Alcoholism, one of the types of drug addiction, was recognized by official medicine in 1952 as a serious mental illness, the symptoms of which tend to always increase. This disease manifests itself as an uncontrollable desire to drink alcohol. A person begins to drink alcohol uncontrollably, may eat too much for several days, or drink a little alcohol every day "because of fatigue, " to relieve stress or just to relax.
How to stop drinking, and what are the dangers of alcoholism?
Most people who suffer from alcohol addiction are not fully aware of the dangers of this disease. They don't think that just returning to a healthy lifestyle can save them from health problems, so they won't stop drinking alcohol. The question of getting rid of alcohol usually worries their relatives, who turn to specialists for help.
To understand the dangers of chronic alcoholism to health, it is necessary to remember the serious diseases that develop in any alcoholic after several years of continuous alcoholism. The main place among them is occupied by:
- from the digestive system: gastritis, ulcer, enterocolitis;
- from the cardiovascular system: cardiomyopathy or cardialgia;
- from the liver: cirrhosis or hepatitis;
- from the brain: alcoholic pellagra, Morel's disease;
- from the soul: delirium (delirium tremens), or psychosis.
Among the causes of serious deterioration in health, leading to premature death, one can name pancreatitis, a specific disease of alcoholics, which can quickly lead to the development of cancerous tumors in the pancreas. If a person suffering from alcoholism, despite the developing 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 are most often the cause of road accidents. Most crimes are committed because of the fault of people who are addicted to alcohol.
Social problems of alcoholics
For someone who begins to drink regularly and uncontrollably, alcohol replaces family, work, and hobbies. He gradually turns into something formless, his life flows in a vicious circle, from pile to pile through the stages of drunkenness. Chronic alcohol causes:
- Cessation of development and deterioration of social status.
- Negative changes in ethical and moral nature, which leads to rudeness to others, rudeness, laxity.
- Behavioral deviations. People who constantly drink, cannot forget their bad habits, acquire sociable character, often resort to physical and moral insults of loved ones, steal money and valuables from home.
Active consumption of alcohol, which has occurred in recent years in our society, not only leads to health problems among drinkers and 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 stop?
Due to the negative effect of ethanol on the brain, a drinker can see any information only one sided: he hears and sees what he wants, and ignores everything else. Only information that could not damage the friendship with the "Green Snake" penetrated his consciousness. An alcoholic not only does not think about stopping alcohol abuse, but also absolutely does not recognize the existence of a disease such as alcoholism.
It is impossible to force addicts to stop drinking for any reason by hanging posters on the walls about the dangers of alcohol. It is easier to acquaint the addict with the harmful facts about the dangers of alcohol, then he will probably start thinking about how to quit the habit that causes irreparable damage to his health in order to return to a healthy life. Facts that can help put an alcoholic back on the road to sobriety include:
- to "get" cirrhosis, frequent drinkers only need 10-20 years;
- after forgetting alcohol at the stage of damage to internal organs, an alcoholic can live for about 10 more years, but if you do not stop abusing, death will occur earlier;
- a person who becomes an alcoholic before reaching his thirtieth birthday is guaranteed to end up in the grave by his fiftieth birthday.
Yes, this fact can affect the unruly drinker and make him stop, but it is better if the motivation for alcoholism treatment is carried out by an experienced psychologist. Neoplus drug treatment clinic in Yekaterinburg offers intervention services. A qualified psychologist goes to the home of an alcoholic who refuses to undergo inpatient treatment, at the request of his relatives. Then a motivational conversation is held. The result of professional motivation in 98% of cases is the emergence of a desire in the addict to stop addiction, and he makes a voluntary decision to undergo treatment.
Is it dangerous to treat alcoholism on your own?
Unfortunately, the question of how to stop alcohol abuse does not concern the person who is addicted to alcohol, but their loved ones. Relatives of alcoholics, exhausted from their usual drinking, and aware of the futility of persuasion 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 useless.
