Alcoholism is a disease that is closely related to genetic and psychological factors. Physiologically, it begins to manifest itself when the patient’s brain perceives alcohol as a necessity to ensure the vital activity of the body. The toxic effect of alcohol leads to a total personality restructuring and the formation of addictive behaviour. Such a pathology requires an integrated and thoughtful approach to treatment.
Alcoholism develops slowly and can remain unnoticed for a long time, since it does not always manifest itself in asocial behaviour. Most patients go to the doctor when they have developed severe physiological and psychological dependence on alcohol. When it comes to rehab centres, Orange county rehab has been very successful in treating many alcoholics and is quite the right place if you have developed the same disease. Treatment for alcoholism consists of three sequential stages.
Stages of alcohol addiction treatment
Detoxification, rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation support are three pillars of therapy, each of which is equally important and cannot be missed.
Rehabilitation
Removing toxins does not cure addiction. Having eased the physiological state of the patient, one cannot stop – it is necessary to overcome his psychological craving for alcohol. This task is solved with the help of outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation programs carried out in specialized centers or drug treatment clinics.
Post-rehabilitation support
Whatever procedures are carried out in stationary conditions, a sharp return to the usual life is fraught with breakdown. To prevent this from happening, the patient should attend post-rehabilitation groups, in which they are taught to control their behaviour even in stressful situations.
Detoxification
Removing toxins and removing withdrawal symptoms is the first step towards normalizing metabolic processes in the patient’s body, improving sleep and mood. Detoxification measures involve intravenous drug administration and should be undertaken in a hospital. The only exceptions are mild cases when it is possible to use outpatient programs or to organize a “hospital” at home. Detoxification takes an average of three to five days.
Methods and methods of treating alcoholism
Treatment of alcoholic patients is often complicated by their irresponsible attitude to the disease, despite the fact that they voluntarily agree to go to the hospital. To overcome this obstacle on the path to full recovery, a number of psychotherapeutic and medical procedures have been developed.
Hypnosis
With anchor hypnosis, with the help of neurolinguistic programming techniques, a conditioned reflex of refusal from alcohol is laid in the patient’s subconscious in the presence of a certain mark – an anchor. Almost any stimulus can be used as an anchor – it is important to find it and use it effectively. This is a subject of individual work with the patient.
Psychotherapeutic procedures
With the help of psychotherapy, you can create new, already healthy habits. As a result of psychotherapeutic influence, the attitude towards alcohol and its role in life changes, the patient realizes the need for sobriety, learns to overcome the pathological craving for alcohol, solve problems without the help of alcohol, and set long-term goals.
Medication procedures
With the help of medicines, it is possible to create conditions in which alcohol consumption will cease to give the patient a feeling of euphoria – on the contrary, it will lead to a sharp and tangible deterioration in physical condition, including death. Realization of this keeps the patient from relapsing. The use of such drugs is permissible only after the end of the detoxification period and after a thorough assessment of the patient’s health. The use of opiate receptor blockers for the treatment of alcohol dependence is a new word.
Injections
Disulfiram-based drugs are administered intravenously to patients with alcoholism, which tend to accumulate in tissues, without affecting their health before the first intake of alcohol. The intake of alcohol in the body triggers the action of the drug, which manifests itself in different ways – from increased heart rate to respiratory arrest. More gentle drugs based on naltrexone are injected intramuscularly, which block the pleasant feeling of intoxication without threat to life.
Bottom Line
All these procedures mentioned above are just for the alcoholics to understand the value of life and how important it is for them to get rid of their bad habits for themselves and their loved ones. Choose wisely!
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