What Happens In The First Year After You Stop Drinking?

What To Expect In The First Year After You Stop Drinking

Many people look forward to fresh starts and new resolutions in the New Year, often focused on health and wellness. One of the best steps towards a healthier and longer life is abstaining from alcohol.

Whether you have an alcohol addiction, drink more than you should, have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, or are just a social drinker, alcohol, regardless of the amount, can wreak havoc on your body and longevity.

But what happens to your body during the first year of sobriety? The answer is that you will notice changes right away when you quit drinking and will continue to notice changes for months to come. Some of these changes will be difficult to experience because they may be unpleasant at first. Still, the longer you abstain from alcohol, the more you will notice welcoming changes in both your physical and mental state.

The First Month

The first month after you stop drinking is one of the most challenging months because you may experience the detox stage, where your body may go into alcohol withdrawal if you have a physical dependance. Even if you do not have a physical dependance, if drinking alcohol was part of your normal routine, it may be a difficult adjustment period.

Days 1 – 14

Your experience after cutting out alcohol will greatly differ based on your previous level of drinking. Those who were light drinkers, moderate drinkers, heavy drinkers, and those with an alcohol use disorder will face different challenges and will need to take different approaches. Take our free alcohol addiction assessment to help determine the severity of your alcohol use.

Light To Moderate Drinkers

The first day after you quit drinking alcohol, it may feel pretty easy to stick to your commitment to not drinking. Those not physically dependent on alcohol likely will not have any significant physical changes. Still, you may wake up feeling more alert in the mornings and having more energy throughout the day. If frequent hangovers were part of your routine, you may find that you can accomplish much more throughout the day, no longer have hangxiety from the night before, and generally feel better.

One of the challenges that people face in the first few weeks when quitting alcohol is the adjustment to their lifestyle. If having a drink after work was part of your routine, it may help to create a new ritual in the evening, such as taking a walk or creating a mocktail at home. You may find yourself with extra free time that was previously spent drinking, so make sure your schedule is full of projects and activities to help you push through the adjustment period.

Heavy Drinkers

If you are a heavy or chronic drinker and greatly cut back or stop drinking, you will most likely experience alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms can be uncomfortable and even dangerous and include:

• Tremors
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Delirium tremens

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms occur because the GABA neurotransmitters in the brain, which are the primary brain chemicals affected by alcohol, are now depleted of alcohol. This GABA imbalance in the brain causes excessive neuronal activity or “neuronal hyperexcitability,” meaning that the brain is “overly excited,” and hence why these symptoms appear.

Withdrawal symptoms appear 12-24 hours after the most recent drink, peak around 72 hours, and begin to resolve around day 4 or 5.

To prevent and minimize these uncomfortable symptoms, addiction treatment professionals highly recommend seeking help from a medical professional in an alcohol detox treatment center. Medications, usually benzodiazepines, are administered to minimize alcohol withdrawal symptoms and prevent delirium tremens and any medically dangerous outcomes.

After you are out of the withdrawal phase, you may start to have stronger cravings and urges for alcohol. You are no longer focused on the intense physical symptoms of withdrawal, so now your brain has time to register that alcohol is out of your system and you may experience strong cravings and urges to drink. There are medications to help control these urges and cravings, as well as therapy and support groups that can help teach you healthy coping techniques.

Weeks 2 – 4

After the withdrawal symptoms start to recede, you will notice positive, healthy changes in the way your body feels and looks.

Your Gut Will Start To Heal

Alcohol is an irritant to the lining of your GI tract, causing heartburn, ulcers, and bloating. Alcohol also plays a major role in the gut microbiome, meaning how much good and bad bacteria make up the gut. When there is poor gut health, meaning an imbalance of bacteria, the lining of the gut becomes affected. The GI tract is now exposed to bacteria and toxins, resulting in bloating, diarrhea, and an increased likelihood of infections and illnesses.

After 2 weeks of no alcohol, your gut lining begins to heal, and you will notice less heartburn, less bloating, and more natural bowel movements.

Better Skin

Alcohol is a natural diuretic, meaning that the more you drink, the more you are dehydrating yourself. Individuals who excessively consume alcohol rarely drink enough water or consume healthy food. As a result, they are dehydrated and malnourished.

When you stop drinking alcohol and replace it with water, your body will begin to rehydrate itself and absorb more water into the bloodstream and cells throughout the body, including the brain. One of the first few signs of improved hydration status is healthier-looking skin. Less wrinkles, less puffiness, a decrease in red blotches, and a brighter glow are signs of improved skin due to better hydration status.

Improved Sleep 

Although alcohol is a depressant and works to induce sleep, you are less likely to stay asleep, as alcohol disrupts the sleep/wake and REM cycles. Thus, nighttime awakenings increase (consciously or unconsciously).

Within the first month of refraining from alcohol, you will notice that you feel more rested in the morning because you are sleeping through the night and are not having interrupted sleep. Many people are unaware that they are experiencing nighttime awakenings but wonder why they wake up in the morning feeling exhausted even after a long night’s sleep.

2 – 6 months: Your Body Will Heal

During these months, your body will go through many stages of healing. Some organs and body systems take a couple of months to fully heal from alcohol injury.

Weight Loss, Increased Energy, And Improved Nutritional Status 

The longer you abstain from alcohol, the more your body and brain will heal and the better you will start to feel. After a couple of months of not drinking, you will notice that you are losing weight.

Alcohol is “empty calories,” meaning that it is full of calories without any nutritional value. When you refrain from drinking after a couple of months, you will notice that you are naturally losing weight. Your diet will most likely improve because you are now eating food instead of consuming empty calories.

