An energy-capacious product and at the same time a psychoactive substance (legal drug). It is found in microscopic concentrations in some foods and is produced by the human body. Many people believe that alcohol helps relieve stress. However, this is not quite true. After relaxation and a temporary improvement in mood, alcohol intoxication causes a new biochemical stress in the body. High doses of alcohol and the product of its processing, acetaldehyde, inhibit the work of the brain and heart, cause oxygen starvation in them, which manifests itself in the form of weakness, fatigue and depressed mood, and in severe cases leads to heart failure. Dangerous poisoning with ethyl alcohol can lead to paralysis of the respiratory center of the brain and cause respiratory arrest.
Talk to a family member with concerns you are concerned about and explain that you want to help them get the help they need. Support your statement by reminding them of the latest problem caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Strange advance information about treatment options. If the person wants to help, see an alcoholism treatment specialist immediately. A friend who was an alcoholic but was recovering can be very persuasive in explaining what alcohol does in a person's life, more specifically, how it destroys it slowly.
Beer- a popular low-alcohol drink. However, along with useful substances like vitamins, beer contains toxic substances, for example, cadaverine (cadaveric poison), which affects the vessels of the brain, as well as plant analogues of female sex hormones, modifying the appearance of beer alcoholics. The aggressiveness and destructive effect of these substances depends both on the concentration of alcohol in the beer and on the volume of the drink consumed. Many people still do not consider beer an alcoholic drink, so they drink it daily and, as a rule, on an empty stomach. It is a frivolous attitude to beer that leads to the so-called beer alcoholism.
With the help of an occupational therapist, other family members, along with other relatives and friends, can confront alcoholism as a group. This approach can be very effective, but only under the guidance of an experienced therapist in this type of intervention. Even if the alcoholic wants or doesn't get help, you can count on the support and encouragement of those in your situation.
For example, in the United States there are meetings and meetings for adults involved in the life of alcoholics or for children with disabilities. These groups help the family understand that they are not responsible for the alcohol's decisions about life and that the relatives of the alcoholic should be in charge of whether he wants help or not. Most adults can drink a moderate amount of alcohol per day.
Alcoholism.
This is the systematic excessive use of alcoholic beverages in doses that cause alcohol intoxication. In other words, alcoholism is a pathological attraction to altered states of consciousness. This is a dangerous disease that, if left untreated, leads to personality degradation and dementia.
Up to two glasses a day for men, only one for women and the elderly to avoid problems. However, some people should not drink at all. Pregnant women or people who lead those who take certain alcoholic drugs who are trying to rehabilitate people under the age of 21.
Drinking during pregnancy can have detrimental effects on the newborn, such as slowdowns, organ damage, and behavioral problems. Often, many of these disorders continue until they are adults. It is not yet known exactly how much alcohol causes problems, so to be 100% sure, pregnant women should abstain from alcohol. Does alcohol cause different reactions in a woman's body than in a man's body? Women become more intoxicated after drinking than men, of course reporting the same amount.
Causes of alcoholism.
Causes alcohol addiction I can be:
- Prolonged stressful situation, chronic fatigue.
- Neurosis, as well as a tendency to anxiety.
- Depressive states that occur not only as a temporary reaction, but also as a disease.
- Problems in personal life. Emotional and sexual dissatisfaction often become the causes of the so-called female alcoholism.
- Lack of understanding in the family.
- Social maladjustment, when a person does not have a permanent job, there is no family, there are no stable interests and favorite activities.
- A state of loneliness, boredom and unfulfillment.
Of course, there are too many reasons for the formation of alcohol addiction to be able to list them in one paragraph.
This is because the human body contains more water. Because alcohol is mixed with body water, a certain amount of alcohol becomes more concentrated in a woman's body than in a man's. This is why the maximum drinking limit is higher for men. Is it true that alcohol is good for the heart?
Several studies have shown that people who drink one to two glasses a day are less likely to have heart disease than those who don't drink at all or in large amounts. The generic name for alcohol refers to the toxic ingredient found in beer, wine, liqueur, cognac, etc. alcohol is produced by a natural process called fermentation. Recent studies show that moderate alcohol consumption contributes to the proper functioning of the coronary system.
Alcohol addiction manifests itself on the mental and physical level:
mental addiction is formed in the brain and is associated with neurotransmitter metabolism, in particular, serotonin and dopamine. Under the influence of alcohol, neurons (brain cells) get used to a specific state of excitation, which in cases of severe intoxication can be compared with narcotic. To obtain a comfortable state, a person increasingly requires alcoholic doping and an increase in the amount of alcohol consumed. As a result, a serious symptom of the development of alcoholic disease is the loss of dose control. In a state of intoxication, control over the situation disappears, behavior changes, and in the morning there are memory lapses for some events.
