Briefly: Narcologist Maxim Kirsanov tells the stories of his patients. You can learn the story of life, struggle with alcoholism and successful recovery.
Patient B., born in 1972. The second child in a family of employees, the mother was 37 years old at birth. The sister is 15 years older than the patient. Such a late birth of his son is explained by the specifics of her husband’s work (constant long business trips, unsettled life - living on rented apartments). The patient's father is an engineer, his mother is a doctor. In early childhood he was a rather sickly child, which was the reason he was raised at home ( kindergarten did not attend). As a child, he often walked in his sleep, but this stopped after he was three years old. Despite the increased attention and care, he was brought up without overprotection. According to his mother, from an early age he was highly impressionable and was an affectionate, homely child. He could spend hours doing something alone. He was diligent, persistent, and neat. Due to his father’s busy work, he received attention from him only on weekends, which was “obviously not enough.” During the remaining days he was under the care of his mother. He learned to read and write early, having an excellent memory, and at the age of 5 he was already able to memorize poetry with ease and pleasure. I started first grade when I was 7 years old. Memories of this period of life are quite scanty, but the patient notes that “at school I didn’t know what to do, I already knew how to read, write and count.” I liked getting excellent grades and being among the leaders in academic performance. Primary school the patient graduated with excellent marks and received a certificate from the school administration, which he was very proud of.
When the patient was in third grade, the older sister got married. He was jealous of her chosen one, even “ran away from the wedding.” Since his sister went to live with her husband, B. felt a sense of resentment and believed that “his sister had exchanged him.” Subsequently, the feeling of resentment passed and the relationship was restored.
Until the 8th grade, I was an excellent student with exemplary behavior. Because he was a good student and a homebody, many of his classmates disliked him. Since I grew up as a child, far from sports and physical education, I did not take part in fights, but was beaten several times by marginal classmates. The result of the fights was three times traumatic brain injuries and concussions.
After 8th grade, I decided to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a doctor. His academic performance continued to be very good, and he distanced himself even further from his classmates as he prepared to enter college. At this time, my sister had a daughter, and family relations began to deteriorate. When B. was finishing 10th grade, his sister divorced her husband and moved with her child to her parents. He gladly helped in caring for his niece. Finished without any difficulties high school, having successfully passed the entrance exams, was enrolled in the first year medical institute. As before, he kept himself quite aloof, did not get close to any of his classmates, and did not maintain friendly relations. He was very shy, despite his quite attractive appearance, relationships with the opposite sex were not easy. Being very impressionable, he repeatedly experienced a feeling of faintness at the sight of blood while attending operations. I finally decided to connect my life, like my mother, with therapy.
Alcoholism
During his 4th year of study, B.’s father died after a serious illness. B. endured his death “surprisingly easily.” He does not deny that alcohol, which he tried for the first time in his life at a funeral, may have helped with this. “True, I got drunk like a pig, I didn’t remember much.” In the morning “I was very sick: I was constantly vomiting, my head was pounding, I was terribly thirsty.” After the death of his father, he became more open, motivating his metamorphosis with the understanding that “everyone is mortal, if you are alone all your life, then in old age there will be no one to give you a pill or a glass of water.” The increase in the number of clinical classes and the division into smaller groups also had an effect. Subsequently, before graduating from college, he drank alcohol “only a few times in the company of fellow students.” After graduating from the institute, he was assigned as a therapist to a clinic. I didn’t receive any complaints from management, I coped with the job. He continued to happily “tinker with his niece” and did not think about starting his own family.
At the age of 25, he lost his mother, who died suddenly from a myocardial infarction. From that moment on I began to drink more often. He cites “painful loneliness, reluctance to go home and stare at the wall” as the reasons that led to worsening drunkenness. He lost interest in his sister and niece.
In 2010, after another binge, he was hospitalized in a drug treatment hospital. He was discharged after a week and refused treatment. I didn’t drink alcohol for about 3 months and got a job. Later he continued to drink, maintaining quantitative control, did not get drunk, and went to work. Notes a one-time episode of weekly alcohol consumption, “no more than 250 grams after work, daily.”
