drink for no apparent reason. If we analyze the situation carefully, we will find that this situation often occurs when we are feeling particularly tired, but we do not understand the correlation at the time. We often consume too much energy and don’t get enough rest. Generally speaking, we can recover immediately by eating fast food, snacks or taking a nap. At the same time, the thought of drinking will disappear; even if we don’t fall asleep immediately , but as long as you lie down for a while or take a nap on a chair, you can relax and eliminate fatigue. Of course, if we can arrange enough rest time for ourselves in our daily plan, we will have better results.

Insomnia often occurs after stopping drinking. And "insomnia" is often used as an excuse for us to have a drink or two, so we must take some measures to help ourselves avoid drinking again.

Sometimes instead of lying in bed tossing and turning and being unable to fall asleep, it is better to simply do something you like. Even at one or two o'clock in the morning, you might as well get up and read or write until your body needs rest.

Re-examine your daily habits to see if any bad habits are causing your sleep disorders. For example, did you drink too much tea or coffee at night? Is the diet moderate? Is there a moderate amount of exercise? Is the digestive system functioning normally?

In addition, many traditional and old remedies are also very effective in solving the problem of insomnia. For example, drink a cup of hot milk, take a deep breath, take a hot bath, read a monotonous and boring book or listen to light music, etc.

If the situation does not improve or even worsens, we recommend seeking diagnosis and treatment from a more skilled physician who also understands alcohol addiction.

We must remember: sleeping pills do not solve the insomnia problem of us alcoholics. Experience shows that when you become dependent on drugs, you will inevitably end up relapsing! Moreover, using drugs to fall asleep requires taking great risks. Therefore, we would rather endure short-term discomfort than risk resorting to medication until our bodies can regain healthy sleep habits.

After getting rid of the shackles of alcohol, many of us have been horrified to find that we had a vivid nightmare about our return to drinking in the dead of night or at dawn. We feel so shocked and distressed by our return to drinking, but this phenomenon is not a bad thing. It means that we have really changed our past and realized that we can no longer continue to binge drink, so we are dreaming In the middle, I also subconsciously agree with my choice to stay awake.

When we can sleep peacefully without drinking, it feels so wonderful, a kind of pure physical and mental pleasure. From now on, we no longer have to suffer the painful torture of hangovers, nor do we need to worry about losing our temper and memory after drinking. A blank wait for the dilemma to arise.

This means that we can now welcome a new day with gratitude and hope!

9. Be cautious about drinking situations

In the early stages of abstaining from alcohol, keep an appropriate distance from your former fair-weather friends, or find a reasonable excuse to avoid people whose main activity is drinking. Banquets are a smart idea. But sooner or later we have to attend some drinking party, so how we deal with it is important.

If the host is an old friend, you can tell us in advance that you are now quit drinking; or at least one companion knows that we are quitting alcohol and understands its importance to us - he can support you and reduce The pressure you will be under.

In addition, if adding some nutrients to your stomach before attending the party is beneficial to stabilizing your mood, you can also bring a small bag of your favorite candies or alternative foods with you. Sometimes we can leave early if there is still a long drinking time in the evening after dinner. Most people almost didn't care at all that we were gone, they were too busy drinking or something like that.

In general, we should not be too nervous because (1) others’ drinking is not what we originally thought (2) very, very few people notice or care whether we drink (3) love us friends or relatives who are happy to see us not drinking.

At the party, relatives and friends who drink may ask:

"What did you drink?"

"It's okay to just have one drink"

"Why don't you drink?"...and so on.

We try our best to explain in a way that does not lie and allows others to understand and accept it quickly. Examples include “health factors” and “doctor’s orders” “I find myself unfit to drink alcohol”. Most people can accept the fact that we are no longer drinking and stop asking me questions about it.

Of course, the sooner we confess the truth to people we know well, the better for ourselves. Most friendly people will appreciate our honesty and encourage our efforts to break free from alcohol addiction. Saying out loud to others that we don't drink can do ourselves a lot of good, strengthen our resolve to stay sober, and may have a side effect: sometimes when we make such a statement, it encourages others who want to or If people who need to drink don't drink, others will not look down on you.

When we are asked what we would like to drink, most of us can settle for a soda or other beverage to make ourselves more comfortable.

Normally, we don’t want others to pay too much attention to our quitting alcohol, but we want to be able to tell everyone about it in a discreet and private way rather than in a public way. But sometimes a well-intentioned friend or family member unintentionally becomes overly concerned about our recovery from alcohol addiction. This may make us feel quite embarrassed. At this time, it is best to try to endure it, usually no more than 2 minutes. When we feel calmer, we can calmly explain that we sincerely appreciate their concern.

Sometimes a person who drinks a lot or a former drinking buddy is dissatisfied with your sudden stop drinking. When you encounter this kind of forced situation and feel unhappy, please remember that there are thousands of people who drink a lot. Recovering alcoholics support you, even though we are not here, our hearts are with you. You have to learn to avoid this kind of people. Sometimes you can just find an excuse and leave directly. Even if you offend this kind of people, it's not a big deal. After all, we are just taking the necessary steps to maintain our own health.

10. "Be kind to yourself and be kind to others"

Looking back on our drinking experience, we will find that our drinking problems always seem to be related to other people.

When we are addicted to alcohol, our attitude towards others can become argumentative and aggressive. Our anger and fear are often directed even at innocent people. We are overly sensitive to those around us and therefore harbor resentment.

When we stop drinking, we feel great relief. But it is difficult for us to ensure emotional stability. We must face the reality: there will be some people everywhere. Sometimes they say something that we find difficult to agree with, or they do something that we don’t like and it arouses our feelings. mood swings. We find it extremely helpful in situations like this to say to ourselves, "Ah, okay, 'Treat yourself more gently than others.'"

It pays to try hard to understand others, respect their choices, respect their actions and rights, especially those who treat us in the wrong way. We treat each other with courtesy and expect the same courtesy from them.

We can find like-minded friends in our neighborhoods and companies. When we spend time with people we like, we are less likely to be bothered by difficult people.

Slowly, we find that we will naturally no longer be afraid of those who will irritate us, and no longer eagerly walk away from them. Of course, we are not waiting for them to irritate us, nor are we waiting for them to irritate us. Trying to change them just because we ourselves have changed.

We must not allow ourselves to develop too much resentment toward others, paying special attention to the measure that prompts us to drink. We discover that no one can manipulate our wishes or destroy our lives.

"Be lenient to others" - the first half of this slogan is equally valuable: "Be lenient to yourself"!

When we fully enjoy an interesting and colorful life, we are willing to let others live their lives in any way they like.

Do you think of someone who is bothering you right now? If so, try putting off thinking about that person, no matter how much the thought of that person once made you bristle with rage. But for now, why not put him or her aside while you continue reading the next paragraph?

Be patient! Focus on your own life. Our view is that staying sober opens up a new path to life and happiness. It's worth sacrificing any jealousy and arguments...Okay, let's not think about the person who is annoying you for the moment, calm down, and let's see if the following suggestions will help you.