Alcohol is another of the many higher-risk substances that can create addiction, that is, a substance that can very easily cause a pathological need for its consumption. Alcohol, due to its great involvement in the body, specifically in the reward circuit of the brain and also due to its easy access, can easily cause an addiction, of which the detoxification process and, per se, the abandonment of its consumption is very complex. . In this Psychology-Online article we explain how to quit alcohol and what your treatment options are.
Can you quit alcohol cold turkey?
Alcohol is a potentially addictive substance due to its extensive neurochemical alteration in the body. Trying to stop cold turkey can cause poor adherence to treatment that is invasive in nature. Quitting cold turkey can cause the opposite reaction: quitting abstinence and not alcohol cold turkey.
As mentioned, alcohol consumption causes a great neurochemical alteration in the body, which when trying to stop suddenly will cause the characteristic symptoms of a abstinencesame as due to its uncomfortable presentation and little tolerable will lead to a relapse.
In this article you can see the .
Alcohol abstinence
According to the DSM 5 (2013), alcohol withdrawal is the cessation (or reduction) of alcohol consumption that has been very intense and prolonged. Two or more of the following may occur in alcohol withdrawal: symptoms or following signs within a few hours or days of stopping (or reducing) consumption:
- Insomnia.
- Psychomotor agitation.
- Hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system, that is, sweating or heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute).
- Increased tremor in the hands.
- Hallucinations or transient visual, auditory or tactile illusions.
- Anxiety.
- Generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
- Nausea or vomiting.
Symptoms usually begin when blood alcohol concentrations decrease markedly (i.e., within 4 to 12 hours) after alcohol consumption has stopped or reduced, peak intensity may occur during second day of abstinence and may improve significantly on the fourth or fifth day. However, in acute withdrawal, symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, and autonomic dysfunction may persist for 3 to 6 months with less intensity. It should be noted that generalized tonic-clonic seizures have only occurred in less than 3% of people.
The most serious and dangerous form of alcohol withdrawal is delirium tremens, characterized by confusion, tremors, hallucinations and other symptoms already mentioned. The imbalance of the nervous system is such that it will require hospitalization.
Withdrawal symptoms can be relieved by administering alcohol or (diazepam for example). Withdrawal symptoms can serve to perpetuate behaviors with alcohol or beer and thus contributing to relapsewhich causes a continued alteration of social and work functioning.
The withdrawal syndrome will also depend on the .
How to stop drinking alcohol forever
How to stop drinking? Below we will see the 4 essential keys for this.
1. Problem recognition
Stopping drinking alcohol forever is one of the goals that sometimes seem utopian for family, friends and other people close to the consumer; even for the addict himself, it becomes an act that is very outside and also very far from his abilities.
Something very interesting also happens with this goal of stopping drinking alcohol, and that is that it is often considered a problem only by those close to you. For the addict this seems to be just a habit of drinking a few beers on the weekends or the only way to relieve frustrations, so there is no problem to fix.
The first step in overcoming an apparent addiction will always be acceptance, accept that there is a problem to overcome and therefore a possible solution.
2. Commitment and responsibility
Although, sometimes, accepting the problem to stop drinking alcohol can be disguised in a superfluous resignation (for example, you can say the following: I know I have a problem, but it is impossible for me to stop drinking; I have no solution, I’m already lost, no one can get me out of here) or it can even be hidden in false and desperate cries for help (for example, the patient can say the following: I won’t be able to get out of here without the help of…; I need to get out of here ; I need you to help me get out of here; I need you not to leave and help me get out of here; I know I have a problem and I’m trying to solve it but I don’t want you to walk away). These two mechanisms that appear to accept are the complete opposite of this.
These mechanisms, which seem to be the work of someone so intelligent and manipulative, are simple primitive manifestations of every human being to survive in perpetual gratification, so one must be prepared to know how to face this situation. In the following article they are offered.
The next step to stop drinking will be to make the commitment to assume the alcoholism treatment.
3. Detox
The detoxification process is often the hardest step being the most susceptible to relapses. Detoxification must often be accompanied by professionals clinical symptoms due to the frequent physical symptoms that occur.
This step explains how complex it is to stop alcohol consumption suddenly because people start without support that relieves or intervenes with these physical symptoms.
Here you will find more information about .
4. Emotional labor
Most of the time, if not all the needs for excessive consumption of some substance are caused by emotional difficulties.
The low tolerance for frustration or the few psychological tools to face the vicissitudes of life are well known, and they are replaced by the hurried and euphoric jump to be well or feel good; People who usually drink alcohol often show behaviors of frustration intolerance, that is, at the slightest pain or conflict they seek to relieve it in a hurry (without speaking or expressing their emotions) by drinking and unconsciously manipulating their neurochemical system (especially the dopaminergic systems), and thus feel full of pleasure or relief.
Returning to the first step of acceptance, people who have a problem with alcohol consumption often deny that they drink because of possible emotional conflicts and they refuse to analyze or explore in depth this area of their life, which often has unconscious content (childhood trauma, little frustration tolerance training). Therefore, the next step to stop drinking and stop needing alcohol to cover up personal problems will be to carry out psychological work. self-knowledge and emotional management.
5. Psychological and pharmacological support
In the majority of cases where there is a problem with alcohol consumption, psychological treatment and some medication are used as an adjuvant to the procedure. Psychological support will depend on the approach suggested by the clinician and also that required by the patient.
Pills to stop drinking alcohol
The drug most widely used in the intervention of alcohol consumption problems is disulfiram, which causes an acute reaction to ethanol consumption. With commercial name of Antabus.
This drug prevents dopamine metabolism. La is a neurotransmitter that is released in large quantities when alcohol is consumed; Excess dopamine results in symptoms of increased blood pressure, restlessness, anxiety, and other unpleasant symptoms. But it is necessary to highlight that these adverse effects frequently include hypotension and dizziness, which are of vital importance, since a fall can cause a cranial contusion, and said contusion, since the brain is not irrigated with a sufficient amount of blood, can cause death.
In someone who is not a regular consumer, alcohol will be metabolized in the liver by the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase. After ingesting alcohol, it gives rise to acetaldehyde in the body, which continues to be transformed. When disulfiram blocks or inhibits the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase, it causes a accumulation of acetaldehyde in the bloodthus the increase in blood concentration of acetaldehyde contributes after alcohol ingestion in patients treated with disulfiram, which consists of a series of unpleasant physical effectsthis reaction is also known as the antabus effect.
Disulfiram blocks the reaction, preventing acetaldehyde from being metabolized and thus causing an increase in its plasma concentrations.
This drug is indicated in alcoholism treatment in cessation programs. Since acetaldehyde is responsible for hangovers, ingesting alcohol while under treatment or under the effects of disulfiram will produce an immediate and acute hangover (much more serious).
The main symptoms of the antabus effect are the following:
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Tachycardia.
- Acne.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Redness.
- Palpitations in head and neck.
- Pulsatile headache.
- Sweating.
- Chest pain.
- Thirst.
- Dyspnoea.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5). Panamericana Editorial.