How You Can Stop Drinking If You Have a Drinking Problem

Those with a drinking problem need to assess the level of severity before they attempt to stop drinking and change their life. This can be done by using some careful introspection, but you must be sure to be completely honest with yourself while asking yourself these questions. Otherwise you will simply end up justifying more destructive drinking or talking yourself out of taking action.

The first question to ask yourself is this: "Can I stop drinking on my own?" Most people get tripped up with this if they are an alcoholic because they argue that they do not want to stop, and that if they really did want to stop, that of course they really could. This is denial.

The second question to ask yourself is this: "Can I be happy and content when not drinking at all?" Another variation of this question is to see if you are happy and content when limiting yourself to only one drink per day.

If you are trying to limit your drinks to one per day and you are having a hard time doing it, then that is a strong indicator right there. If you have a lot of resentment about the fact that you have to control your drinking in a situation, then that is a red flag as well. These questions that you ask yourself are not so important; what is important is the honesty with which you answer them for yourself.

Now if you decide that you are probably not a true alcoholic, and that you simply have a drinking problem, then you should simply quit drinking. Just don't drink. That is the only solution necessary for someone who is not addicted to alcohol. Here is where the honesty comes in though: if you cannot simply quit with relative ease, then you might have to consider the fact that you are an alcoholic and need real help in order to quit. If this is the case then you should ask for help and try to get to treatment.