From the list of diseases of a progressive nature, alcoholism is the most obvious ailment because it has characteristic external symptoms, including behavioral manifestations. Unlike congenital diseases and diseases caused by internal destructive factors (cardiovascular system, respiratory organs, digestion, etc.), alcoholism has a domestic nature. In other words, alcoholics become in the course of prolonged excessive intake of alcoholic beverages. But the reasons for drinking alcohol are often social, and they should be used to determine the signs of alcoholism in a man.
Treatment against alcohol addiction is hard work for the patient and specialist. Note that relapses occur in many cases, but a qualified doctor can timely assess the risk of breakdown and prevent it. What doctor treats alcoholism? If we talk about the direct treatment of alcohol addiction, the therapy is prescribed by a narcologist (whom you can find if google best mens rehab near me) taking into account the stage of alcoholism and the state of health of the person.
External signs of alcoholism in men
The first signs of alcoholism in men – a constant desire to drink. First, an idle interest, often arising even in adolescence, then a series of occasions (at home, at work, among friends), which should certainly be celebrated. Further, alcohol is used as an analgesic and relaxant (to relieve tension after stress, get away from problems). The familiar heady effect, which allows you to temporarily immerse yourself in a pleasant, relaxing psychological atmosphere, pushes a person to take a dose.
Over time, the dose becomes larger and more frequent, the effect of relaxation – with aggravating consequences of the physiological and moral meaning (hangover, problems at work, misunderstanding in the family). Soon, a list of concomitant diseases, already provoked by the toxic effect on the body of alcohol, is added to this bouquet (high blood pressure, problems with the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, etc.).
As a result, a lot of men drug rehab facilities ascertain the treatment of alcoholism in stages, the causes of which are the same social and everyday motives.
Stages of male addiction
Signs and stages of alcoholism in men are easy to present in the form of a conditional table. Each subsequent stage is directly related to the previous one. In general, the picture has a chain scheme in which there is no place for a surprise (as with infection with influenza, hepatitis, or exacerbation of appendicitis).
The first stage is the passion for alcohol, the search for the drink during a long-term tasting, love for noisy drunken feasts. Drinking often occurs in a pattern (for example, constantly at the end of the work week and in the evenings). Doses are situational, often large. There is no hangover syndrome yet, rare cases of amnesia have been noted, when in the morning a person does not remember how much he drank and what he did yesterday.
At the second stage, withdrawal is added to the symptoms listed above: a sharp deterioration in health after drinking, and the need for drinking to get rid of the hangover. In the mind of a person, alcohol occupies one of the important places. Doses may decrease, and dependence may increase. The color and quality of the skin deteriorate, there is a sharp weight loss, and swelling. Outwardly, the person is already untidy, in the family and at work, there are obvious conflicts with the environment.
In the third stage, the withdrawal syndrome becomes chronic. A person is an alcoholic with severe disorders in the system of internal organs and the central nervous system. For intoxication and complete exit from under his own control, a small dose is enough for him. In a social sense, this is already an outcast of society, often without a family and support from relatives. The risk of death is significantly increased.
Treatment of male alcoholism
Despite the internal and external signs of alcoholism in men (as well as the stages independently), it is possible to stabilize the situation and help a person who suffers from substance abuse.
Doctors of men’s rehabilitation know a lot of cases when even long-term alcoholics returned to normal life and became full-fledged members of society.
Willpower alone is not enough for men, suffering from alcoholism: for such a personality transformation, they need effective support from the environment (relatives, friends, colleagues). Specialists from alcohol rehab for men are able to professionally recognize the signs and stages of alcoholism in men, find an individual key to the revival of personality, prescribe and apply a course of therapy, as well as rehabilitation measures.
Methods of treatment of alcoholism. The path to recovery has several stages:
- Acceptance is when the patient recognizes the presence of a problem and agrees to help him with alcoholism.
- Psychotherapy or psychological treatment of alcoholism.
- Detoxification is a set of measures to accelerate the removal of toxic products from the body. Therapy is aimed at cleaning the digestive tract, blood, maintaining the liver, kidneys, and nervous system. For this purpose, diuretics, vitamins, laxatives, anticonvulsants, and sedatives can be used. It is also important to adjust the diet and control the drinking regime.
- Rehabilitation, during which a specialist from a men-only rehabilitation center selects an individual recovery program. It may include specific therapy, dietary regimen, physical therapy, monitoring of the patient, and much more.
- In the treatment of alcohol addiction, muscle relaxation, correction of personality changes, group therapy, as well as assistance with recovery in society can be used.
