How to Stop Drinking: A Safe, Practical Step-by-Step Guide

Learning how to stop drinking alcohol starts with one safety question: could stopping suddenly be dangerous for you? If you drink heavily or every day, see a doctor first. Then make a simple plan: know your reasons, choose to quit or cut back, pick a start date, prepare for the times you usually drink, and get support, such as medication, therapy, or a mutual-help group.

Drink heavily or every day? Talk to a doctor before you stop or cut down. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. If you notice mild shakes, sweating, nausea, anxiety, or a racing heart, get medical advice. Severe shaking, confusion, seeing or hearing things that aren’t there, or a seizure is an emergency: call your local emergency number.

First: is it safe for you to stop suddenly?

If your body has become dependent on alcohol, the NHS warns that stopping overnight could be harmful.

Get medical advice before you stop or cut back if any of these apply:

You drink heavily, or every day or almost every day.
You feel anxious, shaky, sweaty, or sick in the morning, or when you go without a drink.
You need a drink in the morning to feel normal.
You’ve had withdrawal before. A clinical review notes that past severe withdrawal (delirium tremens, or DTs) or repeated withdrawals raise the chance of a severe episode.
You’re older, have other serious health problems, use other drugs, or take sedatives such as benzodiazepines or sleeping pills.

Medical help doesn’t have to mean a hospital. The NHS says medicine that makes withdrawal safer can often be taken at home, though some people need a short stay in a medically supported unit.

According to the NHS, withdrawal symptoms begin within 6 to 12 hours of the last drink and usually last 3 to 7 days. The same clinical review says seizures generally start 24 to 48 hours after the last drink. Delirium tremens, the most severe form, brings confusion, hallucinations, and fever, usually 2 to 3 days after the last drink but sometimes up to 10 days later. It can be fatal. For a fuller picture, see what happens when you stop drinking.

If none of this applies, the steps below show how to quit drinking or cut back.

How to stop drinking: get ready (steps 1–4)

Step 1: Get clear on your reasons

Mixed feelings are normal. Weigh the pros and cons, then write down your top three reasons to change: better sleep, more money, your health, being present for your kids. Keep the list on your phone for when an urge hits.

Step 2: Choose to quit drinking or cut back

Some people want to quit alcohol completely. Others want to cut back on drinking. The NIAAA strongly advises quitting, not cutting down, if you:

have tried to cut down but can’t stay within your limits
have (or have had) alcohol use disorder (AUD), meaning drinking that’s hard to control despite the problems it causes, or signs of it, like cravings
have a health problem that drinking causes or makes worse
take a medicine that interacts with alcohol
are or might be pregnant

If you choose to cut back, set clear limits: which days you’ll drink, and how many standard drinks on those days. In the US, one standard drink is a 12-ounce regular beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1.5-ounce shot of spirits, says the NIAAA.

The NIAAA’s tips suggest having some days when you don’t drink at all. If you haven’t made progress after two to three months, they suggest quitting, getting professional help, or both.

Either way, less is better. The WHO says no level of drinking is risk-free, and most harm comes from heavy drinking.

Not sure yet? A trial month without alcohol is a low-pressure way to find out. So is exploring a sober-curious life without any labels.

Step 3: Pick a start date and tell someone

Choose a day in the next week or two. Avoid the day before a wedding or a big work event. If you need medical help to stop, set the date with your doctor.

Then fill in a short change plan, based on the NIAAA’s change plan template:

My goal: ___
I’ll start on: ___
My top reasons: ___
Strategies I’ll use: ___
People who can help, and how: ___
Roadblocks, and how I’ll handle them: ___

Tell at least one person, so they can help keep you on track. Be specific: the NIAAA suggests asking friends not to offer you alcohol or drink around you, and to give support instead of criticism. Here’s how to tell your family you’re quitting.

Step 4: Clear the house

If drinking at home is part of the problem, the NIAAA suggests keeping little or no alcohol there.

Pour it out or give it away before your start date.
Stock what you’ll drink instead.
Change the routine that leads to buying it, like your route home past the store.

Tips to stop drinking: the first days and weeks (steps 5–9)

Step 5: Plan for your triggers

Triggers are the people, places, times, and feelings that set off the urge to drink. The NIAAA suggests avoiding the ones you can, and planning something else for the ones you can’t. Start by learning how to spot your own triggers.

Trigger	Your plan
Getting home from work	Walk, shower, or cook first
Friday nights out	Suggest brunch or a movie
Stress or an argument	Text someone, step outside
Boredom on the couch	A show, a puzzle, a call

When an urge hits anyway, reread your reasons, talk to someone, or do something active. Or ride it out: the NIAAA notes an urge will crest like a wave and pass.

Step 6: Replace the nightly ritual

If you’re figuring out how to stop drinking every night, look at what the drink did for you. Maybe it marked the end of the day, helped you unwind, or gave your hands something to hold. Keep the ritual, and change what’s in the glass.

Pour sparkling water with fruit, iced tea, or a hot drink into a glass you like.
Try alcohol-free beer or wine if it helps. Skip it if it makes you crave the real thing, or if you take disulfiram (see Step 10).
Fill the evening differently. The NHS suggests a new hobby for the times you’d usually drink. A walk or an early night works too.

