Alcohol addiction is a problem known to many families.Some people do not realize the danger of craving alcohol, considering it a common bad habit that can be overcome with a simple effort of will.Namely, with the development of psychological and physical dependence on alcohol, the patient can only be helped by professional narcologists who know how to stop drinking.
Alcoholism is a dangerous chronic disease.Without timely treatment, it leads to pathological disorders in the functioning of internal organs and systems, degradation of personality, and the probability of premature death increases.
How to convince someone to stop drinking
One of the main problems faced by relatives of addicts is how to convince the person to stop drinking.The problem is that after developing an addiction, a person loses the ability to objectively assess the surrounding reality.Because of this, he can honestly believe that everything is fine with him;if necessary, will independently refuse alcohol at any time.
In fact, by that time physical dependence has time to develop.Ethanol toxins penetrate tissues and internal organs and actively participate in metabolism.Alcohol becomes necessary for the normal functioning of the body, as soon as its level decreases, a person begins to feel painful withdrawal symptoms.The easiest way to deal with them is to take another dose of alcohol.This leads to long-term drinking, addiction develops and concomitant chronic diseases appear.
It is not easy to get an alcoholic to stop, and forced therapy is prohibited.Such a decision can only be made in court.However, providing medical care without the patient's consent is ineffective.As long as the person does not want to stop drinking, the likelihood of relapse will remain very high.
Alternatives to forced treatment
In order to obtain consent from the alcoholic, relatives are advised to intervene.To do this, all family members must unite and act together:
- Reject ultimatums, threats and scandals.This will not help convince the alcoholic to stop their addiction.Instead, the person may become even more withdrawn.
- It is necessary to refuse any help to solve the problems caused by alcoholism until the patient agrees to the drug treatment.
- The use of folk remedies and methods should be abandoned.They can only help in the early stages of addiction, and even then not always.Often, the patient's condition can only worsen, and alcoholism moves to the next stage.
- Instead, you must choose a drug treatment clinic in advance.
- Take advantage of a situation where the patient is suffering from withdrawal symptoms.They are so painful that most agree to go to the doctor to stop suffering.
Another way is to contact motivational psychologists from a drug treatment clinic.They conduct confidential conversations at home and are well aware of the peculiarities of the psychology of alcoholics in order to achieve results.
Motivation to get rid of addiction
In order for the alcoholic to make an important choice and agree to go through all the stages of complex therapy, an honest conversation will help.During it, the relatives will be able to present significant arguments and motives that should convince the person to make this responsible decision.These motives may include:
- Children and family - expecting or planning a child is incompatible with alcoholism, as is raising small children.For some, the decisive factor is the appearance of a real and tangible threat of losing their family.
- The state of health when a person begins to develop more and more new diseases, internal organs gradually fail, systemic malfunctions occur in the body, this becomes clear evidence that it is necessary to stop.
- Due to addiction, your career begins to suffer greatly.The possibility of losing a job, all that was previously achieved on the professional level, becomes a good incentive.Over time, alcohol consumption inevitably affects success at work: brain activity decreases, the sense of responsibility weakens, and discipline weakens.
- Reputation is not often the main reason people stop drinking, but it is a possibility.At the very least, this argument should be used along with other reasons why an alcoholic should give up alcohol.If the patient has a chronic addiction, self-esteem loses its value due to serious psychological changes and personality degradation.
- Moral or physical fatigue from systematic alcohol consumption.In some cases, it is possible to ensure that a person objectively looks at himself from the outside and realizes the senselessness and hopelessness of such a situation.The main thing may be the fact that the patient stops enjoying alcohol;no trace of the pleasure that was there before.
- Significant changes that have occurred in life.In this case, a clear awareness of the grayness of the current reality and the desire to radically change everything should play a role.
After you have achieved voluntary and informed consent to comprehensive treatment for alcoholism, you must move on to the stages of therapy.The program is created individually, taking into account the psychological and physiological characteristics of the patient.If necessary, regular meetings with a psychotherapist are held in order to maintain the level of motivation at the appropriate level.
Where to start addiction treatment?
Patients and their relatives should be prepared for the fact that the fight against alcoholism will take a long time - on average, about a year.To begin with, doctors do everything possible to rid the body of alcohol residues and ethanol toxins.
