It has long been recognized that dependence on alcoholic beverages is a serious illness.Alcoholism– a multifactorial chronic pathology, which is often accompanied by mental and physiological disorders. The mechanism of transformation of a bad habit into a dangerous disease is constantly being 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 in the world suffer from alcoholism. The disease knows no age limits. Nowadays, even teenagers and the elderly drink alcohol. Alcohol addiction causes a loss of behavioral control, an increase in the amount of alcohol consumption, aggression during sudden withdrawal, and prolonged bouts of drinking.AlcoholicLittle by little he loses family, friends, career. His connection with society is interrupted, his circle of interests is reduced to drink, and personal degradation begins.
Not only the drunk suffers from alcoholism, but also his family members. The family has to put up with the inappropriate behavior of the husband and father, get used to the excessive spending on alcohol in 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 good sex is more emotionally dependent on alcohol. In any case, a person with alcohol addiction needs urgent drug treatment.
Signs of alcoholism
Alcohol dependence is a progressive condition that leads to serious clinical conditions. Noticing the firstsigns of alcoholism, you should not ignore them or expect the alcoholic to stop drinking on his or her own. That will not happen. 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 daily;
- increases the dose necessary to become intoxicated;
- 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. Craving for alcohol occurs in conditions of chronic stress, against the background of family or professional problems, loneliness and, in some cases, due to too stable and emotionally unsaturated free time.
Alcohol addicts often do not admit that they are sick. It seems to him that drinking is a panacea for all problems and does no harm. This is self-deception. It is important for loved ones to knowhow to help an alcoholic, stop the disease before critical consequences appear.
The harm 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 main ones affected are the central nervous system and the brain. Ethanol and its breakdown products cause the death of neurons. The cells are not restored, the most important neuronal connections are disrupted. Doctors say that alcoholics develop microscopic ulcers and scars on the surface of the brain. Prolonged drinking causes deterioration in cognitive functions, short-term memory loss, and 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. Men and women have impaired sexual function and cannot conceive healthy offspring. Alcohol causes a hard blow to the gastrointestinal tract. Varicose veins of the esophagus occur, the intestinal walls are deformed and peptic ulcers and colitis are caused. Yeahalcoholism treatmentIf it is not started in time, the patient is sentenced to death.
How to help an alcoholic realize the problem?
If a person suffers from alcoholism, he needs outside help. It is important for close family members to understand that at this stage it is not necessary to act as a savior. You cannot put moral pressure on an alcoholic, scold him or constantly control him. Instilling a feeling of guilt for your drunk behavior will not have a positive effect on the situation. You don't need to try to solve a drunk's problems. These relationships are called codependent. This is not the norm.
How to help an alcoholic understand the problem? People in the patient's immediate circle must develop behavioral tactics that allow them to build special relationships. In the process of communication, the alcoholic himself must understand:
- How harmful is it for him to drink alcohol?
- how a drunken lifestyle negatively affects his family and his work;
- how health deteriorated due to constant poisoning;
- What will happen if you do not stop poisoning the body with ethanol?
Intervention is the only true and effective way to discreetly and without pressure encourage the patient to look at himself from the outside. Narcologists often use it to motivate the patient to come to the clinic to receive appropriate treatment.
How to help an alcoholic get out of excessive alcohol consumption?
Excessive alcohol consumption is a dangerous condition. Prolonged consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to serious poisoning. Ethanol poisons the body, its decomposition products do not have time to be eliminated by the liver and excretory system, and toxins accumulate. If drinking is suddenly stopped, the alcoholic will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which in especially critical cases will cause vital organ failure.
Relatives of a drunk should remember that a hangover is difficult to tolerate. During this period, the patient seeks 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 are frequent: wife, elderly mother, children. Any attempt to shame him, to set him on the path to sobriety, will be met with hostility and provoke indignation.
Don't know,how to help an alcoholic stop drinking? Don't risk your health. Contact experienced narcologists who will slowly and without stress for the patient's body alleviate her condition, both physical and psycho-emotional. Only a specialist can, through professional intervention, teach the patient to look at her life from a different angle. The doctor, alone or together with a psychologist, will work with the alcoholic. An integrated approach always gives good results. Even if consent to continue treatment is not immediately received, the process of accepting the problem of addiction has already begun in the subconscious. Often after this, the patient voluntarily transfers control of alcohol consumption to the helping party.
How to help a compulsive alcoholic?
The duration of the binge is 4 to 10 days. In especially severe cases, an alcoholic may drink for a month or more until his or her body stops responding to ethanol. During this period, the patient does not work, does not observe the rules of personal hygiene and does not eat normally. The consequences of such a prolonged period of drunkenness are critical, affecting well-being, health and appearance.
How to help a compulsive alcoholicAnd is it possible to do this? You will not be able to cope with withdrawal symptoms on your own. Drinking plenty of fluids, sedatives and moral support can alleviate the condition, but this is not enough to stop excessive drinking.
In a hospital or at home, a narcologist will perform detoxification, prescribe medications to stabilize the condition, quickly eliminate toxins and relieve tension on internal organs. The patient will be under the supervision of medical staff and will receive emergency care if necessary. Narcologists and psychologists knowAshelp an alcoholic stop drinkingand successfully face this difficult task.
How to help an alcoholic at home?
A brief binge (less than 3 days of drinking) can be overcome on its own.How to help an alcoholic at home:
- organize a lot of drinking: at least 2. 5 liters per day;
- introduce ascorbic acid or fruits high in vitamin C into your diet;
- organize the intake of sorbents, for example, activated carbon or silicon-based preparations;
- give the patient simple sedatives: valerian, sedative drops;
- Provide a bland diet rich in vegetables, grains and protein.
However, even if his health improves and the alcoholic promises to stop drinking, it is recommended not to miss the opportunity to receive effective treatment at 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 result. Doctors will be able to find words so that the patient independently understands the seriousness of the situation and makes a voluntary decision to undergo treatment. After detoxification, the specialist will select the most suitable coding method and will radically improve the life of the alcoholic.
Does the patient refuse to visit the clinic? Call a narcologist to your home. A visiting doctor will carry out all the procedures in a comfortable environment for the alcoholic, guaranteeing 100% anonymity.