What is the importance of alcohol in the life of a healthy person? As a rule, not very big. A person without alcohol addiction can drink occasionally, on holidays. But often this develops into more frequent get-togethers - alcohol is accompanied by meetings with friends, weekend getaways, and trips to nature. Next, the person drinks to relax - almost every evening. After such a binge in the morning, the head hurts terribly, the symptoms of a hangover make themselves felt, which subside with a new dose of alcohol. It turns out to be a vicious circle, or rather, a snowball or an avalanche that crushes a person under itself, destroying his entire life. And if an alcoholic agrees even for a minute that he is sick and that this is really an addiction, this means that there is still light at the end of the tunnel. And you can fight the craving for alcohol.
We all know that even a small amount of alcohol lifts your mood and makes you more relaxed and open. This is why they drink alcohol at big events and holidays. Alcohol can not only cheer you up, but also calm you down. After drinking alcohol, a person feels less anger, anxiety, and restlessness. Essentially, it is an alcohol trap that creates the illusion of happiness and harmony. But, unfortunately, with each new intake of alcohol, satisfaction becomes less and less; a person does not feel this pleasure, because he gets used to such a state. Reducing cravings for alcohol comes down to two main goals. The first is to get rid of the concept of alcohol = pleasure. That is, it is getting rid of the physical craving for alcohol, which is achieved through medications. The principle of their action is simple - the patient’s well-being deteriorates sharply as soon as he starts drinking alcohol. Over and over again, this forms a persistent aversion to alcoholic beverages. The second task of reducing cravings is to explain and show the patient that it is not necessary to drink alcohol for pleasure. You can live an interesting and rich life without alcoholic beverages. In this way, a psychological reduction in cravings for alcohol is achieved. Let's try to figure out in detail how to gradually rid a person of this harmful habit.
In the fight against alcoholism, there are several groups of medications that have different modes of action.
These are the main medications that will help relieve physical cravings for alcohol. However, often the psychological craving turns out to be much stronger - a person is used to drinking constantly, he has no meaning in life, he doesn’t do anything else, he doesn’t know how to rest and relax without a glass of vodka. What to do in this case? How to break the habit?
This is one of the most difficult stages of alcoholic rehabilitation. It is quite difficult for the patient to go through it on his own with the help of relatives alone. The help of a professional, a psychotherapist, is more effective. To bring a person back to life, you need to motivate him as much as possible. To do this, he must realize that his loved ones, family, parents and children need him in a healthy state. Most often, responsibility saves people. It is necessary to entrust the patient with some task and convince him that no one else can do this assignment except him. You can start renovations, entrust a person to pick up children from kindergarten or school, or get a new job. It is very important to draw a person out of his past environment in order to reduce the risk of returning to old habits. Do not push the patient away under any circumstances, as ignoring and reproaching will cause a desire to forget. You need to try to have a heart-to-heart talk with the person - to find out the reason for the continuous drinking. Sometimes alcohol fills spiritual wounds that no one knows about.
It is imperative to monitor the patient to eliminate the risk of relapse. If a person works, he needs to occupy his evenings so that he does not suffer from boredom. An interesting hobby or passion often saves people from many types of addiction. Replace alcohol with other foods that promote the production of endorphins - chocolate, cocoa and coffee, honey, fish, sweet fruits, etc. All these measures will help pull a person out of the alcohol swamp.
In the fight against terrible addiction, all measures are good, you need to act on all fronts. You can relieve cravings for alcohol using folk remedies and home recipes.
These simple tips will help you when there is no hope left for doctors and medications. But be careful - many of these drugs are quite toxic and can poison the body if the dosage is not followed.
Drunkenness is a terrible disease, from which in most cases you just need to run, run quickly and without looking back. But how to escape from a person if he is a father, mother, brother, husband and father of his children? Never give up. Alcoholism is an addiction and quite a serious one. But you can get rid of this terrible disease. The right motivation is a powerful impetus to start a new life. Go through this difficult path together so that you can also enjoy the fruits of a difficult, but so desired victory over the bottle!
Alcoholism has been considered a problem in Russia since ancient times. Drinking strong drinks has turned into drunkenness, people are dependent on alcohol, and some are ready to give everything they have for an extra bottle - family, work, position in society, and most importantly - health and even life. Addiction to ethanol-containing drinks is spreading at an unprecedented rate.
Almost every day, every person encounters people whose examples can be used to study the stages of alcoholism. According to World Health Organization data presented for 2012, alcohol consumption in the country reached more than 16 liters per capita. At that time, Russia occupied fifth place in the table with a list of all countries in the world, we were overtaken by Moldova, Hungary, Uganda and the Czech Republic.
Today, there are almost two thousand alcoholics per 100,000 people. The statistics on alcohol consumption among teenagers are alarming. In recent years the situation has improved somewhat.
Experts believe that this happened due to an increase in the well-being of the population and the emergence of conditions for appropriate physical development. However, the problem of excessive consumption of ethanol-containing drinks still remains relevant. According to medical reference books that detail the stages of alcoholism, this chronic disease is the most common form of substance abuse, which manifests itself in the form of physical and mental dependence on regular consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The pathology is accompanied by characteristic changes in the emotional state, disturbances in the functioning of internal organs and the psyche. The disease does not develop immediately. Some drink alcohol for years, thinking that they can give it up at any time, but in fact, even an addiction to alcohol “only on weekends” and “only five drops” is also considered by narcologists to be a pathological attachment.
The problem is relevant for both women and men. Experts have noticed that children in families where parents suffer from chronic drunkenness are more likely to become victims of addiction. Psychologists associate this fact with the formation of incorrect behavior from an early age. A quick addiction to alcoholic drinks develops due to the effect of ethanol on the nervous system. After alcohol is absorbed into the blood, a state of emotional excitement and euphoria quickly sets in. Problems recede, a person feels confident and relaxed.
