How can you approach an alcoholic loved one with care? Discover effective tips to have a constructive conversation and guide them towards recovery.

Recognizing the Complexity of Alcoholism

Confronting an alcoholic can be a delicate and emotionally charged situation. Alcoholism is a complex disease that affects not only the individual struggling with addiction but also their loved ones. The addicted brain can become a “clouded and dangerous foe,” leading the person to say and do whatever is necessary to maintain their habit, even if it means hurting those closest to them.

Seeking Professional and Community Support

It’s crucial to seek the help of addiction recovery professionals and support groups, such as Al-Anon, when confronting an alcoholic. Attempting to handle the situation alone can often lead to chaos and further escalation. Professionals and those who have been in similar circumstances can provide valuable guidance and understanding.

Choosing the Right Timing and Approach

The timing and approach of the confrontation are essential. Confronting an addicted person during a time when they are under the influence or in a volatile emotional state is unlikely to be productive. Plan the conversation carefully, choosing a time when the person is sober and more receptive to hearing your concerns.

Staying True to Your Own Truth

When the addicted person shifts the focus or tries to deflect the conversation, it’s important to stay true to your own truth. Avoid getting drawn into arguments or allowing your weaknesses to be highlighted. Instead, focus on expressing your concerns and desire for the person to seek help.

Knowing When to Step Away

If the confrontation starts to escalate or reach an impasse, it’s crucial to know when to step away. Your safety and well-being should be the top priority. Do not put yourself in harm’s way, and be prepared to distance yourself from the situation if necessary.

Embracing Unconditional Love and Self-Care

Ultimately, you cannot control the addicted person’s actions or recovery. The best you can do is to convey your love and concern, and then focus on your own self-care. Seek support for yourself, and remember that the addiction is not your creation, nor is it something you can control.

Prioritizing Action over Talk

Addiction recovery is not about talk, but about action. Instead of waiting for the alcoholic to make a change, take steps to get yourself and your loved one the professional help and support they need. Constructive confrontation can be the first step towards a path of healing and recovery.

Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

An alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic but treatable condition that develops when an individual’s drinking becomes problematic, affecting their life to the point where they can no longer control their alcohol use. This condition is characterized by certain cognitive changes and physiological adaptations that can make it particularly challenging to overcome.

Effective Communication Strategies

When confronting an alcoholic, it’s important to choose your words carefully and avoid confrontational language. Instead, focus on expressing your concerns and desire for the person to seek help. For example, you might say, “I’m worried about your drinking, and I think you should get a professional assessment from an addiction recovery specialist.”

The Importance of Patience and Compassion

Confronting an alcoholic requires a delicate balance of patience and compassion. Remember that addiction is a disease, and the person struggling with it may not be entirely in control of their actions. Approach the conversation with empathy and a genuine desire to help, rather than judgment or anger.

Seeking Professional Help and Support

If you or a loved one is struggling with alcoholism, it’s important to seek professional help and support. Addiction treatment specialists can provide the necessary resources and guidance to begin the journey towards recovery. Additionally, support groups like Al-Anon can offer valuable community and coping strategies for those affected by a loved one’s addiction.

The Importance of Self-Care

Caring for a loved one with alcoholism can be emotionally draining. It’s crucial to prioritize your own self-care, whether that means seeking counseling, joining a support group, or taking time for yourself to recharge. Remember, you cannot pour from an empty cup, and your well-being is just as important as your loved one’s.

Embracing Hope and the Possibility of Change

Despite the challenges, it’s essential to hold onto hope. With the right support and a commitment to recovery, individuals struggling with alcoholism can overcome their addiction and reclaim their lives. By approaching the confrontation with compassion and a belief in the possibility of change, you can help guide your loved one towards a healthier and more fulfilling future.

6 Tips for Confronting an Alcoholic Without Losing Your Cool

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“I’m worried about your drinking, and I think you should get a professional assessment from an addiction recovery specialist.”

“You think I drink too much? Wow. I had no idea you were concerned. I will make an appointment this week.”

If only it were this easy.

Here’s a more realistic version of the above conversation:

“I’m worried about your drinking, and I think you should get a professional assessment.”

