Alcohol addiction is a problem that many families are familiar with.Some people are unaware of the dangers of craving alcohol, believing it to be a common bad habit that can be overcome through simple willpower.In fact, as psychological and physical alcohol addiction develops, only a professional anesthesiologist who knows how to stop drinking can help the patient.
Alcoholism is a dangerous, chronic disease.If not treated in time, it will lead to pathological disorders of internal organs and system functions, personality degradation, and an increased possibility of premature death.
How to convince someone to stop drinking
One of the major problems faced by relatives of drug addicts is how to convince the addict that he or she needs to stop drinking.The problem is that with addiction, a person loses the ability to objectively assess the reality around them.Because of this, he may sincerely believe that all is well with him; he may voluntarily refuse to drink alcohol at any time if necessary.
In fact, by this time, physical dependence has had time to develop.Alcohol toxin penetrates tissues and internal organs and actively participates in metabolism.Alcohol is essential for the proper functioning of the body, and once levels drop, a person can begin to experience painful withdrawal symptoms.The easiest way to deal with them is to take another dose of alcohol.This can lead to long-term alcoholism, addiction, and accompanying chronic illness.
Getting an alcoholic to quit is not easy, and forced treatment is prohibited.Such a decision can only be made in court.However, medical care provided without the patient's consent is invalid.Until a person wants to stop drinking on their own, the likelihood of relapse remains high.
Alternatives to forced treatment
In order to obtain the consent of the alcoholic, it is recommended that relatives intervene.To do this, all family members must unite and act together:
- Reject ultimatums, threats and scandals.This will not help convince an alcoholic to kick their addiction.Instead, the person may become more withdrawn.
- It is necessary to refuse any help to address the problems caused by alcoholism before the patient agrees to medical treatment.
- The use of folk remedies and methods should be abandoned.They can only help in the early stages of addiction, but even then not always.Often the patient's condition will only worsen and alcoholism will advance to the next stage.
- Instead, you need to choose a drug treatment clinic in advance.
- Take advantage of patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms.They are so painful that most people agree to see a doctor to stop the pain.
Another option is to contact a motivational psychologist at a drug treatment clinic.They hold confidential conversations at home and have a good understanding of the peculiarities of the alcoholic's psyche in order to achieve results.
Motivation to break free from drug addiction
In order for the alcoholic to make important choices and agree to undergo all phases of complex treatment, honest dialogue can help.During this time, relatives will be able to present strong arguments and motivations to convince the person to make this responsible decision.These motivations may include:
- Children and Family – Expecting or planning to have children is incompatible with alcoholism, and neither is raising young children.For some, the decisive factor is the emergence of a real threat of losing a family member.
- When a person begins to develop more and more new illnesses, internal organs gradually fail, and the body experiences systemic failure, this becomes clear evidence that it needs to stop.
- Your career starts to suffer greatly due to addiction.The prospect of losing your job, and everything you had previously achieved professionally, becomes a good motivator.Over time, drinking inevitably affects your success at work: reduced brain activity, diminished responsibility, and poor discipline.
- Reputation is not usually the main reason people quit drinking, but it is possible.At the very least, this argument should be used alongside other reasons why alcoholics should stop drinking.If the patient is addicted for a long time, self-esteem will lose value due to severe psychological changes and personality degradation.
- Systemic drinking leading to mental or physical fatigue.In some situations, it is possible to ensure that a person sees himself objectively from the outside and recognizes the futility and hopelessness of the situation.Perhaps the main one is that the patient no longer enjoys alcohol; the previous sense of satisfaction is gone.
- Big changes in life.In this case, a clear understanding of the gray areas of current reality and a desire to fundamentally change everything should come into play.
After obtaining voluntary and informed consent for comprehensive alcoholism treatment, you will need to enter the treatment phase.The program is developed individually, taking into account the patient's psychological and physiological characteristics.If necessary, meet regularly with a psychotherapist to keep motivation at an appropriate level.
Where does treatment for addiction begin?
Patients and their relatives should be prepared that fighting alcoholism will take a long time - about a year on average.First, doctors are doing everything possible to remove residual alcohol and ethanol toxins from the body.
For this reason, if the patient cannot tolerate a week without alcohol alone, medical detoxification is required.The same goes for when you quit drinking.
