Literally every third family in our country knows firsthand how terrible alcoholism is when a close and dear husband becomes addicted. Thousands of women ponder how to get their husbands to stop drinking, especially when a person is unaware of the problem and is not trying to fight the disease on their own. Let's talk about what techniques you can use to save yourself and your spouse from alcoholism.
What is alcoholism?
There is an opinion that alcoholism can be cured by a simple voluntary choice and if a person is a drinker they simply don't want to change anything. First of all, we are going to question this theory since alcoholism is the most 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. Degrades the brain and with it the central nervous system. An alcoholic occasionally suffers from poor health, does not properly perceive reality, suffers from memory loss.
From a psychological point of view, the alcoholic "swamp" is no less dangerous - the alcoholic who drinks every day gets used to the state of carelessness and euphoria he feels at the moment of ingesting ethanol, his sense of responsibility is obliterated. Often times, addicted people lose face and moral character, causing people around them to turn away from them. The crowd of drunks who couldn't be cured or saved - filth, the same alcoholics, and death in the future.
Obviously, no man wants to voluntarily watch his life turn into 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 illness.
The inner strength to quit alcohol
Returning to the theory that any alcoholic, independently and without help, can stop drinking forever, all it takes is willpower and strength of character. The statement is only partially true if the addiction is exclusively psychological and has not yet triggered any physiological changes in the body.
It is only possible to wean a husband from alcohol and drunkenness at home if the consumption of alcohol has not turned into uncontrolled, systematic binge eating, without which a person feels bad and he is ready to sell his soul for a strong drink. When alcoholism has turned into physical attachment, people usually don't want to fight it. Alcohol gives them back a feeling of euphoria and moral satisfaction, eliminates poor health, and mistakenly normalizes blood pressure, heart rate, and mental clarity. As soon as ethanol is excreted from the body, the malaise returns and the drunkard reaches for the beloved liquid again and drinks alcohol. In such cases, the intervention of specialists is required to get a person to stop drinking.
So can an alcoholic stop drinking himself?
No, if the drinking took place in the form of alcoholism and does not consist in the usual, frequent household alcohol consumption.
What psychological help can be effective
If you decide to keep your husband from getting drunk, first think about what made him get drunk. As a rule, only people who are deeply unhappy and experience their fears and problems in silence go into the intoxication. In order to convince your husband to stop drinking in the future, you need to understand the root of the problem and try to get rid of it:
- Try to devote more time to your loved one and not hide how much they mean to you. Think about activities together and consider what your husband was addicted to before the addiction.
- In no case do not blame, blackmail, threaten or shout your husband - you will just get the opposite effect and the person will become even more self-contained. Instead of thinking about how to teach your husband a lesson about drunkenness, think about how you can help your spouse.
- Try having a heart-to-heart conversation and say how happy you would be if your spouse returned to a sober lifestyle.
A person who feels important and useful is more likely to want to give up alcohol.
When we talk about the need for professional help, the first thing you have to do is figure out how to convince your husband to stop drinking, because it is almost impossible to force a person to switch without his consent. In rare cases, the alcoholic himself agrees to treatment, as it means that the disease is obvious and completely dominates the drunk. Your success will become more real when you have patience and stock up on kind words and support for your husband.
Let's say you convinced your husband to seek professional help. Let's talk about what methods are considered effective and practiced in the fight against alcoholism.
Hypnotherapy
Surely everyone has heard of the coding of alcoholics with hypnosis. The essence of the process is to put a dependent into a trance state and to suggest certain programs further. With the help of real hypnosis, an experienced, qualified doctor can achieve a lot: reduce fears and insecurities, block depression, get to the bottom of the cause of alcoholism.
Once you have decided on hypnotherapy, be sure to find a good, qualified specialist who has made a name for himself in the field. Remember that there are also scammers among doctors who can not only help but also harm your husband.
Read more about this direction in the article "Coding with Hypnosis of Alcoholism".
Consider the most effective and popular hypnosis techniques:
- Autogenic training.
- Hypnosuggestional Therapy.
- Anchor method.
Each of them deserves attention and is famous for its effectiveness.
Autogenic training
This type of training is based on the processes of self-hypnosis, because there is huge potential and strong energy in every personality. The method implies minimal intervention by the psychotherapist - the doctor only teaches the alcoholic the basics of self-hypnosis. Its task is to give impulses and to steer the patient's thinking in the right direction.
After learning the basic techniques, the outcome of the treatment depends entirely on the alcoholic himself and his or her desire for recovery. Autogenic intervention is only effective in the early stages of alcoholism or after more serious psychological and medical help has been given.
Hypnosuggestional Therapy
The next technique is based on the treatment performed during a hypnotic trance or so-called sleep under hypnosis. In this case, it is very important that the alcoholic is aware of the problem, sincerely wants to get rid of it and trusts the specialist.
The session consists of several phases.
- First and foremost, it is important to build a trusting relationship between an alcoholic and a specialist because to get into a trance you have to be relaxed and not defend yourself.
- After the usual conversation, the specialist resorts to psychological techniques aimed at dispersing the patient's attention. At the same time, it's important to keep the conversation going. One or two techniques are enough to euthanize a person.
- After the alcoholic goes into a trance, the doctor begins to put in place certain programs aimed at stopping alcoholism.
