"To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!"

As with so many Simpsons quotes, this one has the ring of truth to it. It is natural to want to anesthetise oneself once in a while, particularly in this sometimes overwhelmingly grim moment in human history. It is also natural to occasionally get carried away.

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The trouble with alcohol is that while it's a brutally effective short-term solution to the problems of stress and anxiety, in the long run it only compounds them. If you drink every night—even just two or three glasses of wine—you start to live your days in the fog of a low-grade hangover. The malaise that you are muting at happy hour increasingly becomes the product of last night's happy hour. You get caught in a cycle, which if left unchecked can turn into a tailspin.

But yours has not been left unchecked! You are checking it right now, and you want to change your behaviour. This is good news. Even better: You are not alone. It is extremely common for a human being to exist in the murky area between teetotaler and habitual blackout drunk, and finding your limits sometimes requires you to go past them.

God knows I have made my share of mistakes with alcohol. But through years of trial and error, I have come to the conclusion that I am happier the less I drink. (As long as the amount I drink is not zero, because, I mean, come on.) I have come to relish my sober nights at home. I have established some discipline on my nights out with friends. I have wrestled the bottle into its proper place in my life. So can you.

It is extremely common for a human being to exist in the murky area between teetotaler and habitual blackout drunk.

But there are some things you're going to have to do:

Take a month off.

Worried you're swerving into a problem area? Apply the brakes. No excuses. Prove to yourself that you can go out and enjoy yourself without the hooch. Tell everyone you know that you're doing it, so that they'll keep you accountable. You'll have to calm yourself down organically. You'll need to work up the nerve to talk to someone you're attracted to all on your own. It will be thrilling, and then it will be boring, and then you will achieve a sort of calm you haven't felt in years. Best yet, you'll probably find that you're not the only one doing it, and then you'll have someone to talk to about it. (You'll say things like, "Isn't this awful?" and, "Aren't you ready for this month to end?") A lot of people do this right after New Year's Eve to dry out after the holidays, but I would say that—no matter your political identity—last weekend pretty much wiped out any hope of a Sober January. So aim for February; it's short, but it still counts.

Find something to do with the money you're saving.

Do the math: Best case scenario, you're spending $25 every night you're out at a bar. If that's every night for a month, you're looking at $750. That's a slick pair of Prada loafers. That's six months at a really good gym. That's an airplane ticket to Greece. Figure out what you want, and then each week, take what you would have spent getting tipsy and put it in a savings account toward that thing. Your reward will have been well earned.

Break your pattern early.

When your dry month ends and you're free to return to your old habits, be vigilant. You will have that first drink, and you will have the urge to have another right away—not because you are a dipsomaniac, but because you are a human being. Don't. Do what my friend David calls "the water course": Make your second round a tall glass of actual H2O. Sip, do not gulp. Slow your roll right at the beginning, and you'll force yourself into a healthier pace overall. You'll regain the mental clarity that will keep you on a more sensible path. You'll also have a clear picture how much drunker than you your friends are getting, and your vanity might keep you from joining them.

It will be thrilling, and then it will be boring, and then you will achieve a sort of calm you haven't felt in years.

Schedule a workout for very early in the morning.

I'm not talking about going on a 6 a.m. run before work; you and I both know that's not going to happen. Schedule something with a trainer who will keep you accountable. Get ClassPass, so you have a variety of options. Do one of those OrangeTheory classes, where they strap a heart-rate monitor on your chest and then try to murder you. Check out TrainingMate, where from what I understand, the entire gimmick is that all the trainers are scorching-hot Australian rugby players. Schedule it and pre-pay for it. Make it early enough that you'll have to be home at a sensible hour, and make it expensive enough that you'll feel like a jerk if you miss it.

Be honest with yourself about your ability to get these things done.

Keep a journal, and tell yourself the truth in it. Can't get through the month? Sliding right back into your old habits once the month is over? Then you need to step up your self-care, which will require professional help. The good news is that professional help is out there, and taking advantage of it is one of the better moves you'll ever make. Talk to a licensed therapist. Explore Moderation Management. Get yourself to an AA meeting and see if anyone there makes sense to you. There is more than one way to skin a cat. You have some serious effort ahead of you, but it won't be any easier a year from now.

Good luck.

From: Esquire US