32 Tips to Shift Your Day

Whether you are trying to quit drinking or are trying to stay quit, there will be something on this list that can help you improve your day. These tips are gathered over 30+ years in recovery and have helped keep me sober. If you are trying to quit drinking and stay quit, the difference between waking up sober or not can depend on making one small but significant shift in your day. You have the power!

1. When quitting drinking, one of the most difficult parts is making the decision. It is agonizing. Instead, try surrendering and giving up the control. That’s right. Let go. Ahhh. Feel that?
2. When going through difficult times, find someone non-judgmental you can call and talk to every day.
3. Do you need detox support? Your doctor can help and refer you to alcohol and drug treatment services. Alcohol withdrawal can be severe.
4. Find a women’s support group and a sober mentor. Your drinking friends won’t be able to support you through this. 
5. Be open-minded. Alcoholics tend to think in extremes. Black or white. Right or wrong. My way or the highway.
6. Pause before you respond, especially when you are upset.
7. When in doubt, don’t.
8. Expect some fallout from your past. Ride it through. The circumstances in your life will improve, provided you don’t pick up a drink. IT WILL GET BETTER.
9. Don’t try and deal with everything at once. Start with what is most urgent and work your way down the list. As my good friend Barb says, “Shoot the crocodiles closest to the boat.”
10. Find healthy ways of releasing emotional intensity. Any type of movement is excellent. So is crying. Or running with your feet pounding on the pavement, “You rotten asshole.” 
11. Develop a good relationship with your doctor. Be honest about your addiction. Ask to have your addictive tendencies noted on your file. If possible, find an addiction specialist.
12. If you are dealing with child protection or legal issues, DON’T attend meetings alone. Always take a community advocate, friend, or relative with you.
13. If you have stomach issues, try L-Glutamine and Peppermint tea. 
14. Read a daily sober inspirational. There are lots of good ones available online.
15. Get exercise and fresh air daily. Start with a 15 or 30-minute walk. Exercising releases endorphins and increases your mind’s ability to elevate your mood. 
16. DON’T ISOLATE. Being depressed with the curtains drawn and not leaving the house is a scary place. Open the door. Stick your head out. Force yourself out the door. 
17. If you have an anxiety attack, focus on regulating your breathing. Keep a snack-sized baggie of ice cubes in your freezer and place under your eyes. This stops your brain in its tracks. 
18. Drink lots of water. Add a squeeze of lemon. It’s a great detox and keeps your teeth white too. 
19. Find nice non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy. Bring your own beverage and fancy glass where alcohol is being served. You don’t need to explain to people that you don’t drink.
20. Take vitamins, including Vitamin B. Alcohol burns up B vitamins. Ask your doctor for a Vitamin B injection if you show deficiencies. 
21. Connect with something bigger than yourself and ask for help.
22. When you feel lesser than others, tell yourself you are a worthwhile person. Write it on sticky notes. Plaster them everywhere.
23. Sleep, my princess. Don’t feel guilty for needing sleep. Beautiful, restful, sleep. Make a nice cozy nest. Hot bath. Warm milk. Melatonin. Mellow book. One of my favorites is listening to a meditation tape with light rain on the window. 
24. Use Epsom Salts in your bath. This is excellent right before bed as well as helps with detoxing.
25. Practice patience. The reward of patience is patience.
26. Be kind and patient with your body. It needs time to heal. 
27. Develop healthy eating habits, routines, and rituals.
28. Take it one breath, one minute, one hour, one day at a time.
29. In the beginning, triggers are everywhere. Become aware of your triggers and develop safety plans. Triggers will pass and lose their power, provided you don’t give in. Everything hinges on this.
30. When the urge to drink hits, breathe. It will pass. Go to war with it. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Distract yourself. Tell yourself not today but tomorrow. When the thought pops into your head, pop it back out. The following morning you’ll be so glad you did!! 
31. Play the tape forward. Sure, that first one may be tasty and take the edge off. But then what? Play it out in your head past the first few. 
32. Recognize thoughts of entertaining or glamorizing drinking. Do. Not. Go. There. When you do, stop. Even say it out loud. STOP. Then move on to something else. Immediately.

Which tip are you going to try today? Feel free to print this list and use as needed. If you have any other tips to share with other women, please comment in the section below this article.