Alcohol dependence has long been recognized as a serious illness.Alcoholism– a chronic multifactorial pathology, 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 in the world suffer from alcoholism. The disease knows no age limits. Today, even teenagers and elderly people drink alcohol. Alcohol dependence leads to loss of behavioral control, increased drinking, aggressiveness during sudden abstinence, and prolonged binges.Alcoholicgradually loses family, friends, career. His connection with society is interrupted, his circle of interests is reduced to drinking 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 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 time-consuming, as the fair sex is more emotionally dependent on alcohol. In any case, a person with alcohol dependence 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 their own. This 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 alcoholic beverages increases daily;
- the dose required to become intoxicated increases;
- memory lapses appear after drinking libations;
- the protective vomiting reflex, which previously saved the body from intoxication, disappears;
- withdrawal syndrome appears - a healthy person after a feast does not feel like having a hangover.
In adolescents, alcohol dependence 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 to be normal. The desire for alcohol occurs under conditions of chronic stress, in a context of family or professional problems, loneliness and, in some cases, due to very stable and emotionally unsaturated leisure time.
Alcohol addicts often do not admit that they are sick. It seems to you 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 negatively affects all internal organs and systems of a person, and also reduces life expectancy. The central nervous system and brain are mainly affected. Ethanol and its degradation products lead to the death of neurons. Cells are not restored, the most important neural connections are interrupted. Doctors say that alcoholics develop microscopic ulcers and scars on the surface of the brain. Drinking for a long time leads to deterioration of cognitive functions, loss of short-term memory, auditory and visual hallucinations.
Internal organs suffer from toxic substances. Alcoholics are more likely to be hospitalized with heart attacks and strokes and to die from liver cirrhosis and hepatitis. Men and women have impaired sexual function and are unable to conceive healthy children. Alcohol deals a big blow to the gastrointestinal tract. Varicose veins of the esophagus occur, the intestinal walls are deformed and peptic ulcers and colitis are caused. Ifalcoholism treatmentnot started in a timely manner, the patient is doomed to death.
How to help an alcoholic understand the problem?
If a person suffers from alcoholism, he needs outside help. It is important that close family members understand that there is no need to play savior at this stage. You cannot exert moral pressure on an alcoholic, scold him or constantly control him. Instilling a sense of guilt for your behavior while intoxicated will not have a positive effect on the situation. There's no need to try to solve your problems for a drunk. 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 allow them to build special relationships. In the process of communication, the alcoholic himself must understand:
- how harmful is drinking alcohol for him?
- how an alcoholic lifestyle negatively affects your family and work;
- how health deteriorated due to constant intoxication;
- what will happen if you don't stop poisoning your body with ethanol.
Intervention is the only true and effective way to discreetly and without pressure encourage the patient to look at themselves from the outside. It is often used by narcologists to motivate the patient to come to the clinic to receive appropriate treatment.
How to help an alcoholic get out of excessive drinking?
Excessive alcohol consumption is a dangerous condition. Prolonged consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause serious poisoning. Ethanol poisons the body, its degradation products do not have time to be eliminated by the liver and excretory system and toxins accumulate. If you stop drinking suddenly, the alcoholic will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which in particularly critical cases will lead to the 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 state of depression or aggression. Cases of physical violence against more disadvantaged family members – wife, elderly mother, children – are frequent. Any attempt to shame you, to guide you on the path to sobriety, will be met with hostility and will cause outrage.
Do not know,how to help an alcoholic stop drinking? Don't risk his health. Contact experienced narcologists who will slowly and without stress on the patient's body alleviate his condition, both physical and psycho-emotional. Only a specialist can, through professional intervention, teach the patient to look at their life from a different angle. The doctor alone or together with a psychologist will treat the alcoholic. An integrated approach always gives good results. Even if consent for further treatment is not received immediately, the process of accepting the addiction problem has already begun in the subconscious. Often after this, the patient voluntarily transfers control of their alcohol consumption to the person they help.
How to help an excessive 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 their body stops responding to ethanol. During this period, the patient does not work, does not follow personal hygiene rules 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 will not be able to deal with withdrawal symptoms alone. 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 remove toxins and relieve stress on internal organs. The patient will be under the supervision of the medical team 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 small binge (less than 3 days of drinking) can be overcome on your own.How to help an alcoholic at home:
- organize plenty of drinking - at least 2. 5 liters per day;
- introduce ascorbic acid or fruits rich in vitamin C into your diet;
- arrange for 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 proteins.
However, even if his health improves and the alcoholic vows 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 outcome. 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 radically change the life of an alcoholic for the better.
Does the patient refuse to visit 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.