Question: Ivan, what should relatives do to get an alcoholic to stop drinking? Is it possible to do anything at all? Answer: if a problem such as alcoholism appears at home, then, as a rule, it is the relatives of the addict who first begin to look for solutions, and not the addict himself. Based on many years of experience, I can say with certainty that the question “how to cope with alcohol addiction?” is one of the most popular. Today, alcoholism is one of the most common types of deviant behavior, so it is difficult to describe its essence and treatment options in a nutshell. To provide more extensive coverage of this issue, our team has created a closed chat, in which experts often raise the question “how to help get rid of addiction?” and answer your questions. Go to our chat so as not to miss important information and support on this difficult issue! (the link will be at the end of the article) Alcoholics often cannot assess the situation on their own, so the support of loved ones is of great importance when fighting addiction. Problems at work, in personal life, the loss of close friends and deteriorating health - all this sometimes has no meaning for an alcoholic, since he does not realize the scale of the problem. Many addicts are convinced that as soon as they want to give up alcohol, they will they can do it the same day. They sincerely believe that alcohol does not bring any significant changes to their lives, so there is nothing to worry about. Think for yourself, when you come to a racing rally and a boxing match, you experience a different spectrum of emotions, which also includes concern for the person who directly participates in a race or fight. You are afraid for his life, and at this time he thinks that he is completely in control of the situation and will not experience an ounce of fear. A similar situation occurs in the case of alcohol addiction. The alcoholic himself does not see himself, he does not understand that irreparable things can happen at any moment, and you, from the outside, can sensibly assess the situation. Treatment of alcohol addiction should be carried out by qualified specialists, since relatives do not always know the correct algorithm of actions, and any wrong step may be decisive on the path to recovery and will only worsen the situation. Please note! Alcoholism is not just a bad habit. It affects not only human health from the physiological side, but also has a detrimental effect on the mental and moral state of a person. There are effective approaches to treating addiction that need to be used, and not act intuitively. If you really want to help your loved one get rid of addiction once and for all, then you should seek help from people who have extensive experience and knowledge in this matter. Otherwise, you can only worsen the situation. By understanding how to act and listening to the advice of specialists, the close people of an alcoholic significantly increase the chances of his full recovery. People who had a long history of alcohol dependence and were in a state of severe intoxication were repeatedly brought to our rehabilitation center. Even in such cases, they managed to start living from scratch and forget about alcohol forever. However, in our practice there have also been situations when relatives, out of ignorance and a great desire to help, but mistakenly believing that they can do this without any consultations with specialists brought addicts to a state where emergency hospitalization was already required. Treatment of an addicted person is a matter of his health, which should be dealt with by specialists in this field! There are three main mistakes that close people of an addict make when wanting to help him. 1. Condemnation and aggression towards the alcoholic. The cause of alcoholism in each individual case may be different. There are many life situationspushing a person who almost never drinks to excessive cravings for alcohol. Someone cannot cope with the loss of a loved one, depression, and for others, a lack of career growth or a simply “bad” company can become a reason for abuse. At such moments, close people of an alcoholic often begin to condemn the addict, remind him of his former life and regularly asking him the question “how could you get to this state?” They put moral pressure on him, hide his money and try to close their houses so that he doesn’t go out and buy alcohol again. This behavior only causes a negative reaction in the alcoholic; he becomes pinched and stops contacting his loved ones, who are trying so hard to help him. Analyzing the behavior of an alcoholic and his family in this situation, our team has developed a certain algorithm to solve the problem. Initially, it is important to understand not how to make a person forget about alcohol, but to understand why he found salvation in it. When treating an alcoholic, it is important to pay attention not only to his physiological state, but also to his moral one. It is important to completely exclude any judgment or aggression. The fight against addiction takes a long time; it is necessary to thoroughly work through all psychological traumas, without putting pressure on the person. The support of loved ones and qualified assistance from specialists will certainly serve as an impressive impetus for a person to eliminate alcohol from his life once and for all. 2. Gentleness and concessions. Refusal of aggression does not mean that you need to come to terms with the situation and let everything take its course. Some relatives consider this model of behavior as begging to be correct. They try to persuade the alcoholic, come up with a reward system for him not to drink alcohol. Relatives often use this strategy in relation to students or young people, believing that in this way they can influence their fragile minds. Unfortunately, this attitude is not perceived by alcoholics in the way that their relatives would like. Instead of taking the path of correction, they sit on the necks of their close people and take advantage of their good attitude. The alcoholic begins to use the kindness of loved ones for his own purposes, taking money from them, selling their things, just to be able to go on another binge. If we talk about solving the problem in such a situation, it becomes clear that it is necessary to stop following the addict’s lead. He is not going to stop abusing, he has a comfortable life, where he can not worry about anything, calmly spend his parents’ money and live off it. Our rehabilitation center has repeatedly received requests to help an alcoholic son cope with his addiction, and our specialists have formulated 3 basic rules that should be followed: Strictly limit the issuance of funds; Daily check of the young man’s condition for alcohol use; In the event that the addict violated the rule of sobriety , he was given a choice: spend the night on the street or be sent to a rehabilitation center. For some, such methods of education will seem unacceptable and excessively cruel, but treating addiction requires drastic measures. For children who are accustomed to comfort and security, this behavior of parents can really come as a shock and push them to the idea that something needs to be changed in order to return to a prosperous and prosperous life. As a rule, such people are pushed to drink by “friends.” or youthful maximalism, the desire to demonstrate one’s freedom and independence. Nevertheless, finding themselves on the street and without money, the desire to live in comfort and prosperity is, as a rule, more preferable for them. For a time, alcohol allowed them to benefit from the kindness of their parents, living in comfort, and to command respect from the company with which they associated. Realizing that he may lose all comforts, the alcoholic will think about whether alcohol is worth such sacrifices. During rehabilitation, parentsIt is important to remember that you should not rejoice in successes and short-term abstinence from alcohol ahead of time. The addict needs to realize that the family will continue to monitor his condition and take action if they notice repeated use of alcohol. 