They want to be in this state more and more often, and patients do not notice that in order to achieve relaxation they require an increasing amount of alcoholic beverages. Over time, alcohol causes destructive processes in nerve cells, as a result of which changes in mental state become irreversible. Ethanol is predominantly excreted through the liver, so regardless of the stage of alcoholism, this organ suffers first. Then the pathology affects the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, and brain.
Due to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, the condition of the skin, hair, and nails worsens. Such changes are accompanied by progressive social degradation. In total, there are three stages of alcoholism, although some narcologists, depending on the general symptoms and changes in the physiological and mental state of the patient, also describe the fourth degree of the disease. At the initial stage, the symptoms of the pathology are reversible. A person is drawn to alcohol, the consumption of strong drinks goes beyond the usual rest at the end of the week.
Signs of addiction to alcohol are not very pronounced, and according to experts, you can do without drug treatment. The most striking symptom of the second stage is the desire to get drunk. Moreover, after drinking alcohol again, your well-being and mood improve, and often the “holiday” continues. As a rule, even if you want to quit constant alcohol consumption, a person cannot do this without outside help. At the third stage, disturbances in the physiology of internal organs become irreversible.
Acquaintances from your previous life are replaced by new “friends” with the same addiction to alcohol. At this stage, even if you give up drinking, the full functioning of your organs is impossible. The fourth stage is characterized by fatal damage to the liver and cardiovascular system.
The person is inadequate, often suffers from memory loss, and neglects hygiene. As a rule, the disease at this stage ends in death. When the first signs of alcoholism appear, family involvement and support is very important. In addition, doctors now offer many different methods that can cope with the disease in the second or even third stage of alcoholism. It is enough to contact a specialized clinic, and the doctor will help you choose a treatment method and explain the principle of therapy using videos and photos.
To independently determine the stage of addiction to alcoholic beverages, it is not necessary to visit a doctor.
There are no laboratory tests that can answer this question.
Moreover, the doctor prescribes studies to assess the condition of internal organs after prolonged exposure to alcoholic beverages.
In a clinic that promises to eliminate alcohol addiction, a qualified psychologist can assess the patient’s condition.
But you can draw a conclusion about how far the disease has progressed by paying attention to the symptoms characteristic of each stage of the pathology. In addition to the generally accepted classification of alcoholism, there is another system proposed by E.E. Bechtel, a famous Russian psychiatrist, author of more than 80 works on the topic of drunkenness and drug addiction. But many experts consider this classification to be insufficiently informative and not reflective of the general changes occurring in the human body.
Thus, in accordance with the Bechtel taxonomy, the following categories of patients are distinguished:
Most doctors prefer the “classical” division of alcoholism into several stages. Like other pathologies, this disease begins with the so-called prodromal period, when a person is quite capable of realizing the worsening addiction and independently breaking the vicious circle of alcohol addiction.
During this period, you can calmly refuse the offered glass or put it aside, only sipping slightly. A person is in complete control of his state and stops when he realizes that he is losing control over himself. A distinctive feature of the prodromal period is vomiting with excessive alcohol consumption and prolonged disgust after intoxication.
A sign of the first stage from which alcohol dependence begins is an emotionally excited state in anticipation of a feast. Moreover, positive thoughts are caused not by meeting friends and the joy of communication, but by drinking alcoholic beverages.
The previous amount of alcohol is no longer enough to achieve a state of intoxication. Some begin to be proud of this feature of the body, but such symptoms are a “bell” that it is time to take measures to stop the progression of alcoholism (narcologists also call this disease ethylism).
Memories of an evening spent drinking wine cause an emotional upsurge, and a person strives to return to the same state. Forced abstinence from alcohol is accompanied by attacks of irritability, and later - aggression. A person begins to look for any excuse for a feast.
Moreover, regardless of the amount drunk, the gag reflex characteristic of the prodromal stage is absent. Doctors do not note any pathological disturbances in the functioning of internal organs at this stage, but sometimes, in a state of severe intoxication, memory loss may occur when a person is unable to control his behavior.
The duration of the initial stage depends on the willpower of the person and on the willingness of loved ones to provide help and support. At this stage, it is possible to completely and without complications forget what alcohol addiction is. Otherwise, after 5 years (in women, degradation takes no more than 2 years), the patient’s condition worsens.
A distinctive symptom of the second stage is withdrawal syndrome. This is the name for a pathological attraction to alcohol, which requires a constant increase in the amount of alcohol. In its absence, a person cannot cope with attacks of uncontrolled aggression and anger, up to the development of delirium tremens.
He is tormented by tremor of the fingers, severe sweating, pallor, nausea, and tachycardia. Mental activity is impaired, all attention is concentrated only on alcohol. Over time, this condition and the constant desire to get drunk leads to regular binges lasting several days.
During this period, the patient completely loses touch with reality, behavior becomes inadequate. To bring a person out of this state, the help of a specialist is often required. Between binges, he can lead a completely normal life, with the exception of the constant desire to drink. Chronic alcohol dependence syndrome at the second stage is accompanied by organ pathologies. The products of ethanol breakdown are toxic to the liver, causing irreversible death of its cells and their gradual replacement by fibrous tissue.
Naturally, toxic compounds gradually accumulate, affecting the functioning of all internal organs. Under the influence of alcohol, the nerve cells of the brain undergo necrotic changes, which affects the behavior and mental abilities of the patient. The second stage of alcoholism can last for years (sometimes up to 20-25 years).
It all depends on the volume of alcohol consumed. But as a rule, a person needs an increasing amount of alcohol to achieve the usual state of euphoria. Therefore, the disease often progresses. Irreversible changes occur in the brain that cannot be corrected by any modern treatment methods.
Binges last much longer. If in the second stage the patient came to his senses after 3-4 days, now this period lasts for weeks. The body's sensitivity to alcohol increases. To become intoxicated, a minimum dose of alcohol is sufficient, and the quality of alcohol is the last thing a person pays attention to.
The patient's condition is constantly deteriorating due to progressive renal, cardiac and liver failure, and serious disorders of the central nervous system.