In November 2010, after a quarrel with neighbors, he went on a drinking binge. I drank about 1 liter. vodka I didn’t remember the events of the day. The next day he continued to drink, but the amount of alcohol he drank decreased significantly, no more than 0.5 liters. vodka. After 2 days I stopped drinking on my own. The change in state is noted the next day, when “my hearing became sharper and I began to hear what my neighbors were saying about me.” According to the patient, first a “female voice appeared and began to scold him for being grumpy, for smoking on the balcony.” Subsequently, “male voices” also joined. I heard voices “inside my head”; there was no feeling of being done or alien. Subsequently, “some people began to pursue him, the same cars came to work, were interested in who he was, what he was doing, discussed his actions, condemned him for incontinence, initiated persecution from outside strangers" These “people” accompanied the patient on the way to work, continued to condemn him, scold him, and “create conditions that forced him to leave work.” “At first no one believed the patient, but later the sister realized that it was true.”
A week later, due to the appearance of pain in the heart area, he called an ambulance. He was taken to the cardiology department, from where he “ran away that evening, as the voices were discussed there too.” According to the sister, the patient called her and said that he had gone to NKB No. 17, but “did not find a hospital and would spend the night at the Paveletsky station.” I returned home in the morning. I asked for help due to the fact that “I was already mentally exhausted, tired of the constant discussion.” The voices stopped when I put on headphones. I stopped hearing them, heading to the drug treatment hospital as soon as “a friend drove me away from home in a car.”
Cure
He was hospitalized in the emergency drug treatment department. The condition was regarded as an acute psychotic disorder due to alcohol abuse. Initially, he was tense, anxious, and periodically listened to surrounding sounds. During treatment, he became calmer and stopped “hearing voices.” After completing a course of intensive therapy (a seven-day cycle of infusion therapy, that is, a dropper, and a course of pills), he was transferred to the psychotherapy department. The long and persistent work of psychotherapists and psychiatrists and narcologists created favorable conditions for further treatment. The fact that he drank for a short time, his intellect was preserved, as well as his medical education, not completely lost social contacts and the remaining ability to critically evaluate his actions led him to reconsider his behavior.
He decided to complete the course of “coding” treatment for a year. After 3.5 years, B. continues to lead a sober lifestyle. Works in his specialty. He still doesn't have his own family. Regularly visits the doctor and carries out preventive treatment. Once in a conversation he said that “those voices scared him a lot.” “It’s impossible to explain how scary it becomes when you start hearing them, literally, everywhere and all the time. How they swear, threaten, humiliate. How impossible it is to fall asleep at night because you hear voices inside your head, you want to smash it against the wall so that they will be silent.” B. stopped drinking and has no cravings for alcohol.
In his words, he “crossed alcohol off the list of living things, although it took a long and serious effort.” B. logically reasoned that “delirium tremens” is just around the corner; at any moment he could “turn into an idiot.” B. has no regrets about the decision he made, his attitude towards sobriety is informal, and it is clear from him that he really does not want to go back.
This article was last updated: 01/12/2019
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Hello, dear readers! Today I would like to talk about such a terrible problem as female alcoholism.
When a man drinks uncontrollably, it is terrible, but a woman subject to such a destructive passion is a disaster.
Children of alcoholic mothers suffer the most
The female body is designed to bear and give birth to children, but it can cope with addiction to alcohol in exceptional cases.
Vivid examples are famous female alcoholics, for whom the love of alcohol has ruined everything: their careers, their personal lives, and deprived many of the opportunity to become a mother.
I think it’s no secret to anyone that attachment to alcohol has its roots in childhood. Many famous women acquired this habit due to the fault of their environment.
For example, in the case of the “Parisian sparrow” - a miniature woman named Edith Piaf. She had an incredibly powerful voice, especially considering her height and build. Personally, when I hear her voice, goosebumps always run through my body. What about you?
Edith Piaf "The Little Sparrow of Paris"
But this talented woman was devoured from within by a terrible addiction - Piaf was a drug addict and alcoholic. While she was able to overcome her addiction to drugs, she could not cope with alcohol. The reason for this may be the fact that she, while still a tiny baby, was constantly given wine so that she would sleep and not scream if she wanted to eat. Can you imagine the damage the child’s immediate family has caused to the child’s body? Naturally, in her case, the passion for alcohol was literally absorbed with her mother’s milk.
Edith Piaf suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction
Another woman who could be categorized as famous drunks- This is Galina Brezhneva. In her youth, she had everything she could want, even large diamonds lay in a vase like candy canes. But her love for vodka ruined her health, destroyed her mind, ruined her and killed her.
Galina Brezhneva with her famous father
Brezhneva ended her turbulent life in a mental hospital, alone, unwanted, sick.
Alcoholism destroyed happy life Galina Brezhneva
Female alcoholism
A woman is outwardly a very fragile and delicate creature, but by nature her body itself is designed for serious overloads - she must bear, give birth to and feed a child. A woman even lives longer than a man, but she cannot drink like him. Her body is not designed to fight alcohol, so a woman’s dependence on alcohol occurs much faster and lasts much stronger.
