Alcohol dependence is a known problem for many families. Some people don’t realize the danger of alcoholism because they see it as a general bad habit that can be combated with a simple willpower. In fact, with the development of psychological and physical dependence on alcohol, the patient can only be helped by professional pharmacotherapists who know how to stop drinking.
Alcoholism is a dangerous chronic disease. In the absence of timely treatment, it leads to pathological disorders in the work of internal organs and systems, the personality is degraded, and the likelihood of premature death increases.
How to persuade someone to stop drinking
One of the main problems faced by relatives of an addicted patient is how to persuade a person to stop drinking. The problem is that once one’s addiction develops, one loses the ability to objectively assess the surrounding reality. Because of this, you can honestly believe that everything is fine with him, if necessary, he will give up alcohol on his own at any time.
In fact, by this time, physical addiction has time to develop. Ethanol toxins penetrate tissues and internal organs and are actively involved in metabolism. Alcohol becomes necessary for the normal functioning of the body as soon as its level decreases, one begins to experience excruciating withdrawal symptoms. The easiest way to deal with them is to take another dose of alcohol. This leads to prolonged binge drinking, addiction, and chronic illnesses.
It is not easy to get an alcoholic to quit, and involuntary therapy is prohibited. Such a decision can only be made in court. However, medical care without the patient's consent is ineffective. As long as the person does not want to stop drinking, the likelihood of relapse remains very high.
Alternatives to compulsory treatment
It is advisable for relatives to intervene in order to obtain the consent of the alcoholic. To do this, each family member must come together and act together:
- Reject ultimatums, threats and scandals. This will not help convince the alcoholic to get rid of his addiction. Instead, one can retreat even more into oneself.
- All help in resolving the problems caused by alcoholism should be denied until the patient accepts medication.
- The use of folk remedies and methods should be abandoned. They can only help in the early stages of addiction, and not always. Often, the patient’s condition only worsens and alcoholism enters the next stage.
- Instead, you need to pre-select a medication clinic.
- Take advantage of the situation when the patient is struggling with withdrawal symptoms. They are so intolerable that most people agree to go to the doctor so they don’t suffer.
Another option is to visit psychologists-motivators from the drug treatment clinic. They have confidential conversations at home, they are well acquainted with the peculiarities of the psychology of alcoholics in order to achieve the result.
Motivation to get rid of addiction
An honest conversation will help the alcoholic make an important decision and agree to go through all stages of the complex therapy. In doing so, relatives will be able to make serious arguments and motives that need to convince a person to make that responsible decision. These motives may include:
- Children and the family - Expecting or planning to have a child is incompatible with alcoholism, as is raising children. For some, the decisive factor is the real and tangible risk of losing their family.
- A health condition is when a person is diagnosed with new diseases, internal organs gradually fail, and systemic failures occur in the body, this becomes clear evidence that they need to be stopped.
- Your career is starting to suffer a lot from your addiction. The possibility of losing your job, everything that needs to be achieved earlier in the professional field, becomes a good incentive. Alcohol consumption inevitably affects the success of work over time: brain activity decreases, sense of responsibility weakens, discipline limbs.
- Fame often does not become the main reason for stopping drinking, but it does exist. At the very least, this argument, along with other motives, should be used to get an alcoholic to give up alcohol. If the patient has a chronic addictive disorder, their self-esteem loses its value due to severe psychological changes and personality degradation.
- Moral or physical fatigue due to systematic alcohol consumption. In some cases, it is possible for a person to look at himself objectively from the outside, to realize the meaninglessness and hopelessness of such a situation. The main thing may be that the patient no longer enjoys alcohol, leaving no trace of previous satisfaction.
- Significant changes in life. In this case, a clear awareness of the boredom of current reality and a desire for radical change must play a role.
After voluntary and informed consent for the complex treatment of alcoholism, you must move on to the stages of therapy. The program is tailored to the individual, taking into account the psychological and physiological characteristics of the patient. In order to keep the motivation at the right level, regular meetings with a psychotherapist are held if necessary.
How do we start dealing with addiction?
