Alcohol dependent people often lack a correct understanding of their current situation. So I felt it was very important to understand my situation and how deeply distorted my craving for alcohol was. First of all, you should honestly admit that you are an alcoholic, alcoholic, and alcohol dependent. The positioning must be precise so that it is possible to prescribe the right medicine. Sincerely admit that you are powerless over alcohol and that your life has become a mess because of alcohol. Understand the inevitable cause-and-effect relationship between staying sober and achieving a healthy life. This is the first step toward sobriety. It is an important prerequisite. Without this understanding, nothing else can be discussed. This is the most basic and extremely important attitude issue, and attitude determines everything here.
Alcoholism is a progressive and potentially fatal disease. This disease is caused by the body's sensitivity to alcohol coupled with a psychologically difficult and compulsive desire to drink. Currently, there is no drug or psychotherapy "cure" in the medical community - we cannot simply be hospitalized or take medication to change our traits and return to the normal, moderate social drinking that we experienced in the early days of drinking.
Thousands of alcoholics cannot stop drinking, and not only do we see many alcoholics drink themselves to death - they die from the "withdrawal" syndrome of delirium tremens (D.T.'s) ) or convulsions, or die from cirrhosis of the liver caused by drinking, and there are many more deaths that are not officially attributed to alcoholism but are actually caused by drinking. And when car accidents, drownings, suicides, homicides, heart attacks, fires, pneumonia, or strokes are listed as direct factors of death, the fact is that the alcoholic's heavy drinking behavior contributed to the conditions and direct causes of death.
Most of us are not yet on the verge of the horrific final stages of alcoholism, and so drink now thinking we are far away from that fate. But if we continue to drink, there is no doubt that there is only a dead end.
Many alcoholics who cannot quit drinking will blame their excessive drinking on their weak moral values, or think that it is due to their unbalanced mentality. Yet there is nothing morally wrong with alcoholism because it is a disease. At this stage, it is impossible to overcome it by your own willpower alone, because the excessive alcoholic has lost the ability to make free choices in the face of alcohol.
So we don’t need to be embarrassed about our illness, there is nothing shameful about it. It's not our fault, we didn't want to be alcoholics, and we didn't try to get the disease any more than anyone wants to get pneumonia. Experience shows that as long as you have a strong desire to quit drinking, fully understand the seriousness of the problem, and take care of yourself in a way that is free from alcohol and full of happiness, then you can still live a happy, healthy and valuable life like a normal person.
How to judge whether the people around you are dependent on alcohol in daily life? (Medical version 14) We have summarized some common manifestations of drinking patterns: 1. Seeing drinking as the most important or very important thing in life, occupying a central position in the heart, and never forgetting it. 2. The amount of alcohol consumed gradually increased compared to the initial period of drinking. 3. Drinking speed increases. 4. Often drink alcohol secretly alone or behind the back of family members. 5. Use wine as medicine to relieve emotional distress. 6. There is a behavior of hiding alcohol. 7. There is often forgetfulness after drinking. 8. Drinking alcohol unplanned often leads to accidents. 9. Drinking in the morning is commonly known as "drinking with eyes open". Some people even drink after waking up at night. 10. Drink alcohol before going to bed. 11. Like to drink on an empty stomach. When drinking, do not eat staple food and rarely eat vegetables. 12. Choose a wine brand when circumstances permit. 13. Arguing with family members because of drinking affects family harmony, or affects work because of drinking. 14. I once quit drinking, but it didn’t last long and the disease relapsed and I couldn’t control it. Generally speaking, if a person’s drinking behavior exhibits more than three of the above symptoms, alcohol dependence is highly suspected. It is often seen that some people with alcohol dependence have many adverse effects on their health, family harmony and work because of drinking, and even engage in some illegal behaviors after drinking. Although they feel guilty and regretful about these consequences, they still cannot completely stop drinking, and they repeatedly quit drinking and then return to drinking again and again. Are they hopeless or do they lack perseverance? No, this is because alcohol dependence is a disease, and it is also a disease that keeps getting worse. This disease, like diabetes, hypertension and other diseases, cannot be completely eradicated. But it can be contained.
