Alcohol addiction today affects not only men but also the fair sex. Moreover, unlike male alcoholism, female alcoholism is much more difficult to treat.
Ladies with this addiction quickly lose their social status and jobs, becoming uninterested in the opposite sex.
If no action is taken in time, the chances of a woman returning to a full life are minimal.
There are several ways a woman can stop drinking alcohol. It is recommended to choose the treatment method together with a specialist.
Causes of addiction
In modern society, women live active social lives. Not only do they raise children and run a household, but they work intensively and move up the career ladder, competing successfully with men. All this leads not only to physiological but also to moral fatigue.
One of the fastest and cheapest ways to relax in such a situation is to drink a few glasses of wine. If a woman is regularly used to alcohol, it can become a habit over time. Experts warn that the course of alcohol dependence in men and women is different, due to the physiological structure and peculiarities of the endocrine system. In most cases, female alcoholism is associated with psychological factors.
The main causes of addiction are:
- It is a family tradition to consume alcohol regularly. If a child has seen since childhood that all members of the family are constantly consuming alcohol, they will also consider such behavior the norm.
- Everyday problems. Dismissal from work, loss of wealth, large debts are often the causes of the stress that women struggle with consuming intoxicating drinks.
- Complexes, dissatisfaction with their own appearance.
- Dissatisfaction with personal life. If a woman doesn’t have a loved one, she feels lonely - a bottle of wine in the evening will help resolve the situation.
- Family problems (lack of understanding with her husband, children, parents). The easiest way to forget about the problems with your loved ones for a while and find spiritual harmony is to drink a few glasses of beer or wine, maybe something stronger.
Often a woman starts drinking alcohol because of her husband. If a loved one drinks alcohol regularly, a woman can keep company with her regularly, which over time can lead to alcohol dependence.
Characteristics of female alcoholism
Although women’s alcohol dependence is very similar to men’s, the pathology still has its own characteristics. The main difference lies in the specificity of alcohol dependence. Research and experimentation have shown that genders become addicted to alcohol much faster than men. If a man needs about 7-10 years to become a chronic alcoholic, then for women this period is only 4-5 years.
The symptoms of female alcoholism develop rapidly. Drunkenness is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:
- the lady wants to drink for any reason and without it;
- there is a negative reaction to the conviction;
- anorexia - a woman replaces food with booze;
- deterioration of appearance (appearance of dark circles under the eyes, swelling, wrinkles). To correct the situation, a woman will wear bright makeup, but will still be messy and untidy;
- rude and aggressive behavior, predisposition to tantrums;
- apathy for what is happening.
Attention!Unlike men, women with drunkenness develop encephalopathy much earlier, which later leads to personality loss and dementia.
External help in treatment
There are several ways for a woman to stop drinking. The fight against addiction is done through 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 performed professionally - under the supervision of a specialist. Even during this period, it is very important to support sick relatives and friends.
Psychological effect
One of the best ways to help a drinking woman initially is to encode hypnosis. The advantage of this method of combating drunkenness is not only efficiency but also security. Because the technique does not involve the use of drugs, the likelihood of complications will be minimal. But it should be understood that the impact of such coding depends directly on the physician’s experience, level of knowledge, and skills.
The essence of the treatment is that during the session, the doctor puts the patient under stress under hypnosis and tells how the alcohol affects the body and what will happen if the person does not stop and resume drinking. As a result of the psychological effect, a woman develops a persistently negative attitude towards alcohol. Even the thought of alcohol causes unpleasant feelings as one realizes that alcohol abuse causes irreparable damage to the body.
Encoding
If the question arises as to how to get rid of alcohol dependence for a woman who has been drinking for several years, then the best solution would be coding. The procedure involves the subcutaneous insertion of torpedo ampoules with a special drug-alcohol blocker or injection. The most common active ingredient in such drugs is disulfiram, a substance that inhibits the production of enzymes responsible for processing alcohol.
If the coded person drinks at least a small amount of alcohol, a response 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, arrhythmia;
- severe weakness, to loss of consciousness.
Symptoms can only be eliminated with the introduction of an antidote. This method helps you cope with alcohol addiction because 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.
Prior to the procedure, the doctor will explain to the patient all the subtleties and features of the treatment. If a woman agrees to the treatment, she should cleanse her body of alcohol before coding. The duration of detoxification varies from 5 to 10 days (depending on the stage of alcohol dependence). During this time, the woman cannot drink. If necessary, the process of removing ethanol from the body can be accelerated with the help of special drugs.
The coding period ranges from 6 months to 5 years and is selected individually for each patient, taking into account age, health status, and stage of dependence.
For a note!Coding by torpedoing or the introduction of special medications is done only with the consent of the patient
Medicines
Pharmaceutical companies produce a variety of products that can help get rid of female alcoholism. The composition and cost of such drugs are different and the principle of action is different.
Although some products are available without a prescription, it is strongly recommended that you consult your doctor before use and make sure there are no contraindications. It should be borne in mind that the use of such drugs on their own (without medical supervision) can cause serious health complications.
Before using alcohol blockers, you need to know a feature - their positive effect is due to the fact that the active components in contact with ethanol cause unpleasant symptoms (as in the case of coding). They can only cope with drunkenness if the woman drinks strong drinks.
If a girl is addicted to beer, there will be no point in such treatment. This is due to the low concentration of ethanol in the blood when drinking beer, so the required reaction does not appear.
Home wrestling
It is quite difficult for a woman to stop drinking because it requires remarkable willpower and patience. As practice shows, coping with addiction at home is only possible in the initial stages of addiction and only with a woman’s strong desire. The effectiveness of therapy depends largely on the individual characteristics of the body. The most popular and effective recipes are:
- Pour 10 g of chopped ram branch with a glass of boiling water, then put on the stove and simmer for about 15 minutes. The broth is taken 2 hours later, 20 ml each, until nausea appears. Before treatment, a woman should abstain from alcohol for 3 days;
- Pour 500 ml of boiling water from 5 tablespoons of St. John's wort and cook the soup in a water bath for 30 minutes. The product is drunk 250 ml before breakfast and lunch. The treatment lasts for 10 days;
- Pour 2 tablespoons of bearberries with a glass of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes. The prepared broth is drunk during the day. The duration of treatment is one month.
And yet, despite the simplicity of the recipes presented, it will be much more effective to consult a narcologist.
Disadvantages of self-treatment of alcoholism
It should be understood that alcohol dependence is a disease. Attempts to overcome this addiction at home most often end in failure because the person does not have enough willpower.
Home medication for alcoholism is considered particularly dangerous. If the patient chooses the wrong treatment or is unable to calculate the right dose, the drug will not only not achieve the desired effect, but on the contrary, may cause serious health problems.
It cannot be ruled out that such treatment will be fatal.
Conclusion
Alcohol dependence can get rid of forever, but only if treatment is done on time. Therefore, in case of the first doubtful signs, the woman should be taken immediately to an experienced narcologist. Well, and of course, in addition to the professional help given to the lady during this difficult time, it is very important to support friends and relatives.