When’s the Best Time to Stop Drinking?

Drinking alcohol has become an acceptable pastime throughout America, but at what point is enough, enough? Often times, when an alcoholic realizes that their behavior is causing them trouble, it’s simply not enough of a realization for them to immediately quit—in fact, many will continue drinking until the consequences of their alcohol consumption mount up causing problems with work, relationships, health and personal well-being. But when is the best time to quit drinking?

A counselor will tell you that the best time to quit drinking is now—that there’s no better time than the present to get help. And for many, this is the case—if you’re ready to quit, get help today at 800-481-6965 (Who Answers?) .

In AA you’ll learn that the best time to quit drinking was before you drank the first drop—that it’s not the 10th beer that got you drunk, it was the first drop.

In reality, the best time to quit drinking is before it becomes a problem in your life—but unfortunately most people don’t realize the need to quit until the consequences have already occurred. In such a case, there’s no better time than as soon as you realize it’s time—quit drinking now and get the help today at 800-481-6965 (Who Answers?) .

Why Don’t People Quit Drinking Right Away?

If you’re one who has already suffered great consequences as a result of your alcoholism, but you’ve continued to drink, you may be wondering WHY? Why do you make the wrong decisions? Why did you let alcohol interrupt your life? Why have you not quit?

If you’re the family member of an alcoholic, you’re probably wondering all the same things—in fact it’s very common for family members to place personal blame on themselves for a loved one’s alcoholism. It’s not uncommon for a family member to feel like he or she is to blame; like he or she could have done more to help the addict; or like he or she has contributed in some manner to the alcoholism.

Drinking can permanently damage your relationships.

The reality is that there are literally hundreds, and quite possibly thousands of different reasons why people delay the decision to quit drinking—even when alcohol has caused irreparable damage in their lives. These are just a few of the reasons that an addict may not quit right away:

• The individual may not be ready to accept that they have a drinking problem.
• The individual may not be willing to let go of their drinking just yet.
• The individual may have misguided thoughts about treatment—such as thinking that they must hit rock bottom before they can possibly get help.
• The individual may believe that since they haven’t been arrested or otherwise had trouble with the law as a result of their drinking that it must really not be a problem.
• The individual may have misguided ideas about what will happen in treatment—they may think that it will be painful, impossible, or otherwise just out of their reach.
• The individual may think that’s it is someone else’s duty to help them get sober—and if that someone doesn’t come forward, they don’t seek help.
• The individual may believe that their drinking hasn’t impacted their loved ones—and it will take a loved one or a number of loved ones to step up and attest to impact that the alcoholism has had.
• The individual may have seen others suffering from addiction and compare their addiction to that—if it’s not as bad, then they may think they just don’t need help yet.
• The individual may just feel like they don’t want to take the leap toward recovery for fear of failure.
• The individual may think that making the decision to get treatment for their addiction will be a sign of weakness.
• The individual may think that taking the steps toward recovery will mean making a complete life change that they simply are not ready to commit to.

Why You Shouldn’t Delay Your Decision to Quit Drinking

Unfortunately, while an addict may find any number of the reasons above to be acceptable enough to prevent them from quitting—there are dangers associated with the decision to keep using a substance that you’re addicted to. If you delay your decision to quit drinking, you place yourself at risk of any one or many of the following problems:

• Health deterioration that could lead to lifelong consequences such as permanent liver damage.
• Legal consequences such as DUI or other more serious implications that result from drinking alcohol and driving or drinking alcohol in public. A negative legal record could stick with you for the rest of your life.
• More invasive treatment needs when you DO decide to quit because the longer you allow an addiction to invade your life the more difficult it will become to treat.
• Permanently damaging your relationships with friends or family members. Your drinking may cause harm to the people you love and when you’re ready to “fix” the problems, it could be too late.
• Loss of time that cannot be recuperated. Every day that you spend as an alcoholic is one day less that you spend sober and healthy—and you can never get this time back.

How to Quit Drinking Safely and Effectively

Don’t Hit Rock Bottom—Quit Today

When you ask if today is the best time to quit and why, consider the reasons why you shouldn’t hit rock bottom—any of the reasons above are valid as are the many different ideas that you come up with on your own. It’s very common for an addict to believe that he or she must hit rock bottom before they can possibly be ready to get well—but this is not the case.

By the time you hit rock bottom, you’ve already deteriorated your health, ruined your relationships, caused irreparable damage to yourself and possibly to others, and it may even prove to be too late—don’t wait until you hit rock bottom to quit—the best time to quit is today. Get help today at 800-481-6965 (Who Answers?) .

The total concept of having to hit rock bottom before you can justify the need for treatment is absurd. In fact, hitting rock bottom could be a deadly situation. Hitting rock bottom means:

• You live with addiction day in and day out with a false hope that one day something magic will happen, you’ll “hit rock bottom” and voila you’ll be ready for treatment—but the chances of this happening without permanent consequences are slim to none.
• You’re placing yourself at risk of death every single day you continue to wait for “rock bottom” to come.
• You’ve lost everything that matters to you—and some.
• You’ve given up, you’ve slumped so far into addiction that you have absolutely no idea how you will manage to overcome the disease.

But hitting rock bottom doesn’t have to actually happen. You don’t have to lose everything to alcohol, nor do you have to risk your life as a result of your addiction—there is help.

The Best Time to Quit is Now

Don’t hit rock bottom. Don’t let alcohol take another day of your life. Don’t delay recovery—the best time to quit drinking is now. Get help today at 800-481-6965 (Who Answers?) . You’re life starts with this phone call.