Patients and their relatives need to be prepared for the fact that the fight against alcoholism will take a long time, on average about a year. Initially, doctors do everything they can to rid the body of alcohol residues and ethanol toxins.
To do this, medicated detoxification is performed if the patient cannot simply endure a week without alcohol. They do the same when they retire from hard 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 online:
- Only an experienced doctor can determine which medications to put in the dropper and what dose to give based on the results of the express diagnostics.
- Mostly when removing from heavy drinking, cleansing the body of toxins, strong-acting drugs are used, which can only be purchased on prescription at the pharmacy.
Apply the dropper for about two hours. During this time, the narcologist is by the side of the alcoholic and monitors vital signs. On departure, leave the medication to relatives for the next few days, giving advice on what to do if the patient recovers.
Diagnostics
A comprehensive study is needed to decide what methods to use to treat alcohol dependence. It allows an accurate diagnosis of the patient to be made, all existing risk factors to be established.
Diagnostics includes examining and questioning the patient, and assigning laboratory tests. The complex of these measures makes it possible to establish:
- the stage of addiction;
- physiological and psychological characteristics;
- how long and how often a person consumes alcohol, what alcoholic beverages he prefers;
- if the treatment is not performed for the first time, the past experience of the cause of the relapse is clarified;
- concomitant chronic diseases and dangerous disorders;
- allergic reactions;
- intolerance to certain components of the drug;
- the degree to which the patient is motivated to get rid of the addiction.
After evaluating the results, the narcologist discusses a comprehensive treatment program with the patient and their relatives during the consultation and makes recommendations for the most effective implementation of the therapy.
Encoding
The next step in the fight against alcohol dependence is coding. Doctors use pharmacological and non-medicinal methods. Diagnostics will only help you determine which option will be effective and safe.
Alcohol coding can be performed at home or in a hospital setting. It all depends on the condition of the patient and the recommendations of the doctor. The general coding methods for alcohol consumption are as follows:
- Implant filing or other methods of delivering disulfiram-based drugs. The active substance blocks the liver enzymes responsible for breaking down ethanol toxins into water and carbon dioxide, which are completely harmless to humans. If this does not happen, the collapsed patient will experience excruciating symptoms of severe intoxication. The patient's condition worsens sharply in a matter of minutes, even with a small dose of alcohol. This is an effective method of prohibition therapy as it forms a stable psychological barrier. He constantly remembers that he could die if he dared to drink. The likelihood 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 that are responsible for the pleasure of drinking. As a result, if the patient still dares to drink after the coding, they will simply not feel anything. Because of this, he decides to give up alcohol because its pointless, at least for the duration of the coding.
- A psychotherapeutic technique based on immersing the patient in a deep state of trance. In this situation, the patient’s suggestiveness increases significantly while being fully aware of where it is happening to him or her. An experienced doctor will provide clear guidelines for alcohol aversion and a healthy lifestyle in the future.
The coding period ranges from several months to five years. Often, coding is chosen for a period of one year, which is just enough time to stop drinking, the patient has managed to recognize the benefits of a sober life, going through the other stages of complex therapy.
Psychological rehabilitation
In order to consolidate the effect achieved after coding, a psychological rehabilitation course should be taken in the inpatient department of the narcology clinic. If earlier stages of treatment could have been organized at home, hospital treatment is now needed. This is the only way to rule out the possibility of relapse, protecting one from negative external social influences.
During psychological rehabilitation, it is possible to permanently eliminate the physical and psychological desire for alcoholic beverages. The following techniques are used:
- Individual and group psychological sessions that help the patient understand his or her problems, learn to solve life’s difficulties, and feel comfortable without drinking alcohol.
- The 12-step rehabilitation program is an effective technique that originated in the United States. It is based on the recognition of helplessness in solving the problem, it is based on the acceptance of help from a Higher Power (be it a religion or a mentor - a former alcoholic who has successfully recovered from this program).
- The Day Top rehabilitation program is based on the possibility of self-healing, the doctor takes an attentive position.
- Family psychotherapy helps not only the alcoholic but also his or her relatives to help restore family relationships if co-dependence develops.
To prevent relapse, all patients receive psychological post-rehabilitation after repatriation.