If people could regularly drink themselves into unconsciousness, and then go to work in the morning as if nothing had happened, the problem of alcoholism would not exist in principle. Excessive consumption is fraught with binge drinking, and a person is most often forced to drink every day due to a severe hangover.
Ideally, you would call a doctor who would do everything competently and anonymously. But if a person is frightened by the very words “narcologist” and “drip specialist,” he will have to deal with the problem on his own. How to get out of binge drinking at home? Advice from a narcologist can help you.
Abrupt cessation of alcohol: why narcologists are against it
Ethanol tends to accumulate in the brain, and its concentration there is 75% higher than in the blood. Therefore, psychosomatics plays a big role in the state of hangover. When a person is hungover, he knows that even a glass of vodka will make him feel better, but he doesn’t limit himself to one glass, in the end he gets drunk and starts all over again in the morning.
Hence the classic symptoms of a hangover - thirst, nausea, tremors, rapid heartbeat - the result of poisoning the body with a high concentration of ethanol breakdown products.
In this state, a sudden refusal of alcohol-containing drinks can provoke the development of even more severe and unpredictable reactions of the body characteristic of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, for example:
- heart attack;
- cerebrovascular accident;
- mental disorders: depression, paranoid or hysterical mood;
- involuntary urination and defecation;
- coma.
If you can’t quit right away, and you’re scared to ask for help, then how to get out of binge drinking at home? The advice of a narcologist is to reduce the dose of “medicine” gradually. It won’t take a day or two, but if you follow a set of simple recommendations, it can ultimately be successful.
Reasons for stopping alcohol consumption
There are many reasons why a person stops drinking. Among the most significant are:
- desire to be healthy;
- deterioration of health and development of chronic diseases;
- more attractive appearance for people who do not have problems with alcohol;
- a sober, sharp and unblemished mind, the desire to adequately perceive the surrounding reality;
- high efficiency;
- good attitude at work and impeccable reputation;
- saving money (financial expenses on alcohol always take up a significant share in the budget of an alcohol addict);
- high sexuality, no problems with potency in men or the menstrual cycle in women;
- availability of strength and time (after all, the life of a person in an alcoholic web is guided by one desire - to drink);
- excellent state of mind, cheerfulness;
- healthy atmosphere at home;
- a full, bright and healthy life;
- healthy offspring.
The path to a sober life is very long and difficult. However, a person has a chance to get rid of the addiction by following the advice of doctors. The most important thing for this is to have a strong desire to recover and an iron will.
Support from family or friends
Not everyone is able to become their own narcologist. Therefore, the initiative needs to be taken by caring and close people: relatives, friends, neighbors, and finally, those who care about the drinker and whom he trusts. “Stop drinking” and other similar formulations are unacceptable, as well as intimidation with the dire consequences of alcoholism. It would be a big mistake to call a spade a spade: forget the words “alcoholic and alcoholism.”
It’s better to describe the favorable prospect of sobriety - freedom and independence from a glass of vodka, try together to remember the brightest, most joyful and happiest moments of a person’s life before the period of addiction.
The goal of home psychotherapy is to set a person up for complete abstinence from alcohol.
Can a person stop drinking on his own?
Doctors warn: there are no former alcoholics. Alcoholism is an incurable disease. However, the patient always has a chance to achieve stable remission and stop drinking alcohol. The duration of the period of sobriety is variable and can range from several months to several decades.
To stop drinking alcohol, methods of psychological influence on the patient are effective. They allow you to instill in the patient a negative attitude towards alcohol and thereby prevent relapse. Subject to a positive outcome, a strong belief is formed that he can lead a healthy and fulfilling life without consuming a drop of alcohol.
Successful treatment of alcoholism depends on a large number of factors. The most significant is that the person himself makes the decision whether to drink alcohol or not.
Spontaneous remission
It rarely happens that a person stops drinking spontaneously. A certain factor pushes this forward: there is an acceptance of one’s own illness, and then a decision that something needs to be changed in one’s life.
The main disadvantage of spontaneous remission is its uncertain persistence and spontaneity.