Our beloved Tatyana Dogileva was able to overcome alcoholism
Celebs who have overcome alcoholism
We all know celebrities who have quit drinking. A striking example is Britney Spears, a young American singer whose love of drinking, drugs and partying led to the almost complete destruction of her successful career, shameful photographs in the press, the collapse of her marriage and the loss of custody of her two sons.
Britney Spears and alcohol
Now she is gradually leveling out and changing for the better, but what has been done cannot be returned - the stamp of rejection will forever remain on her. It’s a shame that the flight that started so well was cut short at the very beginning, and Britney herself, like a wounded bird, was left reproaching herself and fate for tragic events in your life.
An equally notable example from the life of stars who quit drinking forever is Elizabeth Taylor.
Elizabeth Taylor quit drinking forever
This incredibly beautiful woman slowly got involved in drinking, trying to save her husband, the artist Richard Burton, but soon she herself began to drink as much as him. She quickly gained weight, looked ugly and began to lose roles. But her fighting nature took its toll, and she was able to cope with alcoholism. The same cannot be said about her husband - a handsome and talented actor, whom we know from his roles in “Cleopatra” and “The Young Lions”, Burton died suddenly, not even reaching the age of sixty.
Unfortunately, in the artistic community there are a lot of women suffering from alcoholism. The availability of booze, the harmful example and environment have become the reason for the continuous drunkenness of such stars as actresses Drew Barrymore, Lindsay Loan, singer and artist Courtney Love, Larisa Guzeeva, supermodel Lara Stone, and many other famous women. However, if Drew Barrymore, Guzeeva and Stone were able to overcome addiction, this is not yet possible for other women.
The difference that sobriety makes can be demonstrated by the example of Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of the “great and terrible” Ozzy Osbourne.
Kelly Osbourne was hampered by alcohol
She was a monstrously overweight, ugly girl with excellent vocal abilities, who simply killed herself with alcohol because of a painful perception of her own appearance. As soon as she realized that vodka would not help her, she just needed to take care of herself, and the result was not long in coming. Kelly lost weight, fell into the hands of a talented stylist and was literally transformed - she revealed herself to be a very attractive and talented young woman with a bright and successful future.
Kelly Osbourne has become a beauty thanks to sobriety
To do this, she had to realize that it was she herself who had value, and not the alcohol she drank.
Alcohol kills women
Don't expect alcohol to solve all your problems. Where a glass of cognac relieves stress, a bottle will become a step into the abyss. Consider whether you are ready to take this step.
I am very glad that you were with me today.
Helped us:
Anatoly Alekhin
Professor, Head of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Assistance, Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A. I. Herzen; Doctor of Medical Sciences
End of February, 1996, a month ago I turned 16. How I was waiting for this number! I thought a miracle would happen, a prince would appear in life or something like that. But nothing happened. I'm still the same gloomy tenth grader in black martens who desperately wants to seem cool.
It’s a warm spring day, we’re hanging out in the grove. Four girls and a guy whose birthday we are celebrating. This is my first time drinking champagne - more than a sip, and not in the company of my parents.- it works magically. I feel grown up, relaxed, and I love it! After the first bottle, we start a game: we pass a match to each other using only our mouths. With each round the match becomes shorter, and the game becomes more exciting. At the end, T. and I kiss. This is more than strange - after all, I never liked him.
Then I didn’t yet know that making a person more attractive was an easy trick for Monsieur Alcohol. Soon I will be dancing in clubs and singing karaoke. Stealing books, jewelry, candies and chips - just to demonstrate courage and sleight of hand. Lying is no worse than Munchausen. Meet first and immediately offer sex. And also taking drugs, running away from a cafe without paying, walking through a cemetery at night and driving drunk - nothing was impossible. Alcohol and I found each other. And how did I live without him before?
I found a special thrill in hangovers. You drink - and the world is immediately clear, I am weightless, I merge with it with every cell and gradually dissolve, as if I were not a body, but consciousness, pure spirit. Morning, T. and I are alone in the pizzeria, languidly polishing beer with vodka from a cold pot-bellied decanter. We love each other so much. T. is as gentle as a cat, because I have the money, and I decide whether to repeat the decanter. I nod to the waiter, T. rejoices.
