Alcohol Abuse
What is alcohol abuse?
Alcohol abuse, now included in the diagnosis of alcohol use disorder, is a disease. It is characterized by a mal-adaptive pattern of drinking alcohol that results in negative work, medical, legal, educational, and/or social effects on a person's life. The individual who abuses this substance tends to continue to use it despite such consequences.
What Are the Treatments for Alcoholism?
The goal of treatment for alcoholism is abstinence. Among alcoholics with otherwise good health, social support, and motivation, the likelihood of recovery is good. Approximately 50% to 60% remain abstinent at the end of a year's treatment and a majority of those stay dry permanently. Those with poor social support, poor motivation, or psychiatric disorders tend to relapse within a few years of treatment. For these people, success is measured by longer periods of abstinence, reduced use of alcohol, better health, and improved social functioning.
Do I Have an Alcohol Problem?
The goal of treatment for alcoholism is abstinence. Among alcoholics with otherwise good health, social support, and motivation, the likelihood of recovery is good. Approximately 50% to 60% remain abstinent at the end of a year's treatment and a majority of those stay dry permanently. Those with poor social support, poor motivation, or psychiatric disorders tend to relapse within a few years of treatment. For these people, success is measured by longer periods of abstinence, reduced use of alcohol, better health, and improved social functioning.
Do I Have an Alcohol Problem?
You’ve probably heard about “alcohol abuse,” alcohol dependence,” or “alcoholism.” Or maybe you know the new term that doctors use: “alcohol use disorder,” which can range from mild, to moderate, to severe.
These are the guidelines that define an alcohol use disorder:
If you've had two or three of those symptoms in the last year, that’s a “mild” alcohol use disorder.
It’s a “moderate” disorder if you've had four to five of those symptoms.
It’s “severe” if you've had six or more.
- Drinking more, or longer, than you planned to.
- Tried to cut back or stop more than once, and couldn’t.
- Spend a lot of time drinking, or being sick after drinking.
- Want alcohol so badly you can’t think of anything else.
- Have problems with work, school, or family because of your habit (or being sick after having alcohol).
- Kept drinking even though it caused problems for you with your relationships.
- Quit or cut back on other activities that were important or enjoyable to you, in order to drink.
- More than once found yourself in situations while or after drinking that made you more likely to get hurt.
- Kept having alcohol even though it made you feel depressed or anxious, hurt your health, or led to a memory blackout.
- Had to drink more than you used to in order to get the effect you wanted. Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before.
- Found that you had withdrawal symptoms when the buzz wore off, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, restlessness, nausea, sweating, a racing heart, or a seizure. Or seeing, hearing, or feeling things that were not there.
If you've had two or three of those symptoms in the last year, that’s a “mild” alcohol use disorder.
It’s a “moderate” disorder if you've had four to five of those symptoms.
It’s “severe” if you've had six or more.
But an alcohol use disorder isn’t just about how much you drink. It’s also about how often, what the effects are, and what happens when you try to cut back.
If you think you might have a drinking problem, you can get help. There are different approaches to try. Your doctor can help, or you could join a group for support.
If you want to try on your own, you’ll need to know your triggers that make you want to drink. Then you'll need to have a plan for something healthier turn to, and know how you’ll turn down alcohol if someone offers it.
Don’t try to quit cold turkey on your own if you drink
heavily. The withdrawal can be dangerous.
heavily. The withdrawal can be dangerous.
Conventional Medicine for Alcoholism
Treatment for alcoholism can begin only when the alcoholic accepts that the problem exists and agrees to stop drinking. He or she must understand that alcoholism is curable and must be motivated to change.
Treatment has three stages:
Nutrition and Diet for Alcoholism
Poor nutrition goes with heavy drinking and alcoholism: Because an ounce of alcohol has more than 200 calories but no nutritional value, ingesting large amounts of alcohol tells the body that it doesn't need more food. Alcoholics are often deficient in vitamins A, B complex, and C; folic acid; carnitine; magnesium, selenium, and zinc, as well as essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Restoring such nutrients -- by providing thiamine (vitamin B-1) and a multivitamin -- can aid recovery and are an important part of all detox programs.