For this purpose, drug detoxification is carried out if the patient cannot last a week without alcohol on his own.This is also done when you withdraw from drinking.
The patient is put on a drip with strong drugs in the form of solutions.There are two reasons why you will not be able to organize diffusion therapy yourself, even if you read a lot of posts on the Internet:
- Only an experienced doctor, based on the results of express diagnostics, can determine which drugs should be included in the drip and what the doses should be.
- Most of the time, when removing a person from drinking and cleaning the body of toxins, powerful drugs are used, which can only be bought in a pharmacy with a doctor's prescription.
The drip is applied for about two hours.All this time, the narcologist is next to the alcoholic and monitors the vital organs.On leaving, he leaves his relatives with medicines for the next few days and gives advice on what to do when the patient comes to his senses.
Diagnostics
To decide which methods of alcohol addiction treatment to use, you need to conduct a comprehensive examination.It allows you to make an accurate diagnosis of the patient and determine all existing risk factors.
Diagnostics includes examining and examining the patient, ordering laboratory tests.The complex of these measures allows you to establish:
- addiction phase;
- physiological and psychological characteristics;
- how long and how often a person drinks alcohol, which alcoholic beverages he prefers;
- if the treatment is not carried out for the first time, the past experience for which reason the relapse occurred is clarified;
- accompanying chronic diseases and dangerous disorders;
- allergic reactions;
- intolerance to certain drug components;
- the patient's level of motivation, how strongly he wants to get rid of addiction.
After evaluating the obtained results, the narcologist, in consultation with the patient and his relatives, considers a comprehensive treatment program and gives recommendations on how to implement the therapy most effectively.
Coding
The next stage in the fight against alcohol addiction is coding.Doctors use medical and non-medical methods.Diagnostics help to determine which option will be effective and safe.
Coding for alcoholism can be done at home or in an inpatient setting.Everything depends on the patient's condition and the doctor's recommendations.Common coding methods for drinking alcohol include:
- Introducing implants or other methods of introducing disulfiram-based drugs into the body.The active substance blocks liver enzymes responsible for the breakdown of ethanol toxins into water and carbon dioxide, which are completely harmless to humans.When this does not happen, the relapsed patient experiences painful symptoms of severe intoxication.The patient's condition deteriorates rapidly in just a few minutes from even a small dose of alcohol.This is an effective method of prohibitive therapy, because the person develops a stable psychological barrier.He keeps reminding himself that he might die if he dares to drink.The probability of death is high if an effective antidote is not given in time.
- Use of naltrexone-based drugs.This is another way of coding drugs, but not as radical as the previous one.In this case, the active substance blocks the brain receptors responsible for achieving the feeling of pleasure from drinking alcohol.As a result, if the patient still risks drinking after coding, he simply will not feel anything.Because of this, he will decide to give up alcohol, because it is pointless, at least for the duration of the coding.
- A psychotherapeutic technique based on immersing the patient in a deep trance state.In this position, the patient's suggestibility greatly increases, while he is fully aware of where he is and what is happening to him.An experienced doctor gives clear instructions about aversion to alcoholic beverages and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the future.
The coding period ranges from a few months to five years.They often choose coding for a period of one year, this time is quite enough to stop drinking, the patient has time to understand the benefits of a sober life, and pass the remaining stages of complex therapy.
Psychological rehabilitation
In order to consolidate the effect achieved after coding, it is necessary to undergo a course of psychological rehabilitation in the inpatient department of a drug treatment clinic.If the previous stages of treatment could be organized at home, now hospitalization will be required.It is the only way to eliminate the possibility of relapse, protecting a person from negative external social influences.
During psychological rehabilitation, it is possible to finally eliminate the physical and psychological desire for alcoholic beverages.The following methods are used for this:
- Individual and group psychological classes that help the patient understand his problems, learn to solve life's difficulties and have fun without alcohol.
- The 12-step rehabilitation program is an effective technique originating in the USA.It is based on recognizing helplessness in solving problems, accepting help from a Higher Power (this can be religion or a mentor - a former alcoholic who successfully recovered thanks to this program).
- The Day Top rehabilitation program is based on the possibility of self-healing;the doctor takes an observation position.
- Family psychotherapy helps not only the alcoholic, but also his relatives when they develop codependency and helps restore family relationships.
In order to exclude relapse, every patient receives psychological post-rehabilitation support after discharge.