Being a woman you might find it liberating to grab a glass of wine or have some extensive vodka shots at the bar with your girlfriends but it isn’t really uncommon for women to get addicted to alcohol. Women too are equally prone to alcoholism, as do men. There is no boundary that differentiates a man from a woman in terms of addiction. Both are physically and emotionally vulnerable to the fatalities caused by excess use of alcohol.
Many alcoholics have claimed later in their life that they never had the intention to get addicted to its use but it was in fact the social circle that they lived and bred in that caused and led them to this addiction. People often do not realize the harmful effects of taking up excess of alcohol only until when the massive signs start to show up. The first thing that the alcohol targets is the liver, subsequently people start falling prey to many other diseases related to the heart, digestive system, sexual problems, diabetes, obesity and the list can simply go on and about.
There are many rehabilitation centers in the country that are specifically led to bring people back to life. But to move towards sobriety requires a huge heart and an undying will and spirit because once you decide to move away from the addiction, your body indeed makes you suffer in a way that it makes sure you are dragged back to the same point again and sadly many indeed fall prey to it and start consuming alcohol even after going through rehabilitation. There are however, a number of ways by which one can take care of their addiction with the help of these simple changes in your lifestyle.
“Men and Women both are physically and emotionally vulnerable to the fatalities caused by excess use of alcohol.”
15. A Complete Lifestyle Change
Yes, you can even analyze and observe the fact that mostly the women who have been found to be addicted to alcohol have had a rough life either in their earlier years or post relationship/marriage. There are many emotional aspects that lure an individual into the arms of having a glass of drink when they are down or depressed. This is because alcohol sort of relieves the brain and body’s connection from each other and hence after a given level of alcohol you start feeling, nothing.
- The first thing to do after you decide to lead a life of sobriety is to a schedule a whole new daily plan for yourself.
- A plan that is full of activities and tasks that shall keep your mind occupied and away from the thought of having a sip.
- Indeed your mind shall wander towards making yourself a glass or accepting that invite from the friends to go the bar but you need to stay strong for your own case.
- Make yourself a healthy breakfast loaded with all the natural nutrients that your body shall need in a day.
14. Start Exercising
The best natural remedy that even many doctors prescribe to ongoing alcoholics is to start exercising and take care of your diet. It has been found that many alcoholics have actually been found to be suffering from a number of diseases that remained untreated, cause the person to move back towards taking up alcohol again. Alcoholics have often found to be going through Hypoglycemia, Hypothyroidism, malnutrition or nutritional deficiencies, some chronic stress and/or even food allergies.
- Exercise is one thing that not only fatigues the body but also helps the body to get rid of all the unhealthy toxins even of alcohol that might still be present in the system after so long.
- Ex-alcoholics also should never let go of this lifestyle change, as this is what helps combat all kinds of negative cravings.
- A good start to the day can include a cycling ride out in the community or the nearby hilly area, or can include brisk walk or jogging. There are plenty of ways to include workout and exercise in your daily routine.
- A worked out body also finds it easier to fall asleep after a long day’s worth of work.
13. Help With Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an old ancient Chinese technique that uses needles to relieve a person out of pain and even help individuals to get rid of a number of diseases. Many alcoholics have found that their regular sittings with an acupuncture expert actually helped them to combat their craving for alcohol.
- Acupuncture for alcoholism somehow targets mostly the ear.
- It has been found that people who go through the process of getting acupuncture feel less craved about having another drink.
- Acupuncture is also a good way to de-stress yourself and get burden off of your shoulders. One of which is the reason why emotionally stressed people go for a glass of drink.
12. Maintain A Balanced Healthy Diet
Experts believe that food and food related cravings have a lot to do with a person’s craving to pick up alcohol. Along with emotional imbalances like the time when you might seem yourself to be going through the premenstrual trauma you seek the refuge in a glass of alcohol those too are actually food cravings when one or the other times your blood sugar goes lower than expected.
