The first 30 days

The first 30 days, honestly.

Three windows, in order — what it's actually like, not the postcard version. Nothing in this plan requires spending money or giving your name. One rule outranks the rest: if you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor before changing anything.

1. 1

   Days 1–3

   The body — and the safety rule that comes first

   Sleep is rough, sweat happens, and cravings arrive on a schedule you can almost set a watch by. The rule that outranks everything: heavy daily drinkers talk to a doctor before day one, not after — sudden withdrawal after heavy daily drinking can be dangerous, and a short, supervised medical detox or a guided taper exists exactly for this. For everyone else: water, food you actually like, and going to bed early on purpose.

2. 2

   Days 4–10

   The fog

   Energy wobbles and mood dips. This is the stretch that convinces people it isn't working — it is working; this is what repair feels like from the inside. Treat sleep as the main project of the week, script the first sober weekend before it arrives, and tell the two or three people who actually need to know. Nobody else is owed an announcement.

3. 3

   Days 11–30

   The return

   Sleep deepens and mornings stop being apologies. The new enemy is boredom, not craving: the hours the drinking used to own need somewhere to go. Fill them on purpose — a meeting, a walk, the thing you kept postponing. If the pull is still winning by now, that's information, not failure: it's the signal to add support, not to try harder alone.