Treatment for alcoholism can begin only when the alcoholic accepts that the problem exists and agrees to stop drinking. He or she must understand that alcoholism is curable and must be motivated to change.
Treatment has three stages:
- Detoxification (detox): This may be needed immediately after discontinuing alcohol use and can be a medical emergency, as detox can result in withdrawal seizures, hallucinations, delirium tremens (DT), and in some cases may result in death.
- Rehabilitation: This involves counseling and medications to give the recovering alcoholic the skills needed for maintaining sobriety. This step in treatment can be done inpatient or outpatient. Both are equally effective.
- Maintenance of sobriety: This step's success requires an alcoholic to be self-driven. The key to maintenance is support, which often includes regular Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and getting a sponsor.
- Because detoxification does not stop the craving for alcohol, recovery is often difficult to maintain. For a person in an early stage of alcoholism, discontinuing alcohol use may result in some withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety and poor sleep. Withdrawal from long-term dependence may bring the uncontrollable shaking, spasms, panic, and hallucinations of DTs. If not treated professionally, people with DTs have a mortality rate of more than 10%, so detoxification from late-stage alcoholism should be attempted under the care of an experienced doctor and may require a brief inpatient stay at a hospital or treatment center.
- Treatment may involve one or more medications: Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety drugs used to treat withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and poor sleep and to prevent seizures and delirium. These are the most frequently used medications during the detox phase, at which time they are usually tapered and then discontinued. They must be used with care, since they may be addictive.
Nutrition and Diet for Alcoholism
Poor nutrition goes with heavy drinking and alcoholism: Because an ounce of alcohol has more than 200 calories but no nutritional value, ingesting large amounts of alcohol tells the body that it doesn't need more food. Alcoholics are often deficient in vitamins A, B complex, and C; folic acid; carnitine; magnesium, selenium, and zinc, as well as essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Restoring such nutrients -- by providing thiamine (vitamin B-1) and a multivitamin -- can aid recovery and are an important part of all detox programs.
At-Home Remedies for Alcoholism
Abstinence is the most crucial -- and probably the most difficult -- step to recovery from alcoholism.
Abstinence is the most crucial -- and probably the most difficult -- step to recovery from alcoholism.
Homeopathic Approach to Alcohol Abuse Disorder
The healing process, done with the aid of homeopathy, allows unresolved feelings to surface. Homeopathy can be helpful in the quick processing of these feelings and helping the individual feel stronger emotionally.
Homeopathy is a natural healing system that helps restore balance and harmony in the organism. I believe that homeopathy can cure a wide variety of ailments, offering long-term improvement of both physical and emotional health. Treatment can also help boost your immune system, increase your energy and improve your outlook on life.
Homeopathic remedies are prescribed for the whole person, not just isolated symptoms or disease label. In a typical consultation a homeopath collects information pertaining to all your physical symptoms and emotional well-being. A homeopath looks at your traumatic life events and your reactions to these events to determine where your energy or life-force has stagnated. A remedy is selected accordingly. The remedy resonates with core emotional issues and therefore can be helpful in overcoming addictions.
Alcoholism is a chronic, often progressive disease that can be fatal. The condition involves a preoccupation with alcohol and impaired control over alcohol intake. Alcoholism usually involves physical dependence on the drug alcohol, but genetic, psychological and social factors contribute to this addiction.
Homeopathy for Substance Abuse
Homeopathy has been used to help the patients of alcohol and drug abuse since the last 200 years. The remedies can be used in three ways:
Alcohol Withdrawal
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is the name for the symptoms that occur when a heavy drinker suddenly stops or significantly reduces their alcohol intake. Prolonged and excessive use of alcohol leads to mental and physical dependence. The withdrawal syndrome is largely a response of the body to lack of alcohol.
With Alcohol withdrawal, one may experience a combination of physical and emotional symptoms, from mild anxiety and fatigue to nausea.
Some symptoms of Alcohol withdrawal are as severe as hallucinations and seizures. Withdrawal usually begins 6 to 24 hours after the last drink.
To be classified as alcohol withdrawal syndrome, patients must exhibit at least two of the following symptoms:
The healing process, done with the aid of homeopathy, allows unresolved feelings to surface. Homeopathy can be helpful in the quick processing of these feelings and helping the individual feel stronger emotionally.
