Tapering Down

If you wish to stop drinking, instead of quitting cold turkey, you should try to taper off gradually to lessen the severity of probable alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

If you are a daily drinker, a long-time heavy drinker, or a regular binge drinker, you will most likely have withdrawal symptoms, and if you try to quit "on your own" without medical help, those symptoms could become quite severe.

Unfortunately, there is little, if any, evidence that tapering down decreases the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. This could be due to the fact that withdrawal symptoms differ greatly from person to person, and there is no way to compare outcomes amongst everyday, heavy, and binge drinkers.

Tapering Down's Justification

We do know that tapering off other medicines is routine medical procedure. Antidepressant patients, for example, are usually not abruptly weaned off their medicine, but rather have their dose gradually reduced.

We also know that nicotine patches or gum, which are used to assist people quit smoking, are meant to gently wean smokers off nicotine by progressively reducing the quantity of nicotine they ingest.

Common sense tells us that stopping a 12-beer-a-day habit cold turkey will be more stressful than gradually weaning down. That isn't to say that home detox is a good or appropriate option.

Tapering Alcohol Consumption Strategies

The most straightforward strategy to limit your alcohol consumption is to progressively lower the number of drinks you normally consume over time. For example, if you normally drink five glasses of wine each day, consider cutting back to four for a few days and then reducing to three.

Some folks taper off by gradually increasing the time between drinks. They could, for example, limit themselves to one drink each hour. They could also consume a glass of water, juice, or Gatorade in between each alcoholic beverage. Some people reduce their alcohol consumption by mixing weaker drinks with less alcohol.

Others try to taper off by switching from their preferred alcoholic beverage to one they dislike. They might, for example, try switching from a beverage they enjoy (like wine) to one they don't (like beer). This reasoning is based on the fact that they are less likely to consume as much of the beverage they dislike.

The Obstacles to Reducing Alcohol Consumption

Cutting back on the amount of alcohol consumed does not effective for some drinkers. They may cut back for a short period of time, but they quickly return to their previous drinking habits. This is especially true for heavy drinkers who are surrounded by stimuli that push them to drink and lack the support they need to change.

Those who find themselves unable to reduce the quantity of drinks they consume for an extended period of time have most likely developed a severe alcohol use disorder or have become what is often referred to as an alcoholic. Others may experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms merely by reducing the amount of drinks they consume.

Furthermore, if you have the same number of regular drinks as you normally do, swapping one type of beverage for another will not help you taper off alcohol. One 12-ounce can of beer, for example, contains the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1.5-ounce mixed drink.

With these considerations in mind, you should balance the benefits and drawbacks of tapering your alcohol consumption, ideally with the help of someone you trust, in order to make an informed decision.