Alcohol usage is quite common these days and even more so in teenagers than it is in adults. While social drinking in adults is fine, it’s bad when things get a bit extreme, like drinking in order to keep stress and to relax. That’s bad. Alcohol is not the way to relax, it will only make things worse.

In fact, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, alcohol misuse is involved in 50% of deaths (accidents, homicides, and suicides) and even more so in the 15-24 age group. As much 1/3rd of the patients in a drug rehab center are those who enrolled in alcohol addiction treatment programs. If your wish is to relax and keep stress away, then there are other ways of doing it. With that said, here are the 12 ways to relax without drinking alcohol.

12 Ways To Relax That Don’t Involve Alcohol

1. Change The Way You Prep Meal

Prepping your own meal is not a chore but a necessity. So, mix it up, change your diet and make new foods every day. It will improve your culinary skills and give your a certain sense of satisfaction and calmness.

2. Go The Green Way

Green tea is a great alternative drink that you have to relax. Its active ingredient, L-theanine, has a sort of similar effect on your brain as that of alcohol. It will reduce stress and anxiety while promoting good health

3. Laughter and Joy

Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. But it doesn’t have to be medicine, it can rather be your new meditation. Watch some comedy movies or TV or just a trip to a stand-up comedy club.

4. Find Your Calm

Finding your calm is something only you can achieve. For some, it’s meditation, for others, it’s sports or binge-watching. You will have to find what’s yours.

5. Go Solo

People tend to think going out by yourself is weird and boring but there’s a certain zen to it that you can’t get with someone else. Go for a solo movie trip, a bike ride, or an art exhibition.

6. Remix Your Schedule

We get it, no one likes to change their schedule. Your daily schedule is how you get things done every day, and maybe that’s the issue. You’ve been doing the same things for so long that it has become boring.

7. Try Writing

One question that people always have is, “What should I write about?” You don’t need to write about something specific. It can be anything. For starters, try writing everything you do on a daily basis and make it a habit.

8. Household Chores Can Be Fun

Doing chores can be quite boring but thinking about it this way. There’s an endless force against you trying to ruin everything you own and it’s your job to fight back against it to save your world. That endless force against you is dirt and dust, and doing your chores is you fighting against it. 

9. Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

If peace and calm are what you desire, forget everything, go to bed early, fall asleep and wake up early in the morning. When you finally wake up, what you get is fresh and a beautiful morning waiting to be rediscovered.

10. Get a Plant

Caring your something other than yourself can be very therapeutic and heartwarming. So, get a plant, water it, and care for it. It’s low maintenance, doesn’t scream at you and all it ever asks for is sunlight and water.

11. Practise Yoga/Excercise

Exercising is really good. It benefits your entire health. It’s also an excellent stress-reduction technique. Yoga is one form of exercise that might assist you in relaxing. Many individuals believe that yoga is even more helpful than other types of exercise. This is due to the practice’s combination of physical movement, deep breathing, and awareness.

12. Indulge in Self Care

Self-care is a broad phrase that encompasses a wide range of activities. It generally refers to actions you take to help yourself feel better and enhance your health.

What To Do if You Are Addicted to Alcohol?

If you think you are addicted to alcohol, then you probably are. In this case, you cannot help yourself and the only way to get rid of your addiction is to ask for help and get into alcohol detox programs at reputed alcohol rehab centers such as All American Detox Center, which comes highly recommended. They help a patient deal with the root cause of addiction and help them deal with all of their alcohol addiction symptoms including alcohol withdrawal.