The reason for resumption of drinking is related to the body's sensitivity to alcohol, coupled with the psychologically difficult to get rid of the compulsive desire to drink. No matter what adverse consequences resumption of drinking will bring, it cannot be overcome by one's own perseverance alone. Just like other diseases, there are some characteristic clinical manifestations. Once you become dependent on alcohol, you will experience many physical discomfort symptoms when you suddenly stop drinking or suddenly reduce your drinking, which is called alcohol withdrawal syndrome. For the sake of convenience, some people divide alcohol withdrawal syndrome into three stages according to the time of occurrence and severity: First-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: usually appears 6 to 12 hours after drinking, manifested by tremors in both hands, and in severe cases, it can accumulate to The entire upper limbs and even the trunk may be affected. In severe cases, tongue extension tremor may occur. In addition, symptoms such as anorexia, insomnia, and irritability are also common. Second-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: It occurs 24 to 72 hours after stopping drinking. In addition to the above symptoms, auditory hallucinations often occur, and the content is often abusive or persecutory. Impulsive behavior can be secondary, and the excitement is relatively mild. Third-stage alcohol withdrawal syndrome: delirium tremens, which often occurs 72 hours after the last drink. At this time, the patient is unconscious, has obvious tremors, is accompanied by unsteady walking, and may have various vivid hallucinations, such as seeing various small animals. , the patient expressed tension, anxiety, and fear. The patient's memory is significantly impaired, and some patients may experience epileptic convulsions. Even in developed countries, once delirium tremens occurs, the overall mortality rate can still reach 10% to 15% for treated patients, and even higher for untreated patients. Therefore, long-term drinkers should not stop drinking suddenly. If you are highly suspected of being dependent on alcohol, you should go to a specialist hospital for treatment as soon as possible. People who develop alcohol dependence cannot control their drinking behavior or the amount of alcohol they drink. So, can they drink normally after quitting alcohol for a period of time? As far as we know, no one has ever been able to drink "normally" or drink only socially after being abstaining from alcohol for months or years. Once a person progresses from binge drinking to out-of-control and reckless binge drinking, it is impossible to go back. No one with alcohol dependence drinks intentionally to cause trouble, but uncontrollable drinking is bound to cause trouble. Many people who are dependent on alcohol think that after a period of abstinence, they can have no problem drinking a few cans of beer or a few glasses of light wine. Not many people get drunk after just one or two bottles of beer. So I mistakenly thought that I could control myself to only drink two or three bottles of beer a day and then stop drinking. Occasionally they do manage to do so within a few days or weeks. So you will come to the conclusion: Even if you drink, you will be "comfortable". However, they will drink more and more beer or wine each time, and soon they will continue to drink as much as ever. Another misconception is to replace high-alcohol wine with low-alcohol wine. For people with alcohol dependence, alcohol is alcohol, whether it's a martini, whiskey and soda, champagne, or a shot of beer. Excessive use may lead to relapse. Therefore, it is dangerous for people with alcohol dependence to try to control their drinking or only drink lower-strength alcohol after a period of abstinence. But in order to ensure complete abstinence from alcohol, the only option is to abstain from alcohol at all. How can this be done? In addition to completing alcohol detoxification treatment under the guidance of a doctor, you must also receive long-term rehabilitation treatment, including treatment of related psychological or mental illnesses, treatment with anti-relapse drugs, psychotherapy, and joining some self-help rehabilitation organizations. As long as you have the desire to quit drinking and perseverance, you will succeed.