We have a strange relationship. He is such a typical narcissist. And every time I drank, I announced to him that I was leaving. It brought me to tears and got emotions. Then I met G. - and left forever. He was caring and loving. Got me hooked on heroin. Then I got tired of it, and I left G. too. A whirlwind of acquaintances and non-reciprocal loves began to spin (normal guys were not eager to date a drunkard).
In those years I was surrounded by many friends - it was easy to find a drinking buddy. But it didn’t matter to me who to drink with, where or what. I drank with strangers, with taxi drivers and policemen (thank you guys for not touching me, sorry I don’t remember your name). I drank alone, I drank on ICQ, I drank while listening to the radio.
I think I was depressed. I didn’t belong to myself, I had no control over anything, and I never knew where I would find myself the next morning. Alcohol ruled me. The body staggered around the city uncontrollably, and believe me, these were wild adventures. It’s a miracle that I’m alive; I could have died a thousand times.
But I wanted warmth and peace. Happiness, as simple as a sandwich with sugar. I remember walking with my gentleman, staggering along a dark street from one tavern to another, I looked at the glowing windows and imagined how people lived behind them, how they went to bed early and read “Jane Eyre” under the light of a night lamp. And I remember that aching melancholy - why can’t I do this too? When I came home, I would unfold the sofa and fall down in my clothes. And I dreamed of pajamas with bears. In difficult moments, I disconnected from the outside world and retreated into myself. I imagined myself coming to visit an imaginary aunt - she lives far away, no one will get to us. In a cozy little house, my aunt fries me pancakes, and I look out the window, there is a red rowan tree and a cat walking. And I don't need anything else. And my aunt asks: “Should I pour some more tea, Yulechka?”
Alcohol was my medicine, the only way to reconcile with reality and provide comfort. I leaned on him like a cripple on a crutch. Sober life seemed dull. But as soon as you added alcohol, everything blossomed. I loved everyone, and even myself. Whatever happens, pour some alcohol into yourself, and it will be better. And then add - to make it even better, even more pleasant, even more love.
I didn't realize it would be the other way around. I remember going for refills - alone, to a gas station, because my husband was already asleep and the stores were closed; how she drank all night, and at five minutes to nine she was already standing in front of the store door; how she swam drunk and almost drowned; how embarrassed she was about her swollen face and hated herself; how she got coded and broke down; How I looked through outgoing calls and messages on social networks in the morning with horror. How afraid I was one day of waking up in prison or not waking up at all.
The languid hangovers were long gone. The next morning, my body didn’t even take in water; my stomach hurt every day. I was afraid to sleep - I went to bed with the light on and the TV on. At least once a week the house is a mess, and I can’t get up because my head is splitting, tremors, burned larynx, fever, chills, my heart and brain act as if they are leaving me forever. The husband was not happy with this situation and threatened with divorce. Yes, I myself already understood that the games were over, alcohol would kill me, I had to pull the stop valve. She pulled. On the third try I succeeded.
The first time was not easy. It seemed that all the people knew my shameful secret and were making fun of me, the unfortunate one. At the grocery store, she trotted through the alcohol section. My husband and I once bought a 50-gram bottle of rum to soak dried fruits for a Christmas cake. While we were standing at the checkout, my temperature rose from anxiety - now the cashier will wink and say: “You’re not charging enough, Yulia. We are waiting for more at night.” What a cashier! Having met old acquaintances a couple of times, I pretended that I was not me. I didn’t see my brother for a whole year, I left all social networks, changed my phone number and email address. I wanted to disappear or fly to the moon.
Having licked my wounds in solitude and become mentally stronger, I realized that I was tired and no longer wanted to be ashamed. I want to come out and share my experience. So, in the fourth year of my alcohol-free life, I started my blog, and every time I jump to the ceiling when it sobers up someone.
At some point, a psychotherapist appeared in my life. Together we found out that I can’t express anger, say “no”, I don’t recognize my feelings and I don’t really understand where I end and the other person begins. Sometimes I simply recounted to her my days or the past, surprised that she did not wince in disgust.
It felt like, having given up alcohol, I ended up with a box of broken glass from which I had to glue a vessel together. I wanted it to be beautiful and function properly. Make it like this as quickly as possible, because so much time is wasted! But I moved slowly and slowly. When despair overwhelmed me, I lay down on the sofa, ate chocolate and scrolled Pinterest. She cried and freaked out. I didn't drink. The next day it became easier. I learned that someone walking slowly would go far, and I calmed down.