These diseases are aggravated by permanent alcohol intoxication. Due to constant rudeness, rudeness and aggression in the final stages of alcoholism, relatives and friends turn away from a person.
Even with complete abstinence from alcohol, which happens extremely rarely in the third stage, pathological changes in the internal organs are irreversible, and life expectancy is sharply reduced. Often, patients are forced to constantly take medications and maintain the activity of the liver and kidneys with the help of special medical equipment. The fourth stage inevitably ends in death.
The person is constantly drunk, the internal organs are severely damaged, the gastrointestinal tract is simply not able to digest food, the heart cannot cope with the load, the nervous system practically does not work. The patient hallucinates most of the time. It is impossible to help the patient, therefore, at the last stage, alcohol dependence leads to the death of a person from multiple organ failure and intoxication.
The basic principles of drug treatment of alcoholism are:
To relieve the symptoms of alcohol intoxication, it is necessary to cleanse the blood of the end products of ethanol metabolism. For this purpose, hemosorption, plasmapheresis, and intravenous infusions of plasma-substituting solutions (isotonic sodium chloride solution, glucose) are used. This is necessary, since prolonged intoxication is accompanied by dehydration and disturbances in water-salt metabolism.
Often, infusions are carried out using adsorbents that bind toxins and promote their rapid removal from the body. These are Unithiol, Magnesia, Hemodez, Sodium thiosulfate solution. Additionally, the patient is given an increased dose of B vitamins to normalize the functioning of the nervous system, ascorbic acid and vitamin PP, which help restore vascular and heart tone.
In case of severe withdrawal syndrome, treatment is carried out in a hospital setting with the prescription of potent psychotropic drugs (for example, Haloperidol). In less severe cases, treat with Phenazepam, Grandaxin or Diazepam. These medications have an anticonvulsant, sedative, anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) effect. In addition, medications can stop attacks of alcoholic delirium. According to WHO, at least half of patients return to drinking alcohol within a year after treatment.
To eliminate dependence on alcoholism, doctors recommend several medications, these are:
The dosage of drugs is selected taking into account the degree of alcoholism and the characteristics of the patient’s health condition.
Scientists have long established that alcohol addiction is directly related to lifestyle. Therefore, measures to prevent such a disease include playing sports, having hobbies and hobbies, and interesting work that can replace cravings for alcohol. But when the first symptoms of addiction appear, you should not turn a blind eye to the problem, but seek help from specialists.
Alcohol addiction is a chronic disease, the essence of which is a pathological attraction to alcohol-containing liquids. In other words, the transformations that take place in metabolism due to excessive consumption of intoxicating liquids are irreversible. This condition is progressive. In other words, to achieve a comfortable feeling of intoxication, the drinker needs an increasingly larger portion of alcohol. The harmful attraction in question is accompanied by a hangover and an increase in the number of doses of alcohol to obtain a feeling of satisfaction. When one is addicted to alcohol, the body becomes poisoned, which provokes memory loss and other disorders.
The disease in question affects a person slowly and unnoticed by those around him and the drinker himself. Gradually, the drinker loses control over his own existence and falls into alcoholic bondage, which gives rise to personal addiction. All the patient’s desires are aimed at quenching his thirst for alcohol. That is why effective recovery from alcohol addiction is determined by the time at which therapeutic measures begin. Early treatment debut increases the chances of achieving a sustainable positive effect.
Signs of alcohol dependence are not clear, since they can be detected in pronounced symptoms and have hidden manifestations. This is due to the stage of the disease, as well as the individual characteristics of the drinker.
The initial signs of the disease in question include drinking a glass of beer every night while listening to an interesting program. Regular consumption of alcohol-containing liquids, even in small portions, creates addiction. Early alcoholism is manifested by an addiction to strong drinks, which is characterized by the following features:
– there is always a reason to drink;
– liveliness and cheerful mood in anticipation of drinking alcohol (such individuals often try to solve all the accumulated matters as quickly as possible in order to free up time for drinking alcohol);
– in the absence of alcohol, the individual is constrained and cannot relax, whereas after taking an intoxicating potion he becomes instantly joyful and sociable;
– gradually there is a visible distortion of life principles and moral guidelines, thinking changes, family problems, children, parents become secondary;
– often individuals who are at the initial stage of alcohol dependence always look for some kind of justification for their own bondage, they invariably find a thousand arguments about the positive effects of alcohol;
– individuals who are at the early stage of the described addiction are characterized by a lack of self-criticism, they completely deny the uncontrollable craving for drinking;
– most often, alcohol addicts do not recognize the presence of the above symptoms.
In addition, the initial manifestations of alcoholism include a lack of control over the amount of alcohol poured into oneself. This symptom usually appears at the initial level of the disease and persists throughout the entire period of addiction formation. Alcoholics are unable to stop consuming alcohol-containing liquids on their own. They drink until they lose consciousness or fall into deep sleep. Regular consumption of alcohol also indicates the beginning of the development of the addiction in question.
Over time, the drinker’s body becomes tolerant to alcohol-containing drinks, so the dose consumed invariably increases. The formation of persistent addiction is evidenced by the absence of a gag reflex from ethanol, since vomiting is the body’s protective reaction in response to the entry of toxic substances into it.
External signs of the described dependence, which occur over time, include changes in voice, hoarseness, and muffled sound. The skin becomes puffy and saggy. Observed. Experienced drinkers have shortened and curled fingers. Often slaves to alcohol are unable to fully unclench their fist. Since liver disorders occur against the background of repeated abuse of alcohol-containing liquids, the epidermis, sclera and nail plates acquire a jaundiced tint. In addition, spider veins located on the cheeks, nose and neck are considered characteristic signs of this type of addiction.
For people suffering from alcohol addiction, everything good and good is limited exclusively to strong drinks. Everything else that prevents them from enjoying drinking is perceived with hostility by drinkers, including their closest relatives, colleagues, and comrades. If some of the above signs are found in a close person, then one can suspect the presence of the debut stage of alcoholism.
