Alcohol addiction has long been recognized as a serious illness.Alcoholism– a chronic multifactorial pathology, which is often accompanied by mental and physiological disorders. The mechanism of transformation of a bad habit into a dangerous disease is constantly studied, trying to determine its connection with the genetic characteristics of a person, his lifestyle and character.
According to WHO statistics, around 140 million men and women worldwide suffer from alcoholism. The disease has no age limit. Today, even teenagers and the elderly drink alcohol. Alcohol dependence leads to loss of behavioral control, increased amounts of alcohol, aggression upon sudden withdrawal, and prolonged binge drinking.Alcoholicgradually loses his family, his friends, his career. His connection with society is interrupted, his circle of interests is reduced to drinking and personal degradation begins.
Not only the drunkard suffers from alcoholism, but also his loved ones. The family has to put up with the inappropriate behavior of the husband and father, get used to excessive spending on alcohol from the family budget and endure domestic violence. Often a woman becomes addicted to strong drinks. In such cases, treatment will be difficult and long, since the fair sex is more emotionally dependent on alcohol. In all cases, a person dependent on alcohol needs urgent drug treatment.
Signs of alcoholism
Alcohol dependence is a progressive disease that leads to severe clinical presentations. Noticing the firstsigns of alcoholism, you should not ignore them or expect the alcoholic to stop drinking on his own. It will not arrive. The disease requires medical intervention - only an experienced narcologist can guide a person on the path to recovery.
The following signs indicate the development of alcoholism:
- any happy or sad event is a reason to drink;
- the need for alcohol-containing drinks increases every day;
- the dose required to become intoxicated increases;
- memory lapses appear after drinking libations;
- the protective gag reflex, which previously saved the body from intoxication, disappears;
- withdrawal syndrome appears - a healthy person after a feast does not feel the desire to have a hangover.
In adolescents, alcohol addiction occurs much faster due to physiological immaturity than in adults. Addiction often develops in people who grew up in a family of alcoholics and consider this lifestyle normal. The craving for alcohol occurs in conditions of chronic stress, against the background of family or work problems, loneliness, and in some cases due to too stable and emotionally unsaturated leisure time.
Most often, alcoholics do not admit that they are sick. It seems to him that drinking is a panacea for all problems and does no harm. It's a self-deception. It is important that loved ones knowhow to help an alcoholic, stop the disease before critical consequences appear.
The harms of alcohol
Constant consumption of alcoholic beverages has a negative effect on all internal organs and systems of a person, and also reduces life expectancy. The central nervous system and the brain are mainly affected. Ethanol and its degradation products cause neuron death. The cells are not restored, the most important neuronal connections are disrupted. Doctors say alcoholics develop microscopic ulcers and scars on the surface of the brain. Long-term drinking leads to deterioration of cognitive functions, short-term memory loss, auditory and visual hallucinations.
Internal organs suffer from toxic substances. Alcoholics are more likely to be hospitalized for heart attacks and strokes and to die from liver cirrhosis and hepatitis. Both men and women have impaired sexual function and are unable to conceive healthy offspring. Alcohol causes a severe blow to the gastrointestinal tract. Esophageal varices appear, the intestinal walls are deformed and peptic ulcers and colitis are caused. Ifalcoholism treatmentnot started on time, the patient is doomed to death.
How to help an alcoholic become aware of the problem?
If a person suffers from alcoholism, they need outside help. It is important that loved ones understand that at this stage there is no need to play rescuer. You cannot exert moral pressure on an alcoholic, scold him or constantly control him. Instilling a feeling of guilt for one's behavior while drunk will not have a positive effect on the situation. There is no need for a drunk to try to solve his problems. Such relationships are called codependent. This is not the norm.
How to help an alcoholic understand the problem? People in the patient's close circle must develop behavioral tactics that will allow them to form special relationships. In the process of communication, the alcoholic himself must understand:
- how harmful is drinking alcohol to him?
- how a drunken lifestyle negatively affects one's family and work;
- how health deteriorated due to constant intoxication;
- what will happen if you do not stop poisoning the body with ethanol?
The intervention is the only true and effective way to encourage, discreetly and without pressure, the patient to look at himself from the outside. It is often used by narcologists to motivate the patient to come to the clinic to receive adequate treatment.
How to help an alcoholic get out of drinking?
Excessive alcohol consumption is a dangerous condition. Long-term consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to serious poisoning. Ethanol poisons the body, its breakdown products do not have time to be eliminated by the liver and the excretory system and toxins accumulate. If you suddenly stop drinking, the alcoholic will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which in particularly critical cases will lead to failure of vital organs.
Relatives of a drunkard should remember that a hangover is difficult to tolerate. During this period, the patient is looking for a new dose. Without receiving it, he falls into a depressive or aggressive state. Cases of physical violence against the weakest members of the family - wife, elderly mother, children - are common. Any attempt to shame him, to direct him on the path to sobriety, will be met with hostility and will provoke indignation.
Do not know,how to help an alcoholic stop drinking? Don't risk his health. Contact experienced narcologists who will slowly and without stress relieve the patient's body of its condition, both physical and psycho-emotional. Only a specialist can, through professional intervention, teach the patient to look at his life from a different perspective. The doctor alone or in tandem with a psychologist will work with the alcoholic. An integrated approach always gives good results. Even if consent for further treatment is not immediately obtained, the process of accepting the problem of addiction has already begun in the subconscious. Often, after this, the patient voluntarily transfers control over his drinking to the person helping him.
How to help an excessive alcoholic?
The duration of the binge is 4 to 10 days. In particularly severe cases, an alcoholic may drink for a month or more until their body stops reacting to ethanol. During this period, the patient does not work, does not follow the rules of personal hygiene and does not eat normally. The consequences of such a long period of drunkenness are critical, as they affect well-being, health and appearance.
How to Help an Excessive Alcoholicand is it even possible to do that? You won't be able to deal with withdrawal symptoms alone. Drinking plenty of fluids, sedatives, and moral support can ease the condition, but it is not enough to stop excessive alcohol consumption.
In a hospital or at home, a narcologist will conduct detoxification, prescribe medications to stabilize the condition, quickly remove toxins and relieve stress on internal organs. The patient will be under the supervision of medical personnel and will receive emergency care if necessary. Narcologists and psychologists know thisHowhelping an alcoholic stop drinking, and successfully cope with this difficult task.
How to help an alcoholic at home?
Short-term binge drinking (less than 3 days of drinking) can be overcome on your own.How to help an alcoholic at home:
- organize abundant consumption - at least 2. 5 liters per day;
- introduce ascorbic acid or fruits rich in vitamin C into your diet;
- organize the supply of absorbents, for example activated carbon or silicon-based preparations;
- give the patient simple sedatives - valerian, sedative drops;
- offer a gentle diet, rich in vegetables, cereals and proteins.
However, even if your health improves and the alcoholic undertakes to stop drinking, it is recommended not to miss the opportunity to receive effective treatment in an inpatient drug treatment clinic.
How to help an alcoholic?
In some cases, the only effective method isalcoholism coding. Turning to narcologists and psychologists will be a real salvation from a sad outcome. Doctors will be able to find words so that the patient independently understands the seriousness of the situation and voluntarily makes the decision to undergo treatment. After detoxification, the specialist will select the most suitable coding method and radically change the life of an alcoholic for the better.
The patient refuses to go to the clinic? Call a narcologist to your home. A visiting doctor will carry out all procedures in a comfortable environment for the alcoholic, guaranteeing 100% anonymity.