“What?! My drinking is fine. Relax. Why don’t you stop complaining? Then, I wouldn’t need to drink.”

Watching someone you love slowly destroy themselves with alcohol or drugs is one of life’s most painful experiences. The nature of the disease makes the addicted brain a clouded and dangerous foe. Under the influence of a substance use disorder, a person struggling with addiction will become someone unrecognizable, willing to say and do whatever is necessary to maintain their habit.

The truth, however, is a powerful antidote to addiction. Identifying the truth, in the face of a family disease like addiction, isn’t an easy task. This is especially true if you’ve been living with active addiction.

To help, we’ve put together some tips on constructively confronting someone struggling with alcohol addiction.

Six Tips for Confronting an Alcoholic

1. Don’t go it alone. Seek the help of an addiction recovery professional and a 12-step group like Al-Anon for loved ones. Confronting an alcoholic can end up in chaos without the right support. It’s vitally important to have folks around you who understand addiction. This disease is cunning and baffling to most.

2. Choose your timing carefully. Confronting an addicted person at 4 a.m. when they wander into the house isn’t the best idea. You’d be better off confronting the family dog. Plan your approach and timing with professionals or the support of others who have been in a similar situation. A 4 a.m. rant at someone who has had too much to drink is more likely to end in an argument, rather than the hoped-for result of treatment and help.

3. Find your truth. People in active addiction are masters at shifting the focus away from their drug use. When your buttons get pushed, and your every weakness is put in the spotlight, stick to your truth that the person needs help. Choose a mantra: “When you break promises so you can drink, I feel hurt and don’t want to be around you. I’m concerned about you and hope you get help.”

4. Know when to step away. When you sense things are headed into an impasse or feel tension beginning to escalate, step away. This is especially true if you’re attempting to handle this conversation without an addiction recovery professional present. Do not put yourself in harm’s way.

5. Trust the process and wait for the gift of desperation. No one wants to hurt the ones they love, even an active alcoholic. Each broken promise takes a toll, even if the person shows no remorse. Follow your own truth. If you need to step away in order to save your own sanity, do so. It’s okay to put distance between yourself and the addicted person. Sometimes a person struggling with a substance use disorder needs everyone to step away in order to see themselves clearly in the mirror.

6. Practice unconditional love and save yourself. Whether you are around to watch or not, the illness of addiction will continue. If the alcoholic understands he is loved and there are tools at his disposal for recovery, this may be the best you can do.

If you take nothing else away from these tips, remember this key point: No amount of arguing, nagging, lecturing, common sense, pleading, or begging will get an addicted person to stop using their drug of choice. When it’s all said and done, you will simply look back on a lot of wasted time and emotion. Addiction is not something you created and you cannot control it.

Addiction recovery isn’t about talk, it’s about action. Instead of waiting for an alcoholic to take their next drink, get yourself the help you need. Find support from addiction treatment professionals to have a strong conversation with the person you love, and make sure you have a strong support network to help you, too.

How to Talk to Someone About Alcoholism

What is an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)?

Drinking becomes problematic when it affects a person’s life to the point where they can no longer control their alcohol use. They continue to drink despite negative impacts it has on their life. When someone’s drinking progresses to this extent, a person may have an alcohol use disorder.¹

An alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic but treatable condition that can develop in association with certain cognitive changes and physiological adaptations that can make it additionally difficult for a person to stop drinking–even if they want to.

Consuming more than one drink a day (equivalent to a 12-ounce beer) for women and two drinks a day for men may be considered unhealthy.² Remember, only a physician can diagnose someone with an AUD. However, being aware of the signs of an AUD can help you prepare for your conversation with the person you suspect has a problem. To learn more about addiction, how it manifests, and its effects on society, view our addiction statistics page.