Moderate, moderate daily intake consists of a glass of alcohol for women and two glasses for men. The body metabolizes alcohol very quickly. Unlike food, alcohol does not require digestion and is absorbed immediately. It enjoys a preferential attitude - it is absorbed before most substances. About 20% is directly absorbed by the walls of the stomach and can reach the brain in less than 1 minute. Once in the stomach, alcohol is processed by enzymes.
Alcohol road through the body This process reduces the amount of alcohol entering the bloodstream by about 20%. Women produce fewer enzymes than men, which may explain why women react differently than men to the same amount of alcohol. 10% of alcohol consumed is eliminated through urine and breath.
Physical dependence on alcohol, in many respects energy, because is caused by the consumption of high concentrations of an easily digestible alcoholic product and is associated with a profound metabolic disorder, and manifests itself, in particular, as a deficiency of endogenous (internal) alcohol, increased activity of the body's alcoholic enzymes and the inability of the body to maintain natural psychophysiological processes without alcohol coming from outside, which inevitably leads to the formation of an abstinence (hangover) syndrome and, as a consequence, drunken states.
The Dramatic Effects of Alcohol on the Body Alcohol is taken in by the liver in moderation. If a person is obese, his liver is affected and his cellular structure is destroyed. Thus, the liver cells will not be able to perform their normal tasks and become inefficient. With a balanced diet, liver cells can regenerate, regenerate. The worst phase of the liver is cirrhosis, which is rarely reversible.
Alcohol and malnutrition Those who drink alcohol in moderation have an appetite. Alcoholics, however, usually suffer from a lack of appetite. Alcohol gives euphoric states that exclude culinary appetite and therefore suffer from malnutrition. Alcohol is a rich source of energy, 7 calories per gram of alcohol. Like sugar, alcohol contains no nutrients, and in chronic cases, it affects metabolism.
The main signs of alcoholism.
- The growth of the body's resistance to alcohol: in order to achieve a comfortable psychological state from intoxication, an increasing dose of alcohol is required (against the background of a complete loss of the protective gag reflex).
- Loss of dose or quantity control: the person expects to drink a little, but does not notice how drunk he is.
- A morbid attraction to alcohol, when a person regularly strives to change his mental state and achieve comfort through alcohol.
- A hangover syndrome, when another dose of alcohol is required in the morning in order to “improve health”.
- Drunken states (a consequence of a hangover syndrome), when a person is forced to drink alcohol without a break from several days to several weeks without any external reasons. "He wants - he drinks and he doesn't want - he also drinks."
Alcohol poisoning and hangover syndrome.
Hangover. Most of our fellow citizens drink alcohol for one reason or another. And at the same time, accidentally or not, they experience a state of alcohol poisoning. It's called drinking too much. People with humor picked up another word for this phenomenon - they overdrank: they drank more than they could, but less than they wanted.
Exposure to alcohol consumption - increases the risk of developing the liver, stomach, pancreas, mouth, larynx, and esophagus. - Affects the development of the fetus. - Raises blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attack. - Raise your blood glucose levels. - Increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatitis. - Decreases energy levels.
Moderate alcohol consumption can be enjoyable and can have beneficial effects on your body. Alcohol is a liquid drug whose consumption leads to physical and mental dependence over time. Alcoholism is a conscious or unconscious manifestation through which a person seeks to satisfy the need to consume alcohol, regardless of its means or consequences, in order to avoid withdrawal or unpleasant mental states. Consumption is determined by physical dependence and psychological dependence. more information about addiction can be found here.
The state of alcohol poisoning is associated with intoxication of the body with the product of ethanol oxidation - acetaldehyde, and manifests itself in the form of headache, nausea, vomiting, frustration gastrointestinal tract, dehydration and dry mouth, weakness. After poisoning, alcohol itself and even thoughts about it cause disgust. It is enough to stand under a contrast shower, take activated charcoal and an aspirin tablet, drink sweet tea with lemon, milk, meat broth or eat sour cabbage soup, as unpleasant symptoms soon disappear and the next day the person is healthy.
Primary disease: This is not a secondary symptom of another condition. Progressive disease: It gradually worsens. The victim becomes mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically ill. Chronic illness: no medicine. Recovery should be based on abstinence from chemicals that affect mood. Deadly disease: The disease can only be stopped. If not, the man will die for her. Alcoholism is primary chronic disease, influenced by its development and its manifestations of genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors.
