Alcohol is a tricky thing.You will start with wine and cheese, continue with vodka and dumplings, and end with cognac and an interesting movie.And now every day you catch yourself thinking: should I knock over the glass or the other?And what?It was a hard day, the boss was a fool, the wife was a bitch, the weather was disgusting.Waiter, repeat without appetizers!Is it possible and how can you stop drinking alcohol at home without resorting to the services of specialists who will help you stop drinking alcohol by visiting your home for a certain price?Let's try to figure it out, this time without the bottle.
Consequences of alcohol addiction
The question "To drink or not to drink?"everyone decides for themselves.However, pouring a portion of wine or white wine every evening, it is worth remembering what their constant use leads to.
The drinking man is an unpleasant character in every respect.But these are lyrics.There are quite clear results of constant alcohol consumption.And they are much scarier than a wrinkled appearance and bad breath.
Diseases of internal organs
The main target of alcohol bombardment is the liver.It cleans the blood of toxins and ensures the normal functioning of all body systems.If toxins constantly attack the liver, the organ cannot cope with their destruction, takes the hit and gradually collapses.
Cirrhosis of the liver in most cases is caused by alcohol addiction.This is a dangerous and deadly disease.If present, even a common cold can be fatal due to inability to treat with strong drugs.For example, antibiotics.
Alcoholism affects the pancreas and disrupts the work of the digestive system.Gastritis, peptic ulcer, intestinal disorders, heart and kidney diseases become the best "friends" of alcoholics.In men, potency decreases sharply.Brain cells die, memory declines.
Change in mental state
It is known that a small portion of alcohol puts a person in a state of mild euphoria and relieves stress.Long-term drinking has a radically opposite effect.Neuroses, irritability and unmotivated aggression appear.The person suffers from mood swings, inexplicable anxiety and lack of self-confidence.
The world around becomes hostile, people act hostile.If you do not get out of this state in time, everything can end first with apathy, then with depression and, finally, with suicidal tendencies.
Reduced motivation
The aphorism "Drink in the morning, the whole day is free" did not appear out of nowhere.A person who drinks is not able to manage his time, and most importantly, he has no motivation to do so.Everything can wait - work, housework, thesis, career, even fun.What seemed important when sober matters little when drunk.The lack of goals leads to a decrease in the desire for anything.The meaning of life is gradually lost."Why live if you're going to die anyway? I'd better go get a drink" - standard alcoholic thinking.
Other changes
A person caught in the trap of alcohol changes inside and out.
Swelling occurs on the face and body due to heavy load on the kidneys.The skin looks unhealthy, the hair is dull, the appearance is dull.If you become overweight, alcohol increases appetite and reduces physical activity."Alcoholic" appearance can put an end to a decent job, personal life and social status.
Loss of power becomes permanent, regardless of heavy loads.The ability to work is noticeably reduced, there is a frequent desire to rest, to postpone tasks for later or to leave them completely.
Meetings with friends are only interesting in the context of alcohol consumption;they are not interested in sober holidays.
The family becomes a burden.Spouse and children require constant participation, for which there is neither energy nor emotion.
A person who drinks considers himself insignificant, often experiences remorse and suffers from the inability to get out of the vicious circle.
Causes of alcoholism
Why do people who not so long ago only drank on holidays start drinking alcohol regularly?Scientists call the medical and social aspects of the development of this habit.
The first include:
- genetic predisposition;
- characteristics of intrauterine development during pregnancy;
- previous injuries and illnesses;
- metabolic disorders;
- mental disorders;
- belonging to a special psychotype (persons with low self-esteem, low resistance to stress, increased anxiety, insecure, suspicious, weak-willed, prone to depression).
Among the social causes of alcohol addiction:
- alcohol-drinking environment;
- economic instability;
- lack of work and permanent income;
- family troubles, betrayal, divorce;
- personal restlessness, loneliness;
- rejection from society;
- constant stress and fatigue;
- death of loved ones.
Let's model the situation on a concrete example.
Maxim, 38 years old.Leading specialist in a large logistics company.Married, three children.
For the last 5 years, Maxim's life has been stable and growing.Prosperous family, beloved wife, desired children.At work, the salary was increased, career growth was planned - the man was offered the position of head of the main department in the company.The income allowed him to buy a new car that he had dreamed of for a long time.
At some point, Maxim noticed that he began to maintain the euphoria of a prosperous life with alcohol.It prolonged the feeling of happiness.He could have a drink with colleagues after a successful day at work, accompany dinner with a glass of vodka and celebrate not only an important, but also a small event.
His wife initially laughed at his suggestion to "wash" the purchase of a new bicycle for his eldest son, but then she became alert.Maxim thought everything was fine.Until he forgot to pick up his middle son from kindergarten because he went to a bar with his colleagues after work.And, besides, he got behind the wheel drunk.A conversation with his wife and remorse brought Maxim back to a sober reality.True, not for long.
Further events coincided with another financial crisis in the country.The company where Maxim worked announced a regime of total economy and layoffs began.The prospect of getting a new position has been postponed indefinitely.The eldest son approached difficult adolescence.Conflicts started in the family.The desire to drink visited Maxim more and more often.I wanted to bring back the feeling of former joy.
I had to buy alcohol in secret from my wife.His teenage son began to pay attention to his drunken father.The wife constantly accused her husband of being drunk at home.
Maksim started staying late in cafes with his friends.At work in the morning it was difficult for him to carry out his duties.The boss noticed it.Because of one unsuccessful task, he took away a part of a subordinate's salary and threatened to fire him.