The effectiveness of this method is individual and depends on the professionalism of the doctor and the suggestibility of the patient. Some relatives of alcoholics found that the effects manifested themselves after the first session when others required a 3-6 visit course.
Anchor method
This technique differs in that a person does not need to be immersed in hypnotic sleep.
The goal of the therapist is to find and program the alcoholic's awareness of certain unconscious "cause and effect" actions. In simple terms we can give a simple example: An anchor is programmed for a word or a memory, the "collision" with which an alcoholic experiences certain emotions. Positive sensations cause the patient to take certain actions, negative anchors cause negative sensations and play the role of a kind of stop signal.
The anchor method is effective in combination with drug treatment and only if the alcoholic interacts and trusts the specialist.
Group psychotherapy
Another way to discourage a husband from consuming 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 - classes in a group of patients with a disease show the alcoholic that he is not alone and that there are many people with the same problem. "If they can manage, so can I, " thinks the addict and the ice begins to move. Alcoholics communicate with one another, share experiences and problems, support one another. Being in such a society is beneficial for introspection andmaintaining self-esteem.
The therapist uses gaming techniques to help alcoholics feel part of a team, which is also an important part of recovery.
Psychotherapy lasts for several years, the optimal number of people in a group is 5 to 10. The method is tedious but very effective.
Family therapy
Family groups are no less effective, the purpose of which is, with the help of care and attention, to wean from drunkenness and to teach the wives of drinking husbands to support and understand their soulmate.
Families of addicts along with alcoholics gather in small groups and spend time together, which is especially valuable at the time when a person has just finished drug treatment and it is very difficult for them to find themselves in society. The therapy is initially accompanied by the constant presence of a specialist who teaches the wives to support and respect their husbands, and also conducts various training courses to reduce anxiety. It is important to clearly remember and understand the advice of a psychologist. Another advantage of this method is the interaction with other families with the same problem: Both the alcoholic husband and his wife see that they are not alone in the abyss, that they feel part of society, become more relaxed, more determined and friendlier.
All of the techniques we have listed relate to psychological help, but often therapy cannot completely eliminate the problem of alcoholism and is practiced exclusively in combination with medication.
Drug treatment for alcoholism
Let's talk about how to deal with your husband's drunkenness when he doesn't want to and is unwilling to turn to "brainwashing" voluntarily.
Often times, alcoholic wives complain that their drinking husband categorically does not want to be treated and does not think he is sick at all. There can be no talk of professional psychological help in such cases, because even if it is possible to see a psychotherapist with an alcoholic husband, he does so as a favor and does not reinforce the efforts of the specialist through feedback and a desire to recover.
The solution to such situations is medication and inpatient treatment.
Let's consider in more detail the common methods of such treatment:
- Coding. The coding principle is to convey the information to the alcoholic that drinking alcohol leads to poor health and even death. Injections, tablets and alcohol blockers, as well as electrical impulse therapy, are used for this. The method is effective in everyone, even in the most severe stage of alcoholism. The women have a new lever - they try to scare the husband and constantly remind them that ethanol will lead to torture and death. Some even try to cure their husbands of alcoholism without his knowledge by adding drugs to their food. In principle, this is not possible as allergic reactions are possible. For more information, see the Coding For Alcoholism article.
- Vitamin therapy. The fact is that during an intoxication the body suffers from poisoning and loses useful substances and enzymes. If you give the body what it needs again, the withdrawal symptoms from alcohol are significantly weakened and the person has new strength to fight the addiction. The drugs offered to alcoholics contain a large amount of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, PP - they have a tonic effect and improve the well-being of the alcoholic.
- Acupuncture is another effective treatment for alcoholism. After diagnosing the stage of the disease, the specialist works with acupuncture needles on different parts of the body. This activates the body's cleansing process and weakens psychological dependence. See the article "Acupuncture for Alcoholism" for full details.
- Plasmapheresis is an apparatus-based therapy that works by cleaning the blood plasma. The blood is passed through a special filter and returned to the alcoholic's body. The method is not in great demand, as many are afraid of fighting the disease so radically.
All of these methods are suitable for coercive treatment that is agreed and planned without the husband's knowledge. It is important that the alcoholic is constantly monitored by specialists and that treatment is carried out exclusively by professionals.
Alternative treatment for alcoholism using non-traditional methods
It is important to mention the fight against alcoholism with folk remedies. This includes all kinds of tinctures and decoctions made from a wide variety of plants. Here are some of them:
- Centaury
- Lovage root.
- Lavrushka.
- Apple.
- Sweetheart.
- Clefthoof Root.
- Sparkling water.
- Plants with an emetic effect.
Folk remedies such as extracts and infusions of worms and insects are also popular.
Psychological counseling and literature on combating alcoholism
When your man realizes he is an alcoholic and ready to make an effort, the battle can be considered won. Medical and mental health professionals provide alcoholics with books to help them fight addictions, among which alcoholism ranks first.
There are also a large number of private offices that you can turn to for professional help.
We looked at what needs to be done to get the husband to stop drinking. The prognosis of recovery depends not only on the individual characteristics of the alcoholic's body and his desire for healing, but also on your support and participation. In no case should you try to use rudeness and anger to teach your husband a drunkenness lesson, as this will have the opposite effect and your drunkard will only make sure that he is not loved and understood.
How do you get your husband to stop drinking? Admit he is sick, convince your husband about it and prove to him that you are not indifferent to his fate.