Homeopathy has a great role to play in alcohol de-addiction. Along with other interventions, homeopathic treatment increases the chances of recovery. Homeopathic medicines remove the craving for alcohol and significantly reduce the chances of relapse once achieving soberness. Even high-risk people having a strong family history of alcoholism show fast recovery when prescribed homeopathic treatment. Homeopathic treatment for alcohol de-addiction is found to be safe and causes no side effects.
Alcohol is a CNS depressant. About 45 to 50% of adults are current drinker, 20% are former drinkers and 30 to 35% are lifetime abstainers. For most drinkers, the frequency and amount of alcohol consumption does not impair physical or mental health or the ability to safely carry out daily activities. Alcohol is a habit forming substance. When a person starts drinking, it slowly becomes a habit which is difficult to quit. Drinking alcohol does not produce any benefit for the person who drinks it except a temporary feeling of euphoria and being free of inhibitions. On the other side it produces many harmful effects on the person’s health, family as well to the community.
In 2067-2025 B.C., the King Hammurbai of Babylonia, popularised the sale and consumption of alcohol. The word ‘alcoholism’ was first introduced by Magun Huss. The word ‘alcohol’ was derived from Arabic word “Alkhul” meaning “essence”. Historical evidences suggest that alcohol consumption has been acknowledged as a part of different civilization. There are also evidences that alcohol has been a source of medication and ritualistic entity in certain religious ceremonies. The type of alcohol beverage, the quantity of its consumption, the pattern of drinking and the frequency of its use are constantly evolving. However, the matter of the fact is that alcohol is everywhere today.
Alcohol addiction or alcoholism is a real disease that can affect anyone irrespective of genes, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. It is considered a real disease as it causes changes to the brain as well as neurochemistry, so alcohol addiction cannot just be overcome by mere use of will power. Alcoholic addiction is common due to easy availability and lack of social taboo around heavy drinking. This makes it perhaps the most difficult addiction to diagnose as it is enjoyed in social events. Alcohol addiction can present itself in different ways. There are some people who drink all day, while there are others who drink heavily but then stay sober for longer. Some tend to drink at unfit times, such as first thing after waking or in places like temples or work.
Some tend to be where there is alcohol and avoid being where there is none. Some go to the extent of changing friends and avoiding contact with dear ones. They instead prefer friends who drink heavily too. But regardless of the varied presentation, someone is considered to have alcohol addiction if they are dependent on drinking to function in daily life and can’t stay sober for more than a while and can’t control their emotions when they are not drinking. Apart from increasing chances of accidents e.g., from falls or during driving, alcoholism is also associated with various health complications.
These include heart and liver disease, ulcer mouth, diabetes complications, sexual problems, birth defects, loss of bone density, problems in vision, increased chances of cancer and suppressed immunity.
There is no reason to drink alcohol. Yet, many people drink it. That alcohol triggers significant health risks, including legal issues and relationship problems is passé, but most people who drink heavily brush aside its after-effects. Nor the ‘hole’ it creates in one’s purse, or credit card.
Remember the first time you tried alcohol? You tried to stop yourself from the sickening bouts of vomiting. It was your body’s telltale response that it cannot ‘stomach’ alcohol. Your defense systems sounded the alarm bell, because you drank something that damages your vital organs. Yet, the next thing you did was compel yourself to drink enough; so, you silenced the alarm bell.
You convinced yourself that alcohol was okay. You joined the ‘collective denial bandwagon’ about the ‘enjoyable’ realities of alcohol use. You believed it, again, because alcohol tricks your subconscious mind. The rest is disastrous, because the moment your subconscious connects alcohol with pleasure, it pleads and works day-in and day out — to get more. The more, the merrier.
Pathology of alcoholic dependency: 4 distinct phases are present
1) The pre-alcoholic symptomatic phase – Person starts drinking as conventional social situations and soon experiences relief from tension. As the time passes, tolerance for tension decreases and almost daily alcohol consumption begins. Transition may take several months to years.
2) Prodromal phase – This phase is marked by the sudden onset of blackouts, the drinker may show signs of intoxication and may be able to carry on a reasonable conversation or go through elaborate activities but will have no memory of it. Certain correlated behaviour like surreptitious drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, avoid drinking, guilt feelings and avoidance of references to alcohol.
3) Crucial phase – It is characterised by the loss of control over drinking mean that consumption of alcohol seems to trigger a chain reaction that continues until either sick or intoxicated. Begins to drop friends and jobs which lead to isolation and further centring of behaviour around alcohol. It can further lead to stage of complication as improper nutrition and “alcoholic jealousy syndrome”. As he becomes a morning drinker, he enters the chronic phase.
4) The Chronic phase – Finds himself intoxicated. There is also marked impairment in thinking process.
CAUSES OF ALCOHOLISM: The maladaptive pattern of drinking that constitutes alcohol abuse may begin with a desire to reach a state of feeling high. Some drinkers who find the feeling rewarding then focus on repeatedly reaching that state.
– Many people, who abuse alcohol chronically, have certain personality traits; feeling of isolation, loneliness, shyness, depression, dependency, hostile and self-destructive impulses and sexual immaturity.
– Alcoholics may come from broken home and have a disturbed relationship with their family
– Societal factors – attitudes transmitted through the culture or child rearing- affect patterns of drinking and consequent behaviour.
