Literally every third family in our country knows first hand how terrible alcoholism is when a close and dear husband becomes an addict. Thousands of women are thinking about how to make their husbands stop drinking, especially when the person is not aware of the problem and is not trying to fight the disease on his own. Let's talk about what techniques you can use to get a chance to save yourself and your spouse from alcoholism.
What is alcoholism?
There is an opinion that alcoholism can be cured by a simple voluntary decision, and if a person is a drunkard, then he simply does not want to change anything. First of all, we will challenge this theory, because alcoholism is the most realistic disease. Addiction can be characterized as both physical and mental.
From a physiological point of view, the body is exposed to toxic substances, due to which the metabolism is disturbed and all internal organs suffer. It breaks down the brain, and with it the central nervous system. An alcoholic suffers from poor health between drinking alcohol, does not perceive reality in an appropriate way, suffers from memory loss.
From the point of view of psychology, alcoholic "swamp" is no less dangerous - an alcoholic who drinks every day gets used to the state of carelessness and euphoria he feels when taking ethanol, his sense of responsibility is erased. Often addicted people lose face and moral characterthe people around them turn away from them. A lot of drunks who could not be cured or saved - dirt, the same alcoholics around and death in the future.
Obviously, no man wants his life to become such a nightmare. So, alcoholism is a disease! If your husband is an alcoholic and you love him, be patient and help him cope with the disease.
The inner strength of alcohol withdrawal
Let’s go back to the theory that any alcoholic, independently and without help, can stop drinking forever, all it takes is willpower and strength of character. The claim is only partially true, in cases where the addiction is exclusively psychological and has not yet caused physiological changes in the body.
It is possible to wean a husband from alcohol and drunkenness at home only when the intake of alcohol has not turned into uncontrolled, systematic drunkenness, without which the man feels bad, and is ready to sell his soul for a strong drink. If alcoholism has turned into a physical attachment, people generally do not want to fight it. Alcohol restores their sense of euphoria and moral satisfaction, erases ill health and falsely normalizes blood pressure, heart rate and mental clarity. As soon as ethanol begins to be excreted from the body, the malaise returns, and the drunk reaches for his beloved liquid again and drinks alcohol. In such cases, in order for a person to stop drinking, the intervention of a specialist is necessary.
So can an alcoholic stop drinking on his own?
Not if the intoxication has taken the form of alcoholism and does not consist of the usual, frequent use of alcohol in the household.
What psychological help can be effective
If you decide to save your husband from drunkenness, first of all consider what led him to drunkenness. As a rule, only those people who are deeply unhappy and experience their fears and problems quietly, from within, go into drunkenness. To convince your husband to stop drinking in the future, you need to understand the root of the problem and try to eradicate it:
- Try to dedicate more time to your loved one and do not hide how much it means to you. Think of joint activities and think about what your husband was addicted to before the addiction.
- In no case do not blame your husband, do not blackmail, do not threaten and shout - you will only achieve the opposite effect and the person will be even more closed in on himself. Don’t think about how to teach your husband a lesson about drunkenness, but think about how to help your spouse.
- Try to talk from heart to heart and say how happy you would be if your spouse chose a sober lifestyle again.
A person who feels important and useful is more likely to want to give up alcohol.
If we are talking about the need for professional help, you still have to figure out how to persuade your husband to stop drinking, because it is almost impossible to force a person to change without his consent. In rare cases, the alcoholic himself agrees to treatment, because it means that the disease is obvious and completely dominates the drunk. Your success will become more real if you have the patience and stockpile of nice words and support for your husband.
Let’s say you persuaded your husband to seek professional help. Let's talk about which methods are considered effective and which are practiced in the fight against alcoholism.
Hypnotherapy
Surely everyone has heard of coding alcoholics using hypnosis. The essence of the procedure is the introduction of a dependent person into a trance and further proposing certain programs. With the help of real hypnosis, an experienced, qualified doctor can do a lot: get rid of fears and insecurities, block depression, get to the root cause of alcoholism.
If you have chosen hypnotherapy, make sure you find a good, qualified specialist who has earned a name in this field. Remember that there are fraudsters among the doctors who will not only help, but can also harm your husband.
Read more about this direction in the article "Coding by hypnosis from alcoholism".
Consider the most effective and popular hypnosis techniques:
- Autogenic training.
- Hypnosuggestive therapy.
- Anchor method.
Each of them deserves attention and is known for its efficiency.
Autogenic training
This type of training is based on the processes of self-hypnosis, because within each person there is a huge potential and a powerful energy force. The method involves minimal intervention by a psychotherapist - an alcoholic doctor only learns the basics of self-hypnosis. Its task is to give impetus and direct the patient's thinking in the right direction.
After learning the basic techniques, the outcome of treatment depends solely on the alcoholic himself and his desire to recover. Autogenic intervention is productive only in the early stages of alcoholism or after more serious psychological and medical help has already been provided.
Hypnosuggestive therapy
The following technique is based on the treatment that is performed during a hypnotic trance or so-called sleep under hypnosis. In this case, it is very important for the alcoholic to be aware of the problem, sincerely want to solve it and trust the specialist.
The session includes several phases.
- First of all, it is important to establish a relationship of trust between the alcoholic and the specialist, because in order to enter a trance, a person must be relaxed and must not resist.
- After the usual conversation, the specialist resorts to psychological techniques aimed at diffusing the patient's attention. At the same time, it is important to continue the conversation. One or two techniques are enough to put a person to sleep.
- After an alcoholic falls into a trance, the doctor begins to implant certain programs that aim to get rid of alcoholism.
