Literally every third family in our country knows first hand how terrible alcoholism is when a close and dear husband becomes addicted. Thousands of women are thinking about how to get their husbands to stop drinking, especially when a person is not aware of the problem and is not trying to fight the disease on his own. Let's talk about what techniques you can use to get a chance to save yourself and your spouse from alcoholism.
What is alcoholism?
There is an opinion that alcoholism can be cured with a simple will, and if a person is drunk, then he just does not want to change anything. First of all, we will challenge this theory, because alcoholism is the real disease. Addiction can be characterized as both physical and psychological.
From a physiological point of view, the body is exposed to toxic substances, as a result of which the metabolism is disturbed and all internal organs suffer. It breaks down the brain, and with it the central nervous system. The alcoholic suffers from poor health between drinking alcohol, does not adequately perceive reality, suffers from memory loss.
From the point of view of psychology, the alcoholic "swamp" is no less dangerous - the alcoholic who drinks every day gets used to the state of carelessness and euphoria that he feels when taking ethanol, his sense of responsibility is erased. Often addicts lose. face and moral character, after which the people around them turn away from them. Many drunks who cannot be cured or saved - dirt, the same alcoholics around and death in the future.
Obviously, no man wants to voluntarily see his life become such a nightmare. So alcoholism is a disease! If your husband is an alcoholic and you love him, be patient and help him cope with the disease.
The inner power to give up alcohol
Let's go back to the theory that any alcoholic, alone and without help, can stop drinking forever, all it takes is the will and strength of character. The statement is only partially true in cases where the addiction is extremely psychological and has not yet caused physiological changes in the body.
It is possible to wean your husband from alcohol and drunkenness at home only when the intake of alcohol has not turned into uncontrolled, systematic binge drinking, without which a person feels bad and is ready to sell his soul for a strong drink. If alcoholism has become a physical addiction, people generally do not want to fight it. Alcohol restores a sense of euphoria and moral satisfaction, removes ill health and falsely normalizes blood pressure, heart rate and mental clarity. As soon as the ethanol begins to be excreted from the body, the malaise returns and the drunkard reaches for the cherished liquid again and drinks alcohol. In such cases, to stop a person drinking, the intervention of specialists is needed.
So, can an alcoholic quit drinking on his own?
Not if drinking is in the form of alcoholism and does not consist of the usual, frequent use of alcohol in the household.
What psychological help can be effective
If you decide to save your husband from drunkenness, first think about what prompted him to get drunk. As a rule, only those people get drunk, who are deeply unhappy and experience their fears and problems silently, inside. To convince your husband to stop drinking in the future, you need to understand the root of the problem and try to eliminate it:
- Try to spend more time with your loved one and not hide how much he means to you. Think of activities together and think about what your husband was addicted to before the addiction.
- In no case do not blame your husband, do not blackmail, do not threaten and do not shout - you will only achieve the opposite effect and the man will be even more closed in on himself. Do not think about how to teach your husband a lesson in drunkenness, but think about how to help your husband.
- Try to talk from the heart and say how happy you would be if your husband chose a sober lifestyle again.
A person who feels important and helpful is more likely to want to give up alcohol.
If we talk about the need for professional help, you must first understand how to persuade your husband to stop drinking, because it is almost impossible to force a person to change without his consent. In rare cases, the alcoholic himself agrees to treatment because it means that the disease is obvious and completely dominates the drunk. Your success will become more real if you have patience and stock up on kind words and support for your husband.
Let's say you persuaded your husband to seek professional help. Let's talk about which methods are considered effective and practiced in the fight against alcoholism.
Hypnotherapy
Surely everyone has heard of the coding of alcoholics with the help of hypnosis. The essence of the procedure is to introduce a dependent person in a state of trance and additionally offer certain programs. With the help of true hypnosis, an experienced, qualified doctor can do a lot: get rid of fears and insecurities, block depression, get to the bottom of the root cause of alcoholism.
If you have chosen hypnotherapy, make sure you find a good, qualified professional who has earned a name in this field. Remember that there are crooks among the doctors who will not only help, but can also harm your husband.
Read more about this direction in the article "Coding with Hypnosis from Alcoholism".
Consider the most effective and popular hypnosis techniques:
- Autogenic training.
- Hypnosuggestion therapy.
- Anchor method.
Each of them deserves attention and is known for its effectiveness.
Autogenic training
This type of training is based on the processes of self-hypnosis, as each person has a huge potential and powerful energy force. The method involves minimal intervention by the psychotherapist - the doctor only trains the alcoholic on the basics of self-hypnosis. Its task is to give impetus and direct the patient's thinking in the right direction.
After mastering the basic techniques, the result of the treatment depends only on the alcoholic himself and his desire to recover. Autogenic intervention is productive only in the early stages of alcoholism or after more serious psychological and medical assistance has been provided.
Hypnosuggestion therapy
The following technique is based on the treatment carried out during a hypnotic trance or so-called sleep under hypnosis. In this case, it is very important for the alcoholic to be aware of the problem, to sincerely want to get rid of it and to trust the specialist.
The session includes several stages.
- In the first place, it is important to establish a trusting relationship between an alcoholic and a specialist, because in order to enter a trance, one must be calm and not resist.
- After the usual conversation, the specialist resorts to psychological techniques aimed at distracting the patient. At the same time, it is important to keep the conversation going. One or two techniques are enough to put a person to sleep.
- After the alcoholic falls into a trance, the doctor begins to impose certain programs aimed at giving up alcoholism.