Signs of an Alcohol Use Disorder

You may notice certain physical changes in a loved one that could indicate that they have a problem with alcohol use. These physical signs may include bloodshot eyes, alcohol on their breath, sleeping more than usual or appearing tired, and/or an unsteady gait. ³

You might also notice behavioral changes if your loved one has a problem with alcohol. For example, they may become frequently angry, belligerent, or moody for no apparent reason. They may appear intoxicated; become less interested in relationships, work activities, or schoolwork; or be unable to refuse an offer of alcohol.³

Sometimes, people struggling with alcohol misuse may begin telling lies or being secretive about their whereabouts, alcohol use, and more. You may notice that a person no longer provides consistent stories about their whereabouts, the people they’re with, or what they are doing. These factors alone don’t mean that a person has an AUD, but they may certainly be indicative of a problem with alcohol when accompanied by other telltale signs.³

What to Say to an Alcoholic

Now that you’ve learned more about AUDs, you may be able to better understand what your coworker, friend, family member, or other loved one is experiencing. However, you might not be ready for the emotionally taxing part of your conversation. This is where making a plan and writing down your ideas can be helpful.

Writing down the main points you want to talk about can help you to formulate and remember your ideas during the conversation. Points you may want to consider when writing your conversation plan include:⁴ 

• Focus on your concern about your loved one’s drinking. Remember to use “I” statements that express your feelings and your concerns and the ways that you are impacted by your loved one’s alcohol use. You could say, “I am concerned about your alcohol use. I’ve noticed that I’m increasingly worried when you come home late at night and I don’t know where you’ve been.”
• Explain that you’re worried about your loved one’s health. We suggest that you genuinely express your feelings to your loved one by saying something like “I’m concerned that drinking so much every day is harming your health. I’ve noticed that you’re sleeping all day on the weekends.”
• Be empathic and understanding. Use empathetic, not blaming, statements such as “I know you’ve been having a hard time at work and you’ve been feeling more pressure” or “I know that you’re feeling more stressed than usual.”
• Offer options instead of demands. Present options by saying something along the lines of “I was wondering if you would consider seeing a doctor to talk about your alcohol use,” instead of “You need to get help.” Even though you think it’s obvious that your loved one should seek help, it’s always up to the person to decide what course of action is best for them. You can suggest they seek help, but you can’t force someone to do something they’re not ready to do.

What Not to Say to an Alcoholic

If you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing entirely, it may help to speak to a therapist that specializes in addiction. You could offer your perception of the person struggling with alcohol misuse and ask for guidance or perhaps even role play with the therapist to work through potentially difficult responses and how you might deal with them.

Generally speaking, however, try to avoid the following:

• Using terms such as “alcoholic” or “addict.” These terms are outdated and stigmatizing, and those struggling with SUDs can become upset or defensive when they’re referred to by these labels. Plus, language like this perpetuates the idea that addiction is a moral failing—as opposed to a disease—and makes people less likely to listen to your suggestions. Instead, focus on the person and their behavior rather than the label.
• Blaming and making accusations. Shaming someone into treatment rarely works. Blaming someone for their condition often causes them to shut down and stop listening entirely.
• Talking without listening. It’s important to get your point across. But remember, this is a conversation not a lecture. Plus, it may take several conversations before the individual will actually enter treatment. Point is, you don’t have to say everything all at once, and it’s just as important to listen as it is to speak.
• Speaking in generalizations. Vague statements don’t have nearly as much of an impact as specific examples and direct requests. Point out specific behaviors that are troubling or suggest particular treatment options that may be helpful.
• Blurting out your ideas. Rather than having an off-the-cuff conversation, pick a time and place when both of you are calm and won’t be disturbed. Chances are the conversation will be more productive if both of you feel safe and comfortable.

4 More Supportive Steps

In addition to these considerations, there are some concrete actions you can take before and during confronting the person you know who is struggling with an AUD.

Step 1: Seek Support

Seeking support for yourself through resources or therapy can help you feel like you’re not going through this challenge alone. These resources may provide additional strategies for addressing the person’s alcohol misuse problem and can also help you understand how to best approach your loved one.

There are many ways you can go about this. One idea is to talk to a therapist or mental health or substance abuse specialist to advise you on how to talk to your loved one about their alcohol use. You might consider reading articles, books, or websites, or accessing other free resources on AUDs, too.

Step 2: Engage in Self-Care.

Taking care of yourself is important when you’re concerned for someone you love–yet it’s sometimes one of the first things people push aside. Unfortunately, if you feel burnt out, you’ll be less capable of providing love and support to your loved one.

