It can be as elaborate as you’d like—just put on your favorite playlist and enjoy doing something tactile with the person you love. Play trivia with your friends or family—or just listen to a podcast like Triviality for casual and less competitive trivia. Do an exercise outside of your usual movement routine; try out yoga, dance in the kitchen, or do slow and steady hill repeats. Explore a new area of town and meet folks through Meetup’s sober activities in your city. Call your parent or grandparent, cousin, aunt, nephew—you get it. Get in touch with your family (chosen family works too!), and ask them how they’re feeling right now.
- The traditional South Pacific herb kava has been enjoyed for ages as a social beverage and in traditional medicine.
- And a healthy gut microbiome can have all kinds of broader health benefits.
- Addiction Resource is an educational platform for sharing and disseminating information about addiction and substance abuse recovery centers.
- I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing.
- If you choose to drink alcohol, there are healthier ways to include it in your diet.
- Using alcohol as a coping mechanism can have short- and long-term negative impacts in many areas of your life.
Alternatives To Alcohol For Anxiety: The Best Supplements To Curb Alcohol Cravings
This is something you can do solo or with friends (even virtually!), and what you make is up to you. Giving yourself something to do with your hands is a helpful deterrent for habitual sipping. Take archery lessons and head to an archery range to practice what you’ve learned.
How to Quit Drinking Alcohol
- Decluttering and organising your home/garage during your abstinence from alcohol can be time very well spent.
- A traditional vodka soda may only contain about 4 ounces of bubbly water, but increase this amount to create a more hydrating drink.
Mocktails or alcohol-free cocktails are a creative and flavorful alternative to traditional alcoholic beverages. These inventive drinks often combine ingredients such as fresh fruits, herbs, spices, juices, and syrups to create unique and satisfying concoctions. Coming in as the simplest option on our list, a shot of tequila over ice makes for a healthy option. While this doesn’t have the same hydrating factor as a vodka soda, it keeps calories and carbs low, and contains no added sugar. Additionally, drinking the alcohol straight may lead you to drinking your beverage slower over time, keeping you from having additional drinks.
Cranberry or pomegranate juice
When you’re having a good time, you find it hard to stop, especially in the company of friends having the same amount. Learn more about the health effects of drinking alcohol here. This nutrient has numerous health benefits, including enhancing bone health and reducing one’s risk for diabetes, heart disease and anxiety. It also has impressive stress-relieving perks, healthy alternatives to alcohol as shown in a May 2017 study published in Nutrients, which found magnesium supplementation to be beneficial in relieving anxiety as well as stress. But for many, a glass of wine or a cold beer at the end of a long workday is a go-to way to de-stress and unwind. And that’s nothing to sneeze at, because lowering your stress levels can be key for weight loss, too.
- Sip on some of these non-alcoholic beverage alternatives instead.
- To be sure, cutting down on alcohol can have a lot of health benefits.
- This increased drinking is set against a broader uptick in drinking in the U.S. over the last 20 years.
- Some people cannot drink alcohol, while others are recovering from illness or taking medication that interacts negatively with alcohol.
- Giving yourself something to do with your hands is a helpful deterrent for habitual sipping.
- Alcohol is a tricky bag to unpack for me, and for others that I know and love.
Studies have shown that peer pressure related to drinking can happen to anyone at any age. “You can get a non-alcoholic hazy IPA that actually tastes pretty good,” Glassman said. If you want to socialize without alcohol, you don’t have to settle for seltzer. Meg Fee, 31, the owner of the Instagram account @YouDontHaveToDrink, is a New York-based advertising manager who advocates for sobriety on social media.
Downsides To Drinking
No one should assume the information provided on Addiction Resource as authoritative and should always defer to the advice and care provided by a medical doctor. Many of the top winemakers have begun offering non-alcoholic alternatives of their top wines, made from the same grapes to achieve https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/why-is-alcohol-addictive/ the same quality as their alcohol-based wines. Alcohol-free wine also has more nuanced flavors than sparkling grape juice. Raising a glass of wine in honor of a birthday, wedding, or other special occasion is common, but the joyful spirit feels just as good with alcohol-free wine.
Mocktails, or non-alcoholic cocktails as they’re otherwise known, are one of the best alternatives to alcohol if you’re drinking in a bar. Since it’s fermented, it has the bubbles and vibe of an alcoholic beverage. That’s why I think the fizzy drink makes a great alternative to alcohol. I think my favorite part of replacing alcohol with kombucha, though, is that it’s great for my gut health. Wind down with an alcohol-free white wine, such as syrah or chardonnay, by a brand you already love.