Nothing reminded me of alcohol anymore: I not only handed out glasses and glasses, I eliminated all triggers, including the old playlist. I became a vegan, for the first time in my life I looked inside myself, found my inner child and tried to love him. I meditated in any incomprehensible situation. I discovered the world of psychology and self-development. I took a course of antidepressants and B vitamins. I thought, read and wrote a lot on the topic “why people drink,” and gradually my demons began to recede.
Now I'm 36. The last time I drank was 6 years ago. How do I live? Amazing. I got a cat and pajamas with bears. I don’t want to get crazy, offer my husband a threesome (thank God he didn’t agree!), write to strange people and be ashamed of my actions. There is no longer any need to escape into an alcoholic haze or hiding in an imaginary aunt's house. I live here and now, a real life without stimulants, and communicate with real people. My hands hold the steering wheel and, thank God, they don’t shake.
The editors thank Studio 212 for their assistance in organizing the shooting.
We are waiting for your reaction. Do you have anything to say about what you read? Write in the comments below or at [email protected].
Alcoholism... Perhaps not a single word is associated with as many diverse problems as this one. And rarely do so many myths, stereotypes, and rumors arise around any disease as around addiction to alcohol. What is nature alcohol addiction How does a person get caught in these networks, can he get out on his own and how can we help him? Is it possible to recover from alcoholism? We talk about this and much more With general director AlkoMed clinic, narcologist Maxim Aleksandrovich Borovkov.
- What is the biggest misconception about alcoholism?
Most likely, it is treated as a kind of social promiscuity and permissiveness. A large mass of the population imagines alcoholism simply as dissolute behavior and a person’s gradual slide down the social ladder. Few people understand that alcoholism is a real disease, which is characterized by changes in metabolism in the body, due to which a person is unable to stop himself even after the first drink.
- What's going on? Why does alcohol become a vital need for a person?
Dependence develops gradually. At first, a person simply enjoys drinking alcohol, then a stable association is formed in the brain: alcohol = pleasure. This is how it is formed psychological dependence. If you don't stop in time, the disease progresses. Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) burns easily not only in air. Under the conditions of our body, alcohol “ignites” very quickly - it breaks down and releases a large amount of energy. In the human body, energy is extracted from proteins, fats and carbohydrates; alcohol is not only easily integrated into metabolism, but also, being psychoactive substance, contributes to addiction. Constantly receiving large number alcohol, the body adjusts its metabolism to it. That is, alcohol receives maximum priority. This restructuring is irreversible. As soon as the “supply” of alcohol stops, the metabolism gradually returns to normal. But very slowly and very painfully - with pronounced mental and physical suffering that few people are able to endure. It is much easier to give the body another dose of “fuel”.
- It seems like you are describing withdrawal from a drug addict...
And so it is, it’s the same abstinence. The mechanism of occurrence of alcoholic and drug addiction absolutely the same. AND clinical manifestations- intoxication, craving for the next dose, withdrawal symptoms - too.
- Let's go back to alcoholism. Is this disease curable?
No, it is not curable. Like drug addiction, alcoholism is a lifelong diagnosis. Another thing is that a person can stop drinking alcohol himself or with the help of doctors and not drink for the rest of his life. But even in this case, we are talking about long-term remission, but not about cure. The fact is that the very first glass of alcohol triggers the “dormant” mechanisms of an already formed disease with all the ensuing consequences. And this breakdown can happen at any moment.
- What is binge drinking and what are its dangers?
First of all, it should be said that binge drinking occurs in a person suffering from the second stage of alcoholism. Drinking alcohol over several days ordinary person do not binge eat, although such abuse causes serious harm to the body. For a patient with alcoholism, binge drinking begins with one or two glasses, after which the body switches to the already familiar alcohol metabolism - and if alcohol is not taken, abstinence occurs. A person cannot stop, because - as we have already said - giving up alcohol causes significant physical suffering.
Binge is dangerous due to metabolic disorders. People on a binge either eat nothing or eat very little. They have enough energy from alcohol. But proteins, fats, vitamins, and microelements do not enter the body, and the longer the binge, the more severe the violations on the part of all organs and systems.
- Can a person come out of binge drinking on his own?
Theoretically it can. But in practice this is very, very rare. Quitting binge drinking on your own is associated with significant physical suffering, increased blood pressure, increased stress on the heart, and a high risk of complications such as myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, gastric bleeding, epileptic seizures, and delirium tremens (" delirium tremens»).
- How can a doctor help in such a situation?
The doctor, with the help of various drugs that are administered, including intravenous drips, helps the patient survive the period of recovery from binge drinking with virtually no risk of complications. The so-called “shaking” is removed and lowered blood pressure, sleep is restored, the body is nourished, electrolyte balance is restored and, as a result, on the second or third day the patient’s well-being normalizes without alcohol in the blood.
