Get professional treatment and long-term support to prevent relapse. Set up therapy, counseling and support groups, a plan for sober living, and follow-up medical evaluations. A standard drink is a term used because different alcoholic beverages have different concentrations of alcohol, giving you varying amounts of alcohol depending on the fluid you drink. This can equate to as much as a full bottle of beer or less than two tablespoons of whisky. It is important to measure your alcohol use in standard drinks while tapering to allow for an accurate comparison of how much you use from day to day.

• For that reason, it’s best to speak to a doctor or clinician when you’ve decided to stop drinking before you quit cold turkey.
• Alcoholics Anonymous cautions its members not to get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired—all of which can make you more vulnerable to the urge to drink.
• You might run into obstacles along the way that tempt you to drink.
• It’s especially influential if you have an alcohol use disorder.
• That is why alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal treatment is administered by medical professionals.

Check in with your body for signs of detox

Overall, do whatever you can to make yourself as comfortable as possible. If you’re sweating, place a cold towel on your forehead or on the back of your neck. Prepare a playlist how to taper off alcohol of your favorite songs or movies to pass the time. Seizures can occur within the first 24 hours, but seizures occur only in about 25 percent of patients, according to the NIAAA.

Place Yourself In a Supportive Setting

Also, agree to only drink in safe environments, eat full meals before drinking, or in between the times you drink. Other ways to taper off alcohol, other than reduce the number of drinks you have, is to drink water or soda in between alcoholic beverages. Have a shot of whiskey, drink water for two hours, have another shot of whiskey. Rather than consuming back to back alcohol-filled drinks, you are replacing some with a non-alcoholic beverage. Organs like the kidneys and liver are a big part of the process of eliminating alcohol from the body.

• This can trigger alcohol withdrawal symptoms, which can be dangerous in some cases.
• This can be especially true if your living situation is a source of stress, and your alcohol use has become a coping mechanism.
• An effective tapering schedule may include cutting out one drink at a time at regular intervals.
• People who want to reduce their alcohol consumption often do not realize how much of their social and daily routines alcohol has become.
• Gradually decreasing alcohol intake through supervised tapering can make quitting safer and ease withdrawal severity.
• Direct tapering is not recommended for liquor drinkers as it is challenging to measure amounts and can result in binge drinking.

Let’s talk about your recovery

This can help your body adjust, and it can be easier to manage than quitting cold turkey. Establishing new habits and routines, and dealing with the underlying causes of your drinking habits, are essential to lasting recovery. Alcohol also changes your brain chemistry, which can result in higher levels of anxiety and depression for the first several months.

Medical Detox for Tapering off Alcohol