San Diego Sober Living - Recovery

Effective Ways to Help Someone Stop Drinking Alcohol

Hollywood star Nicolas Cage has been working since the early 1980s, and he doesn’t seem to be ready for retirement. In 2024, the 60-year-old actor appeared in Longlegs, a thriller in which he plays a serial killer, and he was involved in two other projects. During the Longlegs publicity tour, Cage was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about his long acting career, which he was able to salvage when he stopped drinking in 2014. He didn’t go through a structured recovery program. Instead, he went cold turkey and adopted a strict philosophy of abstinence. Like Cage, many alcoholics stop drinking on their own. However, not all of them succeed. Let’s review other methods.

Intervention Treatment

Recovery success rates are often measured after 28 days, 90 days, one year, and five years. When professional interventions involve loved ones, the success rates are as high as 80 percent after one year, particularly when they feature group and individual counseling sessions as part of the treatment plan.

Direct Pharmacology Treatment

Acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram are first- and second-line medications sometimes prescribed to treat chronic alcoholism exacerbated by compulsion. Acamprosate and naltrexone are advanced medications that target the neuroreceptors associated with cravings for liquor. Disulfiram instills an acute sensitivity reaction by metabolizing ethanol into a chemical compound that quickly produces terrible hangovers if you fail to abstain. None of these medications are effective without other treatment strategies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. They’re rarely prescribed if there’s no indication of severe chemical dependency.

Mental Health Pharmacology Treatment

Fluoxetine, gabapentin, and sertraline are often prescribed to patients whose alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses include underlying mood disorders, particularly depression and anxiety. If you don’t have an underlying emotional or behavioral condition, these medications may not have an effect during recovery.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

This field of addiction recovery is undergoing a renaissance. It doesn’t work for everyone, but ongoing research shows it can be extremely effective for AUD patients who might benefit from mental health treatment. The psychedelic that stands out within this approach to recovery is psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” which are still classified as controlled substances. It’s important to note this treatment is contraindicated for AUD patients with dissociative or schizophrenic tendencies.

Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Treatment

This is the best method to treat AUD. It may begin with an intervention and include staying in a sober living home, but many patients describe it as the most uplifting experience of their lives. Starting with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is a solid first step. Some patients relish telling their peers about entering rehab or sober living facilities such as those that provide Solana Beach men’s sober living, and they look forward to sharing their experiences when they return. What makes comprehensive AUD treatment ideal is that it aims to tick all the recovery boxes in terms of emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial support.

If you or someone you love needs help to stop drinking, call on the compassionate team at Casa Pacifica. Along with providing coastal sober living Solana Beach residents and visitors rely on during recovery, we work with our individual residents to develop customized plans that integrate treatment, aftercare, and recovery support. Our services include sober companionship, coaching, and mentorship for those who are recovering from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. For more information about our sober living facilities, call us today.