The initial manifestations of the type of addiction in question often do not cause concern, and may not even be detected, since the formation of cravings takes a long time to develop (sometimes up to 10 years). Therefore, sometimes even those closest to you do not see the misfortune that has developed.
Today, a lot of pharmacopoeial drugs have been developed that effectively help combat malicious alcohol cravings.
All medications aimed at liberation from pathological bondage are conventionally divided into the following groups:
– products that develop hostility towards alcohol-containing liquids (Torpedo, Disulfiram, Colme);
– substances that stop the desire to consume another portion of a strong drink (Metadoxil, Balansin);
– medications that eliminate withdrawal symptoms (Medichronal, Alka-Seltzer, Alka-Prim);
– drugs aimed at correcting psychological problems caused by alcohol consumption (Promazine, Haloperidol, Diazepam);
– agents that significantly reduce the destructive effect of ethanol on the body (Biotredin, Glycine, Rekitsen RD).
It is strictly forbidden to use the listed drugs for alcohol dependence on your own, since most pharmacopoeial drugs have pronounced side symptoms and have a number of contraindications.
Medicine for alcohol addiction should only be prescribed by an experienced narcologist. Modern medical realities today cannot please individuals in alcohol bondage and their relatives, since there is no single remedy that can free oneself from the power of ethanol at once. Therefore, an integrated approach to curing the disease in question is most often practiced, consisting of the following steps.
The initial stage involves eliminating the phenomena through the use of drugs aimed at detoxifying the body. Then measures are taken to stop the craving for drinking. These activities must be carried out exclusively in a hospital setting. Here, all the influence is aimed at eliminating the individual’s interest in intoxicating drinks and the persistent desire to drink. Also at this stage, psychotherapeutic measures have proven effective, since they are aimed at deepening the alcoholic’s freedom from ethanol bondage.
A consolidating course of therapy is carried out at the third stage. Here, correction methods are selected purely individually, and long-acting agents are prescribed. The main goal of this stage is to prevent possible breakdowns. The described stage also implies vigilant medical supervision of doctors.
The last stage is carried out by a former alcoholic. The most important point in the individual’s return to normal life, to an existence outside of constant libations, is the restoration of social connections and functions.
An individual freed from alcohol slavery needs to re-adapt to reality. It is very important at the last stage of corrective action to establish adequate relationships with society. Here the patient’s closest relatives should take an active part.
Basically, all used methods of liberation from alcohol bondage are based on physical methods of influence (for example, prescribing medicine for alcohol addiction) or psychological - developing in the individual an understanding of the current situation and a persistent aversion from alcohol-containing liquids (for example, hypnotherapy).
Despite the progressive development of medicine, not every alcoholic will be able to address such a delicate problem as the abuse of intoxicating liquids to a specialized institution. Therefore, patients often try to find an alternative solution that would exclude medical intervention. The easiest way, according to drinkers, is to get rid of alcohol addiction through folk remedies, for example, using a decoction of moss leaves. This drug has an effect similar to pharmacopoeial aversive drugs that cause increased sensitivity to ethanol. Half a glass of the prepared decoction before drinking alcohol will cause prolonged vomiting. Lovage infusions are also successfully used in home medicine to get rid of the described addiction.
An individual who abuses intoxicating liquids can be cured in two ways: by provoking an aversion to ethanol or by completely eliminating the craving for alcohol-containing drinks. All existing methods of liberation from alcoholism, without exception, are based on one of the above goals.
Getting rid of alcohol addiction is achieved through the following measures: medication, psychotherapeutic techniques, acupuncture, the use of folk remedies, ultrasound therapy.
The most effective methods for eliminating alcohol cravings are considered to be drug coding, as well as the use of the “double block” method, combining psychotherapeutic and drug effects. Such therapy contributes to liberation from ethanol slavery for a period of more than 6 years.
An integrated approach is also often used, involving simultaneous exposure to several techniques. For example, coding with pharmacopoeial drugs or lasers is often combined with psychotherapeutic sessions.
Drug therapy consists of prescribing pharmacopoeial drugs that provoke in an alcoholic an aversion to ethanol-containing products or indifference to them. At the same time, a drunkard should be treated only after a serious examination and obtaining his consent.
The procedure for alcohol-containing substances is also considered an effective method. Its essence is to develop a persistent aversion to ethanol in the drinker. For this purpose, disulfiram-containing drugs that cause alcohol intolerance are used. After such therapy, a person may feel ill even from the aroma of alcohol.
Disulfiram-containing agents affect liver enzymes, disrupting the breakdown of ethyl alcohol. As a result, a large concentration of acetaldehyde accumulates in the blood, causing a deterioration in health: headaches, nausea, and increased blood pressure. The described manifestations occur exclusively after drinking alcohol.
Since any subject drinks strong drinks for pleasure, an effective method of liberation from alcohol bondage is to block opiate receptors. Entering the bloodstream, ethanol spreads throughout the body, breaking the blood-brain barrier and ending up in the brain. There it combines with opiate receptors, stimulating them. As a result, the drinker experiences.
If these receptors are blocked, they will lose sensitivity to ethanol. The action of opiate receptor blockers is aimed at turning off the pleasure of drinking alcohol. Without feeling the pleasant sensations from libations, the drinker will not see the point in drinking alcohol. That is why blockade of opiate receptors promotes painless release from the harmful cravings in question.
Psychotherapy for alcohol dependence involves a targeted impact on the individual’s psyche in order to provoke an aversion to ethanol-containing drinks. Today, the use of hypnotechniques and psychotherapeutic techniques is on the same level as the use of pharmacopoeial drugs. However, there is a huge drawback - you can accidentally end up in the hands of a charlatan or a bad specialist.
Getting rid of alcohol addiction with the help of hypnotherapy is quite effective, but it is not suitable for all alcohol abusers. If an alcoholic does not have the desire to free himself from painful addiction, if he does not hope for recovery, then most often this method is ineffective. Hypnosis should be used only when the drinker sincerely desires to free himself from the power of alcohol.