Maxim was more and more attracted to the drink.But one day, waking up in a state of hangover and looking at his face in the mirror, so to speak, he admitted to himself that he had become an alcoholic.The disease has not yet become chronic, but with alcoholism the path to the "terminal" stage is short.
Maxim decided to stop there.He talked to his wife and together they developed a program to return the father of the family to a normal life.
Is there an easy way to stop drinking?
There is only one way - to firmly say "no" to alcohol and squeeze your will into a fist.Unfortunately, not everyone is capable of this.Therefore, the well-known aphorism about smoking can be applied to most people (let's paraphrase it): "It's easy to quit drinking. I've done it thousands of times."
Do not forget that a person's gender and age are important for successful recovery from alcoholism.It is most difficult for a woman over 45 and a teenager to stop drinking.
What is the advantage of getting rid of the desire for alcohol on your own?It can take a lot of time, emotional and physical effort to quit without professional drug treatment help.But above all, it's free.And, secondly, the result will be especially valuable, because you will never forget how difficult this road to sobriety was.
The best motivator for making a strong-willed decision is fear.Imagine that by becoming an alcoholic you lost everything.External attraction, health, work, family, love, money, life opportunity, finally.
Think about yourself and those you care about.Think about who you will turn into with a glass in your hands, what will happen to your parents, how your children will grow up without you, who your beloved other half will go to.Maybe then the desire to drink will leave you alone forever?
How to stop drinking without coding
Relatives of people with alcoholism are worried about how to make a drunkard stop drinking?It will not be possible to force.It is necessary to try to create conditions around a man that will help him to think less about drinking and to have no contact with him.Today, rehabilitation centers are open in almost every city.
In order to get rid of alcohol addiction without the help of a narcologist or coding methods, three important conditions must be met:
- Understand that alcohol use has become a problem and is interfering with normal life.
- List the reasons why alcohol appeared in your life.
- Determine specific tasks that will help you get rid of alcohol addiction.
Important steps on the road to sobriety:
- First, go to the mirror, objectively assess your appearance and say to yourself: "I look 10 years older than my age. I have circles under my eyes and a double chin, not because I don't sleep enough and everyone in my family is fat, but because I'm an alcoholic."It sounds like something out of a TV series, but without acknowledging the problem, it's impossible to take the next step.
- Talk to people close to you about your plans to stop drinking.Ask for their support on a difficult path.If you do not find understanding with some of your friends, try to reduce contact with them and do not meet during periods that include feasts.Even if these are the most sincere friends, health is more valuable.And life will put everything in its place.
- Determine why alcohol bothers you.Think back to the "steps" you started stumbling over when you made friends with the bottle.These can be: health problems, irritability that leads to quarrels in the family, reduced income.
- Formulate goals for which you need to stop drinking: conceive a child, restore authority in the family, get a new position, save on alcohol and build a country house.Goals must be specific and achievable.Unrealized fantasies can bring you back.
- During rehab, remove all self-justification from your vocabulary."Beer is a low-alcohol drink.""I'm only here in the evening and a little."“A couple of drinks will help me sleep.”These and other similar phrases are the worst enemies of a good intention to stop drinking.
- To avoid temptation, remove all alcohol from your home.In stores, try to keep the alcohol section out of your sight.Reduce house gatherings with guests who don't mind drinking.
- Keep a diary and plan each day to be as rich as possible.Take on some of the household chores that you previously refused.The fewer "windows" you have to waste time, the less often you'll think about drinking.
- Come up with activities to spend your free time.They should be active, fun and distract from thoughts of alcohol.
- Eat healthy.Exclude from your diet those foods that you used to like to consume with alcoholic beverages.Try to make the menu tasty, varied and pleasant.In such a period, small joys will not hurt.
- Find substitutes for post-work stress relief.These can be walks, going to the cinema, hobbies, gym classes, evening jogging.
- Calculate how much money you spent on alcoholic beverages per month, per week, per day.Put them aside.You will be surprised how much this expense item ruined the budget.Use the money you save to buy something nice, useful, or save it for a larger purchase.
- Try to see the positive in everything.Depression is the first and foremost temptation to return to old habits.Don't allow yourself to get angry, regret what didn't happen or long for fun, wild times.Just shift your thoughts to something easier.
- Take care of your health.You certainly have something to work on after a period of prolonged alcohol attack on your body.Consult your doctor - he will recommend vitamins that will support your well-being during the rehabilitation period.
Folk remedies for the treatment of alcoholism
Alcoholism has always been considered an unnatural phenomenon for normal life.What's a drunkard worth?He is a bad parent, a useless worker, a bad sexual partner.Therefore, our ancestors looked for ways to free man from this bad attachment.
There are many recipes for folk remedies for the treatment of alcoholism.They include decoctions based on thyme, St. John's wort, wormwood, yarrow, peppermint, bearberry, hearth, thyme and other medicinal herbs.You should consult your doctor about this or that collection so as not to cause unwanted side effects in the body.
During the period of recovery from alcohol addiction, doctors recommend replenishing an element such as potassium in the body.It is necessary for the normal functioning of the kidneys and heart, as well as ensuring energy and acid-base balance.Potassium increases performance, maintains normal blood pressure and improves oxygen flow to the brain.
Potassium that is excreted together with alcohol can be compensated at home using products such as:
- tomatoes;
- sweet pepper;
- boiled or baked potatoes in the skin;
- dried fruit, raisins;
- walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts;
- grapes;
- apricots;
- honey;
- black tea.
During the period of abstinence from alcohol, it is recommended to use the aromatherapy method.Essential oils of fennel, clary sage, nutmeg and myrtle help reduce cravings for alcoholic beverages and even induce an aversion to them.