It is not as difficult for a man to get rid of alcohol addiction as it is for an ordinary woman to stop drinking alcohol. Female alcoholism has become widespread in recent years. Younger women, who previously could not be forced to get drunk, are becoming more involved in drinking.
This is a vulnerable category of society, it is difficult for them to endure an unstable situation, stress and everyday problems. But women are mothers, the foundation of a family and educators of the younger generation, which is why it is necessary to stop this epidemic.
Formation of the problem of female alcoholism.
Just 20 years ago, female alcoholics made up a small portion of drinkers and avoided seeking alcohol treatment. They were ashamed of her illness and hid it. Gradually, more and more representatives of the fair sex began to seek help. Now their percentage in relation to male alcoholics has increased considerably. There has been an increase in the number of female alcoholics seeking recovery. The difficulty is that stopping drinking is not that easy. It's not easy to force yourself to live soberly.
Many women continue to drink alone and hide their alcohol addiction. Men and women are at a disadvantage when they become alcoholics. In society, men who drink are judged less than women. A woman supports her drinking husband. She hopes to help him stop drinking. And a husband can leave his wife drinking, which embarrasses him and sets a bad example for his children. Native children will not want to see her mother when she is drunk somewhere and has forgotten about them.
The opinion has become stronger that female alcoholism is incurable. The roots of this myth lie in the negative evaluation of female drunkenness by society and the fact that a woman remains silent about her problem for a long time and the disease remains unattended. Condemnation of female drunkenness interferes with the rapid initiation of treatment and makes it less effective. Also influencing is the woman's rapid involvement in addiction, which soon leads to personal degradation.
Many serious complications resulting from alcohol abuse make it difficult to make the right decision to seek treatment. If someone could get his girlfriend to stop drinking by wishing her well, the recovery rate would be higher. Unfortunately, this is not possible. She should give up alcohol at her expense. And help should consist of making drinkers aware of its addiction.
Why do women start drinking?
Psychological or emotional reasons lead a girl or woman to drink. She is emotional, it is easier to hurt her mentally, she experiences life events more strongly. To begin with, she does not have to be a marginalized and dysfunctional woman. Even seemingly successful representatives of the fair sex suffer from alcoholism from time to time and cannot stop drinking on their own. The main reasons for the appearance of abuse are:
- Stressful conditions due to an unstable life, lack of finances, pressure from superiors and co-workers or from the older generation of family living nearby.
- Concerns about your relationship with your spouse, lack of attention on your part, betrayal, rudeness, frequent absences from home.
- Inability to spend free time, boredom, lack of hobbies.
- Lack of family, immersion in work during the day and emptiness at night.
- Loneliness, especially sudden: the death of a husband, her departure, or the loss of other loved ones.
- Insomnia, desire to normalize sleep.
- Diet, an attempt to suppress hunger with food restrictions.
- Heredity, alcoholism among ancestors.
- Menopause, increased physical and mental discomfort due to changes in the body.
Is female alcoholism different from male alcoholism?
A woman gets drunk faster, this is explained by the characteristics of her body. Body weight is less than that of a man, alcohol absorption occurs faster. The enzyme that helps break down alcohol is less active; female sex hormones are incompatible with the breakdown products of alcohol.
Due to the characteristics of the physiology and emotional sphere, a woman can become dependent on alcohol twice as quickly. When a man is in the initial stage of alcoholism and is just getting involved in drinking, a woman already feels a noticeable urge to drink.
Stages of alcoholism
They are the same for men and women. Division into stages helps to assess the severity of the disease and complications that arise at this stage. Finding a patient with alcoholism at one stage or another requires different treatment approaches.
- Stage I.An attraction to alcohol arises and develops. A woman gets pleasant sensations from drinking and wants to repeat them. This is how mental dependence appears. A woman wants to find herself in situations where she can drink more frequently. She is looking for a reason and a suitable company. When observing a woman, you can notice her atypical behavior and her more frequent alcohol consumption. She explains this by saying that she was feeling bad, she wanted to relax or she was worried about family or work problems.
She cannot objectively assess that alcohol consumption has become more frequent and she refuses to stop. She reacts sharply to the comments and refuses to analyze her behavior. Conflicts with those who want to force her to stay sober. To stop the pressure from outside, the woman begins to drink secretly.
