Alcoholism, one of the forms of drug addiction, was officially recognized by medicine in 1952 as a serious mental illness, the symptoms of which tend to constantly increase.The disease is manifested by an uncontrollable craving to drink alcohol.A person begins to drink alcohol uncontrollably, possibly going on a several-day binge or drinking a certain amount of alcohol every day “out of fatigue,” to relieve stress, or just to relax.
How to quit drinking and what are the dangers of alcoholism?
Most people with alcoholism are not fully aware of the dangers of this disease.They don't think that only returning to a sober lifestyle can save them from health problems, so they won't stop drinking.The question of getting rid of alcoholism often worries relatives, they turn to specialists for help.
To understand the dangers of chronic alcoholism for health, it is necessary to remember the serious diseases that develop in any alcoholic after several years of persistent alcoholism.The main place among them is occupied by:
- from the digestive system: gastritis, ulcers, enteritis;
- from the cardiovascular system: cardiomyopathy or myocardial pain;
- from the liver: cirrhosis or hepatitis;
- from the brain: alcoholic mycosis, Morel's disease;
- from psychology: delirium (delirium tremors), or mental disorder.
Among the causes of serious deterioration of health, leading to premature death, one can mention pancreatitis, a disease typical of alcoholics, which can quickly lead to the development of cancerous tumors in the pancreas.If an alcoholic, even though the disease is developing, continues to drink alcohol regularly and uncontrollably, that person will only live no more than ten years.
Drunk people have no control over their actions, which is why drunk drivers and pedestrians often become culprits in traffic accidents.Most crimes committed are the fault of alcoholics.
Social problems of alcoholics
For a person who begins to drink regularly and uncontrollably, alcohol replaces family, work and hobbies.He gradually turned into something amorphous, his life drifting in a vicious cycle, going from one husband to another through the hangover stage.Chronic alcoholism causes:
- Stop growing and decline in social status.
- Negative change in moral and ethical qualities, leading to rudeness towards others, vulgarity, laxity.
- Deviation of behavior.People who regularly drink alcohol, cannot forget their bad habits, have gangster traits, often resort to physical and moral humiliation of relatives, stealing money and valuables from home.
Active alcoholism, which has occurred in recent years in our society, leads not only to health problems in drinkers and deterioration of the quality of life of the whole society, but also to high mortality rates among young people.
How to convince an alcoholic to stop drinking?
Due to the negative effects of ethanol on the brain, the drinker can only receive all information one-sidedly: he hears and sees what he wants, and ignores everything else.Only information that was not capable of damaging his friendship with the “Blue Snake” penetrated his consciousness.An alcoholic not only does not think about stopping alcohol abuse, but also does not realize the existence of a disease such as alcoholism.
It is impossible to force an addict to stop drinking for any reason by hanging posters on the wall about the harmful effects of alcoholism.It will be easier for the addict to get acquainted with the dangerous facts about the harm that alcohol causes, then he will probably start thinking about how to quit the habit that is causing irreparable damage to his health and return to a sober life.Facts that can help alcoholics get back on the road to sobriety include:
- To "earn" cirrhosis, a person who regularly drinks alcohol only needs 10-20 years;
- Forgetting alcohol at the stage of organ damage, alcoholics can live about 10 more years, but if they do not stop abusing, death will occur much sooner;
- A person who becomes a drunkard before his thirtieth birthday will certainly go to the grave on his fiftieth birthday.
Yes, these facts can influence an uncontrolled alcoholic and make him quit smoking, but it will be better if the dynamics of alcoholism treatment are carried out by an experienced psychologist.Neoplus drug treatment clinic in Yekaterinburg provides intervention services.A qualified psychologist will go to the home of an alcoholic who refuses inpatient treatment at the request of relatives.Then a motivational conversation is held.The result of career motivation in 98% of cases is the appearance in the addict of a desire to quit and he voluntarily decides on treatment.
Is it dangerous to treat alcoholism on your own?
The question of how to stop drinking alcohol, unfortunately, worries not alcoholics, but their loved ones.It is the relatives of alcoholics, exhausted by frequent drinking and realizing that it is useless to persuade them to undergo treatment, who are looking for information on how to stop drinking.It should be said right away that self-medication for alcoholism, a fairly common habit in our modern society, poses a serious threat not only to health, but also to human life and is completely useless.
