Alcohol addiction today affects not only men but also the fairer sex. Moreover, unlike male alcoholism, female alcoholism is much more difficult to treat.
Ladies who suffer from this addiction quickly lose their social status and job, becoming uninteresting to the opposite sex.
If timely measures are not taken, the likelihood that a woman will be able to return to full life in the future will be minimal.
There are several ways a woman can stop drinking alcohol. It is recommended to choose the method of treatment together with a specialist.
Reasons leading to addiction
In modern society, women lead an active social life. Not only do they raise children and run the household, but they also work intensively and advance on the career ladder, competing successfully with men. All this leads not only to physiological, but also to moral fatigue.
One of the quickest and most affordable ways to relax in such a situation is to drink a few glasses of wine. If a woman uses alcohol occasionally, over time it can become a habit. Experts warn that the course of alcohol dependence in men and women is different, due to differences in the physiological structure and specificity of the endocrine system. In most cases, female alcoholism is associated with psychological factors.
The main reasons for the development of this addiction are:
- It is a family tradition to consume alcohol regularly. If a child sees from childhood that all family members are constantly drinking alcohol, this behavior will also be considered the norm.
- Everyday problems. Layoffs, loss of property, large debts often become a cause of stress, which women struggle with while getting intoxicating drinks.
- Complexes, dissatisfaction with one's own appearance.
- Dissatisfaction with personal life. If a woman does not have a loved one, she feels lonely - an evening with a bottle of wine helps to improve the situation.
- Family problems (lack of understanding with husband, children, parents). The easiest way to forget about problems with loved ones for a while and find spiritual harmony is to drink a few glasses of beer or wine, or maybe something stronger.
Often a woman starts drinking alcohol because of her husband. If a loved one drinks alcohol regularly, the woman may occasionally keep him company, which over time can lead to the development of alcohol dependence.
Characteristics of female alcoholism
Despite the fact that alcohol dependence in women is very similar to that in men, the pathology still has its own characteristics. The main difference lies in the specificity of alcohol dependence. During research and experiments, it has been proven that the fairer sex becomes addicted to alcohol much faster than men. If a man needs about 7-10 years to become a chronic alcoholic, then for women that period is only 4-5 years.
The symptoms of female alcoholism develop rapidly. Drunkenness is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:
- a lady wants to drink for any reason and without it;
- there is a negative reaction to the condemnation;
- loss of appetite - a woman replaces food with alcohol;
- worsening of appearance (appearance of dark circles under the eyes, swelling, wrinkles). To correct the situation, the woman will apply bright makeup, but she will still look messy and neglected;
- rude and aggressive behavior, prone to outbursts;
- apathy towards what is happening.
Attention!Unlike men, women who suffer from drunkenness develop encephalopathy much earlier, which leads to later personality degradation and dementia.
External treatment assistance
There are several ways to get a woman to stop drinking. The fight against addiction is carried out by coding, the use of special drugs or psychological influence. It should be borne in mind that the likelihood of successful treatment increases significantly if the therapy is carried out professionally - under the supervision of a specialist. Also during this period, the support of patients by relatives and friends is very important.
Psychological impact
One of the best ways to help a woman who drinks at the beginning is to encode hypnosis. The advantage of this method of fighting drunkenness is not only efficiency, but also safety. Since the technique does not involve the use of medications, the likelihood of complications will be minimal. But it is necessary to understand that the effect of such coding directly depends on the experience, level of knowledge and skills of the physician.
The essence of the treatment lies in the fact that during the session, the doctor, under hypnosis, brings the patient into a state of stress and talks about how alcohol affects the body and what will happen if the person does not stop and continue drinking. As a result of psychological influence, a woman develops a persistent negative attitude towards alcohol. Even the thought of alcohol causes unpleasant sensations, because a person realizes that alcohol abuse causes irreparable damage to the body.