Treatment with hypnosis is the introduction of an individual into a trance state, in which an effect is exerted on. The doctor instills in the drinker an aversion to alcohol-containing substances, their smell and taste. At the end of the session, the individual becomes uncomfortable at the mere thought of alcoholic beverages.
Preventive measures for this terrible disease must be carried out regardless of social status or belonging to a certain age category. After all, both rich and poor, young and old can fall into alcohol slavery. The reasons that pushed us onto the ethanol path are quite diverse. Some fall into alcohol bondage due to banal interest and rebellion typical of adolescence, while older people - as a result of banal everyday troubles or more serious problems. Many people look for a way out of current circumstances at the bottom of a glass.
Prevention of alcohol addiction is quite important and necessary, since it is easier and more correct to prevent addiction than to deal with painful manifestations and negative consequences after some time. In addition, treatment for alcohol addiction is not always effective. Some drinkers undergo therapy and even feel relief, but then put the alcohol yoke back on their own neck.
Preventive measures are primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary measures are carried out in verbal form in the form of a conversation aimed at preventing the occurrence of uncontrollable cravings for drinking strong drinks. This may include showing thematic videos and listening to interviews with people who drink intoxicating drinks. People promoting a healthy existence and waging an unequal battle against this disease carry out preventive measures, conversations, hand out information leaflets at stops, crossings, in the subway and just on the street. Conversations must be conducted in educational institutions and at labor exchanges.
Often, preventive conversations come down to a description of the disease, its dangers, consequences, and negative symptoms. Abuse of alcohol-containing drinks leads to dysfunction of the digestive tract, impaired liver function, and decreased pancreatic function. As a result, alcoholic hepatitis can develop, as well as pancreatitis, which often leads to diabetes.
Modern realities demonstrate a catastrophic trend - more and more family relationships are collapsing due to the destructive passion for alcohol-containing products of one of the couple. Many people mistakenly believe that drinking a can of beer every day is the norm. However, regular consumption of this intoxicating drink also causes irreparable consequences, especially in the male body, as it helps to increase the production of female hormones.
Secondary prevention involves activities carried out with subjects undergoing a course to combat ethanol addiction. At this stage, the drunkard's relatives are involved so that they can support the relative. But besides this, loved ones themselves need psychological help. After all, before their eyes, a transformation of a loved one takes place, when he, from a once exemplary family man, a successful subject and a self-realized personality, turns into an ordinary drunkard, who is made up of alcohol. At the stage of secondary prevention, relatives face the most difficult task - to help their loved one return to an adequate existence, to become a full-fledged member of society again.
Tertiary preventive measures include the individual attending Alcoholics Anonymous groups.
In addition to the listed preventive measures, measures to prevent alcoholization of the population should be carried out at the state level. They include the adoption of restrictive measures regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages, their use and propaganda at the legal level, namely: a ban on the purchase of any alcoholic beverages for subjects under 18 years of age, a ban on drinking alcohol-containing liquids in public places, fixing a time period for sale of alcohol-containing products in hypermarkets, shops and other retail outlets.
Government measures will be more effective if there is public control. We must understand that the abuse of intoxicating drinks gives rise to alcoholic bondage. Moreover, not every serving of alcoholic drink taken in a friendly company provokes this disease. Therefore, in order not to turn into an alcoholic, it is not at all necessary to lead an ascetic existence, you just need to observe moderation.
Alcohol could probably serve as a free ticket through life if it did not cause physical addiction. A physical addiction to alcohol drags a person to the bottom. You drink more and more, but you get less and less pleasure from drinking.What's going on? You go from wanting to drink to needing to drink. Alcohol becomes your medicine. It seems to you that it cures everything. The problem is that gradually you begin to feel healthy only by drinking, and sick when you stop drinking.
For Gloria, quitting alcohol was not easy. If she remained without alcohol for more than a day, her nerves would give out, everything around her would cause irritation and anger. And every time, as if wound up, she repeated at the end of the day: “I can’t do this anymore! I need a drink." She no longer seemed free in her choice.
Gloria could do without alcohol for about a day. Others manage to hold out for three or four days or even a week. Some people are used to drinking every day - they cannot go without alcohol for several hours. Many people wake up at night to drink and need a sip of alcohol in order to fall asleep again.
There are two signs of physical dependence: 1. To achieve the same effect, you begin to require more and more alcohol. This state is called increasing tolerance. 2. You begin to feel that you can’t help but drink. If you try to stop drinking, you become increasingly tormented. This sign of habituation is called the “exit” syndrome.
Tolerance measures how much alcohol your body can handle. Gradually he adapts to alcohol, and your tolerance increases. To achieve the same result, at first you need two glasses, then - as your tolerance increases, five, ten, twenty and even more glasses. The body strives to reach the limit of its capabilities. And after many years of alcohol abuse, tolerance changes in the opposite direction: the cells, wearing out, are destroyed and can no longer cope with the abundance of alcohol.
The second sign of physical dependence is revealed only when you put strong drinks away from you. Your body energetically expresses dissatisfaction, your nervous system sends distress signals to your brain: “Give me a drink so I can calm down.”
Sometimes cellular excitation reaches such a level that a person begins to convulse. It is very dangerous. Between 20 and 25% of people who experience these types of convulsions die if they do not receive prompt medical treatment.
As we know from everyday experience, the longer and “harder” you drink, the more difficulties await you when stopping the binge. The shorter and more moderate your alcohol “career”, the less likely it is that the “withdrawal” syndrome will resemble an attack of hypoglycemia. When you come out, you feel tired, irritable, anxious, headache, depressed, and quickly become angry. In the future, the symptoms temporarily disappear if you drink or eat something sweet or drink alcohol.
Medical research identifies two main causes of physical addiction. 1. Your cells adapt to alcohol. 2. Your body has problems with alcohol metabolism.