Remember to seek your own social support during this stressful time. You could begin counseling or therapy with a mental health professional to discuss and process your feelings. Or, you might consider joining a support group for loved ones of people with alcohol use disorder, such as Al-Anon or SMART Recovery for Friends and Family.

These resources can also help you learn and remember the importance of setting healthy boundaries when dealing with someone with an AUD. Your needs are just as important as anyone else’s, and taking care of yourself doesn’t mean that you’re selfish or that you don’t care about your loved one.

If you love someone with an AUD, you may unknowingly engage in caretaking, rescuing, or enabling behaviors. You may experience what is known as codependency, or an unhealthy emotional reliance on your loved one. Talking to others (via a support group, for example) who have been in your position can help you develop healthier strategies to protect your boundaries. This way, you will be less likely to lose touch with your personal needs.⁵

Step 3: Have Treatment Options Ready.

As a part of the planning stage, you’ll need to assemble a list of quick, ready, and accessible treatment options.

If you’re able to say to your loved one, “I’ve done some research and I’ve found these treatment options,” and then present them with a list of readily available resources, they may be more willing to consider treatment. Research viable treatment options online before speaking with your loved one, make calls to treatment centers that appear appropriate for your loved one, and ask them any questions you may have.

Timing is important when it comes to speaking with your loved one about their alcohol use. Your loved one may waver between feeling that they need help for their alcohol use and feeling that they can handle their alcohol use issues on their own. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) points out that people who need help for an AUD tend to slip through the cracks if treatment isn’t immediately available or readily accessible to them. The earlier someone with an addiction gets help, the more effective treatment will be.⁷

Step 4: Participate in Your Loved One’s Treatment.

When your loved one decides to enter treatment, stay involved. The support of loved ones is an important part of the recovery process. You may be asked to participate in couples or family counseling, or you may be asked to make changes in your behaviors, such as not drinking around your loved one or keeping alcohol out of the house. ⁴

In addition, with the consent of your loved one, you may be asked to help the treatment center with aspects of their treatment plan, assist with setting goals, or participate together in mutual support group meetings.⁸ Avoiding alcoholic relapse often incorporates family support.

American Addiction Centers’ treatment programs offer family therapy to ensure that you have the option to be adequately involved in your loved one’s treatment and recovery. Staying involved is key to helping your loved one remain engaged in treatment and committed to their recovery.

Alcohol Treatment & Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders

No matter how dire your current situation may seem, know that recovery from an AUD is possible.

American Addiction Centers can help you and your loved one find the right rehab for your needs. We have treatment facilities across the nation that offer personalized treatment plans and compassionate, understanding staff who know what your loved one is going through. At our facilities, you may participate in inpatient alcohol abuse rehab, outpatient rehab program, 12 step treatment, and more. If you’re interested in learning more about treatment options or if you have any questions or concerns, call our free, confidential helpline to talk to an admissions navigator any time of day or night.

About The Contributor

Stacy Mosel, L.M.S.W.

Author, American Addiction Centers

Stacy Mosel, L.M.S.W., is a substance abuse specialist, psychotherapist, and licensed social worker.

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alcohol

family and loved ones

Last Updated on Jun 12, 2023

Alcoholism and human psychology

PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF ALCOHOLISM

Constant abuse of alcoholic beverages has a detrimental effect on the state of the human body. This applies to the physical picture and to the psychological portrait of the alcoholic. Being under the colossal influence of the “green snake”, people who were once different in profession, social status, temperament become similar to each other. This fact is explained by the process of leveling personality. Looking at the big picture, people suffering from alcoholism have the following characteristics:

• denial of his own illness: never in his life does an alcoholic admit the fact that he is not healthy and needs help, even if he is at the stage of the strongest binge, in a state of serious intoxication;
• selfishness and excessive egocentrism – in this situation, the behavior of a sick person has much in common with the behavior of a child (I do what I want, no one orders me), in addition, the alcoholic does not perceive his relatives and friends as associates, rather, on the contrary, considers them enemies and in the end remains alone;
• inconsistency – sick people do not have any logical consistency in their judgments: today they are ready to “quit”, and tomorrow they get drunk to unconsciousness;
• passivity and apathy: traditionally drunkards are not interested in the outside world, and sometimes they are no longer interested in their own affairs in the family, career, home.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF ALCOHOLISM?

