Alcoholism, one of the types of drug addiction, was recognized by official medicine back in 1952 as a serious mental illness, the symptoms of which tend to constantly increase. The disease manifests itself as an uncontrollable urge to drink alcohol. A person begins to drink alcohol uncontrollably, may binge drink for several days, or drink a certain amount of alcohol every day "out of fatigue, " to relieve stress, or simply to relax.
How to stop drinking and what are the dangers of alcoholism?
Most people suffering from alcohol addiction are not fully aware of the dangers of this condition. They do not believe that only returning to a sober lifestyle can save them from health problems, so they will not stop drinking alcohol. The question of eliminating alcoholism usually worries their loved ones, who turn to specialists for help.
To understand the danger of chronic alcoholism to health, it is worth remembering the serious diseases that develop in any alcoholic after several years of persistent alcohol dependence. The main place among them is occupied by:
- from the digestive system: gastritis, ulcer, enterocolitis;
- of the cardiovascular system: cardiomyopathy or cardialgia;
- liver: cirrhosis or hepatitis;
- of the brain: alcoholic pellagra, Morel's disease;
- of the psyche: delirium (delirium tremens), or psychosis.
Among the causes of serious deterioration in health, leading to premature death, we can cite pancreatitis, a disease specific to alcoholics, which can quickly lead to the development of a cancerous tumor in the pancreas. If a person dependent on alcohol, despite the development of the disease, continues to drink alcohol regularly and uncontrollably, he will have no more than ten years to live.
A drunk person does not control his actions, which is why drunk drivers and pedestrians most often become guilty of road accidents. Most crimes are committed through the fault of people addicted to alcohol.
Social problems of alcoholics
For a person who begins drinking regularly and uncontrollably, alcohol replaces family, work, and play. He gradually turns into something amorphous, his life unfolds in a vicious circle, from pile to pile passing through the hangover stage. Chronic alcoholism causes:
- Arrest of development and decline of social status.
- A negative change in ethical and moral character traits, leading to rudeness towards others, vulgarity, laxity.
- Behavioral deviation. People who drink constantly, unable to forget their bad habit, acquire antisocial character traits, often resort to physical and moral humiliation of loved ones, stealing money and valuables from them.
Active alcoholism, which has occurred in recent years in our society, leads not only to health problems among drinkers and a deterioration in the quality of life of society as a whole, but also to high mortality among young people.
How to convince an alcoholic to quit?
Due to the negative effect of ethanol on the brain, a drinker can perceive any information only from one side: he hears and sees what he wants and ignores everything else. Only information that is not capable of harming friendship with the "Green Snake" enters his consciousness. An alcoholic not only does not think about stopping alcohol abuse, but also does not categorically recognize the existence of a disease such as alcoholism.
It is impossible to force a drug addict to stop drinking for any reason by hanging posters on the walls about the harm caused by alcoholism. It is easier to acquaint the addict with the dangerous facts about the harm caused by alcohol, then he will probably begin to think about how to abandon this habit that causes irreparable harm to his health in order to return to a sober life. Facts that can help an alcoholic get back on the path to sobriety include:
- to "win" cirrhosis, a person who drinks regularly only needs 10-20 years;
- having forgotten about alcohol at the stage of damage to internal organs, an alcoholic can live about 10 years longer, but if you do not stop abusing it, death will come much earlier;
- A person who becomes an alcoholic before reaching his thirtieth birthday is guaranteed to end up in a grave before his fiftieth birthday.
Yes, these facts can affect an uncontrollable drinker and push him to quit smoking, but motivation for alcoholism treatment is best carried out by an experienced psychologist. The Neoplus drug treatment clinic in Yekaterinburg offers an intervention service. A qualified psychologist goes to the home of an alcoholic who refuses to undergo hospital treatment, at the request of his loved ones. Then a motivational conversation takes place. The result of professional motivation in 98% of cases is the emergence in the addicted person of a desire to abandon their addiction, and they make a voluntary decision to undergo treatment.
Is it dangerous to treat alcoholism yourself?
Unfortunately, the question of how to stop alcohol abuse concerns not people addicted to alcohol, but their loved ones. It is the relatives of alcoholics, exhausted by their regular consumption of alcohol and aware of the futility of persuading them to undergo treatment, who seek information on how to stop drinking. It must be said right away that self-medication for alcoholism, which is a fairly common practice in our modern society, poses a serious threat not only to health, but also to human life, and is also completely unnecessary.