- First thing’s first, you should lay your hands off of caffeine and nicotine both of which are present in coffee and tea and also lay hands low on the use of chocolates.
- Beat your need for sugar, stick to natural sugar present in different fruits and grains.
- Include foods that are rich in vitamin B12, vitamin C and amino acids for they will help regularize functionality of the liver, brain functionality and maintain your mood to help you have a grip of your cravings, respectively.
11. Look Into Yoga And Meditation
To connect with your inner self and to try gain inner peace is one of the biggest accomplishments any woman can ever achieve. It is very hard to admit to yourself that you have actually become addicted to something despite being educated enough to know the rights and the wrongs. Many people have found their inner peace through yoga and meditation while going through a self brought phase of sobriety.
- Yoga is based upon relaxing and trying to stretch and place the body in an aura of positivity, because negative aura brings in bad feelings.
- Yoga accompanied with meditation is what actually opens your eyes and the mind and you feel far more powerful than you were before.
- There are a number of yoga practices that include the butterfly pose, the knee hugging spinal twist, the child’s pose and the sitting mountain that are known to bring a lot of spiritual and emotional healing to an individual.
10. Keep Yourself Hydrated
Water is God’s gift to mankind that only a few really understand and appreciate. Hydration is a huge deal and not many people get it right. Lack of sleep, plenty of work throughout the day, excessive consumption of coffee/tea and alcohol and on top of that no means of water-based hydration replenishes the body of any goodness that it needs.
- A hydrated brain thinks 10 times faster than a brain that is dehydrated.
- Helping your body from dehydration actually prevents it from falling back to the hands of the addiction.
“Many people have found their inner peace through yoga and meditation while going through a self brought phase of sobriety.”
9. Maintain A Healthy Sleep Cycle
It is really necessary for the brain of an individual to function properly in a day but this can be strongly affected by things like inappropriate sleep hours or duration. The night has been made for you to sleep and not to procrastinate. If you are not capable of doing things on time then you seriously need to re-organize yourself.
- The best treat that you can give to yourself is to maintain a good sleep cycle.
- This includes sleeping early at night and rising well on time.
- A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 hours of sleep is required by the body to function well throughout the day.
- This means that a healthy and active body will have less time to think otherwise about grabbing a glass of alcohol.
8. Go For Massages
In order for your body to think well about itself you have to make sure that it relaxes and has plenty of time to relieve any damage that has been brought on to it due to excessive alcoholism. There are a number of things that individuals go through when they step towards sobriety, some of which are muscle pain, spasms and even seizures.
- Getting good, hot oil based massages is something that can relieve your body of stress and any pain that there is.
- There are also a number of aroma therapies and massage techniques that are known to bring spiritual healing.
- On a massage table you definitely find some time to disconnect from the world and reconnect with yourself.
7. Manage Your Social Circle
Being a woman you too definitely need to meet and socialize with a number of people who belong to all kinds and walks of lives and to stay connected and up to their mark you often find it obligatory to join them in whatever that they do. However, at times this might seem to be a necessity and will become a burden for you afterwards. Make sure that you know that this is your life and you have the right to lead the way that you want.
- Cut off your link with the people who have been an active part of your alcoholic life, either they are close friends, colleagues or family. They can wait on the expense of your life.
- Bring yourself closer to your immediate family who are the ones that actually need you and are there to support you.
- Finally find sometime to reunite with your own self.
Foods That Help Fight Alcohol Addiction
We have thus, discussed so far the lifestyle changes we can apply in order to get rid of the negatives of alcoholism from our lives. Along with that there are a number of foods that are rich in nutrients and minerals that help balance out any malnourishment or nutritional deficiency there might be that would be causing unnecessary alcohol cravings.
6. Dandelion Tea
Dandelion based herb tea has been found to be an effective way to get rid of any alcohol based withdrawal symptoms. There are many individuals who go through a number of hormonal or nutritional imbalances and fight it difficult to stick to their path of rehabilitation because of the unwanted cravings.
