Alcohol addiction is a problem known to many families. Some do not realize the danger of craving alcohol, considering it a common bad habit that can be solved with a simple effort of will. Namely, with the development of mental and physical dependence on alcohol, the patient can be helped only by professional narcotherapists who know how to stop drinking.
Alcoholism is a dangerous chronic disease. Without timely treatment, it leads to pathological disorders in the work of internal organs and systems, degradation of the personality, and the probability of premature death increases.
How to convince someone to stop drinking
One of the main problems that relatives of addicts face is how to convince a person to stop drinking. The problem is that after the formation of addiction a person loses the ability to objectively assess the surrounding reality. Therefore, he can sincerely believe that everything is fine for him, and if necessary, he will give up alcohol at any moment.
In fact, by that time physical addiction has time to develop. Ethanol toxins penetrate tissues and internal organs, are actively involved in metabolism. Alcohol becomes necessary for the normal functioning of the organism, as soon as its level decreases, the person begins to feel painful symptoms of withdrawal. The easiest way to deal with them is to take another dose of alcohol. This leads to long-term intoxication, addiction develops, concomitant chronic diseases appear.
It is not easy to force 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 probability of recurrence will remain very high.
Alternatives to mandatory treatment
In order to get consent from alcoholics, 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 get rid of the addiction. Instead, the person may become even more withdrawn.
- It is necessary to refuse any help in solving the problems caused by alcoholism until the patient agrees to drug treatment.
- The use of folk remedies and methods must be abandoned. They can only help in the early stages of addiction, and even then not always. Often, the patient's condition can only get worse, and alcoholism progresses to the next stage.
- Instead, you need to choose a medication clinic in advance.
- Take advantage of the situation when the patient suffers from withdrawal symptoms. They are so annoying that most of them agree to go to the doctor in order to stop suffering.
Another way is to contact psychologists-motivators from the drug treatment clinic. They have confidential conversations at home, they are well aware of the peculiarities of the psychology of alcoholics in order to achieve results.
Motivation to get rid of addiction
An honest conversation will help the alcoholic to make an important choice and agree to go through all the phases of complex therapy. During it, relatives will be able to give difficult arguments and motives that should convince the person to make this responsible decision. These motives may include:
- Children and family - Waiting or planning a child is incompatible with alcoholism, as is raising young children. For some, the decisive factor is the real and tangible danger of losing a family.
- Health condition, when a person begins to discover new diseases, internal organs gradually fail, there are systemic failures in the body, it becomes clear evidence that it is necessary to stop.
- Careers are starting to suffer greatly due to addiction. The possibility of losing a job, everything that must be achieved earlier on a professional level, becomes a good incentive. Over time, alcohol consumption inevitably affects the success of childbirth: brain activity decreases, the sense of responsibility weakens, lame discipline.
- Reputation does not often become the main reason for stopping drinking, but it does exist. At the very least, this argument should be used in conjunction with other motives of alcoholics to give up alcohol. If the patient is chronically dependent, self-esteem loses value due to severe psychological changes and personality degradation.
- Moral or physical fatigue from systematic alcohol use. In some cases, it is possible to achieve that the person objectively looks at himself from the outside, understands the meaninglessness and hopelessness of such a situation. The main thing may be the fact that the patient stops enjoying alcohol, there is no trace of the pleasure that was before.
- Significant changes in life. In this case, a clear awareness of the dullness of the current reality and the desire to change everything radically should play a role.
Once you have achieved voluntary and informed consent to the complex treatment of alcoholism, you need to move on to the stages of therapy. The program is made on an individual basis, taking into account the psychological and physiological characteristics of the patient. Regular meetings with the psychotherapist are held, if necessary, in order to maintain the level of motivation at the appropriate level.
How 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. For starters, doctors are doing everything possible to rid the body of residual alcohol and ethanol toxins.
For this detoxification with drugs is carried out if the patient can not stand alone for a week without alcohol. They do the same when they withdraw from drinking.