An addict cannot stop drinking alcohol until he realizes the danger of his habit and wants to give it up, and self-medication of alcoholism, especially without the patient's knowledge, is dangerous because:
- The use of drugs that eliminate the desire to drink alcohol regularly or cause negative somatic reactions to alcohol, not only its taste, but also its smell, without a prescription from a qualified narcologist, poses a serious threatfor the health and life of the alcoholic. By secretly giving the patient independently selected medications, his relatives expose him to the risk of developing serious somatic diseases and exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- Folk remedies with which it is impossible to drink alcohol due to immediate vomiting can cause an acute allergic reaction in the form of choking. Malfunction of the respiratory system quickly leads to asphyxia and in most cases ends in premature death, since the ambulance does not have time to arrive due to the immediate increase in clinical symptoms.
In addition, such treatment, not supervised by a doctor, can lead to the following irreversible consequences:
- worsening mental problems;
- causing injury to persons around him;
- the emergence of suicidal tendencies and suicide.
To avoid such consequences, you need to persuade your loved one, who has started drinking heavily, to go to a specialized clinic. This should be done as soon as possible when the first signs appear that a loved one is developing an alcohol dependence. It should be remembered that a person suffering from chronic addiction can stop drinking alcohol only after completing a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Delaying this could prove fatal.
Professional methods of treating alcoholism in a private clinic
The question of how to return to sobriety with the help of professionals is of interest to many. This question is often asked online. To fully understand how to forget about alcohol if you cannot do it yourself, it is worth considering the methods of treating alcoholism used in our clinic. After the alcoholic is admitted to the hospital, a comprehensive diagnostic examination is prescribed. In the process it is revealed:
- general condition of the patient;
- stage of development of addiction;
- the presence of damage to internal organs and the psyche from alcohol.
Based on the results obtained, each patient is assigned an individual treatment regimen, but all selected measures are included in several general stages.
Cleanse the body
Without this step, it is impossible to begin comprehensive treatment for alcoholism. Detoxification is carried out by infusion of absorption solutions (binding toxins). Added to these are medications prescribed individually to relieve withdrawal symptoms present in a particular alcoholic. If necessary, non-drug detoxification can be carried out - plasmapheresis, hemosorption, hemodialysis.
Regenerative drug therapy
Patients suffering from alcohol dependence admitted for treatment to our hospital are additionally prescribed restorative and restorative therapy. The drugs, selected individually by specialists collaborating with the Neoplus clinic, make it possible to:
- restore internal organs damaged by breakdown products of psychoactive substances;
- normalize the functioning of the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems.
If a person unable to stop drinking is diagnosed with serious illnesses, hepatitis, HIV infection, borderline mental states, psychoses, epilepsy, etc. , specialized specialists collaborating with our clinic prescribe complementary therapy aimed at treating it or maintaining it in a state of remission. .
Psychological rehabilitation
The main and longest stage of treatment of alcoholism, without which it is not possible to cope with this disease, which forces a person to constantly drink alcohol. The psychotherapeutic treatment protocol includes:
- group psychological trainings;
- individual lessons, conversations and consultations with a psychologist;
- The 12 Step program has long proven its great effectiveness.
In addition, our psychologists carry out free work with codependent relatives of patients, aimed at preventing a possible breakdown after leaving the clinic.
Resocialization
This stage consists of reestablishing the links with society lost when the addicted person drank alcohol, which constitutes an effective prevention of relapses after treatment and a guarantee that the person will be able to stop drinking alcohol permanently. alcohol. Therapeutic programs used at this stage include:
- detailed analysis of problems and irritants leading to failures;
- simulation study of situations that could cause a relapse of the disease.
Our social workers and psychologists help patients to change their unfavorable behaviors, to break with their previous environment, to regain daily or professional skills and, if necessary, to acquire a new profession.
How to stop drinking forever, advice from a narcologist
There are no ex-alcoholics. If an addict has stopped abusing, it does not mean that he or she has successfully quit for good. There is no advice on how to stop drinking alcohol on your own. The only way for an alcoholic to stop drinking is a consultation with an experienced narcologist and comprehensive treatment in an inpatient drug treatment clinic. Help from specialists can make a person consciously want to stop drinking alcohol. The success of treatment depends on the strength of the patient's desire to give up alcohol.
The following will help you forget about alcohol:advice:
- refuse any offer of drink;
- always control the amount of alcohol consumed;
- Avoid companies where people drink a lot.
To be sure to stop abusing alcohol, you need to learn to relax using non-alcoholic methods: find a hobby, play sports, etc. If you are worried about insomnia and anxiety, you should consult a psychotherapist at the clinic.
If there are signs of alcohol dependence, you should contact a professional drug treatment clinic, which will advise you on the treatment of alcoholism free of charge and anonymously at any time of the day.