The effectiveness of this method is individual and depends on the professionalism of the doctor and the degree of suggestiveness of the patient. Some relatives of alcoholics noticed that the effect began to manifest after the first session, when others needed a course that included 3-6 visits.
Anchor method
This technique differs in that the person does not have to be immersed in hypnotic sleep.
The goal of the therapist is to find and program the consciousness of alcoholics for certain, "cause-and-effect" unconscious actions. In simple words, we can give a simple example: an anchor is programmed for a word or memory, after a "collision" with which the alcoholic experiences certain emotions. Positive feelings encourage the patient to certain actions, negative anchors cause negative sensations and play the role of a kind of signal to stop.
The anchor method is effective in combination with drug treatment and only when the alcoholic interacts and trusts the specialist.
Group psychotherapy
Another way to prevent your husband from drinking alcohol is to send him to group psychotherapy sessions, known worldwide as the Alcoholics Anonymous Society.
The principle of work of such groups is simple - classes in a group of patients with one disease show an alcoholic that he is not alone and that there are many people with the same problem. "If they manage, then so can I, " the addict thinks, and the ice begins to move. Alcoholics communicate with each other, share experiences and problems, support each other. Being in such a society is useful for introspection and maintaining self-esteem.
The therapist uses play techniques to help alcoholics feel part of the team, which is also an important part of recovery.
The course of psychotherapy lasts for several years, the optimal number of people in the group is from 5 to 10. The method is long-lasting, but very effective.
Family therapy
Family groups are considered no less effective, whose purpose is to get rid of drunkenness with the help of care and attention, as well as to teach the wives of husbands who drink to support and understand their soul mate.
Families of addicts together with alcoholics gather in small groups and spend time together, which is especially valuable in the period when the person has just completed a course of drug treatment and when it is very difficult for him to "recover" in society. the constant presence of a specialist who teaches wives to support and respect their husbands, and also practices various trainings to reduce anxiety. It is important to clearly remember the advice of psychologists and show understanding. Another advantage of this method is interaction with other families with identical problem: and alcoholic husbandand his wife sees that they are not alone in their abyss, they feel a sense of belonging to society, they become more relaxed, purposeful, and in a friendly mood.
All the techniques we have listed relate to psychological help, but often therapy cannot completely eradicate the problem of alcoholism and is practiced exclusively in combination with medication.
Treatment of alcoholism with drugs
Let's talk about how to deal with her husband's drunkenness, if he doesn't want to and is not ready to voluntarily turn to "brainwashers".
Often, alcoholic women complain that their drinking husband categorically does not want to be treated and does not think he is ill at all. In such cases, there can be no talk of professional psychological help, because even if it is possible to agree with the alcoholic husband to go to a psychotherapist, he will do it as a service and will not increase the specialist's efforts with feedback and desire for recovery.
The solution to such situations is to take medication and hospital treatment.
Let us consider in more detail the usual methods of such treatment:
- Coding. The principle of coding is to instill in the alcoholic the information that consuming alcohol will lead to poor health and even death. Injections, tablets and alcohol blockers are used for that, as well as electrical impulse therapy. The method is effective in any, even the most severe phase of alcoholism. Women have a new lever - they try to scare their husbands, constantly reminding them that ethanol will lead to torture and death. Some even try to cure their husbands of alcoholism without his knowledge by adding drugs to their food. This categorically cannot be done, because allergic reactions are possible. For more information, see the article "Coding for Alcoholism. "
- Vitamin therapy. The fact is that during drunkenness the body suffers from intoxication, loses useful substances and enzymes. If you give the body what it needs again, the pain of alcohol withdrawal is significantly reduced, and the person has new strength to fight addiction. Medicines offered to alcoholics contain a large amount of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, PP - they have a tonic and improve the well-being of alcoholics.
- Acupuncture is another effective treatment for alcoholism. After diagnosing the stage of the disease, the specialist works on different points of the body with acupuncture needles. This activates the process of cleansing the body, weakens psychological dependence. Detailed information is presented in the article "Acupuncture for Alcoholism".
- Plasmapheresis is an apparatus therapy that works by purifying blood plasma. The blood is passed through a special filter and returned to the body of the alcoholic. The method is not too sought after, because many are afraid to fight the disease so radically.
All of these methods are suitable for mandatory treatment that is arranged and planned without the knowledge of the spouse. It is important that the alcoholic is constantly monitored by specialists and that the treatment is carried out exclusively by professionals.
Alternative treatment of alcoholism by non-traditional methods
It is necessary to mention the fight against alcoholism folk remedies. This includes all kinds of tinctures and decoctions of various herbs. Here are some of them:
- Centaury
- Lovga root.
- Lavrushka.
- Apple.
- Honey.
- The root of the cleft.
- Soda.
- Plants with emetic action.
Folk remedies such as extracts and infusions of worms and insects are also popular.
Psychological advice and literature to help combat alcoholism
If your husband realizes that he is an alcoholic and is ready to make an effort to fight it, the battle can be considered won. Medical and psychological experts offer books to alcoholics to help them fight all addictions, among which alcoholism comes first.
There are also a large number of private offices that you can turn to for help from professionals.
We looked at what needs to be done to make the husband stop drinking. The prognosis of recovery depends not only on the individual characteristics of the alcoholic and his desire to heal, but also on your support and participation. By no means do I want to convey that I recommend for the mother to be inactive.
How to get a husband to stop drinking alcohol? Admit that he is ill, convince your husband of this and prove to him that you are not indifferent to his fate.