Addicts cannot stop drinking alcohol until they realize the dangers of this habit and want to give it up, and self-treatment of alcoholism, especially when the patient is unaware, is dangerous because:
- The use of drugs that eliminate the desire to drink alcohol regularly or that cause a negative bodily reaction to alcohol, not only its taste, but also its 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 independently selected medications, loved ones put him at risk of serious somatic diseases and exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- Folk remedies It is impossible to drink alcohol due to the fact that immediate vomiting can cause an acute allergic reaction in the form of suffocation.Dysfunction of the respiratory system quickly leads to asphyxia and in most cases to premature death because the ambulance does not have time to arrive due to the immediate increase in clinical symptoms.
In addition, such treatment without a doctor's supervision can lead to the following irreversible consequences:
- Mental problems are getting worse;
- causing injury to people around;
- the emergence of suicidal tendencies and suicide.
To prevent such consequences, you need to persuade a loved one who started drinking a lot to go to a specialized clinic.This should be done as soon as possible when the first signs appear that a loved one is addicted to alcohol.It must be remembered that a person with chronic addiction can stop drinking alcohol only after completing a full rehabilitation process.Delaying it can be fatal.
Professional alcoholism treatment in private practice
The question of how to regain sanity with the help of specialists is of interest to many people.It is often asked online.To find out how to forget alcohol if you cannot do it yourself, you should consider the alcohol addiction treatment methods used in our clinic.After the alcoholic is admitted to the hospital, he is assigned a comprehensive diagnostic examination.In the process, it is revealed:
- general condition of the patient;
- stages of addiction development;
- the presence of alcohol-induced damage to internal organs and the psyche.
Based on the results obtained, each patient is assigned an individual treatment regimen, but all selected measures are included in several common stages.
Cleanse your body
Without this stage, it is impossible to begin comprehensive treatment of alcoholism.Detoxification is accomplished through the infusion of absorbent (toxin-binding) solutions.There are also additional medications that are prescribed specifically to relieve withdrawal symptoms in a specific alcoholic.If necessary, non-pharmacological detoxification can be carried out - plasmapheresis, hemodialysis, hemodialysis.
Regenerative medicine treatment
Alcoholism patients admitted for treatment at our hospital are prescribed an additional course of rehabilitation and recovery.The medicine, individually selected by experts collaborating with the Neoplus clinic, allows you to quickly:
- restores internal organs damaged by decomposition products of psychoactive substances;
- normalizes the functioning of the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems.
If a person who cannot stop drinking alcohol is diagnosed with a serious illness, hepatitis, HIV infection, borderline mental state, psychosis, epilepsy, etc., specialists collaborating with our clinic will prescribe additional therapy aimed at treating or maintaining them in a state of remission.
Psychological recovery
The main and longest stage of the treatment of alcoholism, without which it is impossible to cope with the disease, forces a person to constantly drink alcohol.Psychological treatment regimen includes:
- group psychology training;
- individual lessons, conversations and consultations with a psychologist;
- 12-step programs have long proven to be highly effective.
In addition, our psychologists carry out pro bono work with dependent relatives of patients, with the aim of preventing the possibility of deterioration after discharge from the hospital.
Re-socialization
This phase involves restoring social connections that were lost while the addict was drinking, which is an effective relapse prevention measure after treatment and ensures that the person will be able to stop drinking forever.Therapy programs used at this stage include:
- detailed analysis of problems and irritants leading to failures;
- Research and simulate situations that can cause disease relapse.
Our social workers and psychologists help patients change unfavorable behavioral patterns, escape previous environments, restore daily or vocational skills and, if necessary, obtain a new profession.
How to quit drinking forever, advice from a narcologist
No previous alcoholics.If an addict has stopped abusing, it does not mean that he is permanently sober.There is no advice on quitting drinking on your own.The only way for an alcoholic to stop drinking is to consult with an experienced drugologist and undergo full treatment at an inpatient drug treatment clinic.Professional help can make a person want to consciously quit drinking.The success of treatment depends on the patient's desire to quit drinking alcohol.
The following will help you forget about alcohol:advice:
- refuse any offer of alcohol;
- Always control the amount of alcohol consumed;
- Avoid companies where people drink a lot.
To definitely stop abusing alcohol, you should learn to relax using non-alcoholic methods: find a hobby, play sports, etc.If you are concerned about insomnia and anxiety, you should consult a psychotherapist at the clinic.
If there are signs of alcoholism, you should contact a professional drug treatment clinic, which will advise you on free and anonymous treatment of alcoholism at any time of the day.