Hangover (withdrawal) syndrome only resembles alcohol poisoning, but it has fundamental differences. With a hangover syndrome, the head rarely hurts and vomiting appears. Characterized by an anxious feeling that intensifies in the evening, restless sleep, a feeling of chills, sweating, impaired coordination, palpitations, increased blood pressure, trembling of the hands, and in severe cases of the whole body, depressed mood, irritability, decreased physical activity and performance in general, sharp weakness (caused by an acute deficiency of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine). Alcohol no longer causes disgust, but is perceived as the only saving agent, at least for a while, alleviating suffering. Withdrawal (Latin abstinentia - abstinence) syndrome or withdrawal syndrome is already a serious sign of an alcoholic disease and is associated with a gross violation of physiological processes and work nervous system which would take many months to recover.
The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by loss of control over alcohol consumption, whether persistent or intermittent, preoccupation with alcohol, drinking despite adverse effects and disturbances of thought, the most important of which is denial. Primary, refers to the nature of alcoholism as a subject of the disease, in addition to other pathophysiological conditions that may be associated with and distinct from it. Primary means that alcoholism, like drug addiction, is not a symptom of a high state of illness.
Complications of alcoholism.
Alcoholic depression- as a result of regular alcohol intoxication, a depressed mood is formed, sometimes difficult to treat, with a loss of interest in life.
Alcoholic epilepsy- develops against the background of a hangover syndrome. The seizure is accompanied by a sudden loss of consciousness and convulsions throughout the body.
Illness means involuntary imbalance. This is the sum of anomalous phenomena exhibited by a group of individuals. These phenomena are associated with a certain common set of characteristics, due to which these people differ from ordinary people and put them at a disadvantage. Alcoholism causes death 10.
Premature overdose, organic complications on the brain, liver, heart and many other organs, contributing to suicide, murder, car accidents and other traumatic events. The relative value ascribed to a person by alcohol often leads to a diversion of energy away from the important issues of life. Bad consequences - problems associated with alcohol, or losses incurred in various areas, such as physical health; psychological activity; relational activity; professional activity; and legal, financial or spiritual matters.
Delirium tremens - alcoholic psychosis, develops after prolonged alcohol abuse (usually after heavy drinking). A few days after giving up alcohol, against the background of an abstinence syndrome, accompanied by a feeling of unaccountable fear and insomnia, alcoholic psychosis may occur in the evening and at night, accompanied by delusions and hallucinations.
Denial is used not only in the psychoanalytic sense of a unique mechanism of defense and denial of the significance of events, but also in a broader sense, which includes a series of maneuvers aimed at reducing awareness of the fact that alcohol consumption is the cause of problems individually, rather than solving these problems. Rejection becomes an integral part of the disease and a major obstacle to recovery.
Who is addicted to alcohol? It depends on alcohol who drinks alcohol many times and cannot stop drinking without suffering from unpleasant physical or mental conditions. Various Reasons for Drinking Alcohol: Drinking alcohol is a quick and enjoyable way to change emotions, feelings, moods in general. In general, alcohol is used when there is a fear of something, expecting a pleasant thing, expecting an unpleasant, scary job. Other reasons often cited by consumers are: sadness, joy, aggression, the burden of being alone or the psychological burden of responsibility, joy, improved relationships with others, communication.
In this state, a person loses orientation in time and place, it seems to him that they want to kill him, while he hears the voices of imaginary pursuers, sees nightmarish creatures around him, tries to escape (for example, jumps from a balcony) or attacks his loved ones with a knife or with an ax, mistaking them for enemies. In this state, a person is absolutely insane and is a danger both to himself and to others. The most correct solution in this situation would be to call the psychiatric emergency team.
Temporary withdrawal from stress, protection from unpleasant feelings, courage to say something, temporary sexual arousal, desire for reward, pleasure. Alcohol is another drug. Alcohol is a different type medicinal product, a psychoactive substance and cellular toxicant with a calming effect on the central nervous system. Its action is to suppress the transmission of nerve impulses. For example, an increase in response speed and attention deficit is recorded. The psychological effects of alcohol consumption can give the impression of overcoming fear and inhibition, can make loneliness more bearable, reduce feelings of inferiority.
Korsakov's syndrome- inability to memorize new material while maintaining memory for past events. It is caused by local damage to the temporal structures of the brain, as a result of severe and prolonged drunken states, as well as alcoholic psychoses.