The psychology of alcoholism is such that its causes are different depending on the sex and age of the patient. But there are a few common factors.

1. Physiological. These may include insufficient production of the hormone of joy – dopamine. When a person takes on the chest, this substance increases in him, which makes him take up the glass again and again in order to experience the pleasant sensations of euphoria and pleasure. Age also plays a role: the earlier drinking was started, the greater the chance that the disease became chronic.
2. Traumatic brain injury. If the patient suffered from such phenomena, he also runs the risk of falling ill with this disease and finding the need for its prompt treatment.
3. Genetic predisposition. Scientists have already proved the fact that in a family where both parents systematically indulged in alcoholic beverages, the child has all the “chances” of becoming an alcoholic, and they increase 5 times compared to ordinary families. Of particular importance in this case is the socio-psychological factor, when the child has not seen another, sober life, and believes that the actions of drinking parents are quite normal and adequate.
4. Social factors. This group is especially widespread in our country. This also includes bright inviting advertising of beer, vodka, cognac, wine. Of course, one should not lose sight of the widespread availability of alcoholic beverages, feasts for any reason and without them.

According to gender and age characteristics, the causative factor of alcoholism can be male, female and, unfortunately, childish. The cause of alcoholism, psychology in this case, each has its own. The main factors that entail the formation of this disease are as follows:

Male disease and its prerequisites

As practical statistics show, men suffer from this disease much more often than the fair sex and children. And there are several reasons for this.

1. Hard work with lots of stress. At first, alcoholic drinks are perceived as one of the options for relieving stress after a hard day’s work. Very quickly, a man gets used to this state of affairs and can no longer relieve stress without a bottle of beer or something stronger.
2. Poverty. This is a serious factor leading to alcoholism. If a man does not have a favorite pastime, a good job that would bring income and allow him to support his family, he begins to turn to the bottle for “understanding”. And if all this is accompanied by a lack of support from the spouse, then instead of solving problems, a man prefers to drown them out with a certain dose of alcohol.
3. Shyness and tightness of character. If a man has some kind of complexes, and parental attitudes say that you need to “be a real man”, strong, courageous, courageous, the young man begins to abuse strong drinks from an early age, thinking that this will help him meet the set bar. After all, many people know that alcohol allows you to get rid of complexes, untie your tongue, become more liberated.

1. Trauma of a psychological nature. Men are much less adaptable to life’s difficulties than women. The loss of a loved one, trouble at work – all this can serve as a reason for another escape from reality into a drunken stupor, while there is no development, and the man embarks on the path of degradation.
2. Dominance of the wife in the family. If a man is deprived of his own living space and cannot be realized as a person and as the head of the family, this becomes a reason for depression, which causes anger, aggression, which the man tries to “drown” in a bottle.

Such is the psychology of alcoholism in a man. To get rid of this condition, it is necessary, first of all, to provide a comfortable microclimate in the family and at work, and then work with a psychologist and narcologist.

Peculiarities of women’s alcoholism

Despite the fact that representatives of the weaker sex become alcoholics much less often, they get drunk much faster. From the position of psychology, the prerequisites for female illness lie in the emotional sphere. Among the main factors in connection with which a woman begins to drink, the following aspects can be distinguished.

1. Treason of a loved one, betrayal, divorce proceedings with a spouse.
2. Lack of feminine beauty, inability to present oneself, unattractiveness.
3. Depression of any origin – postpartum withdrawal from reality, premenstrual syndrome, menopause.
4. Physical loss of an important person – spouse, parents, child, boyfriend/girlfriend.
5. Inappropriate and inappropriate social circle in which a woman has to drink “for the company.”
6. Loneliness, feeling of uselessness, lack of life purpose and distortion of moral values.

Women rarely drink too much, starting with alcohol or vodka. Usually, everything they do is tied up with noble drinks – wine, a light cocktail, champagne, which does not change the overall picture at all: sooner or later, the fair sex takes the path of degradation and loses herself as a person. The psychology of female alcoholism is such that a young lady who drinks can see a doctor only at an advanced stage of the disease, and even then not always. It becomes much more difficult for a psychologist to work with such patients.