Motivational remission
In this case, the person consciously refuses to drink alcohol. This happens more often if there is a threat to a person’s life. By consciously giving up alcohol, a person also raises a number of financial issues, and also solves the problem of preserving the family.
Gradually, a person comes to the conclusion that completely abstaining from alcohol will allow him to achieve his goals in life and consolidate success. In a state of remission, he is completely convinced that his choice is correct and is a priority, despite the presence of temptations. Moreover, every victory over alcohol and the approval of the people around him further strengthens his sober position.
Forced remission
It is not always the case that a person strives for a sober lifestyle voluntarily. Many people with alcohol addiction do not always understand how harmful their bad habit is. However, circumstances take over. For example, if a director at work or a spouse or child puts a person before a choice, he needs to obey. Otherwise, it will affect the entire life of the alcohol addict.
Forced remission is usually not durable. Moreover, a person is constantly in a tense state, because he experiences hardship and inconvenience from such coercion. A breakdown after such a remission usually has very serious consequences.
Somatogenic remission
If a person learns about a sharp deterioration in his health, he usually stops drinking alcohol. The most common situation is when a patient needs to give up alcohol due to delirium tremens.
Alcoholics are also afraid of the consequences of experiencing a serious illness (for example, a heart attack or stroke). Against the backdrop of negative emotions, their desire for alcohol completely disappears. Awareness of the harm of alcohol, albeit belated, forms a new attitude: survival is a higher priority than drinking alcohol and short-term intoxication.
Psychogenic remission
This option of quitting alcohol is associated with somatogenic remission. When a person finds out what he did while intoxicated, he experiences a huge shock. In a state of shame for his actions, he decides to quit drinking.
There can be a lot of such reasons. Most often this is:
- traffic accidents due to the fault of a drunk;
- attempt on the lives of one's own children;
- violence.
This remission is unstable and short-lived. Sometimes a strong trigger works in the opposite direction, and the person begins to drink even more. In a state of alcoholic oblivion, suicide is possible.
Post-toxication remission
The nature of this remission could not be fully established. It is typical for people who chronically abuse alcoholic beverages. One day they stop drinking, and they do not justify this decision in any way.
Doctors suggest that at a certain point, poisoning with ethyl alcohol and its breakdown products reaches a critical limit. At this moment, biochemical processes change in the brain, and an aversion to alcoholic beverages appears. It is noteworthy that the taste and smell of alcohol suddenly becomes unpleasant. Even small doses cause nausea and vomiting.
Post-toxication remission is relatively stable. However, relapses cannot be ruled out when, against the background of a sober lifestyle, a person’s health significantly improves.
Gradual reduction in the dose of alcohol
Surround the person with attention, but not total control. An alcoholic will never tell about all his stash, and looking for and liquidating it is a big mistake.
However, it happens that a person struggles with addiction one-on-one. Before leaving the binge at home, this is the most important advice from a narcologist: clearly define the permissible dose in the morning and spread it out throughout the day. For example, 200 g - and not a gram more from the stash.
Stick to this dose for 2 days, then reduce it by half for another 2 days. On the fifth day, there is a high chance of completely quitting alcohol without serious consequences for the body.
The point here is to trick the brain. This is done in two ways: either by gradually reducing the dose of alcohol, which is difficult both mentally and physically, or by detoxifying the body using a drip. It's quick and painless, but it's up to you to decide anyway.
Of course, when quitting binge drinking on your own, diet and sleep patterns are of great importance.
How the procedure works
In order for euthanasia to be approved, it is necessary to write an application, perhaps even more than one. This is done in order to confirm the patient’s sincere desire to take such a serious step. A special commission, which must include doctors, psychologists and lawyers, considers the indications for the procedure, studies the patient’s medical history and makes a final decision.
The commission members also evaluate the patient’s ability to make independent, informed decisions. The attending physician must make sure that the pathology is indeed incurable and there are no methods that can alleviate the patient’s condition.
If the patient does not change his decision during the inspection, and the commission finds compelling reasons to approve euthanasia, the preparation of documentation and the selection of medications begins. The procedure can only be performed by a doctor.