- Is there a difference between stopping binge drinking at home or in a hospital?
The peculiarity of home treatment consists of several points. First of all, the patient is in a familiar environment under the supervision of family and friends. This is very important, since breaking out of binge drinking is often associated with various depressive disorders. And no one, even very highly qualified nursing staff, will pay as much attention to the patient as his relatives. In addition, after cupping acute manifestations hangover, our patients can go to work in 2-3 days, participate in social life. Treatment in a hospital usually takes much longer.
Treatment at home requires high professionalism, experience and composure from the doctor. In a fairly short period of time, he needs, without having the results of tests and instrumental studies in hand, to assess the patient’s condition, determine which drugs to administer and in what doses, predict the development of the situation and leave clear instructions to family and friends: how to act, what medications to give. In 1-1.5 hours, the doctor must restore the functions of the body, which has been exposed to the destructive effects of alcohol for days and sometimes weeks.
However, there are a number of situations in which hospitalization becomes an absolute necessity; attempting treatment at home in these cases can only worsen the patient's condition. First of all, this is a long-term binge, which led to a pronounced weakening of the body, as well as all cases where there is a high risk of developing delirium tremens. Unconditional hospitalization also requires exacerbation of various chronic diseases due to binge drinking, for example, peptic ulcer, as well as acute emergencies, such as acute pancreatitis.
- How long after an interruption does a person live without binge drinking?
But this depends on him. In this case, we act as an ambulance, eliminating life-threatening consequences. But the reason itself remains. And nothing prevents the patient from going all out again 2-3 days after the “cleansing”.
- And what to do in such cases?
Block dependence on alcohol, or, as they often say, “encode.” There are two methods - psychotherapeutic and medication. Psychotherapy is aimed at creating in a person a clear attitude towards a sober lifestyle, as well as the formation of a negative image of alcohol and everything connected with it. However, there are a number of limitations. First of all, not all people are suggestible; in addition, in our country it is somehow not customary to talk to a psychologist or psychotherapist and pour out your soul to him. Secondly, it is very difficult to break the value system established as a result of many years of drinking alcohol. It requires painstaking and lengthy work.
The drug way to block alcohol dependence is to administer to a person one of modern drugs, significantly reducing cravings for alcohol. At the same time, this drug is incompatible with alcohol (torpedo effect). However, the psychotherapeutic component of this method is also very important. The doctor does not just silently administer the drug, he must explain to the person what is happening, why the medicine is being administered (this is like a kind of insurance that keeps the person from drinking).
Does a sober lifestyle mean that a person should give up any type of alcohol? Or can you drink while observing some norm?
If a person is diagnosed with alcoholism, then it is necessary to give up any alcohol. Even from non-alcoholic beer- because the smell, taste of the drink, the sight of the bottle cause an exciting effect, a person feels mild intoxication, which the brain “remembers”, and a breakdown occurs.
- Is it possible to treat alcoholism without the knowledge of the person himself?
No, you can't. Compulsory treatment is provided for by law only in cases where a person becomes socially dangerous. And as long as a person is sane, no violence against a person is permissible. And all the “miraculous” and “magical” remedies in the form of drops, infusions, powders and other things that are suggested to be quietly mixed into food drinking man- this is nothing more than speculation on the problem and deception of consumers. In the treatment of alcoholism, as a very serious disease, the motivation of the patient himself, his internal attitude towards recovery and recovery are extremely important. favorable outcome. If there is no motivation, there will be no effect, no matter how hard the drinker’s relatives try.
Alcoholism is a serious disease in the development of which numerous biological and social factors play a role. For example, if a person has a genetic predisposition to the development of alcohol dependence - when his body has a deficiency of an alcohol-decomposing enzyme - then, having started drinking, he can develop stage 2 alcoholism within 2-3 months. Therefore, this problem should be dealt with by professionals - narcologists. Our knowledge and experience, an arsenal of medicines and therapeutic techniques allow us to help people in even the most difficult situations.
Edgar Degas "Absinthe". Photo from liveinternet.ru
Several question marks in a row
They came to the group that I led at the temple. Always alone, timidly and quietly. Averting his eyes and hiding his mouth with his palm. As a rule, it is difficult to endure a single day of sobriety. Funny and awkward: too much paint, too little taste, and during their absence from the world of people, fashion has managed to run ahead
Their first question is, are there any other women drinking here? Or maybe everyone goes to a sobriety group solely for the sake of their drinking husbands? After all, this is what usually happens: the husband drinks, the wife restrains herself as best she can, prays, cries, swears. After all, this is how we, women, are supposed to be: to be keepers of the hearth and comfort, an example for children, assistants to our spouses, beauties, smart girls, housewives.