Modern principles of treatment of alcoholism.
The first stage of treatment is detoxification (it can be carried out in inpatient and outpatient settings, depending on the severity of the hangover syndrome). Purification of the body from toxic products of alcohol processing, restoration of the normal functioning of organs and body systems.
For the central nervous system, alcohol acts depending on the amount consumed: in small doses, up to 200 ml of beer or 1 glass of 100 ml of wine, it has a stimulating effect, but consumption in higher doses has an inhibitory effect. Harmful effects on the body are expected over time with a high probability if the average daily dose exceeds approximately 40 grams of pure alcohol.
Betia turns into cruelty almost directly, because the health of the mind deteriorates, and the one who has been touched by drunkenness becomes disinterested, indifferent and superficial. Here are some of the effects of alcoholism on the body. Alcohol is a cellular poison. Arrival in organisms spreads and affects almost every cell. Most affected nerve cells. Alcohol acts as a stress factor in the body: it increases arterial pressure, more substances such as lipids, sugars, cortisone are released into the blood.
The second stage is the psychological support of the patient on the way to overcome alcohol addiction. It is carried out on an outpatient basis. At this stage, a combination of individually selected drugs and psychotherapeutic techniques is used, which form a persistent indifference to alcohol. It is outpatient treatment and rehabilitation that makes it possible to understand the causes of alcohol addiction, restore the patient's psychological state as much as possible and form a healthy lifestyle. The effectiveness of outpatient treatment for alcoholism is of the greatest value, because. positive result achieved in the real life of the patient, and not in the comfort of a hospital.
Curability of alcoholism.
It is possible to speak about the incurability of alcoholism only when the patient has passed the “point of no return”. In other words, a person's personality under the influence of prolonged alcohol abuse is completely destroyed, its deep degradation has occurred. As a rule, this is characteristic of the third stage of alcoholism.
In any other case, a person can be considered potentially healthy. The most important thing is that the patient wants to change his life for the better and takes responsibility for his recovery. I realized that in order to solve this complex problem, one should not underestimate the power of alcohol, stubbornly fighting alone, losing the last strength and faith in oneself, and turned for professional help.
Of course, you can really help those people who want to remain normal people, and not turn into chronic alcoholics.
Magalif Alexey Alexandrovich.
Drunkenness and alcoholism in society is becoming more and more dangerous. Statistics show that 5 percent of the Russian population suffer from chronic alcoholism, this figure is not entirely accurate, since alcoholism is hidden by people and only a medical examination can prove that a person is an alcoholic.
Alcoholism affects men, women, teenagers and even children. They drink on holidays, on weekdays, with or without reason. They drink beer, energy drinks, vodka, home brew, moonshine, weak alcoholic drinks, and when there is not enough money, alcohol surrogates are used. Drunkenness enters a person's life gradually, imperceptibly, and, in the end, causes alcohol addiction.
How to identify alcohol addiction
Many people think that drinking occasionally, in company, on holidays, etc., is possible and it is impossible to become an alcoholic. But life shows the opposite. Everything starts small, and in order to understand this, let's turn to the very concept of alcoholism.
Any alcoholic drink contains a small amount of a powerful neuroparalytic poison - ethyl alcohol, which disrupts the functioning of the nervous system. The nerve cells of our brain are responsible for the feeling of pleasure, and the effect of alcohol is to activate them. Replacing, thus, a quick, artificial way to obtain natural pleasure, alcohol causes a feeling of need.
How does addiction to alcohol begin?
Drunkenness enters a person's life gradually, imperceptibly and, in the end, causes alcohol addiction.
From the point of view of scientists, alcohol predisposition occurs partly at the level of certain genes, so there is also a danger of a hereditary tendency to alcoholism.
The desire to have fun accompanies a person all his life, and the unwillingness to spend special efforts on this leads to the intake of alcoholic beverages or easily accessible psychoactive substances. Emotionally unstable people are predisposed to alcoholism in the first place.
This type of people are impulsive, they have an instability of the motivational sphere, which causes a hysterical reaction to events, the desire to manipulate someone for personal gain. But it cannot be said that all emotional people may become addicted to alcohol. Most likely, people who drink are trying to cover up a weak side in the structure of their own personality: the inability to love themselves, the inability to understand their own significance, the inability to cope with complex tasks and difficulties.
Man tries to avoid difficult situations, moves away from people, experiencing boredom, the dullness of being and his own uselessness, trying to "fill in" his emotions alcoholic drinks. Such people are distinguished by passivity and dependence on human opinion.
Am I an alcoholic or not?