Coding
If the question were asked of how to get rid of alcohol addiction for a woman who has been drinking for several years, the best solution would be coding. The procedure involves subcutaneous insertion of torpedo ampoules with a special alcohol blocker or injection. The most common active ingredient of such drugs is disulfiram, a substance that blocks the production of enzymes responsible for alcohol processing.
If the coded person drinks at least a little alcohol, the answer will appear after a few minutes, accompanied by the following symptoms:
- nausea and vomiting;
- dizziness, headache;
- tinnitus, blurred vision;
- increased body temperature, increased sweating;
- limb tremor;
- tachycardia, heart failure;
- severe weakness to loss of consciousness.
Symptoms can be eliminated only by introducing an antidote. This method helps to cope with alcohol addiction due to the fact that a woman who has experienced such a condition begins to fear for her life and understands that if she continues to drink, it can cause death.
Before the procedure, the doctor explains to the patient all the subtleties and features of the treatment. If a woman agrees to treatment, you must cleanse your body of alcohol before coding. The duration of detoxification varies from 5 to 10 days (taking into account the degree of alcohol dependence). During this time, the woman should not drink. If necessary, the process of removing ethanol from the body can be accelerated with the help of special drugs.
The coding period varies from 6 months to 5 years and is selected individually for each patient, taking into account age, health status and degree of dependence.
On a side note!Coding with a torpedo or the introduction of special drugs is done only with the consent of the patient
Drugs
Pharmaceutical companies produce various products that can help eliminate female alcoholism. Such drugs differ in composition and price and have a different principle of action.
Despite the fact that some of the products are available without a prescription, it is strongly recommended that you consult your doctor before use and check that there are no contraindications. It should be borne in mind that the independent use of such drugs (without medical supervision) can cause serious health complications.
Before using alcohol blockers you need to know one feature - their positive effect is achieved due to the fact that the active components, which come into contact with ethanol, cause unpleasant symptoms (as in coding). They are good at dealing with drunkenness only if a woman consumes hard liquor.
If a girl is addicted to beer, there will be no point in such a treatment. This is due to the fact that when drinking beer, the concentration of ethanol in the blood is low, so the necessary reaction will not occur.
Home wrestling
It is quite difficult for women to stop drinking on their own because it requires extreme willpower and patience. As practice shows, coping with addiction at home is possible only in the initial stage of addiction and only with the strong desire of the woman herself. How effective the therapy will be depends largely on the individual characteristics of the organism. The most popular and most effective recipes are:
- 10 g of chopped ram branches should be poured over a glass of boiling water, put on the stove and simmer for about 15 minutes. The broth is taken 2 hours later, 20 ml each, until nausea occurs. Prior to treatment, the woman must abstain from alcohol for 3 days;
- 5 tablespoons of St. John's wort should be poured with 500 ml of boiling water and cook the soup in a water bath for 30 minutes. The product is drunk before breakfast and lunch, 250 ml. The treatment lasts 10 days;
- Pour 2 tablespoons of bearberry in a glass of boiling water and simmer on the fire for 15 minutes. The prepared soup is drunk during the day. The duration of treatment is one month.
However, despite the simplicity of the presented recipes, it will be much more effective to consult a narcologist.
Disadvantages of self-medication of alcoholism
It is necessary to understand that alcohol addiction is a disease. Attempts to overcome this addiction at home usually end in failure because the person does not have enough willpower.
Treating alcoholism at home with the help of drugs is considered especially dangerous. If the patient chooses the wrong drug or cannot calculate the appropriate dose, the drug will not only not have the desired effect, but, on the contrary, can cause serious health problems.
It cannot be ruled out that such treatment will be fatal.
Conclusion
It is possible to get rid of alcohol dependence forever, but only if the treatment is carried out on time. Therefore, at the first suspicious signs, a woman should be taken immediately to an experienced narcologist. Well, of course, in this difficult period, in addition to professional help to the lady, the support of friends and relatives is very important.