PREPARE YOURSELF TO QUIT DRINKING:
1. Do not go with the friends who used to drink! Remember, you're not being forced to give up a good friend who has treated you well. Instead, you are finally ridding yourself of an awful enemy who has robbed you of many great pleasures in life.
2. Constantly remind yourself of what a great thing you are doing and hold tightly to your quit. Remember that you are pardoning yourself from a life sentence in the prison of alcoholism and you will always hold the key.
3. Try to pick some significant date to quit. Be ambitious, but reasonable. If you are very heavy drinker you must first slow down to avoid withdraws (in this case it is best to have your doctor help you plan your quit date).
4. Get rid of all bottles, cans, etc.
5. Revise recipes that call for wine so you do not have it in the kitchen.
6. Buy a wallet and whenever you think about buying a bottle or a drink, put that amount of money in your sober wallet. It will shock you. Use this for healthier stress relief: massage, visit to a day spa, yoga class...
7. Buy a small piece of inexpensive jewelry like a ring or bracelet, or henna your hand, or get a special manicure to remind you that these hands no longer buy or touch alcohol.
8. Drink a lot of water.
9. Consider joining a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous. These groups have helped millions of people to quit. There are also secular support groups as well such as SMART Recovery.
10. Never take another sip.
11. Deny yourself nothing except the alcohol - You can have anything you want, as long as it's not alcohol (so long as you're not replacing the alcohol with another addiction).
12. Don't try to explain quitting or trying to quit to people -- if they themselves are not in this situation, they are unable to fathom what you're trying to do. Many people will try to enable you and convince you to drink so they can feel better about their own addiction.
13. Admit to yourself, and remember it, that there is absolutely nothing in your life more important than this one thing.
14. Do not avoid all situations where you would normally drink. Instead approach them with a good attitude and remember that you can have a good time without drinking.
15. Memorize a prayer, poem or something (i.e. Hamlet's speech "To be or not to be") to repeat to yourself when you are losing your mind; trying to remember it will keep your head together sometimes.
16. Give yourself a prize for every day or every hour that you haven't had a drink.
17. Talk to your doctor. Alcohol withdrawal can potentially be deadly. If you start experiencing severe hallucinations, you should check into a hospital or treatment center.
18. "He who conquers others is mighty. He who conquers himself is almighty."
19. Take a B-vitamin supplement daily for your first week off alcohol. Alcohol affects the ability of the body to absorb these (specifically thiamine). Deficiency can cause severe cognitive impairment (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or wet brain).
20. If you are tempted, try to visualize what you might look like totally out of control. Do you really want to be that person again?
21. If you are a scheduled drinker, like after work or when you go home, change your routine to involve another activity like visiting your parents or a friend.
22. Try to make yourself busy all the time work.
