The 8-week protocol provides the neurochemical and behavioral scaffolding for the acute cessation period. After week 8, the scaffolding comes down. What remains determines long-term outcome.
What Changes at Week 8
At the end of the 8-week protocol:
Pharmacological support discontinues (mostly): Cytisine, 5-HTP, Rhodiola, Apigenin, and Chromium Picolinate are tapered off. These are acute-phase tools.
Foundation supplements continue (optional): NAC, DHA/EPA, and Magnesium have sufficient safety profiles and long-term benefit evidence to continue indefinitely. These are not cessation-specific; they are general health optimization supplements that are particularly relevant during extended recovery.
B-vitamins (DRY): Continue for at least 6 months. B-vitamin repletion from alcohol-induced deficiency is a months-long process.
Behavioral systems remain: The craving log, the CRAVING MODE protocol, the morning check-in, the milestone tracking. These have no end date.
The Maintenance Priorities
Social risk management: The highest-risk social relapse scenarios will continue to occur. The preparation and response protocols built during the 8-week period remain the primary defense.
PAWS monitoring (DRY specifically): PAWS episodes can occur for 1-2 years after alcohol cessation. Every PAWS episode has the same response: recognize it as a documented phenomenon, log it, increase exercise and sleep quality, wait.
Stress response building: The cessation period stress spikes gradually reduce as the body's stress response systems normalize. The HPA axis optimization from exercise, sleep, and adaptogens established during the protocol should continue in the maintenance period.
Milestone tracking: The 90-day, 180-day, and 365-day milestones remain meaningful. Track them. Celebrate them. The identity investment compounds with each milestone.
The Six-Month Check-In
At six months, do a full reassessment:
- Sleep quality (has it returned to normal or better than pre-cessation?)
- Mood stability (has the dopamine system normalized?)
- Craving frequency and intensity (downward trend?)
- Lifestyle changes made during cessation (exercise, diet, social patterns)
This is not a pass/fail evaluation. It is a data point in a long trajectory. Most people at six months are substantially better than they were at day 1 and can see it clearly from the distance of six months.
The Identity Consolidation
At one year, the "person who quit" identity begins to feel less effortful and more simply true. The conditioned cue responses have weakened through hundreds of non-reinforced exposures. The dopamine system has recalibrated. The PFC has recovered.
This is not arrival. It is a foundation. The cessation work has built something: a health-oriented identity, evidence that change is possible, a framework for managing future challenges.
Keep the app. Keep the log. The data from year one is the context for year two.