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Rome wasn't built in a day. You're probably not going to kick your habit in a week, either. That's perfectly okay. Small victories beget bigger ones. In the beginning, simply try to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume. Going straight from a heavy drinker to cold turkey is a recipe for physical and emotional disaster. Imagine that due to excess alcohol, you are vomiting and having paralyzing headaches. If you've felt this way before while drinking, try to summon those memories. The pain you feel is good: it's a willingness to change your habits, and that's the first step. Even if you only reduce your daily drinking by one drink, it's a success. No step is too small at this point. A mistake here is getting comfortable only curbing your drinking by one drink. Keep working on reducing the alcohol you consume. Every week, cut down the total number of drinks by at least one. If you want to be more ambitious, try halving the number of drinks you allow yourself each week. Eating a meal before drinking will reduce your interest for drinking. It will also make it harder to get drunk. If you do this, don't trick yourself into letting your body get as drunk as you would have if you hadn't eaten although very clever, that's what we call cheating! Water will help keep you hydrated, make you feel better, and help flush out toxins from your body. Men are advised to drink 12 cups (3.0 liters) of water a day, and women are advised to drink 9 cups (2.2 liters). This will make it harder for you to justify having alcohol in your house. Use non-alcoholic sparkling wine instead, or cut that part out of the recipe. Most people do not drink like alcoholics do. They cannot understand the fact that some people truly have a problem with alcohol. Of course, there are others who have the problem too. Either way, people will say "You don't have a problem!" When you do quit drinking, just say "No thanks, I'll have water I'm trying to watch my weight." If you hang out with them very much they'll figure it out and they'll think "Good for him!" If you religiously start drinking right after work or when you go home, change your routine to involve another activity. Visit your parents or a friend. A little change of scenery will help break the cycle of addiction. Buy a planner and plan activities during the times when you would normally drink. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, right? If you plan activities with other people, it will be harder to get drunk. If you write those activities down in a planner, you'll be more likely to do them. Many people will find excuses like, "I've been drinking for so long, it probably won't make any difference," or "I've tried so many times, I just can't do it." Some will feel hopelessly defeated if they find that they have something highly progressive like cirrhosis of the liver. Quitting drinking can extend life no matter what's going on. How long it extends is entirely up to you. Stop trying to justify to yourself why you are not quitting. Quitting justifies itself. You should remind yourself that if you were willing to try quitting so many times in the past, you have the ability to try again. There is no age limit nor is it ever too late to try to quit drinking. Even if the last thing that you do is quit, the victory of quitting pays for itself and gives hope to other people. Some people will feel a sense of foolishness and guilt over not having done something sooner. Don't pass blame on anyone. Alcohol is the enemy. It has been whispering in your ear and telling you that it's more important than anything else in your life. There is nothing more important than you. You are of no use to anyone if you die. Hence, you must overthrow the oppressive rule of alcohol and start fresh, just as any country in revolution. Feeling guilty is only half of the equation. If you're just getting sober because you feel guilty, you're getting sober for the wrong reasons. You should be getting sober because you care about yourself, you care about the happiness of your family and friends (who care deeply about you), and you care about leaving an impact on the world. Guilt is only half the reason you should be quitting.
Start by reducing your alcohol intake. Have food before you drink. Drink a lot of water. Revise recipes that call for alcohol. Don't try to explain quitting to people. Make changes to your routine. Don't give up on yourself. Don't let guilt consume you.