Have a polite, firm “No, thanks” ready. The NIAAA says the faster you say no, the less likely you are to give in.

Get a soft drink in your hand early.
Plan how you’ll get home, and when you’ll leave.
Bring someone who knows your goal.
Skip the riskiest events for the first few weeks.

Borrow these scripts for saying no to a drink.

Step 8: Track each day honestly

The NHS suggests keeping a daily drinking diary or using a tracking app. If you’re cutting back, the NIAAA says noting each drink before you have it may help you slow down. Record the hard days too. Over a few weeks, your notes show which days, places, and moods are riskiest.

In Guardian Angel, you mark each day as a Good day or a Difficult day. After a few weeks, Insights can flag your Hardest weekday, if one stands out.

Step 9: Look after sleep, food, movement, and mood

Sleep. If sleep is patchy at first, here’s what helps when you can’t sleep after quitting.
Food. Eat regular meals, and have a snack ready for the hour you used to drink.
Movement. The NIAAA lists physical exercise as one way to get through an urge. See how exercise can ease cravings.
Mood. Feeling low or anxious is common. The NIAAA says mild symptoms may go away when you cut down or stop. See a doctor or mental health professional if they last or get worse. If you have thoughts of suicide, contact a doctor or go to an emergency room right away.

Step 10: Get support, including alcohol use disorder treatment

You don’t have to do this alone. The NIAAA says most people with AUD recover or get much better, and no single treatment suits everyone.

Start with your doctor

A doctor can check your health, help build a plan, and see whether medication fits. Be honest about how much you drink.

Medications to stop drinking

Three medicines are approved in the US for AUD, and the NHS lists the same three. None of them is addictive.

Naltrexone (a pill or an injection) helps reduce the urge to drink.
Acamprosate helps you stay stopped by easing the discomfort some people feel after quitting.
Disulfiram causes unpleasant symptoms if you drink.

A 2023 review of 118 trials backed acamprosate and naltrexone pills as first-line medicines, used alongside counseling, and found limited evidence for disulfiram.

Ask your doctor whether one could help, and mention every medicine you take. Naltrexone blocks the effects of opioid painkillers, and disulfiram reacts with even small amounts of alcohol, including in some foods and cough syrups.

Therapy and counseling

Behavioral treatments help you build skills to stop or cut down, handle triggers, and set reachable goals. Options include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational enhancement, and couples or family counseling.

Mutual-help groups

Groups are free, and meetings happen in person or online. Alcoholics Anonymous is the best known. Others include SMART Recovery, LifeRing, and Women for Sobriety.

A 2020 Cochrane review found that structured programs designed to get people involved in AA usually helped more people stay completely alcohol-free than other standard treatments such as CBT. If the first group doesn’t feel right, try another.

If you slip

A drink after days or weeks without one doesn’t erase your progress. The NIAAA says setbacks are common. A return to drinking is a temporary step back, and you can get back on track. Slips are most likely during stress or around people and places linked to drinking.

Check that you’re safe. If you’ve gone back to heavy or daily drinking, talk to a doctor before you stop again, because withdrawal can be dangerous.
Write down what happened just before the drink.
Update your plan, and tell someone you trust.
Start again today or tomorrow.

Here’s what to do in the first 24 hours after a slip.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to stop drinking cold turkey?

Not for everyone. It’s mainly risky if your body has become dependent on alcohol. If you drink heavily or daily, or feel shaky, sweaty, or anxious when you go without, stopping suddenly can cause severe withdrawal, including seizures and delirium tremens, which can be fatal. Talk to a doctor first: medicine can make withdrawal safer, often at home.

Can I stop drinking on my own?

Often, yes, especially if you don’t get withdrawal symptoms. The NIAAA notes that most people who drink heavily, even those with alcohol use disorder, can cut back significantly or quit. If you think you have alcohol use disorder, it advises getting support rather than going it alone. If you get withdrawal symptoms, see a doctor before you stop.

Can a quit drinking app help?

It may help you drink less. A 2017 Cochrane review of people drinking at risky levels found that those using personalized digital programs, such as apps and websites, drank about 23 grams of alcohol (roughly one and a half US standard drinks) less per week than people who got little or no help. The evidence was moderate quality, and the real effect may be smaller. An app doesn’t replace medical care, so pair it with a doctor or group if you need more help.

If you want a private way to count your alcohol-free days, Guardian Angel gives you a daily check-in, milestone badges, and a Craving SOS screen for hard moments. It’s free to download, and your journal stays on your phone.

Get help now

In an emergency: call 911 (US) or 999 (UK and Ireland) if you’re in danger or feel physically unwell, or if confusion, hallucinations, seizures or severe shaking start after you cut down or stop drinking. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous.
If you’re thinking about suicide or feel overwhelmed: call or text 988 (US), or call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK and Ireland). Both are free, confidential and open 24/7.
For support with drinking: SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357 (US, free, 24/7), or Drinkline, 0300 123 1110 (England, weekdays 9am–8pm, weekends 11am–4pm).
Somewhere else? Find a Helpline lists free, confidential helplines by country.