This is where you have great potential to learn how to maintain a healthy diet by learning how to eat whole foods and cook nutritious meals. You may want to reach out to a nutritionist or dietician to help coach you through how to plan your meals and nourish your body so you can maintain your desired weight and feel strong.

Without alcohol in your system and with proper nutritional nourishment, you will notice that you have more energy and a desire to do things. You may even want to start exercising and become more social because of this increased energy.

Improved Liver Function 

Your liver is greatly affected by alcohol use because it is responsible for breaking down toxins in the body, and alcohol is a toxin. The liver also plays a role in blood clotting, fighting inflammation, vitamin production, and insulin levels. Alcohol consumption can lead to fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer in that order. Fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and fibrosis are reversible when alcohol use is completely stopped, but unfortunately, cirrhosis and liver cancer cannot be reversed.

Liver function begins to improve after a couple of weeks after quitting alcohol, but after a couple of months, you may feel the differences in your body. Depending on your drinking history, the liver usually takes up to 6 months (or even more) to return to normal function.

As your liver function begins to improve, you will have an increase in energy, improved triglyceride and cholesterol levels, improved nutrition because your liver is producing vitamins again, less yellowing of the skin and eyes, and better healing and inflammatory processes. The liver will also return to its normal healthy size.

If you have any blood clotting issues, they may improve as the liver is responsible for your blood’s clotting pathways and functions.

Healing GI Ulcers

The lining of the GI tract begins to recover within the first month of abstaining from alcohol, but GI ulcers, especially ones that bleed, often take a few months to heal once drinking is stopped.

Improved Mental Clarity

You will start to notice an improvement in memory and concentration about one month after you stop drinking, and your mental clarity will greatly improve as time goes on. Your decision-making process will be clearer, you will be a better problem solver, you will be able to multitask, and your overall mental state will improve.

Alcohol is known to cause “brain fog,” which can impair memory, concentration, and decision-making due to the imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. After a couple of months of no alcohol, the brain and the neurotransmitters begin to regain balance, and you will notice that your thoughts become clearer.

Improved Mood

Alcohol and depression often co-occur together because alcohol can trigger depression due to its effect on serotonin levels, and depression can trigger alcohol use disorder. After refraining from alcohol, the levels of serotonin in the brain begin to stabilize, and your mood becomes more stable. This can mean you have a decrease in depression, fewer angry outbursts, a reduction in mood swings, less anxiety, and overall feel more stable and happy.

Improved Blood Pressure And Heart Health

Over time, abstaining from alcohol is shown to reduce blood pressure, meaning a decreased risk of clogged blood vessels and heart disease.

Decreased Risk For Cancer

Alcohol is linked to many types of cancers, affecting nearly every organ. After about 4 months of abstaining from alcohol, your cancer risk drastically decreases. This risk reduces even more the longer you abstain from alcohol.

Better Immune System

You may notice that you are getting sick less, and your scratches, scrapes, and bruises are healing faster. Alcohol alters your immune functions when it damages your liver, so after a few months of no drinking, your immune system starts to become stronger.

Improved Blood Sugar

After a few months without alcohol, your blood sugar, insulin, and HbA1c levels will stabilize. If you have diabetes or are at risk for diabetes, this is especially important. The longer you abstain from drinking, the better your blood sugar control will be, and you’ll experience fewer complications associated with diabetes.

7 – 9 months: New Routines Are Put Into Place

New Lifestyle And Routines

After you stop drinking for 6 months, your body and mind have returned to healthy states, and you may notice that you are ready to make life changes. You feel better mentally and physically and will most likely have new, healthy routines, including:

• You may have joined a new workout class, support group, or sober community and are finally settling into this new lifestyle.
• You will find that although the urges and cravings may still appear, you have healthy coping skills you can use to overcome these cravings.
• You most likely have found an amazing treatment team that you love and attend support groups and outpatient therapy.
• After about 6 months, you may finally feel that your new lifestyle is your new normal, and you are more comfortable engaging in sober activities and telling people you do not drink.
• You have learned to distance yourself from unhealthy people and triggers, and maybe you have moved into a new home or are working on making amends with loved ones who you have hurt while you were drinking. This is the stage where your life is transitioning into a new journey without alcohol.
• You may also notice that abstaining from alcohol means that you are spending less money. After cutting out alcohol and getting your physical and mental health back on track, you may now realize the financial benefits of not drinking after saving money on bar tabs and alcohol purchases.

10 – 12 months: Completing Your First Year Of Sobriety

Mentorship, Career Advancement, And Treatment Completion

After nearly completing a year of no drinking, you will notice that your overall happiness level has improved because your physical and mental states are healthier, and other aspects of your life have transformed. This could mean:

• If you are part of a sober community or support group, you may be close to receiving your one-year chip for sobriety, meaning you have almost completed one year of treatment. This is a massive milestone, as each month of no drinking is a milestone in itself, and reaching the one-year mark is extra special.
• You may feel strong enough in your sobriety that you went back to school, finished your degree, started a new job, or made an advancement in your career. In other words, your life is ready to take off to the next level.
• You may even want to mentor others in the early stages of their addiction recovery.

In these later months, you start to accomplish life goals and are on track to help others if you desire.

Ready to Quit Drinking?

Although recovering from alcohol addiction is a life-long journey, making it through the first year after you stop drinking is a milestone to be proud of.

If you struggle with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol or have an alcohol addiction, addiction treatment can be the first step to guide you through your journey to live an alcohol-free life. Explore our rehab directory or contact a treatment provider to learn more about the treatment options available to you. Calls are always free and confidential. Make 2025 your best year ever and start your journey to sobriety today!