Quitting Alcohol: What Happens To Your Brain When You Stop Drinking?

Remember that it’s important to connect with a medical professional before you stop drinking to ensure that you can go through each stage safely. By Sarah Bence, OTR/LBence is an occupational therapist with a range of work experience in mental healthcare settings. However, medical complications can occur during the acute phase of withdrawal. Remember you are facing a difficult challenge during alcohol withdrawal, but you are not alone. There are many resources available to help, including peer support groups, counseling, therapy, and inpatient rehabilitation.

Memory impairment

Previously, Dr. Le co-founded and served as Chief Medical Officer of Landmark Health, where he pioneered a new care model that provided physician-led, multidisciplinary house calls to frail seniors. Dr. Chen creates an individualized plan of care for each person, taking into account their caregivers, their social lives, and other factors that go into their care outside of purely medicine. alcohol brain fog She approaches each patient as a whole person and ensures every aspect is being treated. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site.

What Are the Symptoms of Alcohol-Related Brain Fog?

In this process, your doctor will assess and develop a tailored detox plan. Apart from the cessation of alcohol, you will undergo medical supervision and management to help you cope with withdrawal symptoms better. Medical supervision is always recommended because detox can be such an unpleasant — and even life-threatening — experience. Dr. Sepideh Chegini is a physician leader, with vast experience in value-based care delivery and passionate about serving seniors with complex needs through integrated, high-quality, and innovative care. She trained in internal medicine at the George Washington University, where she came to recognize her life’s mission of caring for individuals with medical and psychosocial complexities.

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There are several popular apps for a brain workout, including Fit Brain, which features exercises that target emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Creative activities will not only take your mind off of unproductive thoughts but also provide an overall sense of serenity. You will be immersed in a state of tranquility, as long as you don’t judge yourself during the process.

Behavioral treatment programs are helpful for people who want to quit drinking. These programs involve working with a team of mental health professionals in a group and individual setting. Another symptom is brain fog, which refers to a lack of mental clarity.

• These factors include the severity of the addiction, how long the individual has been drinking, and other underlying health conditions.
• Acute withdrawal occurs in the first hours and days after you stop drinking, whereas PAWS can last for weeks or even months.
• In particular, learning a new language or how to play an instrument is the equivalent of rigorous cardiovascular exercise for your brain.
• Dr. Villalba regularly volunteers at the Huntington Beach Senior Center, where she enjoys gaining wisdom from the elderly and serving her community.

• Given alcohol’s short- and long-term effects on the brain, it’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that we can get that lethargic, dull mental state we refer to as brain fog after drinking.
• The best way to combat this issue is to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.
• Kendell has served as both a Teaching Attending and a Hospice Medical Director.
• If possible, be consistent with the time you go to bed and what time you get up in the morning.
• Following a bout of heavy drinking, a person may experience symptoms including decreased attention and concentration.3 This can impair a person’s ability to perform certain tasks.

Eventually, the brain will try to recalibrate itself; and for the most part, it can restore its dopamine to more consistent levels. There are many support options available that can help guide you through alcohol withdrawal, as well as abstaining from alcohol after withdrawal. For people at low risk of complications, an office visit to your primary care provider, along with at-home monitoring and virtual office visits, may suffice. People at high risk of complications should enter a short-term in-patient detox program. People who drink daily or almost every day should not be left alone for the first few days after stopping alcohol. Withdrawal symptoms can quickly go from a bad hangover to a serious medical situation.

How Long Does Brain Fog Last After Drinking?

As you understand your triggers better, you will learn to cope with them more effectively. Meanwhile, structured aftercare and relapse prevention programs offer continuous support as you transition into sobriety. Conversely, getting adequate restorative sleep can improve overall brain function. Alcohol is a solvent that can go directly to the brain through your bloodstream.

What Contributes to Fuzzy Thinking?

It’s well established that heavy alcohol consumption decreases brain volume — with white matter especially vulnerable — but studies also show that some of that damage can be reversed during recovery. The Massachusetts Center for Addiction offers comprehensive addiction and mental health treatment programs that blend evidence-based therapies with personalized care. Our drug and alcohol rehab programs and mental health rehab services are tailored to each individual’s specific needs. Explore our programs and see why the Massachusetts Center for Addiction is the top choice for drug rehab and mental health treatment in Massachusetts.

• Brain fog is a common experience for many people who have recently quit drinking alcohol.
• Therapy and counseling can help tackle the root causes of alcohol addiction and brain fog.
• It’s vital you speak with your treatment team before you stop drinking so that potentially dangerous symptoms can be avoided.
• The fulfillment she gets from talking to her patients reinforces her belief that she chose the right career.