Do you know somebody who drinks too much alcohol? Do you consider this person to be an alcoholic? If so, there are steps you can take to help him or her become sober.

Doing Nothing Contributes to the Problem

Those who do nothing, those who let the person continue drinking, are not doing anything for the better. In fact, they are contributing to the problem.

Here is a statistic from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that shows the importance of helping a person get treatment:

“Nearly 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol related causes annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.”

As you can see, this is a serious problem that can have serious consequences.

If the time has come to stop an alcoholic from drinking, here are three tips to consider:

Sit down and have a serious conversation.

This may sound scary. This may sound like a waste of time. In the end, however, it could be the one step that helps the person change his or her life.

You need to explain to the person that they need help. Along the way, don’t be shy about citing statistics, such as the one above, to clearly point out the seriousness of the situation.

Help him or her check into a treatment facility.

The best way for an alcoholic to stop drinking is to take on professional help.

When a person becomes part of a rehab program, they will not be allowed to drink alcohol at any time of the day. In fact, they will start out by going through detoxification, which is the first step towards a sober future.

Prove to the person that they have a problem.

This is easier said than done, but there are steps you can take to get your point across. For example, explain how many times in the past month they have been drunk. Show them the damage they have caused by drinking too much. Sometimes, it takes more than words to help a person understand they have a problem.

If you are at the point where you want to stop an alcoholic from drinking, these tips could be just what you need to get started.