I know a lot of women who quit drinking
Not everyone succeeds. Some turn into real monsters and cuckoo alone in their hopeless swamp. Tell me, do people like this come here or will I be alone? Then I'll leave right away. After all, for normal women I am an enemy, I am a scarecrow, we are on opposite sides of the barricades. “They go,” you answer, “of course they do.” They just, like you, are hiding, they don’t want anyone to guess. —
Is there any point in coming here? - sounds the main question. – After all, female alcoholism, everyone knows, is incurable.
Creature on thin legs
Photo from videoblocks.com
Alcoholic. For some reason, adherents of political correctness turn a blind eye to this word. Perhaps for pedagogical reasons? You don’t need to spare someone like this, but you need to seal it more painfully, so that it’s discouraging. When the press describes addicted women, there will certainly be thin blue legs, slitted eyes, puffy purple cheeks, missing teeth and a hellish smell from the womb. And very often – the word “creature”.
The neuter gender is intended to emphasize: the alcoholic betrayed her main purpose - motherhood. A woman is not supposed to drink; by such behavior she breaks out of her social role, violating an age-old taboo. Partly because of this, female alcoholism is so demonized in the public consciousness, giving rise to anti-scientific myths, terrible caricatures and sinister archetypes.
In reality, women suffering from alcoholism, as a rule, look quite decent. And when, coming to the group, the new girl with whom we started the story begins to take a closer look, even for her it is not easy to identify among those present her companions in misfortune. Women tend to hide - and quite skillfully - their drunkenness. The fair sex manages to remain beautiful for a long time in any circumstances. He is cunning, inventive, often has acting skills, and at his service is makeup and the latest achievements in cosmetology.
In women, by the way, binge drinking occurs almost four times more often than in men (82% versus 22%). Can't be?! Statistics do not lie, but at the same time they provide further evidence of the sophisticated secrecy of the drinking fairer sex.
If you are a man and want to have the first or second stage of alcoholism, you will have to drink heavily and every day for at least six months, and if you are a woman, then only three months
The secret usually becomes apparent when the problem has gone too far, and the results are obvious (in person). And this is actually an unsightly sight. However, objectively, alcoholism does not have a more detrimental effect on a woman’s appearance than on a man’s, but our appearance is simply given more importance. And, say, wrinkled clothes or unkempt hair, which men get away with, are unforgivable for a woman.
Ethanol and the weaker sex
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Female alcoholism, indeed, cannot be cured. Like any other - that is, male. Strictly speaking, the very concept of “female alcoholism” does not exist. There is one disease - alcoholism, a chronic disease in which only remission can be achieved, but never a complete cure. Having become dependent, a person remains so until his death - regardless of gender. Which in no way means that he/she cannot stop drinking. Simply having “untied” him, he will inevitably return to “his own vomit” like an evangelical dog, and will never learn to drink “like everyone else” - civilly, without hangovers and binges.
Another thing is that the development and course of the disease in the weaker sex has a number of features, and when describing addiction in women, authors (medics, sociologists, writers and journalists) inevitably compare it with “normal”, that is, with male alcoholism.
Women - almost like the indigenous peoples of the North - have reduced activity of the gastric enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down ethanol.
Alcoholism develops faster in women and is more difficult. If you are a man and want to have the first or second stage, you will have to drink heavily and every day for at least six months, and if a woman, then only three months. (The fact that not every daily drinker becomes an alcoholic is another matter). Finally (third stage), women become drunkards after seven years of regular drinking, and men after 15.
Why is this happening? The fact is that it is much easier for ethanol to poison the body of the weaker sex (it’s not for nothing that they call us that). Firstly, when a woman tries to drink on an equal basis with men, the concentration of alcohol in her blood turns out to be much higher - due to the fact that there is less water in the female body. Secondly, women - almost like the indigenous peoples of the North - have reduced activity of the gastric enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down ethanol. Thirdly, alcohol is absorbed faster in us - due to hormonal characteristics. Therefore, it is very dangerous to drink during PMS and menopause, when you are so sad and want to cry.
We wash down the sadness and melancholy, we drown in shame
For a woman, alcohol is, first of all, an antidepressant and a tranquilizer. Ask a male alcoholic why he drinks - and he will tell you a whole story, list the advantages, talk about the male drunken fraternity, and rationally explain the impossibility of stopping. And the woman will most likely be laconic: “It’s sickening to live.” We burn with ethanol boredom, sadness, melancholy, personal happiness that never happened, and shame.