3. Lack of awareness of addiction treatment methods, which can lead to death. I have said many times that knowledge and experience are key in addiction treatment. Relatives need to understand that their loved one is in a state where qualified help is required. Despite the fact that a person may only be in the first stage of alcohol dependence, one should not resort to traditional methods and self-medicate at home. Advertised medications, if used incorrectly, can be useless, and in the worst case, cause irreparable harm to human health. The moment loved ones learn about their loved one’s addiction, they often commit rash acts. Shock and panic make them act rashly. Someone begins to hide alcohol, take all the money, and someone quietly gives their friend, son or other loved one drugs intended to combat addiction. The last scenario is the most terrible. Medications that are used in the treatment of a particular addiction have a number of features and a large list of contraindications. Incorrect dosage or combination with other medications or alcohol can lead a person to an extremely serious condition. Without being aware of their actions, by independently prescribing medications, relatives of the addict aggravate his condition. The alcoholic himself may not know that certain medications are entering his body, which means that the instinct of self-preservation will not be triggered during the next abuse. Obviously, relatives do not fully understand how to help their loved one and do everything for good reasons, but this does not negate the fact that their rash actions can be decisive for the health of an alcoholic. The best decision in this situation would be to seek help from people who have extensive experience in this matter. For such purposes, our team has created a chat in which everyone can learn about how to help a relative who is an alcoholic. Our team’s specialists consider each individual case individually and select options for solving the problem depending on many factors. These may include the stage of alcoholism, the relationship between the addict and his relatives, the initial desire to forget about alcohol forever, and much more. If a person is at the first stage of addiction, then drastic measures are not always necessary, which imply a categorical refusal of alcohol. In some cases, a compromise is possible when a person agrees to drink alcohol only on holidays. Even such a decision often leads to the fact that the alcoholic eventually begins to give up alcoholic beverages, even on holidays or weekends. An addict is also a person, with his own character traits, psychological traumas and views on life. In some cases, ultimatums can be effective, but in others they can only cause protest and worsen the situation. That is why it is important to contact specialists to develop an individual treatment program. The above main mistakes made by relatives when dealing with a loved one’s addiction demonstrate the fact that it is impossible to force a person to stop abusing by using any one specific behavior model. Hurry up to get free support in our chat channel to provide competent assistance to your relative. | Real Experience | Communication with other loved ones of addicts. Support and help from relatives in the fight against alcohol addiction is of great importance and is one of the criteriaachieving success in this matter. Let's highlight three important rules that must be followed if you want to help your loved one: Recommendations from friends and other inexperienced people are dangerous, only specialists can provide competent assistance; You should not force an addict to stop drinking alcohol, you need to help him realize that there is a problem; There is no single method of addiction treatment, each individual case is unique, therefore treatment is selected individually. It is worth taking a closer look at this situation when the environment is trying by all means to force the alcoholic to give up alcohol. At the moment when loved ones find out about the addiction and try to reach out to the alcoholic, they may encounter such a reaction when he himself understands that he needs help, but they can also hear protest and reluctance to change anything. Let's take a closer look at each case. 1. If a person voluntarily turns to you for help. By the time you learned about his problem, the addict could have already tried to stop drinking alcohol, read on the Internet about treatment methods, but each time he unsuccessfully ended his attempts to return to a sober life. The only thing he hasn’t tried yet is asking his family for help. This scenario is the most favorable if you evaluate the likelihood of getting rid of alcohol once and for all. By this point, the person has already independently realized that he has a problem; your only task is to help him find competent specialists and create an effective treatment program. Addicts who seek help on their own achieve the desired results much faster and start a new life. 2. If you are faced with a protest and the alcoholic does not want to undergo treatment. Treatment when a person is not ready to change anything, rejects help and believes that the problem does not exist, cannot be successful. You can forcibly code an addict, but after a short period of time you will again learn that he is abusing. This scenario is inevitable when a person is not internally ready for change. It is impossible to get rid of addiction if he does not want it. In this case, it is possible to solve the problem of addiction only when the psychological side of the issue has been worked out. First of all, it is necessary to help a person understand how to psychologically stop drinking, to realize that he was mistaken, that his life can still be changed and you can help him with this. An important requirement in both the first and second cases is the competent approach of the addict’s loved ones. They must be psychologically prepared for the fact that it will not be easy and not act independently, but seek help from specialists. After relatives begin to understand that their loved one is addicted to alcohol, they internally experience 5 main stages of accepting the problem that has arisen: Refusal to accept reality. They try to convince themselves that they were mistaken, that these are just their guesses, which may not yet be confirmed; Self-hatred, anger, aggression. Relatives begin to blame themselves for what happened, look for their mistake; Attempts to find a compromise. At this stage, close people try to reach the addict through persuasion, to call to conscience; Despair. After an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the addict to give up the abuse, it seems that nothing can be fixed, that now it will always be like this; Acceptance. Relatives pull themselves together, accept the situation, but do not let it take its course. They begin to think sensibly and look for ways to solve the problem. In order to really help a loved one, his family needs to go through all of the above states. Only when they are in the acceptance stage will they truly be psychologically ready to help him. By accepting the situation and not resisting it, you will be able to adequately assess the scale of the problem, act not intuitively and succumb to panic, and come for help from qualified!