Cell adaptation. Alcohol becomes vital for your cells. It enters cells in the blood on a fairly regular schedule. Cells adapt to the alcoholic environment and get used to receiving the next dose at a certain time. Your cells learn to cope with alcohol, protecting themselves from its toxic effects. Their walls are strengthened to maintain stability and resist the harmful effects of toxins. But the stronger the anti-alcohol protection of cells, the greater the amount of alcohol a person can absorb; tolerance increases. However, after a long period of time, the cell walls are destroyed. In this case, cells not only lose the ability to remove toxins, but also cease to retain primary nutrients obtained from food. Many of them stop functioning completely or function incorrectly. It is then that your organs begin to fail - the heart, liver, brain - which are nothing more than complete systems of cells. Your cells show signs of physical dependence in another way: they begin to demand alcohol as food. In the blood, alcohol almost immediately turns into glucose. Your body uses this substance, also known as “blood sugar,” as food for all cells. When you drink alcohol, lemonade, or eat candy, your cells receive a burst of energy. This energy, as you probably know, is measured in calories.
Alcoholic drinks contain a large number of calories. Five to ten drinks provide the same amount of calories to your body as a good lunch. But properly balanced food provides the body with valuable vitamins, minerals, proteins (amino acids), fats, fiber and complex carbohydrates - everything it needs to maintain health. Unfortunately, the simple carbohydrates of alcohol are too good at satisfying hunger, so when you drink a lot, you don't feel the need to eat - balanced or not.
The cells adapt in another way: they begin to experience an increasing need for alcohol to calm down. Alcohol balances all your cells. In addition, secondary compounds cause forms in the brain that have a calming effect on it and the nervous system, like heroin. That's why, of all the body's cells, it's the nervous ones that react especially violently to the absence of alcohol - you can experience anything from shaking hands and nervous agitation to convulsive seizures.
Problems of alcohol metabolism. Physical addiction - the body's normal reaction to excessive alcohol consumption - occurs differently for everyone. People with alcohol metabolism disorders are especially at risk of falling into severe addiction. Under normal conditions, alcohol metabolism is the simplest chemical process. The liver cleanses the body of alcohol poisons by converting alcohol into acetaldehyde (another toxic chemical compound), and the aldehyde, in turn, into acetate or acetic acid, which is quickly converted into glucose in the blood. In those who abuse alcohol, the liver does not have time to fully perform its functions at the second stage of alcohol decomposition, and the transition of aldehyde to acetate occurs almost twice as slow as in people who rarely drink alcohol.
This liver dysfunction causes two main problems. First, acetaldehyde enters the blood. Being a strong poison, it has a toxic effect on cells that is superimposed on the harmful effects of alcohol. Cells, naturally, begin to take the same protective measures against acetaldehyde as against alcohol. Secondly, acetaldehyde interacts with brain enzymes, forming isoquinolines - compounds similar to opiates that act on the brain and nervous system as a tranquilizer. This chemical byproduct doubles, if not triples, the sedative effects of alcohol. And, most importantly, such an additional “sedative” sharply increases the strength of the alcohol habit. As a result, getting out of binge drinking becomes much more difficult. You go through all stages - from the euphoric calm of non-ditches during the period of drinking alcoholic beverages to the irrepressible, piercing anxiety when you try to give up drinking. How can I get rid of this feeling? Take alcohol or sedative medications.
So, a violation of alcohol metabolism leads to additional stimulation of cells trying to cope with another toxin, but also entails general relaxation. That is why, when alcohol “has worked as it should,” a person’s behavior alternates between calm and stormy periods.
It becomes clear that the main reason; What causes physical addiction is precisely a failure in metabolism. This problem faces approximately 10% of all drinkers. They are the ones who become alcoholics.
Why is it that in some people the liver copes with the load, while in others the metabolism is disrupted? Why does the liver of some people create conditions for the development of alcoholism, slowing down the process of neutralizing alcohol? There are at least five prerequisites for difficult metabolism:
Genetic predisposition;
Alcohol habit during the embryonic period;
Sugar addiction;
Binge eating;
in long-term alcohol abuse.
Let's look at each of these points in more detail.
Genetic predisposition. Disturbances in alcohol metabolism can be inherited. Your chances of developing such a metabolic disorder are above average if your parents or grandparents had problems with alcohol. What are the average odds? In America, about 10% of drinkers become alcoholics. If there have already been cases of alcoholism in your family, and you start drinking, then the possibility of becoming an alcoholic doubles, if not fivefold.
The likelihood of developing alcoholism increases due to the fact that you may inherit certain genes for the biochemical structure of your body. Your ability to process alcohol will be weakened if one of your parents or their parents also had it weakened. One more note: you may also inherit poor sugar metabolism, which, when you start drinking, will lead to difficulties in metabolizing alcohol.
However, you cannot be sure that you are insured against alcohol dependence based solely on the genetic factor. Even with healthy heredity, you have from twenty to fifty chances out of a hundred of becoming an alcoholic. After all, a lot depends on other factors.
Alcohol habit during the embryonic period. A child may be born with an already established habit of drinking alcohol. Even before birth, the child’s liver may have difficulty processing alcohol, and the baby develops tolerance to alcohol, “withdrawal” syndrome and other physiological signs that accompany alcoholism. This happens to children whose mother abused alcohol during pregnancy. Why? Because alcohol directly passes from the mother’s blood into the blood of the fetus, being absorbed through the placenta. And, even worse, if the mother has impaired alcohol metabolism, then the toxic acetic aldehyde formed in her blood is also absorbed through the placenta.
Another fact: if a mother drinks too much during pregnancy, the baby may be born with what is called “fetal alcohol syndrome.” Its symptoms include unusual deformation of the skull and facial features, mental retardation, serious digestive and metabolic disorders, nervous disorders, lack of appetite and many other, no less dangerous disorders.
If you were born with a mild form of alcoholism, then when you start drinking alcohol, you risk your health more than others. Because of which? Due to the fact that you can restart the “alcohol” metabolism mechanism that was built into your body in the womb.
What advice can you give to pregnant women? Don't drink alcohol. Modern medicine recommends abstaining from alcohol throughout pregnancy. Research has shown that even small amounts of alcohol can compromise the health of the embryo. You should not drink while breastfeeding, as alcohol easily penetrates into mother's milk.
