You have quit before. Maybe it lasted a weekend, or maybe it lasted a month, and then the drinking came back. If you are reading this for yourself or for a man you love, you already know that wanting to stop is only the start.
Here is how to stop drinking in a way that is safe for the body and steady enough to last. You do not have to do any of it alone. We help men in Arkansas stop and stay stopped. Clinical care and faith share the same days here.
Step one: make stopping safe
Safety comes first. A man who has been drinking heavily for a long time should not simply stop on his own one morning. NIAAA’s treatment guide warns that suddenly stopping after long, heavy drinking can set off a painful or even life-threatening withdrawal. The symptoms can include nausea or even seizures. NIAAA’s advice is plain: seek medical help to plan a safe recovery.
Doctors can prescribe medications that make withdrawal safer and less distressing. You can read more in our guide to the alcohol withdrawal timeline.
We do not provide medical detox ourselves. We coordinate detox placement with a partner facility when a man needs it, and we hold his place for the day he finishes. Our team stays in touch with the partner facility, so his start date with us is already set when he is discharged. One call to us sets up both stages, and you do not have to phone one facility after another.
Step two: choose the right level of care
Stopping is one task. Staying stopped is another, and it takes more than a few hard days. If you have tried to quit on willpower alone before, this is the part that was missing. NIAAA describes several settings for treatment. They run from outpatient visits through intensive outpatient care and partial hospitalization, up to residential programs in a 24-hour setting. Our program offers the outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization and residential levels in Arkansas. NIAAA also lists intensive inpatient care. That level is medically directed and may manage withdrawal. When a man needs that level first, our partner facilities provide it, and we line up his start with us.
For a man who has tried to quit alone and could not, residential treatment may be the right place to start. Our residential care follows ASAM Level III with round-the-clock support on our multi-acre campus in Jessieville. A man takes part in group therapy and one-on-one therapy. He learns the underlying causes of his drinking and healthy ways to cope with stress.
Other men can start at a lighter level. Our intensive outpatient program gives at least nine hours of treatment a week, and sessions can run in the evening or on weekends. A man in IOP keeps his job and sleeps in his own bed. Our partial hospitalization program fits between residential care and IOP. It suits a man who needs daily structure without a 24-hour stay. Each week holds individual therapy and group counseling. Family therapy and experiential therapies round out the schedule. Our therapists also use CBT and DBT to help him build skills for long-term sobriety. Our admissions team will tell you which level fits him on the first call.
Step three: build support around him
A man who stops drinking needs people around him who understand. NIAAA notes that AA and other 12-step programs offer peer support. Combined with treatment led by health care providers, those groups add a valuable layer of support. Our program joins Christian principles and the 12 steps with evidence-based practices, so he gets both.
Faith gives the work a reason. Prayer and scripture are part of every week in our program, and a man of faith has somewhere to bring the cravings and the shame he used to drown. Group therapy gives him other men in recovery who understand what he is facing. You can read more about what happens after detox and how those first weeks of treatment look.
When residential care ends, he does not have to step straight back into the old life. Our sober living homes give him daily routines and house meetings, with other men in recovery around him. Staff can be reached around the clock, and residents build life skills such as budgeting and job searching.
If you are his wife or his parent, your part matters too. NIAAA says couples and family counseling can play an important role in repairing family relationships. It also reports that strong family support through family therapy raises the chances that a person keeps from drinking. The same guide asks you to take care of yourself as well, and to seek support from friends and support groups while you help him.
How to stop drinking and stay stopped
NIAAA calls alcohol use disorder a chronic condition that can relapse, and it says persistence is key. Setbacks are common. People most often return to drinking during stress or around the people and places tied to their old drinking. That is why staying stopped needs a plan for those moments before they arrive. NIAAA says behavioral therapies help people build skills to avoid and overcome triggers such as stress. It adds that many people need continued follow-up with a treatment provider.
Our team builds that plan with him, and you can be part of it. In IOP, relapse prevention therapy is part of every week, and a man leaves our residential program with a plan that can include outpatient rehab and support groups.
NIAAA also says that a return to drinking can be seen as a temporary setback, much like a flare-up of another chronic illness. It is a reason to reach back out for help, and help is there. NIAAA adds that many people with alcohol use disorder do recover, and that seeking professional help early can prevent a return to drinking.
Questions families ask about how to stop drinking
Is it safe to stop drinking all at once?
For a man who has been drinking heavily for a long time, it may not be. NIAAA warns that sudden stopping can bring a painful or even life-threatening withdrawal. Talk with a doctor first, and call our admissions team so we can coordinate detox placement if he needs it.
What happens to the body when a man stops drinking?
After long, heavy drinking, the body can go into withdrawal. NIAAA lists nausea, a rapid heart rate, seizures and other problems among the symptoms. Medical care can make that process safer.
Do medications help a man stop drinking?
NIAAA reports that three medications are approved to help people stop or reduce drinking. A health care provider prescribes them, alone or with counseling. Ask his doctor whether one fits him, and call our admissions team about the counseling that goes with it.
What if he drinks again after treatment?
NIAAA treats a return to drinking as a setback that can happen in a chronic condition. Reach back out quickly. Our levels of care let a man step back up to more support when he needs it.
Take the next step with SOZO
You can stop drinking safely, and you can stay stopped. A man who does that gets his mornings back and his place at the table again. We help men in Arkansas do it with faith and clinical care, side by side with other men in recovery.
Starting takes one phone call. Call our admissions team at 501-984-5317, or read about admissions at SOZO first. The admissions team checks your coverage on the first call and tells you which level of care fits. Our main office is at 505 W Grand Ave, Hot Springs, AR 71901. If a man is in danger right now, call 911.