An addict cannot stop drinking alcohol until he realizes the dangers of his habit and wants to leave it, and self-medication against alcohol, especially without the patient's knowledge, is dangerous because:
- The use of drugs that remove the desire to drink alcohol regularly, or that cause a negative somatic reaction to alcohol, not only the taste, but also the smell, without the prescription of a qualified narcologist, poses a serious threat to the health and life of an alcoholic. By secretly giving the patient freely chosen medicines, loved ones expose him to the danger of developing serious somatic diseases and worsening chronic diseases.
- The recovery of people who are impossible to drink alcohol because vomiting can immediately cause an acute allergic reaction in the form of shortness of breath. Dysfunction of the respiratory system quickly leads to asphyxia and, in most cases, ends in premature death, because the ambulance does not have time to arrive due to the immediate increase in clinical symptoms.
In addition, such treatment, without the supervision of a doctor, can lead to the following irreversible consequences:
- worsening mental problems;
- causing injury to people around him or himself;
- the emergence of suicidal and suicidal tendencies.
To avoid such consequences, you need to persuade your loved one, who has started drinking a lot, to go to a specialized clinic. This should be done as early as possible when the first signs appear that you are suffering from alcohol addiction. It should be remembered that a person suffering from chronic addiction can stop drinking alcohol only after completing a full course of rehabilitation. Delaying it can be fatal.
Professional methods of treating alcoholism in private clinics
The question of how to return to sobriety with professional help is of great interest to many. It is often asked online. To fully understand how to forget 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, he is prescribed a full diagnostic examination. During the process, it is revealed:
- general condition of the patient;
- stages of addiction development;
- the presence of damage caused to the internal organs and soul by alcohol.
Based on the results obtained, each patient is given an individual treatment regimen, but all the selected measures are included in several general levels.
Cleanse the body
Without this stage, it is impossible to start the full treatment of alcoholism. Detoxification is carried out through the infusion of an absorption (toxin-binding) solution. To this are added individually prescribed medications to relieve the withdrawal symptoms found in certain alcohols. If necessary, non-drug detoxification can be carried out - plasmapheresis, hemosorption, hemodialysis.
Regenerative medicine therapy
Patients with alcohol dependence who are admitted for treatment to our hospital are also prescribed a course of rehabilitation and rehabilitation therapy. Medicines, individually selected by specialists working with Neoplus clinics, allow you to quickly:
- restores internal organs damaged by the breakdown products of psychoactive substances;
- normalizes the function of the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems.
If a person who cannot stop drinking is diagnosed with a serious illness, hepatitis, HIV infection, borderline mental condition, psychosis, epilepsy, etc. , specialists who collaborate with our clinic prescribe additional therapy aimed at treating them or maintaining a state of remission. .
Psychological rehabilitation
The main and longest stage of treatment for alcoholism, without which it is impossible to overcome this disease, which forces a person to constantly drink alcohol. Psychotherapy treatment protocols include:
- group psychology training;
- individual lessons, conversations and consultations with psychologists;
- The 12 Step Program has long proven its high level of effectiveness.
In addition, our psychologists conduct free work with co-dependent relatives of patients, aiming to prevent possible damage after leaving the clinic.
Resocialization
This stage consists of restoring the relationship with society that was lost while the addict was drinking alcohol, which is an effective prevention of relapse after treatment and a guarantee that the person will be able to stop drinking alcohol forever. Therapeutic programs used at this stage include:
- detailed analysis of problems and irritants that lead to damage;
- simulation study of situations that can trigger disease recurrence.
Our social workers and psychologists help patients change unpleasant behavior patterns, break their previous environment, restore daily or professional skills, and, if necessary, acquire a new profession.
How to stop drinking forever, advice from a narcologist
No former alcoholics. If the addict has stopped abusing, this does not mean that he has successfully stopped forever. There is no advice to stop alcohol on your own. The only way out for alcoholics to stop drinking is consultation with an experienced narcologist and full treatment at an inpatient drug treatment clinic. Expert help can make a person consciously want to stop drinking alcohol. The success of treatment depends on how strong the patient's desire to give up alcohol is.
The following will help you forget alcohol:advice:
- refuse any offer to drink;
- always control the amount of alcohol consumed;
- Avoid companies where people drink a lot.
To make sure you stop abusing alcohol, you should 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 about alcoholism treatment for free and anonymously at any time of the day.