Homeopathy is a natural healing system that helps restore balance and harmony in the organism. I believe that homeopathy can cure a wide variety of ailments, offering long-term improvement of both physical and emotional health. Treatment can also help boost your immune system, increase your energy and improve your outlook on life.
Homeopathic remedies are prescribed for the whole person, not just isolated symptoms or disease label. In a typical consultation a homeopath collects information pertaining to all your physical symptoms and emotional well-being. A homeopath looks at your traumatic life events and your reactions to these events to determine where your energy or life-force has stagnated. A remedy is selected accordingly. The remedy resonates with core emotional issues and therefore can be helpful in overcoming addictions.
Alcoholism is a chronic, often progressive disease that can be fatal. The condition involves a preoccupation with alcohol and impaired control over alcohol intake. Alcoholism usually involves physical dependence on the drug alcohol, but genetic, psychological and social factors contribute to this addiction.
Homeopathy for Substance Abuse
Homeopathy has been used to help the patients of alcohol and drug abuse since the last 200 years. The remedies can be used in three ways:
- Tautopathic application of the abused substance
- Remedies applied for presenting symptoms
- Remedies applied according to the constitutional simillimum
Alcohol Withdrawal
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is the name for the symptoms that occur when a heavy drinker suddenly stops or significantly reduces their alcohol intake. Prolonged and excessive use of alcohol leads to mental and physical dependence. The withdrawal syndrome is largely a response of the body to lack of alcohol.
With Alcohol withdrawal, one may experience a combination of physical and emotional symptoms, from mild anxiety and fatigue to nausea.
Some symptoms of Alcohol withdrawal are as severe as hallucinations and seizures. Withdrawal usually begins 6 to 24 hours after the last drink.
To be classified as alcohol withdrawal syndrome, patients must exhibit at least two of the following symptoms:
Alcohol Withdrawal and Alcohol Addiction – Homeopathy Treatment & Homeopathic Remedies
Conventional medicine has little to offer in terms of pharmacotherapy to help the patients of substance abuse. The only help available is in the form of counseling and social support. Homeopathy on the other hand has remedies that can help the patients of alcohol and drug abuse at various levels – helping in de-addiction, management of withdrawal and improving the physical and mental constitution of the patients.
Conventional medicine has little to offer in terms of pharmacotherapy to help the patients of substance abuse. The only help available is in the form of counseling and social support. Homeopathy on the other hand has remedies that can help the patients of alcohol and drug abuse at various levels – helping in de-addiction, management of withdrawal and improving the physical and mental constitution of the patients.
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- Opium
- Sulphuric acid:
Tartar emetic may be useful when mucous gastric derangement predominates as after beer, with tendency to pneumonia, and accompanied by cool sweat. Capsicum in ten drop doses of the tincture will stop the morning vomiting, sinking at the pit of the stomach and intense craving for alcohol in dipsomania, and promote the appetite. It reduces the agitation and tremor and induces calm sleep. Delirium tremens will often be speedily relieved by Capsicum. Cantharis: for continual attempts to bite; sexual excitement; face pale, yellow, dysuria.
Bibliography:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/understanding-alcohol-abuse-treatment
http://treatment.hpathy.com/homeo-medicine/homeopathy-alcohol-withdrawal-alcohol-addiction-treatment/
http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_abuse_and_alcoholism/page2.htm
http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/homeopathic-medicine-for-addiction-to-drugs-alcohol-and-more/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157163.php
http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/homeopathy-for-drug-and-alcohol-abuse/
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/alcohol-addiction-treatment-and-self-help.htm
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA81/AA81.htm
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/understanding-alcohol-abuse-treatment
http://treatment.hpathy.com/homeo-medicine/homeopathy-alcohol-withdrawal-alcohol-addiction-treatment/
http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_abuse_and_alcoholism/page2.htm
http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/homeopathic-medicine-for-addiction-to-drugs-alcohol-and-more/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157163.php
http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/homeopathy-for-drug-and-alcohol-abuse/
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/alcohol-addiction-treatment-and-self-help.htm
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA81/AA81.htm