Test
You can find numerous tests on the Internet which you can take to find out for yourself whether you are addicted to alcohol. Various questions are asked about your environment, how you deal with alcohol and personal questions. These tests are voluntary, free and anonymous.
Of course, there are also tests at counselling centres, in hospital or at self-help groups. In this way, you can clarify for yourself first of all whether you are addicted or not. This can be the first and very important step towards therapy.
Help
There are many offers of help for people who are alcohol dependent. For many of them it is familiar people you talk to or who appeal to you and for another it is easy to go to a support group where there are other people with the same problems. There are free counselling centres in every city, which you can also contact by telephone. In addition there are of course family doctors, psychotherapists and clinics that also offer help. You can find all offers very easily via internet or telephone book
Therapy
If one’s own will is strong enough and those affected are well supported by friends and family members, it is very possible to become a sober alcoholic. This means that one does not drink at all. This is also the ultimate goal of the therapy.
Unfortunately, often only a sip of alcohol is enough and the affected person falls back into alcohol, so if you were once an alcoholic, it is important that you are not allowed or should not drink any more alcohol later. There are various offers of help, ranging from in-patient care and registered doctors to self-help groups. Depending on how well the individual copes, the most suitable one is chosen.
Normally, however, all institutions work closely together. However, in addition to all professional institutions, there should be at least one, and in the best case several close relatives, who support the alcoholic and are there for him, because especially in difficult situations of life, the danger that the dry alcoholic starts drinking again is very high. Before any therapy is undertaken, it is important that the problem is recognized and accepted as such.
A therapy will mainly be successful if the person concerned actually wants to get well. This recognition and a good education of the patient himself and his close relatives, through appropriate institutions, with which one must of course first get in contact, is very important and represents the first of the four phases of the therapy. Then comes the phase of withdrawal.
Here it is important to distinguish how strong the will and how intact and helpful the environment of the patient is, and the condition of the patient himself, in order to decide whether an inpatient or outpatient withdrawal therapy should be carried out. Above all, if the psyche and body have already been severely affected, an inpatient withdrawal therapy is indispensable, especially in order to have professional help available directly in case of possible complications. Withdrawal itself is undoubtedly a difficult phase for the person concerned.
Many suffer from typical withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, sweating, insomnia, palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, confusion, etc. The withdrawal symptoms can affect both body and soul. How long the withdrawal symptoms last is difficult to say and depends not only on the individual person but also on the severity of the illness.
There can even be very dangerous side effects such as the so-called delirium. In the context of delirium, confusion, motor disorders, but also cardiovascular complications and hallucinations as well as vegetative derailments can occur. Such patients need intensive medical care and treatment and should definitely be in in-patient therapy, as the body is acutely endangered.
Appropriate medication is also given for so-called detoxification. How long this phase lasts depends on the patient, but it is said to be completed after about 9 to 12 days. In the weaning phase the patient is free of alcoholic substances and toxins and has to learn again what a life without alcohol looks like and how to deny it.
Besides occupational therapy, psychological support is also available. This phase can also last several months. The last phase, the rehabilitation phase, is about the patient getting back to his normal environment and learning to deal with the daily problems and worries.
These are now no longer obscured by alcohol, but often become even more apparent. It is precisely here that it is important that the patients have good support. Appropriate medication is also given for the so-called detoxification.
How long this phase lasts depends on the patient, but it is said to be completed after about 9 to 12 days. In the weaning phase the patient is free of alcoholic substances and toxins and has to learn again what a life without alcohol looks like and how to deny it. Besides occupational therapy, psychological support is also available.
This phase can also last several months. The last phase, the rehabilitation phase, is about the patient getting back to his normal environment and learning to deal with the daily problems and worries. These are now no longer obscured by alcohol, but often become even more apparent. It is precisely here that it is important that the patients have good support.