Children’s alcoholism

The main group of factors that cause teenagers to start drinking are social and psychological factors. Basically, they include the following nuances.

1. Lack of necessary adult supervision.
2. The presence of one or more drinking family members.
3. Excessive pressure and guardianship from the father or mother.
4. An attempt at realization in the eyes of peer friends.

Psychological support in this case should be started at the initial stage of the disease, because children and adolescents usually become drunk much faster than adults. This is the nature of this disease.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT OF ALCOHOLIC

There are several factors according to which the patient has all the risks of getting this disease.

Irresponsibility

In this case, the alcoholic does not have the desire to be responsible for his own actions and seeks to escape from the problematic reality.

Inability to withstand difficulties

Absolutely every person faces problems. Many people do not want to overcome them and want to get away from them in such a harmful way.

Insufficiently high self-esteem

It consists in the inability to express one’s own feelings.

Striving for improvement

Such people must definitely undergo treatment, which consists of qualified psychological assistance and support.

DEVELOPMENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE.

Many people believe that drinking a glass or another “for mood” is not such a big crime against health, and the facts indicate that after the first two glasses (glasses) a person feels good and comfortable, a pleasant feeling of inner warmth immediately rolls over , and the mood becomes elated, I want to joke and chat about everything in the world, even with unfamiliar people. However, very little time comes – and a good mood is replaced by resentment and aggressiveness, coordination of movements is disturbed, and a person’s speech becomes slurred after a few minutes, and the reason for this behavior is alcohol, which has a detrimental effect on the nervous system even in small doses.

Under the influence of alcohol, voluntary movements are disturbed, a person loses the ability to control himself, loses restraint, modesty, he says and does things that he would never say and would not do, being sober.

Scientists all over the world unanimously say: “The destroyed (even the smallest) part of the brain cannot be restored.”

The damaged part of the brain is replaced by a scar (connective tissue), and the resulting void is filled by displacement of neighboring, preserved areas of the brain. This means that by those 14-17 billion. brain neurons that have formed in a person at the time of his birth, not a single neuron will be added for the rest of his life.

Alcohol intoxication is currently the main cause of mass death of human neurons.

Thrombosis of the vessels of the circulatory system of the brain, accompanying microstrokes (small hemorrhages) and metabolic disorders in neurons lead to the death of a large number of cells in all parts of the brain.

The accumulation of such damage as more and more doses of alcohol enter the body leads to disruption of the functions of the central nervous system and even to its organic changes.

The brain of an alcoholic decreases in volume, a new relief appears on its surface: the brain seems to wrinkle.

The death of neurons as a result of thrombosis and microstrokes in the cerebral cortex leads to the loss of part of the information and to impaired short-term memory.

A person’s normal accumulation of life experience, improvement of his professional skills, forms of social behavior, enrichment of shades of relationships that connect him with close people are disturbed.

People who use alcohol more or less systematically develop a certain type of behavior, which psychologists call “alcohol automatism”.

It manifests itself in the fact that a person loses his biologically inherent need to constantly look for something new, to invent ever more perfect forms of activity and communication with other people. Such people are quite satisfied with the repetition day after day, year after year of the same standard actions, thoughts, words.

In chronic alcoholism, the processes leading to memory impairment sometimes go so far that they lead to an almost complete loss of the ability to remember recent events, just perceived information.

The systematic use of alcoholic beverages is accompanied by impoverishment of speech, a decrease in the active vocabulary; the ability to operate with words, to build phrases on them, is difficult. All these factors lead to a decrease in the level of communication, to the actual social isolation of a person who abuses alcohol. Contacts with other people are becoming more and more primitive.

The words “interlocutor” and “drinking buddy”, as the amount of alcohol consumed increases, come closer, eventually becoming synonyms.

Meaningful human communication, in which people exchange the new things that they managed to learn, see, invent, degrades to communication “for three”.

Many other disorders of a person’s mental activity under the influence of alcohol are also found: the sharpness of tactile perception (touch), hearing sharpness decreases, visual motor activity decreases.

There is no such function of the brain or nervous system in general, which would not be oppressed under the influence of alcohol. Instead of the natural desire for a person to find a solution to the problem that he encountered at work or in his personal life, the drinking person leaves it, clouding his mind with alcohol.