When many members of the AA had not yet given up drinking, their relatives, friends and doctors may not have considered them to be alcoholics. Alcoholics themselves are often unwilling to seriously face the reality of alcohol addiction, thus compounding the problem. It bears repeating that the judgment of the question "Am I an alcoholic?" must be made by the alcoholic himself. made. Only I (not a relative, friend, or doctor) can make this conclusion. But once this judgment is made, the effort to stop drinking and stay sane becomes 50% certain. By waiting to let others make decisions, alcoholics may needlessly endure more of the dangers and pain that alcoholism brings. Some people quit drinking after reading the classic AA book, Alcoholics Anonymous. But almost everyone who is able to do so immediately seeks out other alcoholics with whom they can share their experiences and help them quit drinking.
The best way to make A.A.'s alcohol treatment program most effective for an individual is for others to understand, accept, and participate in the alcohol treatment program.
By working with other alcoholics in local A.A. chapters, alcoholics can gain a deeper understanding of their problem and how to solve it. They will find that the past experiences, existing problems, and hopes of those around them are similar to their own. They can thereby overcome the loneliness that may be an important factor in their craving for the drink.
2. Stay away from the first glass of wine
“If you don’t drink the first glass of wine, you won’t get drunk.” “One glass is too much, but twenty glasses are not enough. ”
When we develop from drinking too much to being addicted to alcohol, frequent drunkenness seriously interferes with our life and work, so we reduce the frequency of drinking, or try to control the amount of alcohol to one or two drinks, or Switch from alcoholic drinks to beer or wine to keep yourself from getting too drunk. Maybe we can stay alcohol-free for a while, and then when the opportunity arises (some special occasion, personal confusion, or nothing special at all), we start drinking again. At first we think of just one drink, because one drink does not cause Regardless of the serious consequences, we feel it is safe to have another drink. But it turns out that's just a trap - when we've had two or three drinks, we feel good, and then we think one or two more drinks will be okay given our level of drinking. As a result, we drank too much uncontrollably and returned to our original drunken state.
Doctors who specialize in alcohol dependence tell us that it is the first drink that triggers the underlying desire to drink, which in turn makes us lose control. This repeated experience leads us to conclude that trying to control how much we drink and planning how not to get drunk is impossible, and that avoiding that crucial drink—“never the first drink”—is the key to long-term sobriety.
Alcohol dependence is an addiction to alcohol. Alcohol is a soft drug like any other addictive substance, and the only way we can stay in recovery is to stay away from the drug that caused our addiction in the first place.
3. Use the "24-hour" plan
In the days of alcoholism, we often solemnly swear "never drink again" when we are very uncomfortable. "I vowed not to drink for a year." From the bottom of our hearts, we really didn't want to get drunk again. Of course some people will have reservations: that the pledge is only for "hard liquor", not beer. In fact, beer and wine can also make us drunk, but we need to drink more to achieve the same effect as liquor. We suffer just as much damage from drunkenness with beer and wine as we do from hard liquor.
However, after a while, the vows and painful memories will be left behind. We started drinking again at some point. Our "forever" never lasts.
Of course, some of them did keep their promise and quit for a long time, maybe 2 months, half a year, or a year, until the time came and we felt that we should be able to drink freely and in a controlled manner... and we started drinking again. , and soon fell into the original troubles, along with new guilt and regret.
Alcohol dependence is a permanent, irreversible disease, and experience tells us all that we should not make a long-term commitment to staying sober. A more practical and effective way to say it is: "I'm just not drinking today."
Maybe we drank yesterday, but we can decide not to drink today. No matter what temptations and irritations we encounter, we try as hard as we can to avoid having that first drink of the day.
If the desire to drink is too strong, then break the 24 hours into smaller units - at least one hour - and we can tolerate the discomfort caused by this temporary suspension, then add one more hour ! One more hour! Keep going. If we succeed today, we have reason to believe we can do it tomorrow.
The "24-hour" plan is very casual. We can start over at any time, no matter where we are. At home, at work, in the hospital room, at 4:00 in the afternoon or 3:00 in the morning, we can decide at any time not to drink for the next 24 hours or 5 minutes.
