What Is Alcohol Addiction?

People with alcohol addiction are as eager as they are for food or water, and usually last a lifetime. Studies have shown a strong correlation between alcohol and mental health. Individuals with a mental disorder are more likely to develop alcohol addiction and vice versa. In people with mental problems, the overall incidence of alcohol addiction is more than twice as high as in the general population. However, the causal relationship between the two has not yet been determined. Patients with depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia often try to relieve their emotional problems by drinking heavily. And alcohol addiction can cause problems such as family conflicts, unemployment, and economic distress, which can lead to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Researchers point out that genetic or early family environment effects can also affect some individuals.

Alcohol addiction

Alcohol addiction is also called alcohol dependence. Drinking behaviors are very common in people's daily life. Only 5% of adults do not drink alcohol during their lifetime. Except those who are completely banned, any degree of alcohol is considered alcohol Dependent potential population. According to the WHO report in 2004, there were 2 billion drinkers worldwide, and an estimated 140 million of them were alcohol dependent. Alcohol is the most widely used addictive substance in the world and penetrates into daily life, socio-economic and cultural activities. Drinking has been a long-established and universal lifestyle and social custom. However, long-term excessive drinking can cause alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, accompanied by a variety of mental damage, physical damage and social damage, and bring serious adverse effects on individuals, family members and society. Alcohol dependence and its related issues are the third global public health issues after cardiovascular disease and tumors, and have aroused common concern of the whole society!

The molecular abnormalities of biological cell membranes are the essence of alcohol addiction. All alcoholics have chronic alcohol tolerance. The reason why they can stay awake under abnormally high blood ethanol concentration may be the mechanism of ethanol-adaptive membrane of the nervous system Role. If the human cell biofilm (including the central nervous system) is frequently exposed to alcohol, that is, the human tissue fluid is often in a certain concentration of alcohol, the nervous system will become biologically dependent on it, making the individual resistant to alcohol. Accepted. The process is: alcohol affects the function of signal proteins across cell membranes, passes voltage-dependent channels, neurotransmitters and hormone receptors and other target organs, and uridine triphosphate-binding protein or ion channel, and the second messenger protein It is coupled with protein hormone enzymes, which in turn affects the transcription, expression level and cell metabolism of genetic genes. Causes cells to adapt to alcohol. As far as the entire central nervous system is concerned, it is manifested as an abnormal behavioral response to alcohol and alcohol addiction, which forms the body's physiological dependence on alcohol.

It is generally believed that its clinical signs are: gradual increase in alcohol consumption; a long period of non-drinking will produce a craving for drinking; if you do not drink in time, it will produce: a sense of lack, irritability, even convulsions, tremors, and epileptic seizures Neuropsychiatric symptoms. If you drink alcohol in time, you will have a sense of relaxation and satisfaction, and the above symptoms will improve rapidly. This symptom is called withdrawal symptoms, and these conditions are called alcohol addiction. Make a judgment based on the above symptoms! At the same time, make a diagnosis based on the patient's drinking history and related medical records!

Alcohol dependence: strong desire and indulgence for alcohol caused by long-term heavy drinking, so that drinking cannot be controlled by yourself, and once you stop drinking, it will produce a variety of mental and physical symptoms. The incidence of alcohol dependence varies with different socio-cultural backgrounds, with significantly more men than women and more Caucasians than yellows.

Alcoholjichallucinosis: Alcohljichallucinosis is a hallucinatory state caused by long-term drinking. Patients have a large number of rich and vivid hallucinations within 1-2 days after abrupt reduction or stop drinking, and the hallucinations are regarded as the main. Common primitive hallucinations and critical and imperative hallucinations. On the basis of hallucinations, there may also be fragment delusions and corresponding nervousness or depression. During the onset, the patient's state of consciousness was clear, and there were no obvious symptoms of psychomotor excitement and autonomic nervous system. The duration of alcoholic hallucinations varies, ranging from a few hours to a maximum of 6 months.

Alcoholism paranoid states: Chronic alcoholism patients are suspicious of their spouse, often manifesting as jealousy delusions, but also victimization delusions. It is thought that this type of cases are all chronic schizophrenia, just a coincidence with chronic alcoholism.

It is generally believed that its clinical signs are: gradual increase in alcohol consumption; a long period of non-drinking will produce a craving for drinking; if you do not drink in time, it will produce: a sense of lack, irritability, even convulsions, tremors, and epileptic seizures Neuropsychiatric symptoms. If you drink alcohol in time, you will have a sense of relaxation and satisfaction, and the above symptoms will improve rapidly. This symptom is called withdrawal symptoms, and these conditions are called alcohol addiction. Make a judgment based on the above symptoms! At the same time, make a diagnosis based on the patient's drinking history and related medical records!

For the treatment of mental disorders caused by alcohol, especially for chronic alcoholism, comprehensive treatment is used.

1. Abstinence is a key step in the success of treatment

Abstainers should generally be treated under hospital conditions to cut off the source of alcohol. Clinically, the progress of alcohol abstinence should be controlled flexibly according to the severity of alcohol dependence and poisoning of patients. The lighter can try one-time withdrawal, and the patients with severe alcohol dependence should gradually abstain from alcohol to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms. Even life-threatening.

Regardless of one or multiple withdrawals, close observation and monitoring should be performed clinically. Especially in the first week after quitting drinking, pay special attention to the patient's temperature, pulse, blood pressure, consciousness and orientation ability, and deal with possible withdrawal reactions in a timely manner.

Symptomatic treatment

In response to the symptoms of anxiety, tension and insomnia, anxiolytic drugs such as diazepam, methyltriazolidine, and atalol can be used symptomatically. The lowest dose that can control withdrawal symptoms should be given.

If the patient develops convulsions, diazepam or Limening can be injected intramuscularly. Limening can also be taken orally, as these drugs can cause dependence and should only be used for a short period of time.

For patients with significant agitation, chlorpromazine or haloperidol can be given intramuscularly or in small doses. The application of brain nutritional metabolism therapy has a better effect on reducing withdrawal symptoms.

3. Psychotherapy

Clinical practice has proven that behavioral therapy has a certain effect on helping patients to quit drinking. Disulfiram is a drug that blocks the oxidative metabolism of alcohol and can cause acetaldehyde to accumulate in the body. If you drink alcohol while taking the medicine, you can produce nausea, headache, anxiety, chest tightness, and increased heart rate caused by acetaldehyde. The use of sulphur abstinence is a technique often used in behavioral therapy to encourage patients to establish an aversion to drinking. The drug has certain toxicity and cannot be used for a long time. Generally, it is suitable for 3 to 5 days. The daily dose is about 500mg. In addition, the apomorphine reflex therapy applied at home and abroad has also achieved satisfactory results.

4. Supportive treatment

Because most patients have neurological damage and poor nutritional status, they should be given neurotrophic drugs and supplemented with a large number of vitamins, especially B vitamins. For patients with gastritis and liver dysfunction, gastroenteritis and hepatoprotective drugs are commonly used. Other psychotherapy methods, such as supportive psychotherapy and cognitive therapy, can also help patients quit drinking and prevent relapses.

If you pay attention to drinking alcohol in your life, alcohol addiction disorder can be completely avoided. Therefore, it is necessary to increase publicity on the harm of alcohol to the human body, and provide appropriate psychological and behavioral guidance to high-risk groups who drink a lot of alcohol to avoid the occurrence of mental disorders. If you have some psychiatric reactions due to alcohol consumption, you can consult an online doctor through the Internet and let the experts help you determine whether you have developed a mental disorder.