Alcoholism is one of the most discussed topics. It threatens family relationships and society as a whole. It is not surprising that after some time the relatives of the patient wonder how to get the person to stop drinking?
Reasons for alcohol addiction
Before figuring out how to help a person stop drinking, you need to understand why they drink. By isolating the root cause, you have a better chance of curing the person's persuasion. More often than not, the onset of alcoholism is a psychological addiction, so it is important to help a person understand that this is an addiction, not a habit. In most cases, there are four reasons people start drinking:
- by company;
- relieve stress;
- boredom;
- for habit.
A popular reason a person begins to suffer from alcoholism is to drink for companionship. Being the only teetotaler among friends, it is difficult to maintain an adamant attitude. For some, especially teenagers, it is a matter of honor to support the company in a business.
When a person is not surrounded by a rainbow environment and constant problems at work, they start drinking alcohol to relieve this stressful pressure. When drinking strong feelings, negative emotions, it may seem for a second that the problem does not exist. In fact, it won't disappear anywhere unless you make a decision about it. Consequently, a possible way out in such a situation must be looped. As soon as the intoxication passes, the person plunges back into negative emotions, concluding that to avoid them one should not stop drinking.
Drinking out of boredom is a loose concept. This is not a short-term situation where a person has nothing to do. We are talking about a long period of time during which a person is faced with a situation that does not allow him to use force, to focus on something specific. More often in this state a mechanism is triggered that helps to reach reconciliation with oneself.
The most dangerous reason why it is difficult to answer the question of how to help an alcoholic stop drinking is habitual alcoholism. In this case, it is difficult for a person not to drink, as the habit has become daily for him and it is already difficult to imagine his life without it. In this case the motivation to stop drinking must be very serious, otherwise it is almost impossible to convince a person to stop drinking alcohol.
It is often very difficult to pinpoint a reason for the origin of the addiction. All of this is closely intertwined and works in conjunction with each other. When alcoholism reaches its final stage then we are talking about a physical craving for alcohol. In this case, the help for alcoholism without drugs is impossible. If a person himself wants to get rid of the disease, this will be of great help for further treatment.
Does persuasion work?
How to get an alcoholic to heal? In fact, there are many ways to discourage a person from drinking. The most popular way is to persuade and persuade the person to stop drinking alcohol. This is a softer way to help him.
You can get an alcoholic to quit in more radical ways - this is a nervous shock after drinking. This segment also includes patient intimidation. The third area of assistance is the addition of various drugs or folk remedies to food. Before understanding how to help a drinking person stop drinking, it is worth understanding what form of alcoholism is going to lie down, what exactly made the person addicted.
Since adding some medicinal or folk remedies to food is a very radical method that requires caution and after consultation with a doctor, it is worth starting with milder methods, in particular, it is necessary to help the alcoholic with conversations.
During these conversations, it is worth trying to get the person to stop drinking alcohol. The most effective ways to persuade an alcoholic to seek treatment will be in the first stage of alcoholism, when the person has not yet lost the ability to critically perceive reality.
Before starting a conversation, think about the facts you will give to the alcoholic. If he sees how awful he looks from the side while he is drunk, perhaps this will push him to radical decisions. Perhaps he already wants to resign, but willpower does not allow it for lack of a "really important" reason.
How to convince an alcoholic of the harmfulness of his habit? It is best to take family or friendly advice. In the circle of this conversation there should be only the closest people that the person trusts. In the first stage, it is easy to wean a person from alcohol. Just tell him about his drunk behavior, show him a tape from a recent party. If a person has not yet lost the ability to think properly, she will be scared and ashamed of his behavior, putting an end to drinking.
It would be nice to remind you of a hangover, especially when it doesn't allow you to spend time with your family or the way the sick person likes. It is important that any habit is maintained, which means spending money on it. Make maths by expressing them in movie trips, kids' rides, and other activities.
