Alcoholism is a complex disease that can be attributed both to the mental sphere of human life, and to the physical. From year to year, the number of registered patients is growing. Therapy of alcohol dependence is engaged in narcology, which is a subsidiary discipline of psychiatry. Why is conventional medicine not the problem of alcoholism? After all, a sick person experiences poor health and suffering on a physical level. The answer is simple: the most effective ways to treat alcoholism are in the spiritual realm, and psychiatry deals with it.
What harm is caused to the human body by drinks containing ethyl alcohol?
The drinking culture has deeply rooted in society. It is considered normal and normal to drink a variety of alcoholic beverages not only on holidays, but also on weekends.
Other people drink almost every evening, justifying their behavior with fatigue or stress. The typical behavior of an addict is to find excuses for his pathology. In narcology, such self-deception is called an "alcohol alibi." The patient is sure that he needs a drink, because everything is bad in the country, the economic situation is at an impasse, his wife screamed, the boss cut the prize. In a similar situation, a healthy person does not even have thoughts in the direction of drinking.
Harm of drinks containing ethyl alcohol:
- provoke paralysis of the nervous system and the death of hundreds of thousands of neurons (nerve cells);
- burning of the mucous membrane of the esophagus and stomach;
- intoxication of all body systems;
- the liver is forced to work in the so-called wear mode in order to neutralize the harmful metabolites of ethyl alcohol;
- due to central nervous system paralysis, some parts of the brain are degraded - alcohol encephalopathy and polyneuropathy develop;
- with beer alcoholism, kidneys suffer, long-term abuse of beer leads to the development of chronic renal failure.
Stages of alcoholism
Modern narcology distinguishes three stages of development of dependence on alcoholic beverages. Depending on the level of development of the disease, methods for treating alcoholism will vary.
- The first stage is characterized by the least damage to the internal organs and psyche. Ways to treat alcoholism at the initial stage of addiction are working with a psychotherapist, visiting AA groups, disulfiram coding, and the use of healing broths. The main problem is that in the first stage, rarely is anyone aware of their illness. Admitting alcoholism is tantamount to suicide for sick people. Therefore, they most often take the advice of loved ones about the need for therapy aggressively.
- The second stage is characterized by the appearance of memory dips and increased tolerance to the doses drunk. Chronic diseases of the internal organs characteristic of alcoholics develop: chronic pancreatitis, cirrhosis, toxic hepatitis, cholecystitis, encephalopathy. Cognitive abilities, memory, adequate perception of the surrounding reality suffer. Methods of treating alcoholism in the second stage of development of addiction are coding, attending AA meetings.
- The third stage is characterized by the complete destruction of the physical and mental health of the patient. That's why alcoholism is called a deadly disease. If the patient survives to the third stage, he dies from irreversible multiple damage to internal organs. Cirrhosis, ascites, chronic renal failure, stroke, thromboembolism are the most common causes of death.
Can alcoholism be cured forever?
Getting rid of alcohol is possible for the patient only in one case: if he himself wants to lead a socially acceptable lifestyle. Narcologists report at each consultation on the problem of alcoholism the fact that if the nervous system remembers the state of intoxication and the tolerance to ethanol-containing drinks has increased, it is no longer possible to completely cure the alcoholic. He can achieve remission.
How many months or years the remission will last depends on himself. Reviews of effective treatments for alcoholism report that encodings, pills and herbal infusions are good only in the first months. After all, a person cannot drink medicine all his life. Therefore, the achievement of long-term remission depends on the patient himself and his desire.
Classic Therapy Options
Methods of treating alcoholism can be divided into several main areas:
- Encoding (with or without hypnosis): an ampoule with a preparation containing disulfiram is inserted into the scapula or gluteus muscle.
- Visiting consultations of a narcologist-psychotherapist.
- Attending meetings of the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA);
- Alternative methods of treating alcoholism.
Each method is effective in its own way. Depending on the stage of the disease and the individual characteristics of the sick person, the optimal method of therapy should be chosen.
Pills for alcoholism: principle of action
Modern pharmacology allows you to treat addiction with drugs. All drugs can be divided into two large groups:
- disulfiramic (Teturam, Esperal, Lidevin);
- containing cyanamide ("Colme").
Reviews about the method of treatment of alcoholism using "Teturama" are different. People in their responses confirm that the drug is affordable and cheap. Most often confuses the principle of action of this tool. He does not discourage craving. Disulfiram (the main active ingredient of Teturam, 150 mg in each tablet) is incompatible with metabolites of ethyl alcohol. When taking pills, an alcoholic faces a choice: to get drunk and die, or to remain sober and feel good.
If in the process of treatment an addicted person decides to get drunk, an unpleasant surprise awaits him. Pressure rises, the patient falls into a pre-infarction state. If you do not provide him with professional medical care in time, then a heart attack, stroke, and mechanical asphyxia are possible (suffocating from your own vomit).