- Extract a dandelion tea by steeping some roots of dandelion in water and letting it boil for 15 minutes.
- Strain the mixture and drink the tea twice to thrice in a day.
- You shall find a major difference in your body’s craving alarm.
5. Go For The Coconut Oil
There are many drawbacks of consuming alcohol and out of which one is that use of alcohol allows increase of yeast and oxidation in the body. Yeast thus feeds on the amount of sugar that is available and when the level drops people are found to uncontrollably add in the requirement with the help of sugar rich foods.
- Coconut oil is indeed one super food that not only removes oxidation of the blood and but also normalizes the flow of oxygen rich, radical free blood to the brain, where half of the issue gets resolved in the way.
- It also beats yeast down that craves on the blood sugar.
- The monounsaturated fats make sure they maintain healthy cholesterol levels in the blood and also take care of the brain.
“The longer the toxins rotate inside the body the greater will be the damage and the harder will it be to get yourself out of the addiction.”
4. Chinese Herb Kudzu
Chinese have been found to be great masters in terms of planting and discovering herbs that are nothing less than lifesavers and are definitely worth a dime on the pockets. Kudzu is a herb that has been found to control all kinds of alcohol based cravings and hangovers that are often accompanied by a rough night of drinking.
- The compounds present in Kudzu herb help combat the unnecessary cravings.
- The suggested way is to take about 40% of the Kudzu extract and consume it not less than thrice in a day.
- Though, you have to be continuing this treatment for a couple of months.
3. Bitter Gourd/Bitter Melon
Ladies the name might give you the jitters but you have to trust us that this bitter mixture will take you to heavens in terms of your cravings to avoid alcohol. This might be termed as reverse psychology where an extremely bitter substance might help you not go for another sip of that finely tasting alcohol. Who says alcohol tastes like the best thing in the world we all know how painful at times it is to go through the tray full of vodka shots.
- Take an extract out from a couple of bitter gourd leaves.
- Add this extract in a cup full of buttermilk and consume it once over an empty stomach.
- You have to follow this deal for a while since bitter gourd helps the body to get rid of all kinds of toxins and wastes that might still be inside disrupting the normal working of the mind and the body.
- The other best thing about this is that the extract actually prevents liver from any further damage and helps it to heal as quickly as it can.
2. Help With Celery
The long-term goal of individuals suffering from alcoholism is that they need to try their best to get the dirt and grime out of their systems. Because the longer the toxins rotate inside the body the greater will be the damage and the harder will it be to get yourself out of the addiction.
- Celery is another super food that is known to regularize the presence of free radicals in the body and to control alcohol based sugar cravings.
- Consume a glass full of celery juice that is composed of half and half water and celery juice.
- Consume a glass full on daily basis for couple of months or until you start feeling the difference.
1. Date With The Dates
Dates are already quite a powerful food for women as it is loaded in natural sugar and all the energy that the brain and the body require in a day. Women who go through menstrual pain and weakness should definitely go about adding dates to their morning breakfast regime.
- Dates help the liver in going through its detoxifying phase.
- It helps heal any damage caused to the liver.
- Simply soak 3-4 dates in a cup of water and wait until they go soft.
- Afterwards mash these dates in the same water and remove the seeds.
- Consume this mixture once in a day for 1-2 months.
Dos
- Go with friends who take you to hikes and cycling trips, avoid frequent trips to the bar.
- Keep yourself occupied for longer durations to avoid any misleading thoughts
- Listen to your favorite music and dance it off with your family and friends.
- Stay true to yourself and to your loved ones.
- Keep your willpower firm and strong.
Don’ts
- Avoid keeping contact with friends or family members who too are alcoholics but are still in a state of denial.
- Do not go for drinks that are caffeine, nicotine and sugar based.
- Do not compromise on your health in terms of your sleep.