How to stop drinking alcohol every night

If you've been spending time searching online for information on how to stop drinking alcohol every night, you may have started to become a little concerned about your drinking habits.

Within this blog, we'll help you to identify whether your drinking is something to be concerned about. We'll also look at different approaches to you can use to stop drinking alcohol every night, which range from at-home strategies, to professional addiction support and treatment. The approach that will be most suitable for you will depend on a number of factors, which we will also look into. 

Drinking alcohol every night - a sign of problem drinking?

While many believe that a glass of wine with dinner or a single beer in the evening isn’t something that's necessarily a problem, there are a few things to think about:

• Do you drink more than 14 units a week? Drinkaware guidelines advise that it's safest not to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week on a regular basis. 14 units of alcohol equates to 6 medium glasses of wine or 6 pints of beer a week. Drinking more than 14 units of alcohol every week leaves you at a higher risk of binge drinking or becoming addicted to alcohol in the future
• Have you gradually been drinking more in the evenings? If you've gone from one drink to having a few drinks every night, this could be a sign your body is craving alcohol and has developed a tolerance to alcohol, meaning that you need more of it to feels its effects. This can leave you at risk of drinking even more as time goes on, which can lead to physical dependency
• Are you using alcohol as a coping mechanism? Some people use alcohol as a way of dealing with their thoughts and feelings. They may drink when they feel stressed or anxious, when they feel bad about themselves, or to block out certain memories. Using alcohol in this way doesn’t help to solve the issue and will only ever numb or mask it for a while. It can also result in you dealing with alcohol dependency issues later on down the line
• Are you drinking every night at home? If you’re drinking at home every evening, away from other people, this kind of concealed drinking can lead to you drinking more over time

If you're drinking alcohol every night, the above factors show that this can be risky, regardless of how much you're consuming. By getting information on how to stop drinking alcohol every night, and applying it to your life, you can start to take steps to reduce the risk of alcohol having, or continuing to have, a damaging impact on your health and wellbeing.

Strategies to help you stop drinking alcohol every night

If you don’t have a dependency or addiction to alcohol, there are a number of steps that you can introduce into your evenings in order to stop drinking every night:

• Introduce a new evening routine – write out a plan for each evening that contains activities to keep your mind busy so that you're less likely to feel the urge to drink
• Keep a dry house – if you've been drinking daily, it's likely that you have done so in your home. Get rid of any alcohol in your house to reduce the temptation
• Focus on the benefits - there are many benefits to giving up alcohol. It can free up your time, improve your health, help you to sleep better and save you money
• Address the reasons why you’ve been drinking – if you've been drinking because of your job, relationship, stress or anxiety, low self-esteem or the past, take the time to think about what you can do to address this. Whether that's looking for a new job or getting therapy to deal with certain issues, there are things you can do to help you feel better
• Tell people that you're cutting back – if people are aware that you’re cutting back on alcohol, they'll be more likely to help you

If you find that you're unable to stop drinking alcohol every night, despite your attempts to curb your consumption, this could suggest that you do need professional help to address your current relationship with alcohol. There are numerous types of support available, including outpatient therapy, day care or a residential treatment programme. The right support for you will depend on your situation. And remember, there's no shame in needing a helping hand from time to time.

How to quit drinking alcohol every night if you're addicted or dependent

If you think that you're dependent or addicted to alcohol, and want to find out how to stop drinking alcohol every night, it's highly recommended that you get professional advice and treatment. You can contact Priory for a free addiction assessment to find out more about your drinking habits and what treatment options are available for you. 

Quitting drinking on your own can be dangerous when you're physically dependent on alcohol. During the withdrawal process, there are a wide number of symptoms a person can experience. For some, that can include delirium tremens (DTs), which is an extremely severe form of alcohol withdrawal that causes seizures and can occasionally be fatal. Because there are such extreme symptoms, it's so important that people withdraw from alcohol within a medically assisted detoxification programme, so they're surrounded by professionals who can provide them with the correct level of care and support.

A rehabilitation programme is also a recommended step to take if you're addicted to or dependent on alcohol. Going through a programme like this can help you to develop insight and awareness into the reasons why you drink every night and help you to develop strategies to support your long-term recovery.

At Priory, our residential rehabilitation programmes are available throughout the UK. Each of our rehabilitation centres has a treatment team who are highly experienced in treating alcohol addiction. All of our centres also provide free aftercare, where you continue to be supported by the team following on from your time within the treatment programme.