“As an alcoholic, you will violate your standards quicker than you can lower them.” — Robin Williams, (Weapons of Self-Destruction)
What Are The Benefits Of Quitting Alcohol?
The ill-effects of drinking are known to everyone and yet there are billions of people who engage themselves in heavy drinking. Like most addictions, alcohol addiction is difficult to break. The longer one has been drinking, the more difficult it becomes for them to quit. Cutting off alcohol can be an onerous task as there are chances of you relapsing and failing. However, with the right alcohol abuse counselling, the dedication to quit and self-control, you’ll soon see the benefits of cutting alcohol out of your life.
Given below are some of the benefits that you will start seeing as you start being sober –
Improved sleep
Alcohol interferes with your sleep pattern. One may experience difficulties in falling asleep or waking up, sleeping for long hours of the day, etc. Thus, consumption of alcohol hampers your sleep cycle, giving rise to problems such as snoring, sleep apnea, weariness and withdrawal from daily activities. Lack of sleep or oversleeping will also make you groggy and cranky throughout the day. By abstaining yourself from alcohol, you will experience improvements in your sleep quality as well as enhance your mood.
Weight loss
One of the pitfalls of alcohol abuse is weight gain. Alcohol makes you feel hungry, which makes you eat more. Moreover, alcohol itself contains a lot of sugar, empty calories and deteriorates the metabolism of your body. Hence, if you indulge in binge drinking or drinking on a regular basis, it is likely that you will put on weight. You will soon see the benefits of quitting alcohol for 90 days, as you quickly start to shed those extra pounds.
You start feeling fresh and energetic
Once you start being sober, it’s inevitable that you will start feeling refreshed and happy. You soon realise that alcohol was actually the root cause for all your problems. When you are completely sober, the raised blood pressure because of alcohol abuse, will come back to normal and you will start feeling better. With improved sleep quality and healthy habits, you will feel energetic.
Improved relationships
Often in most families, a person’s addiction to alcohol is the prime reason for all the disputes. Alcoholism strains your relations, and makes you violent or abusive. It is the reason for your crankiness, sudden outbursts, and bad temper. Your ability to think rationally or make coherent decisions is lost. This leads to all the quarrels and conflicts in a relationship. When you are sober, you can think properly and are able to care for the other person. You are able to look after them and figure a feasible and peaceful solution to the problems. In most relationships, alcoholism of one person is the major reason for all the disputes and arguments. Once you quit drinking, the root cause for all the disputes is gone.
You start saving money
Another advantage of being sober and leaving alcohol is that you start saving up on money. The money that you spend on drinking daily can be saved and used for other better things in life. You can spend the money on travelling or for you and your family’s future, or literally for anything other activity that you wish to do!
A better mental health
In today’s world, several people face issues in their daily life because of disturbed and poor mental health. Many people resort to alcohol, in order to deal with stress. However, instead of reducing your tensions, alcohol adds on to your poor mental state as well as may push you in a state of depression. It is quite common among people with alcohol addiction to have mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, etc. Giving up alcohol will have a positive impact on you and will boost your mental health.
Healthy liver
Giving up alcohol will have a positive impact on your body and improve the conditions of your heart and liver. One of the health risks of heavy drinking is cirrhosis. With alcohol out of your body, the function of the liver is enhanced and it can function again smoothly. The liver is able to shed off the excess fat and get rid of all the toxins in the body. Along with this, the liver can store vitamins and other important nutrients, which it wasn’t able to store earlier because of alcohol.
Lower risk of cancer
One of the major risks of alcoholism is cancer. Liver cancer is most of all. It can also lead to several other types of cancer such as esophageal, breast, throat, oral, colon, etc. Being sober will lower the risk of any cancer.
You will soon see the benefits of quitting alcohol for a year. Your skin will start glowing and your health, both physical and mental shall improve. Quitting alcohol all at once, can be difficult as your body may rebel at first. You could experience nausea, sweating, intense anxiety, a racing pulse, etc. Hence it is important that you consult an alcohol abuse counsellor so that you don’t relapse or drift away from your goal. Quitting alcohol will give a new meaning to your life and you will start living much healthier and happier.
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