Where to get help with your drinking

Way 16 of 50Get professional help

Free help is available across the UK. You don't have to be at "rock bottom" to use it.

• Your GP can talk through your drinking, check your health, prescribe medication if needed and refer you on.
• Your local drug and alcohol service offers assessment, help to cut down or stop, detox, counselling, groups and support for family members. Most accept self-referrals. Search for your council's name with "drug and alcohol service", or ask your GP.
• Drinkline (0300 123 1110) can give advice and tell you about local services.

Private help is also available. Prices vary widely, so ask what's included before you commit.

Try this todayLook up your local drug and alcohol service and save their number in your phone, even if you're not ready to call yet.

Way 25 of 50Find other ways to handle stress

If you've used alcohol to cope with stress, anxiety or difficult feelings, you'll need other ways to cope when you cut down or stop. Most people find that talking helps.

Counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you understand your drinking, handle triggers, and change unhelpful patterns of thinking. For example, time alone in the house might feel lonely and bring up old feelings of being left out. With practice, you can start to see it as a quiet time that's yours to enjoy.

You may be able to get free counselling through your GP or local alcohol service. If you choose a private counsellor or psychotherapist, check they're registered with a professional body such as the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), which has a searchable directory. Research shows the relationship between you and your therapist is one of the most important things in whether therapy helps. If you don't click with the first person you see, try someone else.

Way 26 of 50Try a support group

Being with people who understand can be a huge support. Groups are free.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

AA is a fellowship for people who want to stop drinking, based on the 12 steps. You don't have to speak at a meeting until you're ready, or ever. Some meetings are "open", so you can take a friend. Members often have a sponsor who supports them through cravings and slips. There are meetings every day in most towns and cities, plus online. Try a few: groups vary a lot.

AA meetings often close with the Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." You don't have to be religious to go.

AA national helpline: 0800 9177 650 (free) · alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

SMART Recovery

If the 12-step approach isn't for you, SMART Recovery runs free meetings, in person and online, based on practical, evidence-based tools for managing cravings and changing behaviour. smartrecovery.org.uk

Some people feel AA or SMART saved their life. Others find groups aren't for them. Both are fine.

Way 28 of 50Don't isolate yourself

Heavy drinking can be very isolating. Some people drink alone late into the night; many hide their drinking from the people closest to them. Secrecy adds to the weight you're carrying.

• Have you started planning your life around drinking?
• Do you turn down invitations where you won't be able to drink?
• Has drinking pushed out the things you used to enjoy?

Not drinking alone, or not keeping it a secret, is a very good goal to start with. Telling someone, whether a friend, your GP, a helpline or a group, usually brings a real sense of relief.

Way 22 of 50Have a health check

Ask your GP for a check-up, including blood tests. They can give an early warning of damage, while there's still time to reverse much of it.

• Liver tests (such as ALT and GGT) can show inflammation or damage. Heavy drinking first causes fat to build up in the liver, then inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis), and eventually scarring (cirrhosis), which can't be reversed and can lead to liver failure.
• A full blood count can show changes caused by alcohol, such as enlarged red blood cells or anaemia.
• Vitamin levels, blood pressure, and sometimes a liver scan.

Liver tests can be normal even when you're drinking heavily, so a normal result doesn't mean your drinking is safe. Home testing kits aren't a substitute; you need to talk the results through with someone.

Way 21 of 50Find out what rehab involves

Residential rehab means living at a treatment centre for a number of weeks, away from your usual life and its triggers. Most people are treated in the community, but some find they need this more intensive help.

• Some centres offer detox first; others expect you to have detoxed already.
• Programmes include individual counselling, group therapy and often other activities. Approaches vary: 12-step, CBT-based, therapeutic community, or a mix.
• You'll be expected not to drink, and may be asked to leave if you do.
• Private rehab is expensive. Publicly funded places are available, but there's usually an assessment process through your local alcohol service, which can take time.

Before choosing a private centre, check it's registered with the Care Quality Commission (in England) or the equivalent regulator where you live.

Way 27 of 50Read some self-help

Self-help books can give you new ideas and keep you going between appointments. Borrow a few from the library and see which ones speak to you. Good places to start are books on CBT for drinking, on mindfulness, and on co-dependency if you recognise yourself in way 12. Your local alcohol service may also recommend workbooks or apps.