Alcohol addiction

 

Alcohol addiction

Alcohol addiction or alcohol dependence is a severe addiction disease that can lead to extreme stress for those affected. If you experience alcohol addiction symptoms, you should contact your family doctor. Various therapy options are available.

What are the characteristics of alcohol addiction?

Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is medical terms for a clinical picture in which the regular consumption of alcoholic or alcoholic beverages is in the foreground. This is categorized by the fact that those affected are no longer able to control or dose their alcohol consumption deliberately. It is an addictive disease that occurs in different ways and is associated with various health consequences. Those precious often do not get their addictive deeds consciously, though the desire for liquor largely determines their everyday life and is also visible to those around them.

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Diagnostically relevant symptoms of alcohol addiction include:

·        Craving or addictive pressure (insurmountable desire for alcohol)

·        Tolerance development

·        Continued use despite negative physical, psychological or social consequences

·        Loss of control

·        Physical withdrawal syndrome after prolonged interruption of consumption

·        Neglect of personal and professional interests

·        Structuring everyday life around addiction

·        Neglect of personal hygiene to the point of neglect

Diagnosis of alcohol addiction

The treatment of alcohol addiction depends on the degree and duration of the dependence, on any existing comorbidities, and finally on personal criteria such as age, gender, and psychological and social factors. After making the result, the doctor should ask whether there have been attempts to give up drinking and how these have gone. In this way, valuable information can be increased for planning an effective withdrawal treatment.

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Important diagnostic questions for patients are, for example:

 

·        Have you always tried to get rid of alcohol yourself?

·        How long have you been able to go without drinking alcohol?

·        Have you ever attracted attention because of your drinking, professionally or privately?

·        Do you touch guilty or embarrassed about your drinking?

·        Have you ever had alcohol withdrawal in an addiction clinic?

·        Did you suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, tremors, palpitations, diarrhea, nausea, nervousness, and decreased ability to concentrate and therefore stopped the withdrawal during your withdrawal from alcohol?

·        In your opinion, why did the withdrawal attempt fail? Are there any factors that prevented you from implementing withdrawal measures or made withdrawal more difficult?

Therapy of alcohol addiction

Once the individual criteria for alcohol withdrawal have been clarified, the doctors work with those affected to determine a therapeutic approach intended to offer the patient the most excellent possible support and are realistic for them. In many cases, inpatient withdrawal treatment ("detoxification") in a specialist clinic is advisable first, and more rarely, an outpatient withdrawal treatment supported by a doctor as an alternative.

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In both cases, the therapeutic intervention is separated into four phases :

 

·        In the beginning, here is the contact and motivation phase, in which persons wishing to withdraw are supported in their decision by a doctor.

·        This is followed by a detox phase, in which the actual withdrawal takes place - partly also supported by medication and under medical supervision.

·        This is followed by an initial psychotherapeutic phase in which those affected gradually get used to a life without alcohol. Various psychotherapeutic methods facilitate and support a sustained change in behavior and experience.

·        The last step should be a follow-up phase, which is planned to provide physical and, above all, psychological stabilization after withdrawal and reduce the likelihood of relapse.