The effectiveness of this method is individual and depends on the professionalism of the doctor and the degree of suggestibility of the patient. Some relatives of alcoholics note that the effect begins to show after the first session, when others need a course involving 3-6 visits.
Anchor method
This technique differs in that one should not be immersed in hypnotic sleep.
The goal of the therapist is to detect and program the alcoholic's consciousness for certain, "causal" unconscious actions. Simply put, we can give a simple example: an anchor is programmed for a word or memory, in a "collision" with which the alcoholic experiences certain emotions. Positive sensations prompt the patient to perform certain actions, negative anchors provoke negative feelings and play the role of atype of stop signal.
The anchor method is effective in combination with drug treatment and only when the alcoholic interacts and trusts the specialist.
Group psychotherapy
Another way to stop a spouse from drinking alcohol is to send him to group psychotherapy sessions, known worldwide as the Alcoholics Anonymous Society.
The principle of operation of such groups is simple - activities in a group of patients with one disease show the alcoholic that he is not alone and there are many people with the same problem. "If they can do it, so can I, " the addict thinks, and the ice begins to move. Alcoholics communicate with each other, share experiences and problems, support each other. Being in such a society is useful for introspection and maintaining self-confidence.
The therapist uses play techniques to help alcoholics feel part of a team, which is also an important part of recovery.
The course of psychotherapy lasts several years, the optimal number of people in a group is from 5 to 10. The method is long, but very effective.
Family therapy
Family groups are considered no less effective, whose goal is to wean themselves off drunkenness with the help of care and attention, as well as to teach the wives of drinking husbands to support and understand their soul mate.
Families of addicts and alcoholics gather in small groups and spend time together, which is especially valuable at a time when a person has just completed a course of drug treatment and finds it very difficult to "recover" in society. The therapy is accompanied by the constant presence of a specialist who teaches wives to support and respect their husbands, as well as practices various trainings aimed at reducing anxiety. It is important to clearly remember the advice of a psychologist and show understanding. Another advantage of this methodis the interaction with other families with an identical problem: both the alcoholic husband and his wife see that they are not alone in their abyss, they feel belonging to society, they become calmer, purposeful and friendly.
All of the techniques we have listed are for psychological help, but often therapy cannot completely eradicate the problem of alcoholism and is practiced exclusively in combination with medication.
Drug treatment of alcoholism
Let's talk about how to deal with your husband's drunkenness if he does not want it and is not willing to voluntarily turn to "brainwashing".
Often the wives of alcoholics complain that their drinking husband definitely does not want to be treated and does not think he is sick at all. In such cases, it cannot be a question of professional psychological help, because even if it is possible to arrange with an alcoholic spouse to go to a psychotherapist, he will do it as a service and will not strengthen the efforts of the specialist with feedback and desire for recovery. .
The solution to such situations is medication and inpatient treatment.
Let's take a closer look at the general methods of such treatment:
- Coding. The principle of coding is to convey to the alcoholic the information that drinking alcohol will lead to ill health and even death. Injections, tablets and alcohol blockers are used for this, as well as electropulse therapy. The method is effective in any, even the most severe stage of alcoholism. Wives have a new lever - they try to scare their husbands by constantly reminding them that ethanol will lead to torture and death. Some even try to cure their husbands of alcoholism without their knowledge by adding drugs to their diet. This definitely cannot be done as allergic reactions are possible. For more information, see the article "Coding for Alcoholism. "
- Vitamin therapy. The fact is that during overeating the body suffers from intoxication, loses nutrients and enzymes. If you give the body what it needs again, the pain of alcohol withdrawal is significantly reduced and the person has new strength to fight addiction. The drugs offered to the alcoholic contain a large amount of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, PP - have a tonic effect and improve the self-esteem of the alcoholic.
- Acupuncture is another effective treatment for alcoholism. After diagnosing the stage of the disease, the specialist acts on different parts of the body with acupuncture needles. This activates the process of cleansing the body, weakens psychological dependence. Detailed information is presented in the article "Acupuncture for alcoholism".
- Plasmapheresis is a hardware therapy that works by purifying the blood plasma. The blood is passed through a special filter and returned to the body of the alcoholic. The method is not much sought after, as many are afraid to fight the disease so radically.
All these methods are suitable for mandatory treatment, which is agreed and planned without the knowledge of the spouse. It is important that the alcoholic is constantly monitored by specialists and that the treatment is performed exclusively by professionals.
Alternative treatment of alcoholism with non-traditional methods
It is important to mention the fight against alcoholism by folk remedies. They include all kinds of tinctures and decoctions of various plants. Here are some of them:
- Centenarian
- Loquat root.
- Lavrushka.
- Apple.
- Honey.
- Slit root.
- Carbonated drinks.
- Plants with an emetic effect.
Folk remedies such as extracts and infusions of worms and insects are also popular.
Psychological advice and literature to combat alcoholism
If your husband realizes that he is an alcoholic and is willing to make an effort to fight him, the battle can be considered won. Medical and psychological specialists offer books to alcoholics, which help them fight all kinds of addictions, among which alcoholism comes first.
There are also a huge number of private offices that you can turn to for help from professionals.
We looked at what needs to be done to get a wife to stop drinking. The prognosis for recovery depends not only on the individual characteristics of the alcoholic's body and his desire to heal, but also on your support and participation. By no means do I want to convey that I recommend for the mother to be inactive.
How to make your husband stop drinking alcohol? Admit that he is ill, convince your husband of this and prove to him that you are not indifferent to his fate.