Diagnosing alcoholism is not easy. Drunkenness and alcoholism, in the initial stages, have no external differences, therefore, in the early stages of alcohol dependence syndrome, people:
- easily excitable and unstable in behavior, cannot control themselves in fits of anger;
- have frequent mood swings, are unsure of themselves, doubt their own inferiority;
- quickly get drunk from a small dose of alcohol, they have subsequent amnesia;
- have low stress resistance, and cheer up with the help of alcohol;
- they show excessive suspicion, it seems to them that they are constantly being deceived, hidden from them, etc.
- in relation to relatives and friends, they allow rudeness, they can speak insulting words in their presence, and after a day or two, with the look of a beaten dog, they ask for forgiveness. And such behavior can be repeated indefinitely, as long as relatives and friends have enough patience;
- do not have a sense of proportion when drinking alcohol.
Compared to a healthy person, who experiences a heavy feeling of a hangover, an alcoholic in the morning, after yesterday's drinking, takes a new “dose” with pleasure, while experiencing relief. Such a person should not abruptly refuse alcohol, his health will deteriorate sharply.
An external sign of alcoholism can be a tremor of the hands, a change in appearance, a rough voice appears in women, the figure becomes similar to that of a man.
Financial position drinking people is often deplorable.
How alcoholism develops
Many factors contribute to the development of the disease, but the main one is psychological, since it is based on the state of mind of a person. Emotions in people's lives can both hurt and heal a person.
Drinking is influenced by negative emotions, although simple drinking can start with positive ones (holidays, solemn events, etc.). Over time, increasing the amount of alcohol consumed, a person gets used to drinking alcohol and imperceptibly crosses the border of uncontrolled drunkenness and asymptomatic, for the time being, drunkenness turns into alcoholism.
There are three stages of alcoholism, and they are manifested by certain signs:
- the first stage is characterized by a strong craving for alcohol and loss of control over the amount of alcohol. Over time, the dose of alcohol increases, but health problems, liver disease and the first signs of personality degradation appear;
- the second stage is distinguished by an irresistible craving for alcohol, a hangover syndrome, a huge amount of alcohol drunk, close to a lethal dose. Personality degradation progresses, aggression is manifested, a person is distinguished by unbalanced behavior. The working capacity and tone of the human body during the period of sobriety decreases, memory deteriorates, seizures appear mental disorder. Problems of alcohol addiction are increasing every day;
- the third stage is the most difficult in form. A severe hangover syndrome does not go away without taking alcohol, mental disorders become more frequent, the dose of intoxication becomes small, a person goes into a binge systematically, memory, intelligence suffer, a person's personality is degraded to the maximum.
What makes a person drink
Not only those who suffer from alcoholics think about this question, but scientists have been struggling with the answer for more than a year. The causes of alcoholism include: low level of life, lack of cultural education, nutrition, unsatisfactory living conditions, family troubles, misunderstanding in relationships, inability to overcome difficulties, weakness of character, hereditary factors, social influence and ordinary hopelessness.
Despite the growth of well-being, alcohol penetrates the human soul, the languor of which is considered the main cause of such a disease as alcoholism. Alcoholic depression of a person is most often caused by a feeling of insignificance of his personality, which he experiences in a society alien to him. Drinking alcohol is usually preceded by neurosis, stress, affect, phobia, which lead a person to anxiety, dissatisfaction with life, to a feeling of loneliness and misunderstanding in the family.
A hangover brings a person back to real life, from which he is very ill, another binge sets in and the development of dependence continues.
How to beat alcohol addiction
Despite the fact that it is impossible to forcefully cure a person who has an addiction (not only alcohol), it is necessary to try to apply a bio-psycho-social model complex treatment in which alcohol dependence is removed.
The first, biological stage of treatment is drug therapy. “breaking” or “hangover” is removed, the state of anxiety is smoothed out, sleep is normalized.
The next step is the social component. The patient's social circle is changing, relations within the family are being reassessed, old social contacts are returning, career growth is being resumed, etc.
Third stage integrated approach to treatment lies in the application of the spiritual component, when the treatment of a person is at the level of comprehension and his subconscious is included in the work.
In total, treatment takes place over three periods:
- acute, which lasts 10-14 days;
- recovery, lasting about one month;
- rehabilitation, the duration of which is more than 6 months.
Addiction rehabilitation has a different period for each patient and is carried out in a hospital or outpatient setting, depending on the level of rehabilitation potential. Dependence treatment can be interrupted at any time, but this can be detrimental to the health of the patient.