- Stage II.Mental dependence has already been formed, the mood depends on whether the woman has drunk or not. Physical dependence is formed, the alcoholic begins to have a hangover. She often drinks a little every day, less often she binges for several days, after which there is a break. But quitting drinking is already very difficult.
The female body quickly begins to fade. External signs of persistent alcoholism appear. An unkempt appearance, attempts to hide a gray complexion under decorative cosmetics, bags under the eyes and a swollen face reveal a drinking woman. Her voice becomes rough and hoarse. The behavior shows aggression, hysteria, crying, unwillingness to take responsibility, and withdrawal from loved ones. She becomes sexually promiscuous and has gynecological diseases. Her memory weakens, lethargy and tremors in her hands appear.
- Stage III.Physical dependence has developed, it is difficult for a woman to function without alcohol. Irreversible changes have occurred in her body. Important alterations occur in the mental sphere and internal organs.
Among the characteristic disorders of this stage: alcoholic encephalopathy, polyneuropathy, persistent deterioration of intelligence, delirium tremens, toxic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, chronic pancreatitis, risk of heart attack and stroke. The risk of poisoning from alcohol substitutes is extremely high.
Returning to a sober life is almost impossible. Drinking has already become a way of life, the personality is being destroyed. She lost her job and almost all of her loved ones, who despaired of seeing her sober. She has no interests other than alcohol.
When to start treatment
To start treatment, the woman must understand that she is dependent. Forced treatment will not be beneficial. The desire to stop drinking must be formed independently with the support of loved ones. She should not be left alone or listen to accusations. Patience is required on the part of loved ones. The girl should receive help from her parents, especially her mother.
In the first two stages of the disease, she may realize that alcohol causes problems and embarrassing actions. It is also necessary to understand that alcoholic beverages do not solve her problems, but only aggravate them. We need to help the woman realize that she is harming herself and her relationships. It must be shown that it is still possible to improve her life, explain to her that not everything is lost, since she is capable of reasoning and being aware of herself.
There is no need to waste time going to traditional healers and charlatans. They promise to sober up a person in one or more short treatments. Neither the price of these services nor advertising fame guarantee success.
When consent for treatment is received, the woman must go to a hospital where assistance is provided to patients undergoing drug treatment. Getting rid of alcohol addiction is a long and complex process. It should only be carried out by a specialist doctor, using complex methods: medicinal and psychotherapeutic.
What is medical care?
The methods of treating female alcoholism are very diverse. Specialists at the drug treatment hospital select an individual set of treatment measures based on the characteristics of each woman admitted for treatment. During treatment the following are used:
- Preparations for the rapid detoxification and elimination of alcohol breakdown products from the body.
- Drugs specialized in the formation of aversion to alcohol.
- Medications for the correction of disorders derived from alcohol abuse (cardiological, neurological, endocrinological, psychiatric spectrum and other acquired pathologies).
- Complex psychotherapy, help from a psychologist, attendance at group and individual classes to resolve personal problems and emotional relief.
- Maintenance blockade of opioid receptors. Supportive coding, hypnotherapy. These methods should only be used in combination with other medical and psychotherapeutic interventions. Isolated exposure has practically no effect, since the motivation for sobriety outside of complex therapy quickly fades.
What motivates a woman to be sober?
The most important factor that prepares a woman to return to a sober life is the acceptance of her loved ones. A man often recovers to spite someone, trying to prove that he is not completely lost. And women are trying to get sober again for some important purpose. It is important for them to see that people believe in them.
An incentive for sobriety for a patient with alcoholism may be the desire to feel loved and wanted again.A woman wants to start a family and needs to show the best side of her. When she meets someone she likes, she wants to get married and fulfill herself as a mother. This also motivates you to give up alcohol.
Experts also note that alcoholic women fear serious illness or death as a result of alcoholism. In men who drink, this fear is less pronounced; For them, this encouragement may not work.
A woman, in her desire to remain healthy and feminine, is able to overcome the difficulties of the recovery period. It is important to know that, unlike monotonous binge eating that ends up just as tragic in the end, recovery from it will give you a full and varied life. The experience of hundreds of thousands of women who have already freed themselves from alcoholism proves this.