Sugar addiction. Alcohol and sugar are processed in the body in a similar way. Therefore, a sweet tooth in childhood can become an excellent basis for the development of an addiction to alcohol in the future. Excessive consumption of sweets and other sugar-rich foods often leads to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Like alcoholism, hypoglycemia is a metabolic disorder and, like alcoholism, can create a vicious cycle of addiction. What is the connection between hypoglycemia and alcoholism? Studies have demonstrated that almost 100% of alcoholics suffer from hypoglycemia.
What happens is this: When we consume sweet foods or alcohol, the level of sugar in the blood (glucose) increases very sharply. Glucose, as you remember, serves as one of the forms of nutrition for cells - thus, they receive energy. In a strong, healthy body, this energy remains almost unchanged. Cells burn glucose at a constant rate, maintaining stable energy levels.
The body has a mechanism to control this process. For example, when blood sugar levels rise too quickly, the body becomes stressed. The pancreas, having received an alarm signal, immediately begins to produce insulin, a hormone that destroys blood sugar. Typically, the body produces insulin in strictly measured quantities necessary to maintain the required glucose level, without much difficulty.
However, after several years of sugar or alcohol abuse, the blood sugar control system begins to break down. The pancreas begins to malfunction, releasing too much insulin into the blood as soon as alcohol or sugar enters the body. As a result, blood glucose levels become much lower than normal. The results are immediate: after the initial high, you feel tired, exhausted and depressed. Energy levels drop. You may experience headaches, nervous tension and anxiety, and sometimes your thinking becomes foggy. These are “coming out” symptoms; they appear one to four hours after the initial rise. How to quickly get rid of these symptoms? Eat more sweets or drink a glass or both.
Hypoglycemic metabolism leads to both “sugar” and alcohol addiction. For hypoglycemic symptoms, alcohol provides greater relief than sugar. But during the next “exit” these symptoms will worsen even more. In fact, alcohol produces a greater effect than sugar in all cases. It is more relaxing as it has a stronger sedative effect. But the toxic effect of alcohol is higher, and the damage it causes to cells is greater.
Many teenagers trade their sweet tooth for a more “adult” drinking habit. A similar change often happens in adults. This transition is very easy to make, since when you become addicted to alcohol, the same biomechanical mechanisms operate in the body as when you become addicted to sweets.
Of course, not all sweets lovers become alcoholics. But alcohol has a “wonderful” effect on many of them, and gradually they begin to prefer it to sweets. Alcohol removes nervous tension from their lives, which they usually drown out with sweets. But, having given up alcohol for a day or two, they switch back to sweets, devouring them almost hourly.
If you stop drinking completely, hypoglycemia begins to drive you crazy. You really want to drink. Sweets and high-sugar foods may temporarily curb these cravings, but they won't give you the peace of mind that alcohol does. And as long as you eat sweets or drink sugary drinks to curb your cravings, your metabolism will remain the same. This means that you will not get rid of the desire to drink to calm your nerves.
But if you get rid of your sweet tooth at the same time you stop drinking, you will stop craving it. In fact, it is easier to end both habits at once - both alcohol and sweets - than just an addiction to alcohol.
Binge eating. There is another way that can lead to problems with metabolism, which creates conditions for the occurrence of alcoholism. Overeating, like excessive alcohol consumption, is a problem of excessive appetite. Many alcoholics ate too much in childhood and adolescence, even before they started drinking. For some people, after developing an addiction to alcohol, the habit of overeating disappears. Others switch from one thing to another, eat excessively, then become drunk, then start overeating again. And some do it at the same time.
Here's a rather interesting fact: Overeating Anonymous uses the same twelve-step program as Alcoholics Anonymous. However, until now there has not been enough serious research to clarify the connection between both bad habits. And greater clarity is needed here. At the moment, we only have analytical reasoning suggesting a biochemical connection between these two phenomena.
Overeating is a problem associated with excess, like alcoholism. Overeating forces the metabolic mechanism to work overtime, which is especially difficult for the liver. The liver has two main functions: to help absorb valuable nutrients during digestion and to remove toxins from the body. If you eat too much, additional stress is placed on the liver and, as a result, excess toxins enter the bloodstream. The same thing happens when the liver is forced to process large quantities of alcohol.
Today's food, stuffed with chemical additives, creates additional problems for food lovers. The liver becomes overloaded with toxins, which naturally interferes with its normal functioning.
Alcohol in many ways brings welcome relief to those who are used to overeating. It provides the body with a ton of calories without the tedious process of digestion. By drinking before meals, you suppress your appetite and, accordingly, eat less. And if you have eaten a lot, then washing down your food with alcohol will speed up the digestion process. Overeating adjusts the metabolic mechanism to a constant surplus of food. Alcohol abuse brings to life a similar biochemical scenario, but it occurs more easily. Why? Alcohol itself is easier to digest; food is heavier. For a person who is used to overeating, alcohol brings relief while at the same time satisfying his need for excess calories.
This is why, when you stop drinking, you may become more inclined to overeat, thereby satisfying your body's caloric overload. So, when you “quit” with alcohol, learn not to overeat - you will provide yourself with invaluable help. This will help reduce your cravings for alcohol.
Long-term alcohol abuse. There is another way to transform normal alcohol-alcohol metabolism into alcohol-type metabolism. Many “experienced” drinkers can drink quite a lot without showing serious signs of addiction. However, after many years of drinking, the internal organs, especially the pancreas and liver, wear out. When the liver loses the ability to effectively process alcohol, tolerance to it increases, and other disorders associated with alcoholism make themselves known - cell destruction and withdrawal syndrome.
Everything happens according to the principle of “adult diabetes”. The metabolic mechanism functions normally for a long time, and after many years of stress it suddenly “breaks down”.
This phenomenon can be experienced by people who only drink socially, and by so-called “borderline alcoholics” who drink two to six drinks a day. One fine day everything changes. They begin to drink more and more, as required by the strengthened addiction.
