When people feel stressed out due to school, work, family problems, or anything else that’s stressful, many of them tend to drown their sorrows with alcohol. This is temporary relief but has permanent damage to our bodies. The more we drink, the more our livers and kidneys suffer. The more we indulge in alcohol, the more we spiral into addiction, depression, and anxiety. So, it’s best to find different avenues to release our negative energy. We need to unwind without drowning ourselves in alcoholic drinks!
In this article, we’ll be sharing ways to unwind and destress without alcoholic drinks. We hope this helps you refrain from drinking alcohol or quit drinking alcohol, period!
1. Spend Time with Loved Ones
You don’t have to embark on this journey alone. Whenever you’re feeling stressed or just need a distraction, you can spend time with your loved ones. Hanging out with people releases feel-good hormones like serotonin and oxytocin, and research even suggests that socializing with others extends your lifespan. That’s probably why workers who work around aged people always encourage them to spend time with one another—socializing makes you feel less lonely.
Meeting up with people doesn’t always have to be physical, though having a meal at a restaurant or having a picnic at the park is always fun. You can always send letters, call them through the phone, shoot a text, or hop on a video call. Anything that lets you know you’re there for one another is okay.
2. Do Physical Activities
One of the best ways to release pent-up anger, frustration, or stress is by getting physical. Whether it’s running a mile on the treadmill, doing hundreds of burpees, or even just chasing after a toddler all over the house, physical activities distract you from picking up alcoholic drinks and unwind.
Exercising also releases endorphins, which reduces bad hormones in the body that lead people to drink. Once exercise becomes a routine and you start seeing changes in your body, you’ll also be motivated to stop drinking too. Why get rid of all the muscle you just gained or gain back all the weight you just lost with a couple of cans of beer? Why reduce the negative side effects of alcohol with exercise only to regain them again? Why go through physical torture that is called a hangover?
3. Indulge in Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Just because we’re telling you to stop drinking alcohol doesn’t mean you should stop drinking other non-alcoholic drinks. There are plenty of options at your local grocery store that you can drink instead. The goal is to make a drink so tasty that you won’t ever need a sip of alcohol again. Who knew you could unwind without alcoholic drinks?
It’s actually pretty easy these days. With alcoholism on a rampage, many companies have started releasing non-alcoholic beverages like beers and cocktails that are similar to the real thing. You can also opt for sodas and juices—they’re not healthier than water, of course, but they’re better than alcohol! Lastly, you can drink tea or coffee if you want a pick-me-up.
4. Practice Meditation
Meditation happens when we actively push stressful thoughts out of our brains. When we meditate, we focus on the sound of our breaths, the feel of our muscles as we relax, and the smell of incense or essential oils that enters our noses… all of this helps us to relax. Instead of thinking of everything wrong in our lives, we focus on just existing.
Meditation requires no equipment besides maybe a yoga mat, though you can just as easily meditate in bed. All you need to do is focus on your breathing. When your mind starts to wander, divert back to your breathing. Do this for five minutes, then ten minutes, then however long until you start to relax.
5. Bring Out the Dance Moves
Dancing is a feel-good activity. It releases happy hormones all over the body—something that drinking alcohol also does—but without the negative side effects. Indeed, dancing is a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise as it gets the heart rate up, exercises muscles all over, and increases lung capacity.
And you don’t need to sign up for dance classes or go to a dance studio to do it. Dancing around the kitchen waiting for your food to cook or breaking out some moves while shampooing your hair is also just as good. Just turn the music up and let the music take you!
6. Tackle Household Chores
Not everybody likes doing the laundry or washing the dishes or giving the dog a much-needed bath. But hey, we have to be functioning adults sometimes and just do it, even if all we want to do is sleep. And while the thought of doing chores might drive you to drink alcoholic drinks rather than unwind, just trust us on this one. Accomplishing a hard task is so satisfying in the end!
Coming home to a clean and organized house is just so nice. We feel like everything in our lives is in order for once, and we’re even more motivated to stop drinking or just forget about the alcohol altogether. We’re using our stress to good use!