The systematic use of alcohol leads to a deep and comprehensive degradation of the personality.

The extreme degree of processes occurring in the brain as a result of constant exposure to alcohol is encephalopathy. This is a brain lesion that develops as a result of oxygen starvation of brain cells and circulatory disorders. The longer the experience of drinking alcohol in a person, the higher the likelihood of developing encephalopathy. The brain of an alcoholic is like a battlefield; he is covered with necrotic areas, which mean only one thing: serious disturbances in the functioning of the brain. With the development of alcoholism, it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to perform ordinary tasks, especially if he is engaged in mental work. Memory, rationality, logic, speed of thought, the ability to generate ideas – all these essential qualities of a healthy brain weaken and come to naught.

If your family has such a problem and a loved one shows symptoms of alcoholism, seek help at regional narcological dispensary in Mogilev

address: lane 4th Mechnikova / 17

registry: (8 – 0222) – 63 – 06 – 65)

hotline: (8 – 0222) – 75 – 25 – 40

where you will be provided with narcological, psychological, psychotherapeutic assistance.

Alcoholism in terms of psychology: causes, features, symptoms

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Male disease and its prerequisites

As practical statistics show, men suffer from this disease significantly more often than the fair sex and children. And there are several causal explanations for this .

1. Hard work accompanied by a lot of stress . At first, alcoholic drinks are perceived as one of the options for relieving stress after a hard day’s work. Very quickly, a man gets used to this state of affairs and can no longer relieve stress without a bottle of beer or something stronger.
2. Poverty . This is a serious factor leading to alcoholism. If a man does not have a favorite pastime, a good job that would bring income and allow him to support his family, he begins to turn to the bottle for “understanding”. And if all this is accompanied by a lack of support from the spouse, then instead of solving problems, a man prefers to drown them out with a certain dose of alcohol.
3. Shyness and stiffness of character. If a man has some kind of complexes, and parental attitudes say that you need to “be a real man”, strong, courageous, courageous, the young man begins to abuse strong drinks from an early age, thinking that this will help him meet the set bar. After all, many people know that alcohol allows you to get rid of complexes, untie your tongue, become more liberated.
4. Psychological trauma . Men are much less adaptable to life’s difficulties than women. The loss of a loved one, trouble at work – all this can serve as a reason for another escape from reality into a drunken stupor, while there is no development, and the man embarks on the path of degradation.
5. Spouse dominance in the family. If a man is deprived of his own living space and cannot be realized as a person and as the head of the family, this becomes a reason for depression, which causes anger, aggression, which the man tries to “drown” in a bottle.

Such is the psychology of alcoholism in a man. To get rid of this condition, it is necessary, first of all, to provide a comfortable microclimate in the family and at work, and then work with a psychologist and develop a course of treatment.

Features of the course of female alcoholism

Despite the fact that the representatives of the weaker sex become alcoholics much less often, they drink themselves much faster . From the position of psychology, the prerequisites for female illness lie in the emotional sphere. Among the main factors in connection with which a woman begins to drink, the following aspects can be distinguished.

1. Treason of a loved one, betrayal , divorce proceedings with a spouse.
2. Lack of feminine beauty, inability to present oneself, unattractiveness .
3. Depression , which has any genesis – postpartum escape from reality, premenstrual syndrome, menopause.
4. Physical loss of an important person – spouse, parents, child, boyfriend/girlfriend.
5. Inappropriate and unsuitable social circle in which a woman has to drink “for the company. ”
6. Loneliness, feeling of uselessness , lack of life purpose and distortion of moral values.

Women rarely drink too much, starting with alcohol or vodka. Usually everything is tied with noble drinks – wine, a light cocktail, champagne, which does not change the overall picture at all: sooner or later the fair sex takes the path degrades and loses himself as a person. The psychology of female alcoholism is such that a young lady who drinks can see a doctor only at an advanced stage of the disease, and even then not always. It becomes much more difficult for a psychologist to work with such patients .

Children’s alcoholism

The main group of factors in connection with which adolescents begin to drink – social and psychological moments. Basically, they include the following nuances.

1. No adult supervision required.
2. Presence of one or more drinking family members .