The patient is given an injection of a powerful medication in the form of a solution.Even if you read many posts on the Internet, you will not be able to organize a diffusion treatment yourself, for two reasons:
- Only an experienced doctor can determine, based on the results of a rapid diagnosis, which drugs should be included in the infusion and at what dosage.
- Most often, when people quit drinking and cleanse their bodies of toxins, they turn to powerful medications that can only be purchased at a pharmacy with a doctor's prescription.
Leave the drip on for about two hours.All the while, anesthesiologists sit next to alcoholics, monitoring vital organs.As he left, he left relatives with medications for the next few days and offered advice on what to do when the patient regained consciousness.
diagnosis
Deciding which alcohol addiction treatment method to use requires a thorough examination.It allows you to make an accurate diagnosis of your patient and identify all existing risk factors.
Diagnosis involves examining and questioning the patient and ordering laboratory tests.The comprehensive nature of these measures enables you to establish:
- dependency stage;
- physical and psychological characteristics;
- When and how often a person drinks, and what alcoholic beverages he or she prefers;
- If it is not the first time of treatment, it is necessary to clarify the past experience and the reason for recurrence;
- accompanying chronic and dangerous illnesses;
- allergic reactions;
- Intolerance to individual components of the drug;
- The patient's level of motivation, how strongly he wants to be free of his addiction.
After evaluating the results obtained, the anesthetist consults with the patient and his relatives to discuss comprehensive treatment options and make recommendations on how to carry out treatment most effectively.
coding
The next stage in fighting alcohol addiction is coding.Doctors use both pharmaceutical and non-pharmacological methods.Diagnosis helps determine which options are effective and safe.
Coding for alcohol abuse can occur at home or in an inpatient setting.It all depends on the patient's condition and the advice of the attending physician.Common ways of coding alcohol consumption include:
- Implants or other methods of introducing disulfiram drugs into the body are proposed.This active substance blocks the liver enzymes responsible for breaking down ethanol toxins into water and carbon dioxide, which is completely harmless to the human body.When this does not happen, patients who relapse experience painful symptoms of severe intoxication.Even after drinking even a small amount of alcohol, a patient's condition can worsen dramatically in just a few minutes.This is an effective form of prohibitive therapy as a person develops a stable psychological disorder.He always remembered that if he dared to drink, he would die.If an effective antidote is not given promptly, the possibility of death is high.
- Use naltrexone-based medications.This is another method of drug coding, but not as radical as the previous one.In this case, the active substance blocks the brain receptors responsible for the pleasure you get from drinking alcohol.Therefore, if the patient still risks drinking after coding, he will not feel anything at all.Therefore, he will decide to quit drinking because it is pointless, at least during coding.
- A psychotherapeutic technique based on immersing the patient in a deep hypnotic state.In this position, the patient's suggestibility is greatly increased, and at the same time he is fully aware of where he is and what is happening to him.An experienced doctor will give clear instructions on avoiding alcoholic beverages and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the future.
Coding cycles range from a few months to five years.Typically they opt for a year of coding, which is just enough time to abstain from alcohol and give the patient time to realize the benefits of sober living and complete the remaining phases of complex treatment.
psychological rehabilitation
In order to consolidate the results achieved after coding, a course of psychological rehabilitation is required in the inpatient unit of the detoxification clinic.If the first stages of treatment could be carried out at home, now hospitalization is required.This is the only way to eliminate the possibility of relapse and protect a person from negative external social influences.
During the process of psychological recovery, physical and psychological cravings for alcoholic beverages can eventually be eliminated.Use the following method for this:
- Individual and group psychology sessions to help patients understand their problems, learn to solve life's difficulties, and have fun without drinking.
- The 12-step recovery program is an effective technique originating from the United States.It is based on the recognition of the feeling of helplessness in solving the problem, accepting help from a higher power (this can be a religion or a mentor - a former alcoholic who has successfully recovered through the program).
- The Day Top rehabilitation program is based on the possibility of self-healing; the doctor takes an observational stance.
- Family psychotherapy can help not only the alcoholic, but also his relatives when they develop codependency and can help restore family relationships.
To rule out relapse, each patient receives post-rehabilitation psychological support after discharge.