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stop drinking

Good Reasons to Stop Drinking in your 40’s

There is no better time to quit alcohol than when you hit midlife. When you reach your 40’s, there is a feeling of urgency to evaluate how well you have been doing with the different aspects of your life. Your body is also sending signals that you can’t ignore. You could have arrived at this decision to quit drinking due to health reasons. You may have decided to stop because it is affecting your mental health and family life. Here are some specific explanations to encourage you to live sober. 1. No more morning breath Admit it, you’ve done it more times than you think. You get hammered, you fall asleep on the couch, and you wake up with bad breath. You forgot to brush your teeth last night! You forgot to take a shower, and now you absolutely stink. This is worse if you wake up with someone wonderful beside you. Alcohol makes your breath foul because it encourages the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth and gums. The smell gets worse when the bacteria come into contact with certain foods such as cheese, onions, and garlic. 2. You won’t miss the hangovers  This is self-explanatory. 3. Your memory will improve, and so will your concentration One of the biggest reasons people drink alcohol is because they loosen up after a tipple. Alcohol is a sedative, and indeed, it does momentarily make you feel less anxious. Once you’ve decided to quit, one of the things you will miss the most would be a scene like this: You get home, put down your things, open the fridge, and get a drink. You will have to re-learn how to relax if you skip the alcohol. When you depend on alcohol to relax, the brain’s neurochemistry changes in such a way that you become forgetful.  However, after you quit and go through the initial stages of withdrawal, your brain will be able to adapt. Some people remark that when they stop drinking, a haze lifts. Suddenly, there is no mental fog. 4. You sleep better A lot of people depend on alcohol to lull themselves to sleep. Because alcohol has a sedative effect, we mistakenly think that it is a sleep aid. Wrong! Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it will disrupt your sleep. According to health experts, when you drink alcohol before sleeping some of these things might happen: You wake up several times in the middle of the night You don’t feel refreshed—you don’t have “deep sleep”, instead it is as if you are awake while trying to sleep (“shallow sleep”) You wake up too early and can’t fall back to sleep Unfortunately, when you quit drinking, your insomnia may get a bit worse until your body adapts. Walking around in the middle of the night is a common complaint among people who are in withdrawal. But trust the system—you may begin to see improvements in as few as three days (or nights). 5. Weight loss Why do you lose weight when you quit? Because when you quit alcohol, you also quit the snacks and nibbles that go with the drinks. Alcohol messes up the metabolism of food in your body. When there is alcohol present, the body prioritizes its digestion before any other substance. This leads to a slower burn of fats and an accumulation of fats that weren’t burned in your buttocks (or gut). 6. You avoid cancer When you are in midlife, you worry about diseases such as cancer. We are not young and spry anymore, some of our bad habits seem to be catching up with us. We may even have friends who are in cancer treatment. Consider this: In a new study published recently in the American Journal of Public Health, people who drink more than three servings of alcoholic beverages have a higher chance of getting cancer. Particularly, they were affected by breast cancer, skin cancer, and ovarian cancer. Be forewarned. 7. Alcohol is not (really) good for the heart  The American Heart Association does not recommend people to start drinking because “it is good for the heart.” Early studies have linked the consumption of wine to good cholesterol levels, but these studies are not definitive. If you are using “good heart health” as an excuse not to get sober, it’s now time to drop it. 8. Better skin Dermatologists warn that alcohol’s dehydrating effects are to blame for acne and increased wrinkle production. Quitting gives your skin a chance to rehydrate. As moisture is the best friend of glowing skin, drink lots of water when you start abstaining so that your skin will heal better. Expect to see results in about a month. 9. Avoiding liver disease If you began drinking in your teens and you are still drinking now, you are at risk of liver disease. The facts are scary. According to the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission, men aged between 40 to 50 who identify themselves as “regular drinkers” are most at risk. 10. A mid-life reevaluation  We are all familiar with the term “midlife crisis”. Perhaps it is better to look at it as a sort of life evaluation. If you start to depend less on alcohol and more on your inner strength to go about life’s challenges, some surprising truths may emerge. Your goal at this stage of life is to answer the questions, “How am I doing so far in this lifetime?” “Are there things I want to change?” Forty (and above) seems to be a good time to start having more satisfying relationships and meaning in life. When you quit alcohol, sometimes you face the truth that you have been using it to dull your pains and disappointments, particularly with certain loved ones. Sober living sometimes leads us to make dramatic changes in our relationships—in the long run, it is good for our emotional and mental health. It is crucial to follow through the intention to live sober. Having the right support is vital if you are going to change the way you live for good. Being sober will affect how you connect with friends and family members. It will also mean you need to change the assumptions you have about yourself. You are never too old to learn new things, they say. Now go ahead and prove it. Read Also: 10 Reasons To Stop Drinking Alcohol Today 3 Alcohol Prevention Tips To Kick Your Old Drinking Habits To The Curb How To Quit Alcohol: Consider Non-Alcoholic Drinks

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Stop drinking problem sign. Prevention and cure alcohol addiction problem concept.