The patient is given a dropper with strong drugs in the form of solutions. There are two reasons why it is not possible to organize diffuse therapy on your own, even if you read a lot of posts on the Internet:
- Only an experienced doctor, based on the results of rapid diagnostics, can determine which drugs should be included in the dropper, what dose should be.
- Generally, strong medicines are used to remove a person from intoxication and cleanse the body of toxins, which can only be bought at a pharmacy with a doctor's prescription.
The cap is put on for about two hours. All this time, the narcologist is next to the alcoholic, monitoring the indicators of vital organs. When he leaves, he leaves the medicine for his relatives for the next few days, and gives advice on what to do when the patient comes to his senses.
Diagnosis
To decide which methods of treating alcohol dependence should be used, you need to conduct a comprehensive examination. It enables the correct diagnosis of the patient, determination of all existing risk factors.
Diagnosis includes examination and examination of the patient, scheduling laboratory tests. The complex of these measures allows you to establish:
- dependence phase;
- physiological and psychological characteristics;
- how long and how often a person drinks alcohol, what kind of alcoholic beverage he prefers;
- if the treatment is not carried out for the first time, the past experience specifies the reason for the recurrence;
- concomitant chronic diseases and dangerous disorders;
- allergic reactions;
- intolerance to certain components of drugs;
- the level of motivation of the patient, how much he wants to get rid of the addiction.
After evaluating the obtained results, the narcologist, during the consultation, together with the patient and his relatives, discusses a comprehensive treatment program, gives recommendations on how to implement the therapy most effectively.
Coding
The next step in the fight against alcohol addiction is coding. Doctors use medical and non-medical methods. Diagnosis only helps to determine which of the options will be effective and safe.
Alcohol coding can be done at home or in a hospital setting. It all depends on the patient's condition and the doctor's recommendations. Common coding methods for drinking alcohol include:
- Implant filing or other methods of injecting disulfiram-based drugs into the body. The active ingredient blocks the liver enzymes responsible for breaking down ethanol toxins into water and carbon dioxide which are completely harmless to humans. When this does not happen, the patient with a breakdown experiences painful symptoms of severe intoxication. The patient's condition worsens abruptly in just a few minutes, even from a small dose of alcohol. This is an effective method of prohibitive therapy, because the person forms a stable psychological barrier. He constantly remembers that he can 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 drug coding technique, but not as dramatic as the previous one. In this case, the active substance blocks the receptors in the brain, which are responsible for achieving a feeling of pleasure from drinking. As a result, if the patient, after coding, still dares to drink, he simply will not feel anything. That is why he will decide to give up alcohol, because it is meaningless, at least for the duration of the coding.
- Psychotherapeutic technique based on the patient's immersion in a state of deep trance. In this position, the patient's suggestibility is significantly increased, while he is fully aware of where he is, what is happening to him. An experienced doctor gives clear guidelines for aversion to alcohol and 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 enough to stop drinking, the patient has managed to understand the benefits of a sober life, go through other phases 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 narcology clinic. If previous stages of treatment could have been arranged at home, hospitalization is now required. This is the only way to rule out the possibility of relapse, protecting the person from negative external social influences.
During psychological rehabilitation, it is possible to finally eliminate the physical and mental desire for alcoholic beverages. The following techniques are used for this:
- Individual and group psychological sessions that help the patient understand his problems, learn to solve life's difficulties and have fun without drinking alcohol.
- A 12-step rehabilitation program is an effective technique native to the United States. It is based on recognizing helplessness before solving a problem, accepting help from a Higher Power (it can be a religion or a mentor - a former alcoholic who has successfully healed thanks to this program).
- Day Top rehabilitation program is based on the possibility of self-healing, the doctor takes an observational stance.
- Family psychotherapy helps not only the alcoholic, but also his relatives, when they develop interdependence, it helps to restore family relationships.
To rule out recurrence, after discharge each patient receives psychological support after rehabilitation.