– The incidence of alcohol abuse and dependence is higher in biologic children of people with alcohol problems than in adoptive children.
– There is evidence of genetic or biochemical pre disposition, including data suggests some people who become alcoholics are less easily intoxicated i.e. they have increased threshold for CNS effects.
ALCOHOL DE-ADDICTION TREATMENT
Alcohol addiction is a complex but, fortunately, a treatable disease. Alcohol de-addiction is the process of psychotherapeutic treatment in cases of dependency on alcohol. When alcohol is abused over a long period of time, the brain undergoes changes due to such prolonged exposure. This makes craving for alcohol stronger and withdrawal symptoms worse. Due to this, quitting alcohol and going through the process of recovery alone is very difficult for anyone. Therefore the intent de-addiction process is to help and enable the person to confront alcohol dependence, if present and cease alcohol abuse. This is essential in order to avoid the occurrence of any harmful legal, social, medical, financial and psychological consequences. There are various treatment options available, as it is often seen that no single option is appropriate for everyone.
Also, effective treatment modality is the one that caters to multiple requirements of an individual and not just his/ her addiction. For this, it is seen that a combination of treatments proves the best. There are various inpatient/ residential programs where one stays at a treatment center for some time as well as outpatient programs where one lives at his/her home and visits the treatment center. However, the most important criteria for the effectiveness of any treatment depend upon whether the individual with addiction must want to become sober and remains in treatment for an adequate time period. Also, the earlier this process is started more the chances of success and recovery.
Sobriety is mainly the responsibility of the individual who has the addiction. There are cases of relapse during the process of recovery. But only In less than half of patients, after remaining sober for at least one year, they start to drink again. They may binge drink once or repeatedly drink again. But this relapse should not be seen as a sign of failure. Instead, it is only a stage in the process, with an easier recovery. It is seen that only one out of 7 patients continues to have issues with drinking after five years of treatment.
HOMEOPATHY: THE SAFE, EFFECTIVE SUPPORTIVE TREATMENT FOR THE ALCOHOL HABIT
Homeopathy can help augment one’s ‘will power.’ It can help ease and beat one’s craving for alcohol, while relieving withdrawal symptoms — this can range from mild tremors to delirium tremens and seizures — safely. The unique benefits of professional homeopathic treatment is it strengthens the person’s overall mindset and constitution, so that they are not only less physically drawn or addicted to alcohol, but they also feel stronger emotionally and less socially addicted to what ‘addiction’ represents for them.
Homeopathy is keyed to the individualised, or customised, approach, where a homeopathic remedy is selected on the basis of one’s personality, temperament, sensitivities, sensibilities and idiosyncrasies. It has the potential to reinforce individuals physically and psychologically, while helping them to tide over the problem of alcohol use and also giving up the habit for the good.
For the best and most profound results, a professional homeopathic doctor, who can ‘zero-in’ on the right homeopathic constitutional remedy for the individual — because, each of us is different and unique in both health and illness, or with the alcohol problem — should be consulted.
SELF-HELP
Get in touch with self-help groups, share knowledge, experience and ideate corrective solutions with others who have been through the same experience and overcome their alcohol problems. This will boost your confidence and mental strength to avoid going back to alcohol.
Deep breathing can be a useful technique, especially when alcohol cravings become strong.
Be positive. This will help lift your will power.
Surround yourself with people who are naturally happy and always see the bright side of life or things.
Exercise regularly, or join a gym. Exercise helps to surge your body with endorphins, or feel-good chemicals.
The treatment options for drug de-addiction are:-
DETOXIFICATION- This is the key step, especially for those people with significant alcohol use disorder. It takes a few days to weeks usually. The aim is to stop drinking and allow the body to get the alcohol out of the system. This often leads to withdrawal symptoms such as shaking or tremors, seeing or hearing things which are not present or hallucinations and seizures. Due to this, most patients go to a treatment center or hospital where they can be under the supervision of doctors and experts and get help easily.
COUNSELING- This can be done by psychologists, psychiatrists, alcohol counselors and even social workers. They can teach new skills that can be used in everyday life for alcohol de-addiction such as a change in behaviors that make one want to drink, ways to deal with stress and such triggers, how to develop a strong support system and how to set goals and reach them. Some patients require only a short counseling session, whereas there are others who need several sessions to deal with problems like anxiety and depression. Alcohol addiction also affects the lives of people close to the patient. Therefore couple or family therapies are also advised and conducted.
MEDICATIONS- Medicines by themselves cannot cure alcohol addiction, but they can help to reduce the craving for alcohol. This, in combination with other treatment options, can help for fast recovery.
GROUP THERAPY/ SUPPORT GROUP- It is found to be very effective during rehabilitation and helps the patient stay on track till life gets back to normal. Group therapy is led by a therapist. Therefore it not only gives the benefits of counseling but also the support of the group members. Support groups, on the other hand, are not led by therapists. They are groups of people with alcohol addiction e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous. In this, the members of the group provide understanding and advice and keep one accountable. Many people tend to stay in such groups for years.
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Dr. Vidur SN Vithal BHMS; DNHE; MD (Hom.)
Internationally Renound Homoeopath & Nutritionist
