Facts And Myths About Alcoholism

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

All of us, in one way or another, have encountered this terrible phenomenon. Someone lives with an addicted person, someone's parents suffered from alcoholism. Those whose lives have been influenced by alcoholism have a hard time. How to help an addict? Is it inherited? How is it treated?

1) Can family members somehow influence alcoholism?

Yes they can. But not in the way they think.

Relatives can INCREASE alcoholism, which, unfortunately, is most often done. There are many ways, but their essence is the same: to think that some YOUR actions or words can make HIM stop drinking (in psychology and narcology this is called "controlling behavior"). This is the most dangerous myth about alcoholism, which forces relatives to aggravate the disease.

The most popular ways to make things worse are:

a) Keep the dependence of a loved one secret from other people

Covering up the illness is the first step to making it worse, not better. Alcoholism is not something shameful, it is a disease. You are not hiding from others his cold or stomach pain? Here is the same thing. Moreover, this infection can only be treated with the participation of other people (acquaintances, doctors, self-help groups). It cannot be dealt with within the family. What is more important for you: to save "face" or to save lives - yours, his and his children?

b) Save him from the consequences of alcoholism

Please remember: an alcoholic will NEVER quit drinking if he does not face the consequences of his addiction himself! If you bring him drugs for a hangover, pull him out of the ditch, justify his absenteeism in front of his superiors, remove his vomit - you are paving his way to hell with good intentions. Do not take away from him the opportunity to be responsible for his behavior, otherwise his condition will only worsen.

c) Search for the "correct" method of influence

That is, trying to control drunkenness in different ways: swearing, hiding bottles, threatening with divorce, crying and pleading. Let's face it, all of these methods are ineffective. Any experienced alcoholic's wife will attest that, at best, this can achieve a break, but not a cure.

The worst thing is that the relatives of an alcoholic patient stubbornly believe: there is some kind of magical behavior that will "cure" a loved one. And the persistence of this myth is associated with those rare cases when an alcoholic stops drinking without treatment. And people think that the reason for the cure is precisely in this very "correct" way: well, what, after it he stopped drinking! Narcologists know: "after" does not mean "due to". An alcoholic can "quit", but not at all because they told him something or behaved in some way. He does this because he himself has made such a decision, for his own internal reasons. And his decision by chance coincided with the fact that a loved one somehow influenced him.

Well, is there really nothing at all that could really help an alcoholic recover?

Of course have. And this is due to the following fact:

2) Alcoholism is a family disease.

Another incredibly dangerous myth, wandering in the heads of relatives of an alcoholic, sounds like this: “He is sick, he needs to be treated, but I do not. I'm alright . Every addiction specialist will tell you that this is not the case. Addiction affects not only the drinker, but also those who are around. If you have been with an addicted person for more than six months, then specific changes have occurred in your psyche, which are called codependency. And this very codependency needs to be treated, otherwise it will be worse for you and the patient.

Disease is not only contagious. Contagious and cure. Therefore, the only way you can really help an addicted person is to get rid of your codependency. Nothing else just works.

There are centers in the world where alcoholism is treated very successfully. But the patient is not accepted there at all if his family members are not undergoing treatment for codependency. Because experts know: when only an alcoholic is treated, the risk of falling out increases to 70%. But if relatives are undergoing treatment for codependency, then the chance of recovery increases dramatically.

3) Heredity and other biological causes

Alcoholism is inherited, and the risk of getting sick is different for boys (40-50%) and girls (15%). Children of alcoholics are at risk, since their heredity can manifest itself at any age: someone will become addicted as early as adolescence, and someone in retirement.

Children with some congenital features are at risk of getting sick. Some babies are born with low levels of endogenous opiates (substances that contribute to feelings of happiness and other pleasant conditions). If a person produces these substances inside the body in small quantities, then he will need to get this very pleasure from the outside. It is possible to increase the level of endogenous opiates in different ways - this is not only alcohol or drugs, but also sports, snacks, love, sex, music (at concerts, how great it can be!), Etc. So if these are such biological features, this does not mean that the child will necessarily become addicted. There are healthier ways to get high out of life, and he needs to show them. And he will make the choice himself.

4) An alcoholic is not who you call him.

Many people think that an alcoholic is an unemployed person who is lying under a fence. Or someone who sells things for vodka, is rowdy and beats up his family members. Of course, it also happens. But many alcoholics are quite “decent” people with jobs and families. They may not be aggressive at all, but very gentle and kind. They can work as doctors or leaders. They may not even go into binges and not drink so often, but at the same time they still have alcoholism.

As with any disease, only a doctor can make a diagnosis (not you and not the Internet, but a doctor). Narcologists have special criteria by which they diagnose alcoholism and can determine the degree of its severity.

5) How is it treated?

It is believed that there is no cure for addiction. But you can stop drinking for years, decades, or for life.

The most effective treatment for alcoholics is the 12 Step Program. It was written by the addicts themselves, and this is what helps people around the world. But only if the patient himself has decided to be treated and if he does not miss the meeting.

Codependency is treated in special groups for relatives and friends of alcoholics (Al-Anon).

It is not scary or embarrassing to seek help, to be treated for this infection. It's scary to live in this hell.