Prolonged consumption of alcohol, regardless of the amount, can cause hypoglycemia, and, consequently, alcoholism. First, the pancreas fails and an addiction to sugar occurs. Then the liver stops coping with its functions, and alcohol dependence develops.
The process does not occur as clearly as described here very often - at least according to research. Almost all surveys indicate that alcoholics most often begin to abuse alcohol when their metabolism is already impaired. Their tolerance is increased from the very beginning. Hypoglycemic withdrawal symptoms gradually turn into more severe alcoholic withdrawal symptoms, and the need for drinking becomes more and more urgent.
In addition to the recommendations of doctors, you should monitor your health, do exercises, and exercise as much as possible. The main task of the explanatory work carried out by a narcologist called to the house should be to convince people not to drink alcohol at all, under any pretext. Previously, it was believed that alcohol should be taken to improve lactation, but did not think about its effect and the enormous harm to the baby. There are several signs of acute pathological poisoning, such as sudden changes in mood and behavior, distracted attention, excited speech and gestures, and impaired ability to speak coherently. At the second stage of addiction to alcohol, the patient cannot tolerate the state of drinking less than he wanted, especially if the person still understands that he needs to restrain his feelings and not take it out on others. Your relative can be helped by calling a narcologist to your home if more than eight hours have passed since he last took alcohol, and if during this time he slept well. If a person systematically drinks low-alcohol drinks for two years, then he becomes so addicted to alcohol that he can no longer do without it, and it may be necessary to stop drinking at home. Unlike men, whose cardiovascular system is primarily affected by alcoholism, women's gastrointestinal tract is stressed. After introducing nicotinic acid into the body, some people with hypersensitivity to this drug experienced acute allergic reactions. According to statistics, patients with alcoholism, even in the case of withdrawal from heavy drinking, are two hundred times more likely to think about suicide than the rest of the population. A well-known psychiatrist, based on his own studies of many suicides, concluded that most of the people who committed or attempted to commit suicide were chronic alcoholics. A constant hangover and periodic repeated alcoholic psychoses do not go away in vain and ultimately lead to self-destruction; even a possible revival and withdrawal from binge drinking at home may not help. And it doesn’t matter what the smell or color of the poison is, because the result will be the same.
It would be good to worry in advance about the timely assistance of a narcologist, because delay can lead to serious illnesses, the patient’s refusal of treatment, and continued binge drinking. Therefore, former alcoholics, having completed a course of treatment for alcoholism, often experience a feeling of inferiority. Therapeutic labor dispensaries only had nice names, but they were just prisons for sick people, they simply isolated them behind bars, and no effective treatment was carried out there.
You can't blame the winemaker or liquor dealer who advertises his product for their work. This book talks with a desperate drinker, not only tactfully explains the hopelessness of alcoholic captivity, but also gives hope for deliverance and a better life. There are people who are proud and boast that they are able not to lose control of their consciousness and state, regardless of the amount of alcohol they drink, and they do not need a way out of the binge at home.
Experts advise first determining for yourself what exactly you want to do, and then determining ways to achieve the goal, and if you are not sure, then it is better not to start doing something. In the book about alcoholism there is a description of various cases when drinkers spontaneously quit drinking after going through an interruption of binge drinking, and the reasons why they do this are described. We must not forget that alcohol addiction can develop from the first drink you see, and not from the first glass you drink. A number of authors believe that an alcoholic’s denial of his illness is a psychological defense associated not only with the biological need for alcohol, but also with the need to adapt to society, because one does not want to have a reputation as an alcoholic. Statistics say that the life expectancy of people who abuse alcohol is twenty years less than the average, since alcohol leads to premature aging and disability. A person realizes the error of his actions, so he avoids talking about his addiction in every possible way. The political and economic instability of the country and the inability of the population to quickly respond to changes in the social environment have become the main determinants of the mass disease of alcoholism. Adopted children often feel insecure about the future, but those who grew up in their own family are usually bolder, more rebellious, but at the same time they are haunted by school phobias. The second stage of alcoholism is determined when there is a severe hangover, the patient needs to be taken out of the binge at home.
The final restructuring of the patient’s psyche ends only after five years of giving up alcohol. But if the process of addiction to alcohol has already begun, then this may go too far. The more alcohol in a person’s blood, the more his nervous system suffers and his behavior becomes inappropriate. To ease a hangover, eat something light and not fried if you can. Successful withdrawal from binge drinking and treatment of alcoholism is based on trust in the treating specialist. Alcoholics with many years of experience often resign themselves to their reputation, accepting it as something unchangeable. The patient's changeable mood during treatment can provoke a resumption of alcoholism and requires special attention and approach. Some experts believe that all these cases can be considered using the example of alcoholism, since the disease is associated with metabolic disorders. The narcologist does this to prevent the possibility of resuming alcohol use in the future. This happened especially often on business trips, when she was left alone in a hotel room after a busy day. It should be remembered that under the influence of carbonated drinks, alcohol enters the blood many times faster. Dysfunctional couples endlessly face financial problems, crisis follows crisis, problems with the law arise, and children are also involved in drinking alcohol.
Experts believe that exceeding the dosage of alcohol by more than eight liters per person will become a threat to the gene pool of the nation. A huge amount of knowledge and experience in this field helps specialists develop and successfully implement new, increasingly successful methods of treatment and withdrawal from binge drinking, which begins the revival. The patients themselves and their relatives demand coding, an injection or a drug sewn under the skin, or another one-time technique, after which, they think, a complete cure will occur. The main advantage of this method is that it is completely safe for the patient. The worst thing is that in women with alcoholism, many diseases of the internal organs go unnoticed, and it is very difficult for a narcologist to diagnose them at home. There are many symptoms of alcoholism, including an uncontrollable desire to drink alcohol, loss of control over the dosage of alcohol, a gradual increase in the dose of alcohol, binges, hangover syndrome, changes in behavior while intoxicated, memory loss, and destruction of the human psyche.
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