Attending AA and Psychotherapist meetings
This method of treating alcoholism is the most loyal, safe and at the same time effective. Suitable only for those patients who themselves want to once and for all end the bad habit.
Every day, a sick person attends special meetings of the same alcoholics as he does. For an hour, people talk about the roots of their problem and share emotional experiences with each other. Such conversations are excellent group psychotherapy. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have been able to defeat their addiction through attending AA meetings.
Coding and hypnosis from alcohol addiction
The coding process is when an ampoule with disulfiram is sutured into a patient’s muscle. For example, Esperal. The disulfiram reaction has been described above.
The method of hypnosis is that before the procedure, a certified psychotherapist conducts a conversation with the patient. He is trying to introduce into the subconscious of an alcoholic information about the dangers of ethyl alcohol and drinks containing it.
If the patient drinks when the ampoule is in his body, he may die.
Methods of treating alcoholism without the knowledge of the patient
This topic is most interested in the relatives of an addicted person. Are there alternative ways to treat alcoholism without the knowledge of the patient? Unfortunately no, they do not exist.
Alcoholism is an incurable mental illness, this thesis will be confirmed by any narcologist. It is possible to achieve remission only if the patient himself wishes. When he begins to realize the full depth of his problem and take real steps to cure, then the gaps in the state will begin.
In no case can you pour Colme drops or any other infusions, decoctions and the like into his food without the knowledge of a sick person. If a dependent person dies due to poisoning, a relative who poured him “medicine” will be held criminally responsible for his act.
Is it possible to encode an alcoholic so that he does not know about it?
This question is most often of interest to mothers and wives of addicted people. Alas, it is impossible to encode a person without his consent and knowledge. The encoding procedure involves making a cut with a special medical scalpel, stitching a tiny ampoule with medicine into it. This is a kind of surgical intervention. Anyone will feel such an intervention.
Carrying out the coding procedure when the patient is intoxicated is strictly prohibited. This can be fatal, and the physician who has performed such an operation can be convicted (if the patient’s relative wants to file a lawsuit).
Alternative methods of treating alcoholism: a list
The use of decoctions and infusions of herbs is the safest method of all of the above. The methods of treating alcoholism at home, the most popular among patients and their relatives:
- In equal parts (one teaspoon each) mix yarrow herb with wormwood, St. John's wort and mint. Brew 500 ml of boiling water, let it brew for two to three hours. Take on an empty stomach for half an hour before each meal. It is believed that a mixture of these herbs reduces the pathological craving for intoxication and restores the functionality of the liver.
- Two to three bay leaves are added to 250 ml of vodka. The infusion is kept warm for a couple of weeks. An addicted person can take two teaspoons of infusion before eating. Bay leaf contributes to indigestion and vomiting, which literally completely discourages craving for alcohol. The course of treatment lasts about ten days.
- In a pan of two liters, pour unpeeled oats to its middle. Water is poured on top, filling the oats to the top with water. Put the pan on the stove and bring the contents to a boil, after which they cook for about half an hour. The broth is drained, put in it 100 g of calendula flowers. Covering, wrap and put in heat. After 12 hours, the broth is filtered. Reception of the broth: a glass on an empty stomach two to three times a day. Aversion to alcohol appears around the third day.
Narcologists most often refer to such recipes with a share of sarcasm. Official medicine recognizes that the most effective way to treat alcoholism is to code or take tablets containing disulfiram.
Foods that help reduce alcohol cravings at home
It is scientifically proven that in the first months of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages, the patient's body experiences shock. Indeed, ethyl alcohol has already begun to be integrated into the metabolism. The brain learned to draw energy from carbohydrates, which alcohol generously gives blood flow.
In order for the first months of the rejection of the poison to go smoothly and the person was bothered by the urge to drink as little as possible, doctors recommend eating foods regularly:
- eat any berries and fruits as much as you want at any time of the day;
- oat, buckwheat, rice porridge - an excellent source of slow carbohydrates;
- chocolate, sweets, honey, pastille, cakes, any foods and sweets with a high content of carbohydrates;
- soups and liquid dishes on a broth cooked on a bone.
The combination of alternative methods of therapy with taking pills
Patients and their relatives often have questions as to whether pharmacological methods of therapy can be combined with alternative recipes. Of course you can. If the dependent person wants to be treated, then at least all the methods can be used simultaneously. The main thing is to keep him from breaking.
Narcologists recommend in the first months (and in some cases of heavy dependence even years) to refrain from psychoemotional stress, overwork, physical exertion. A common cause of breakdowns in alcoholics is that they dive headlong into work, overwork and stress come. The weak psyche and nervous system of a dependent person is not able to withstand such a load: as a result, a breakdown occurs and all therapy goes down the drain.