2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
Alcoholism is a terrible disease, especially if we consider its evolution in the Russian segment. The promotion of alcohol is the norm for us, as well as the classic films, which are standard for the New Year. Remember at least a film about an alcoholic who flew to another city, broke into a woman, demanded something and brought discord in the relationship. But we usually do not notice all this, we look through another prism at what is happening.
Alcoholism is usually divided into three main stages:
- At this stage, there is an irresistible desire to drink alcohol, which eventually disappears. But, the controllability of the amount drunk when getting what you want is also reduced. This stage often passes with symptoms of irritation, aggressiveness and slight memory loss (in rare cases).
- When alcohol tolerance increases. This stage is characterized by a loss of control, a significant decrease in the euphoric state, and subsequently the cessation of a completely similar effect. At this stage, alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurs, it is accompanied by sweating, headaches, tremors, sleep problems, heart pains. This stage gives indifference to the justification of their behavior and isolation (the desire to get drunk in private). A sharp exit from the binge can be accompanied by various complications, up to metal-alcohol psychosis. At this stage, there is a degradation of organs and central nervous system.
- The third stage is in step with amnesia. A person unconsciously experiences a constant attraction to alcohol and this becomes his motive force. By this stage, organ and central nervous system disorders are already irreversible. This stage often ends with complete exhaustion of the body. Abrupt interruption of the state without medical assistance almost always gives psychosis, and death is also possible.
In my article, I have repeatedly used the expression metal-alcohol psychosis. I will try to reveal in more detail what kind of beast it is.
Metal-alcohol psychosis is a whole set of conditions of pathogenesis, this includes:
- Hallucinosis
- Delusional psychoses
- Delirium
- Encephalopathy
- Pathological intoxication
Hallucinosis
This is a psychosis with a predominance of verbal hallucinations, periodically intertwined with delusions and mood disorders. It occurs very often in the aggregate of symptoms.
Inside, hallucinosis is divided into three types:
- Acute - development due to hard drinking or hangover. With delusions, harassment, and auditory hallucinations.
- Prolonged - usually lasts from 1-6 months, in very rare cases up to 1 year. The symptomatology is similar to the acute one, but delusional disorder and depressive disorder are also received as a bonus.
- Chronic - duration from 6-7 months to several years. In clinical practice, a case of 11-year-old chronic hallucinosis was recorded. Chronic is accompanied with delusions (persecution, hallucinations, and periodically reduced) and without delusions (verbal hallucinations as a dialogue with someone or a monologue about something, hallucinations go in a floating intensity, then decreasing, then increasing).
Delusional psychosis
It manifests itself for the most part in delusion, persecution from the immediate environment, is rarely accompanied by abundant illusions of the verbal spectrum and hallucinations, mainly occurring at night. Delirium is also a frequent visitor. Depending on the gradation, paranoia, distrust, excessive jealousy, and aggression may occur.
Delirium
This is an acute form of metal-head psychosis, with a narrowing of consciousness and motor excitement. Develops at the peak of withdrawal symptoms. The presence of somatics and additional factors aggravates the general condition. Initial signs can be seen in the symptoms of worsening sleep, frequent mood swings (mood instability), vegetative, insomnia, nightmares, complete visual hallucinations, etc. The body also reacts very badly in the form of tachycardia, sweating, muscle hypertonicity, discoordination and other things. The duration is usually 3-7 days, less often 8-12.
Encephalopathy
Also alcoholic psychosis, implicated in a joint combination of neurological, mental and somatic disorders. I will not paint in detail, since the text is already quite voluminous, for acquaintance I can recommend reading about "Gaia-Wernicke's encephalopathy", "Korsakov's psychosis" and "alcoholic pseudo-paralysis"
Pathological intoxication
It is accompanied by speech and motor excitement, affect, anger, sudden hallucinations. Often with destructive directed actions. This period is called obscuration or gloomy consciousness.
Pathological intoxication is divided into two main types - paranoid and epileptyloid. In the first type, delusional states (usually frightening experiences), flight (physical movement of oneself from contrived persecutors) are present. In the second type, disorientation, lack of real thinking (loss of contact with reality), and severe aggression are often observed.
Summing up, I would like to say that alcoholism is a terrible disease, according to statistics, residents of the Russian Federation have at least one familiar with this ailment. The process of abandoning the means of fogging consciousness is very difficult, painful and very often goes on for a lifetime. To drink alcohol or not, everyone's choice, my choice is a complete refusal, uncompromising and firm.