First, the patient is administered strong narcotic analgesics, and then drugs intended directly for euthanasia. They are made on the basis of barbiturate. The medication is administered into the patient's body parenterally.
What you can eat and drink to relieve and improve the condition
The problem is that the liver sooner or later loses the ability to process ethanol breakdown products into safe acetic acid, and toxins enter the blood and brain.
Water cleanses and thins the blood well, so the oldest way to get rid of binge drinking was and remains drinking large amounts of liquid. Especially if the person has vomited and the body is dehydrated.
You need to drink boiled water, bottled non-carbonated water, tea, fruit juices, compotes, fruit drinks. Of course, this is a burden on the kidneys, but when choosing between two evils, it is better to cleanse the blood as soon as possible. In this sense, the dropper acts faster, more efficiently and safer.
On the question of how to get out of binge drinking at home - advice from a narcologist: you need to induce a natural appetite.
From food - rich chicken or turkey broth, ideally with croutons or noodles. The meat is eaten separately. Start with small portions. Taking into account the a priori unhealthy liver, exclude fatty foods, sausages and fast food.
It is important here to prevent the gag reflex, which drinkers strongly associate with a hard morning and the desire to get hungover.
Fruits containing acids are beneficial for a healthy person, and if the gastrointestinal mucous membranes are irritated by ethanol, bananas are the best option. Nutritious and good for the brain.
When do you need a consultation with a cardiologist in Rostov-on-Don?
Teenagers tend to hide their ailments and keep silent about any concerns that may be a reason to see a doctor. Parents should pay attention to obvious symptoms and signs, after which they need to make an appointment with a cardiologist at the medical center:
- The heart rate changes, both upward and downward. Increased heart rate may be associated with emotional stress or hot weather, but in this case the pulse quickly recovers. If tachycardia occurs regularly, this may be a symptom of cardiovascular disease;
- The appearance of shortness of breath. Normally, intermittent breathing occurs during active movements, but in the case when shortness of breath manifests itself in a calm state, you should contact a cardiologist and have a cardiogram done for a fee;
- Pain in the heart area. Teenagers may complain of pain even in the absence of illness due to excessive emotional stress, but a complaint of pain in the heart is definitely a reason for consultation;
- Swelling and bluish discoloration of the skin are associated with impaired blood circulation, one of the causes of which is impaired heart function;
- Headaches, dizziness and tinnitus;
- Frequent nosebleeds;
- Bruising under the nails.
Features of the effect of alcohol on the heart
Scientists have proven that long-term consumption of strong drinks provokes a dangerous disease - cardiomyopathy. In this condition, specific changes in the structure of the heart muscle are observed, and the likelihood of acute heart failure, thromboembolism, and severe rhythm disturbances increases.
This proves that alcohol has an extremely negative effect on the heart. Drinkers are at risk for developing cardiac complications:
- middle aged;
- male;
- smokers;
- in a state of prolonged stress;
- with weakened immunity.
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is
a life-threatening pathology .
Its likely complication is ventricular fibrillation, due to which the heart stops contracting normally and stops. Even if a person manages to avoid death, he will most likely face a stroke, myocardial infarction, and necrosis.
Symptoms indicating destruction of cardiac tissue by ethanol
You can suspect that a vital organ is working at the limit of its capabilities based on a number of signs:
- increased fatigue, lethargy, asthenia;
- exercise intolerance;
- a frightening feeling of a sinking heart;
- the skin acquires an unhealthy bluish tint;
- pain in the occipital region;
- trembling hands;
- "flushes" of blood in the neck and face;
- periodic attacks of tachycardia.
These symptoms most often remind themselves during a binge or the day after a drunken feast. If a person stops drinking for a while, his health improves.
In advanced cases, the myocardium hypertrophies and dilatation develops.
The volume of the heart chambers increases. Then heart failure occurs. Blood stagnates in both circulation circles. The patient experiences constant shortness of breath, attacks of suffocation during night sleep, severe swelling of the legs, and an unproductive dry cough.
If left untreated, heart disease caused by alcoholism will progress. Then irreversible changes will occur in the organ, which can lead to death.