It is important to prepare in advance that your attempts to figure out how to get yourself to stop drinking will be perceived with hostility, resentment and quarrels. In this case, it is very important to remember the answer to the question. Is it possible to burst into tears or, on the contrary, freely accept the conditions set by the patient? In no case. It is best to explain in a calm voice that no one will force anyone, but why not pay attention to the alternatives available.
If you have managed to get away from the theory of how to get a person to be treated for specific results, in no case do not abandon him in such a situation. Keep arguing, perhaps he himself does not know how to get rid of addiction. Not everyone can stop drinking at home. He finds a suitable clinic, makes an appointment with a doctor, helps the person reach her. A person who stops drinking needs help more than ever.
Other options
One of the undesirable options to use is intimidation, if you are thinking about how to help, quitting drinking is so difficult and there is additional stress too. It must be understood that this working technique can lead to the opposite effect.
This method is suitable only for those patients who correspond to a certain psychotype. Some may perceive this behavior with aggression, which is clearly not the best reaction.
Not always any persuasion, argumentation, intimidation works. Sometimes this is not enough if the alcoholism has already passed into a deeper stage. In this case, it is necessary to use special medicines. These can be ordinary medicines or something from folk recipes.
With the help of drugs of industrial pharmacology, it is possible to form a feeling of aversion to alcohol in a person who drinks. Such methods are available even if a person does not know that he accepts them, although the desire to get rid of addiction directly helps to achieve more.
Drugs are added to alcohol or food. This often leads to a deterioration in well-being immediately after drinking alcohol. After a couple of such cases, the alcoholic begins to associate the bad condition with alcohol and thinks about giving up drinking.
Drugs used for these purposes contain disulfiram or cyanamide. As a result, the body is unable to process ethyl alcohol normally. There is an accumulation of decay products in the blood, which becomes the cause of persistent intoxication.
During this therapy, as soon as you notice the effect of the drug, it is a good idea to have another conversation, asking the alcoholic to seek treatment. It is important to describe the benefits of inpatient treatment:
- relapse prevention;
- psychological help;
- constant monitoring of the state of health;
- restoration of internal damage.
The best way to get rid of addiction is treatment in a hospital, where the patient will be constantly monitored by a narcologist. With this treatment, the least number of relapses is observed.
Stages of alcoholism
Alcoholism is usually divided into three stages, for each of which you take on special symptoms and a number of health consequences. The first stage is more difficult in terms of identifying the problem from the person's appearance. Unbeknownst to himself and those around him, a person gradually increases the dose of what he drinks, as a certain experience is gained, which does not allow him to achieve the desired degree of intoxication with the same doses of alcohol.
Already in such a state, a person is unable to quit and stop drinking, unless the corresponding problem is indicated to him. After a person drinks, he begins to suffer from nausea and vomiting. Very often the patient has memory lapses, cannot remember what he did last night. Memory loss is partial.
As a result, after the first stage of alcoholism, a person is faced with a constant increase in alcohol consumption. At the same time, an alcoholic drink can be repeated two or three times a week. The problem in this case is the lack of care for a loved one and, consequently, the aggravation of addiction.
As a person moves into the second stage of alcoholism, the external signs become more noticeable. The first binges that appear, when a person drinks alcohol without stopping even for two or three days, speak of the formation of second-degree alcoholism. At this time, a physical form of addiction begins to form.
The person begins to have a hangover, as this is the only way to alleviate the condition. Such symptoms are clear signs of the second stage of the disease. In addition, the person suffers from constant weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea, sweating. An unpleasant tremor begins to permeate the whole body, first of all it expresses itself on the hands. The second phase can last for years, up to two decades, but can be limited to two years. At the final stage of the second stage, a person no longer has the opportunity to deal with the problem on his own, only a doctor will help.
The last stage is the third. When it forms, everyone is able to see a person as an alcoholic. Appearance begins to change. A person has a constantly swollen face, from him a kilometer away he smells of alcohol. At this point, many chronic diseases are formed, psychosis in a severe form and other problems appear. In such a state, people, as a rule, are already left without a family or are surrounded by people in the same state. In the third stage of alcoholism, a person loses his social position, the ability to think critically. In this case, a return to normal life is unlikely.