The drunkard from " The Little Prince"Saint-Exupéry was most likely a woman. Remember: “Why do you drink?” - “Because I’m ashamed” - “Why ashamed?” - “I’m ashamed to drink” - “Then why are you drinking”... Etc. (example quote).
One of my friends called the jars of cocktail drink that she took daily “anesthetic”
It's a shame, really. A drunk woman can make a mess. She degrades faster than a man. Scientists have even calculated that moral decline in women develops 3-5 times faster. The numbers, of course, raise a lot of questions: the criteria for this fall, the units of speed and depth, are unclear.
After all, one and the same act can be condemned with different degrees of force, depending on the gender of the person who committed it. This, of course, is correct: no one has canceled maiden honor, female pride, decency and, most importantly, the commandments. True, the last two categories have no gender. But forgiveness and leniency are also universal things. Especially when we are talking about a sick person (and therefore a suffering person). But not about the alcoholic.
Even pity for her is fleeting and mixed with disgust: “serve it right.” And this makes life even more unbearable. The exit is known. One of my friends called the jars of cocktail drink that she took daily “anesthetic.” A vicious circle, like on that tiny planet where the Drunkard from The Little Prince lived.
But there is also good news. Different parts of the brain are not equally affected by ethanol. And if disorders of the emotional sphere (mainly depression) occur more often in women than in men, then our memory and intelligence suffer much less and more slowly. The cortex of our brains is stronger or something... And if so, not all is lost.
Don't believe the myths!
The fact that female alcoholism is incurable is not just a myth. This is a harmful myth. It degrades the image even more drinking woman- She is no longer human. And even if she didn’t have time to degrade completely, then there is only one way, there, to the bottom. This myth deprives a woman of hope, because everyone knows that she will never be able to quit. That’s why they often abandon her. Strong men leave, confident that they can’t help, and they need to take care of themselves.
Quitting drinking makes a woman more reliable than a man
I know a lot of women who quit drinking. Someone got married, someone changed their profession, many received an education, the vast majority began to go to church (baptized, got married), and gave birth to children. Some started leading sobriety groups themselves. Others, younger ones, went traveling, rode a motorcycle, cut through the waves with a surfboard, wrote books - did everything to make up for the almost lost life, which suddenly became colorful again.
I also know a fair number of families of alcoholics, where only the wife stopped drinking and stayed close to her husband. drinking husband in the hope of saving him too.
Yes, by quitting drinking, a woman becomes more reliable than a man. It’s not scary to go on reconnaissance with her. Perhaps the reason was the shame she had to go through. The “vomit” that you don’t want to go back to is much uglier. Horror - more terrible. And if a man in remission, relishing relishing drunken exploits and telling funny stories about them, is a fairly common phenomenon, then women, as a rule, avoid anything that might remind of a past life. They were too ashamed, too painful, too not themselves then.
Miracle of miracles
And another mirror. One of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever seen in my life is a woman quitting drinking. First, some kind of bow appears on her, a white collar, or simply her clothes recall the existence of an iron, and her hairstyle recalls the existence of scissors.
The next stage is not very pretty. However, plastic surgeons’ patients also look terrifying immediately after the procedures. Gradually, and then somehow all at once, the swelling subsides, the skin sags, wrinkles appear - our princess slowly throws off her frog skin. But the look is already brightening, determination and faith appear in it. If we talk about the phases of recovery, this is the most difficult stage. Now she is tormented by insomnia, remorse, depression, fatigue, and now it is very difficult for her. Transformations only happen quickly in fairy tales.
Men break down more often at this time. They silently and gloomily go on a binge. Women scream: “I can’t!” - and continue to fight. One good friend of mine, an older woman, simply grabbed books from the shelves and read, read everything, at first indiscriminately, then turned to Russian classics.
“After all, I was once completely different,” she said. “I read a lot, I went to the theater and exhibitions.” She spoke and did not notice that she had already become different again. And the frog's skin went to the fire, and no one could tell by her face what hobby she had recently indulged in instead of reading. A wonderful transformation. And now newcomers, coming to the group, look askance with disbelief: has N really ever drank?!
I describe this incident in detail only because that miracle was the first that happened before my eyes, and after that I was already waiting to see it again. And she was happy every time a new future princess came to the group. Alcoholic. Timid and lonely, still believing in myths, but not in fairy tales.