| Non-medical treatments for alcohol have been around for a long time, and while often better than nothing, often radically change a persons life in sometimes invasive ways, not completely for the better. Their long term effectiveness is relatively low, partially for that reason. Additionally, all of those take MUCH more time than the trip to the pharmacy once a month. As the person in question would like to have more time to do his entrepreneurial things...time seems to be important. AA in particular, which is based around abstinence, changes your life a lot, especially friendships involving moderate social drinking. The medical approaches clearly tell you the side effects up front. The non-medical ones do not. The medical approaches do not change your interaction with your co-workers, friends and other colleges significantly. Non-medical ones often do.
Medical approaches are shown to have much higher long term success rates than non-medical approaches. Exercise and meditation have their own benefits, however neither are things that people often take up in a lifelong manner, it's more likely to take them up for awhile then quit. However counseling is a hugely mixed bag, especially group therapy. Additionally, if there is an underlying problem (such as depression), solving that can completely remove the desire to drink at all. |