10 Reasons to Stop Drinking Alcohol Today

With alcoholism becoming more and more present in our society, the chances that you or someone you know struggles with alcoholism is increasing rapidly. The good news is nowadays the stigma of having an alcohol problem is almost gone, and there are more resources than ever to help overcome. If you or the person who is struggling is still on the fence about whether or not the alcohol is a real problem, we've compiled a list of reasons to stop drinking once and for all. Quitting drinking can be tough, but the benefits and quality of life change that quitting can bring is more than worth it. Let's talk about that. Quitting Drinking and You Society seems to be overrun with drinking; in fact, it seems like the only way we know how to socialize. Modern society is a mess of people hiding their insecurities and fears thought of unhealthy outlets or masks. More often than not, that mask consists of a few drinks. Have you ever heard someone say they feel "more like themselves" when they're drinking? That is the sort of thing we are talking about here. The great thing is, once you've stopped drinking, you start to regain a sense of self. You gain confidence that you may not have even known that you had because you would just drink your problems away instead of working on them. Even in a superficial sense, quitting drinking makes your skin clear up, you lose weight, you gain more energy. You even have time for more hobbies. Also, do you realize how much money you save when you quit drinking? Drinking is so expensive, now that you aren't spending all your money on 15 dollar drinks, you can actually save up for big life things. Speaking of big life things, your sex and love life can improve significantly Reasons to Stop Drinking for Others When you are in a relationship, there can be a lot of stress caused by a drinking problem. Even if you are single, it is likely that your family members are affected. When you quit drinking, you can take accountability for your actions. As unpleasant as that may sound, taking accountability actually helps you pave a new road into healthy, honest relationships. Quitting drinking can actually help you develop a greater sense of self-awareness that you didn't even know you had. Once you develop greater self-awareness, you can help others find themselves as well. You can become an empathetic, kind person. If you are in a relationship that is stressed under the strain of a drinking problem, a big reason to stop drinking would be to stop hurting the person you are choosing to spend your life with. Although it may seem like you are only hurting yourself, the people who love and care about you also suffer when you struggle with drinking. When you stop drinking, they can feel at ease knowing that you are safe and no longer hurting yourself. Support Systems for Quitting Drinking When you stop drinking, you may suddenly realize that you have less in common with the people you used to hang out with, especially if all they do is drink. The good news is, in quitting drinking, you can discover a whole new group of friends who also don't drink. Those people tend to be better listeners, less selfish, and more empathetic to the struggles of someone who is trying to stay sober. Now just because you got sober doesn't mean life suddenly gets easy. You may find that you are struggling with getting your life back on track sober. The most important thing is that you stick to your guns and don't drink, no matter what. If you find that you are having a hard time, it may be beneficial to set up a system to hold yourself accountable. You can set up a person to check in with every day, or as needed if you're scared you may drink. You can also set up a testing system with a buddy. As silly as it may sound, it can really help you walk the line when you are feeling particularly likely to drink. Remember, when you feel you may drink, you have to have bumpers set up in the way between you and the booze. If you want to get home alcohol tests or learn more about how they work, you can check it out here. No matter what happens in life, you don't have to drink. The key is to make sure you have a good network that can double as a safety net when needed. Life After Quitting Once you get past the initial difficulty of quitting drinking, life gets brighter and better than it ever could have been before. There are countless reasons to stop drinking, but it's important to find the reasons that work for you. Make sure you are ready to commit, and that you have your reasons at the forefront of your mind- you'll need them when you get tempted to drink. It's important to use your newfound free time and extra cash responsibly. You worked really hard to get to the place you are at in life, you deserve to treat yourself. Pick up a new hobby, go out with some new friends, explore the world. You can go anywhere and do anything sober, provided you keep smart feet that take you where you need to go if you feel you are at risk of drinking. It may take a little while, but like a baby deer learning how to walk, you will gain a new sense of self and self-confidence that you hadn't known before. Your life will become fantastic. For more information or any questions, be sure to check us out here.

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