We're just trying to live today (now) just to stay sane - and it works. Once this way of thinking becomes part of our thinking, we find that living in 24-hour blocks is equally effective and satisfying for dealing with other things.
4. Take Action
The more we want to stay away from alcohol, the more lingering thoughts of drinking will linger. So simply staying away from alcohol (or not thinking about it) isn't enough.
Once you stop drinking, how do you spend the free time? Most of us have formal jobs to do, but there is still a lot of free time that must be spent. Therefore, we must develop new hobbies and arrange colorful activities to fill these times, and at the same time find appropriate outlets for the energy that was once addicted to alcohol.
There are many things we can do that are suitable and meaningful for us.
1. In the early stages of quitting drinking, you can take a walk or brisk walk. Especially going to new places you’ve never been before. Go for a leisurely stroll in a park or country lane, but not a tiring march.
2． read. Although some of us cannot make up our minds to read books, we should really read some books to broaden our horizons, increase our life experience, and be more attentive.
3. Visiting a museum or gallery, some people choose photography is also a good idea.
4． Swim, run, bike, yoga, or other exercise recommended by your doctor.
5． Tackle those long-neglected household chores. Organize the wardrobe, dresser, file documents into categories, or deal with things we have put off for a long time. But when we do these things, we should not be greedy for more and act within our capabilities. Instead of cleaning out the entire kitchen or organizing all the files at once, clean out one drawer or file folder at a time and do the rest another day.
6． Try taking up a new hobby. Choose activities that are not too expensive or demanding, that are purely recreational, that are refreshing and invigorating without the pressure of competition. For example, singing, writing, tropical fish, carpentry, basketball, cooking, bird watching, amateur performances, wood carving, gardening, guitar, movies, dance, stone carving, potted plants, collection, etc. Many people find that the activities they really enjoy now are hobbies they never considered trying.
7. Rediscover the fun of the past. A watercolor painting, billiards or Go game, reading notes, etc. that you have not polished for many years, to continue these hobbies. But if you feel it is no longer suitable for you, just give it up.
8. Go to class. Studying Japanese or English? Love history or math? Want to learn about archeology or anthropology? Or cooking, computer operation, then take correspondence courses, TV universities or adult education (just for interest, not necessarily with a credit certificate). There are also many places that offer classes that only take one day a week, why not give it a try? Taking classes can not only broaden your horizons, but also broaden your areas of life. If you get bored of the class content, don't hesitate to quit immediately. Only by learning to give up activities that are not beneficial to us or have no positive, positive, or healthy meaning can we muster up the courage to face it again, and only then can we have the opportunity to experience a new dimension of life besides drinking.
9． Volunteer to do some useful service. Many hospitals, children's service agencies, and social welfare groups are in great need of volunteers to provide various services. We have many choices. When we can contribute to others, even if it is just a trivial service, we will feel particularly useful. We will even feel very interested when talking about the process of participating in these activities and related information. And particularly devoted.
10. Dress yourself up. Most of us know that there are many ways that a new haircut, new clothes, a new pair of glasses, or even new teeth can have unexpected and pleasing results.
11. Play with ease! Not everything we do in our daily lives must be proactive and innovative. We also need to do some activities that are purely for fun, such as kites, zoos, comedy movies, soul music, detective novels, etc. that you like; if you don’t like it, find other fun activities that have nothing to do with drinking, purely To reward yourself.
5. Change old habits
In the process of our alcoholism, there are fixed time periods, familiar places and accustomed activities. Especially when we are tired, hungry, lonely, angry, or particularly happy, these seemingly ordinary and recurring scenes are dangerous traps for our waking lives.
When we first start sobering up, it can be helpful to look back at our past drinking habits to find ways to overcome our addiction. The place where we often buy alcohol may be a supermarket on the way to work. Each of us always has our own favorite place to drink. Whether it’s drinking with friends for fun or a habitual drink at a fixed time every day, we can find out from our past drinking patterns what time and days we are used to drinking.
We can adjust all the details of our lives that are related to our drinking problem.