For the true alcoholic, the prospect of quitting drinking is no easy matter. The idea of facing life without the crutch of alcohol can be overwhelming at first. Given that there are a number of different methods to stop, which is the most effective in most cases? Let's have a look at the options:



1) Willpower - This is essentially the same as not using any technique at all, but only relying on one's own willpower to avoid picking up another drink. Now this idea has been tested a million times over by virtually every alcoholic who has tried to beat the problem of drink, and the consensus is that it is never a sustainable method for anyone. Ever.

The problem is that, while some can maintain sobriety by sheer force for some length of time, they are miserable while they are doing it, and in their heart of hearts they still want to drink. Therefore this technique is not recommended.

2) AVRT - this stands for "Addictive Voice Recognition Technique," so this is essentially an example of a cognitive therapy for quitting drinking. The idea here is to recognize when your "addictive voice" is speaking and recognize it as being "your addiction" instead of the real you. Then you can tell the addictive voice "no" when it asks for a drink.

There are other cognitive therapies as well, all of them intending to restructure the way we think in order to overcome alcoholism. These types of therapies probably do work for some people, but for the vast majority of alcoholics, cognitive therapies are insufficient to solve their problem. Why? Because alcoholism is a multifaceted and complex problem, one that affects a person not only mentally, but also physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. Alcoholism takes over a person's life and affects them in a deep and profound way. It therefore follows that any solution for recovery that only addresses one small aspect of the problem is going to be insufficient.

3) AA - Twelve step programs are probably the most widespread solution for alcoholism, and because of this, they offer the most amount of hope and the most realistic solution for most people in most situations. But there are problems and limitations with AA as a solution as well. For one thing--while it is difficult to find accurate data regarding this--the success rate in AA is probably somewhere in the range of 3 to 10 percent. To be fair, though, no other treatment method seems to offer substantially better numbers than this, and AA certainly has helped a lot of alcoholics, simply due to the sheer volume of people they are working with.

One thing that AA does right is the social network of support that they offer to the recovering alcoholic. No other technique for quitting drinking can really claim to have the same level of social support as what you will find in AA. This support can be critical for some people in overcoming alcoholism.

One of the problems with AA and other 12 step programs is that they really only approach addiction from a spiritual perspective. The most comprehensive solution for recovery has to be a holistic approach, one that addresses all aspects of addiction and the different ways it affects a person's life: mentally, socially, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and so on. 12 step programs really only address the "spiritual malady," and thus leaves a number of problems on the table that still need to be dealt with.

Therefore, AA is not ineffective for quitting drinking, it is merely an incomplete solution. The real solution for recovery is a holistic approach that addresses all aspects of the recovering individual. This is known as the creative life in recovery. Finding your way to this solution requires a holistic approach.