Nowadays, both men and women at any age can be affected by alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, this does not surprise anyone. But you can always help a loved one in distress. This requires the rehabilitation of alcoholics.
Rehabilitation of alcoholics – where does recovery begin?
The first step on the long road to the rehabilitation of alcoholics is to understand the problem. It is necessary for a person to admit his or her illness, to realize what detrimental effect it has on physical and mental health, both his/her own and those around.
As soon as a person decides to change his or her life and part with addiction, he or she can begin to detoxify the body and subsequent coding. But alcohol withdrawal leads to depressive states, a sense of personal worthlessness, and the severity of problems. And now, the hand reaches for the treasured bottle again. The situation can be explained by the strength of psychological addiction. To cope with it is the task of the alcohol rehabilitation center.
Causes of alcohol addiction
It’s no secret that the craving for “mental stimulants” is not caused by a happy life. As a rule, the reasons lie in problems and states of mind that seem too heavy, intolerable. For example:
- difficulties at work, the danger of dismissal;
- troubles in personal life;
- a decline in income, large debts;
- detection of serious disease;
- misunderstanding of close people;
- restriction of motor activity;
- inability to do what you love.
Identifying what triggered a fatal habit is part of the work of a specialist in an alcoholism rehab center. This is the only way to eliminate the negative influence of predisposing factors and prevent relapse.
The goals of the alcohol rehabilitation program:
- to return of the patient to normal life;
- to eliminate psychological and physical dependence;
- to restore the work of internal organs damaged during the illness.
Stages of alcohol rehabilitation
Medical practice has proved that alcoholism can be cured only when the patient really wants to get rid of the disease and completely eliminate the use of alcohol. But as long as ethyl is a participant in metabolic processes in the human body, it will not be possible to change the mind of an alcoholic and motivate him or her to refuse alcohol. Therefore, the first step in the treatment of alcoholism is detoxification. This is the process of cleansing the body of toxins with the help of special medications or hardware therapy.
As soon as physiological processes return to normal, psychologists and psychotherapists begin to work with the patient. The aim of the second stage of alcohol rehab is to reformat the person’s mind to a negative attitude to alcohol and start a healthy lifestyle.
During the years of drinking, people have lost most of their previous social connections, have forgotten how to communicate and work in a team normally. That is why the final stage of treatment includes a course of social adaptation.
All three stages of rehabilitation from alcohol dependence are interconnected, and the absence of any of them in the complex of medical measures will make therapy ineffective.
1. Medical detox
Detoxification neutralizes and removes toxins from the body. In the treatment of alcoholism, its main tasks are:
- elimination of the harmful effects of ethyl alcohol and its decay products on the internal organs and psyche of the patient;
- improving liver and kidney function;
- normalization of the functions of the heart, brain;
- restoration of metabolic processes;
- stabilization of the psyche, lowering the level of anxiety.
Detoxification is usually organized with a dropper, by introducing various saline solutions and drugs into the patient’s blood, such as rehydron, hepatoprotective agents, vitamin complexes, and absorbents.
Important! It is extremely dangerous to self-medicate with alcoholism using drug therapy. Incorrectly selected drugs and their dosage can provoke a complication of the disease and the development of chronic diseases.
Only a doctor should stop symptoms of intoxication. You can request a doctor’s visit to the home. But in severe cases, rehab of alcoholics is exclusively inpatient, NOT outpatient.
The choice of a specific method of detoxification is made by a doctor. The duration of this stage of treatment can last one day to several days.
2. Hardware methods of detoxification
Cleansing the patient’s body of toxins can be organized using hardware methods:
- hemodialysis. The patient’s venous blood is passed through an artificial kidney apparatus filter system. For 4-5 hours, it is possible to completely remove toxins from blood plasma and normalize metabolic processes in the body;
- plasmapheresis. This method is also based on blood purification, but this is done using a centrifuge that separates the plasma from the toxins. Detoxification lasts about one hour;
- ozonation. In this case, the patient’s blood is saturated with ozone, which significantly improves its biochemistry and contributes to the oxidation of poisons.
Specialists often use complex detoxification methods in the rehabilitation of alcoholics: drugs and hardware methods of blood purification.
3. Psycho-social rehabilitation
Since alcohol addiction refers to mental pathologies, the treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholism can never do without restoring the patient’s psyche, his or her personal qualities. Also, to minimize the risk of a relapse, a dependent person needs to help socialize in society, find his or her place in life. These tasks are solved by the psycho-social rehabilitation of alcoholics.
No drugs are used at this stage of treatment. Psychologists, psychotherapists, neurologists, social workers work with patients. With the help of special techniques, addicted people are taught to understand and analyze their actions, evaluate their consequences, and find the right solution in difficult life situations. Psychotherapy sessions, personal growth training, and socialization programs help restore mental health.
Psycho-social alcoholism rehab takes much longer, compared with the stage of detoxification of the body. This is the most stressful moment in the treatment of addicted patients, requiring high professionalism from experts in narcology.
Principles for alcoholic rehab
Modern methods of treating alcoholism give a chance to return to a sober life even for alcoholics with a long experience. The main thing is to motivate the patient to refuse to drink alcohol and begin to work with experts in narcology.
The basic principles of alcohol rehab include:
- Individual approach. Currently, there is no single technology for treating alcohol addiction that would equally suit all alcoholics. Therefore, an individual approach is needed for each case of the disease that would take into account the patient’s age and gender, general health, the period of alcohol abuse and other factors;
- Complex methods of therapy. Recovery can only be guaranteed if the patient undergoes comprehensive rehabilitation for alcoholics in a hospital of an alcohol rehab clinic, which includes drug therapy, psychotherapy, and resocialization;
- Isolation of an alcoholic from the negative influence of society. During treatment, the patient should be completely limited in the use of alcohol and the negative influence of his or her former friends. This can only be done on an inpatient basis.
Rehabilitation of alcoholics in the clinic includes various activities, such as physical education, childcare, and participation in the therapeutic community. Rehabilitation does not end when the person leaves the clinic. The patient must constantly engage in self-development, strive to live a sober and full life.
Learn more about inpatient alcohol rehab for those seeking treatment for the first time:
Where to find alcohol rehabilitation?
All the principles of alcohol rehab can be implemented only in an alcohol rehab clinic, which has a hospital equipped with modern standards and an experienced staff capable of solving the most difficult tasks of treating dependent conditions. Check out the top 10 alcohol treatment centers in the USA.