Setting boundaries with an alcoholic

The work of redefining old and establishing new boundaries is a difficult and sometimes exhausting process, but it is vital to sobriety and recovery. It also helps us not take anyone else's reaction to our boundaries personally. Some people may not respect our boundaries because we have not always respected them ourselves in the past. In another case, our boundaries are respected, but we feel like victims. I constantly assess the degree of my frustration with being an alcoholic when it comes to those who are able to drink "in moderation." My friends and my loved one have every right to have a beer or a glass of wine; Just because I can't stop doesn't mean I have to control their choices. Sometimes I get jealous and angry that I can't do what my loved ones do, but that's about me, not their decision to drink at dinner.

✅ Evaluate relationships

Since we set boundaries for ourselves, we also have to evaluate situations and relationships. So it's important to ask yourself: does help me? Is this relationship right for me? We must also recognize that while we may set boundaries, others also have the right to tell us that those boundaries do not suit them. Losing people can be painful, but true friends and loved ones will respect our decisions while also taking care of themselves. “Neither self-flagellation nor self-sacrifice is healthy or beneficial,” says Ian Stockbridge.

The person I'm dating isn't addicted or abusive, but we've had conversations about the boundaries I need when it comes to his drinking and how it can affect our relationship. A loved one knows that I respect his decision to drink sometimes, but he also knows that the smell of breath and the taste on the lips mean that kissing or other forms of physical intimacy are very likely to bypass him if he smells like a bottle . I can get alcohol close to me, but not that close. It's not a threat or an ultimatum, it's a line I set to protect my sobriety. My partner understands this and decided that when we are together, she does not drink, because intimacy with me is more expensive for him.

I also warned my friends that I might leave before the party was over because my ability to be around alcohol was limited. I have surrounded myself with people who understand this and let go of those who don't. Unconditional positivity, even during times of change and shifts in the dynamics of our relationship, is necessary for my sobriety. If someone fails to appreciate your needs, or if they downplay some part of your recovery, that person is not a good travel companion for you.

There is a reason why we stop drinking. Try to remember that suffering from alcohol addiction is much worse than suffering the discomfort of setting boundaries. You deserve a better life. ✨

photos of Carolina Grabovskaya / Kaboompics

How to help a loved one to realize his alcoholism - news - Demidovsky Central District Hospital

How to help a close alcoholism

Alcoholism - a terrible disease.

Precisely a disease, because it poisons a person's whole life and destroys his internal organs. This poison, having intoxicated consciousness once, eats into the body and is able to suppress the will of anyone. All alcohol-containing drinks subjugate the human mind, and addiction occurs not only at the physical level, but also psychologically. That is why it is still very difficult to cure a person from this, one of the most terrible diseases of our time, which can be put on a par with HIV or cancer.

The first people who always try to help you are your loved ones. It doesn't matter if it's husband or wife, father, mother, son or daughter, blood brother or brother in spirit. Unfortunately, only a very loving and patient person can really help . But often only one desire to somehow correct the situation is not enough, it is also necessary to know what to do if your loved one has started drinking. This is also important because a person trying to help can, by his erroneous actions, not only aggravate the situation, but also become co-dependent. This does not mean that you will also start drinking, the fact is that usually relatives begin to play a kind of role of a “nanny” (usually a wife), trying to save the family in some way, and so that no one finds out about their problem . During the binge, "nannies" begin to patronize the addict, while very often enduring various aggression or even beatings from the alcoholic. And thus, moments of sobriety are replaced by hard drinking, and so on in a circle. As a result, "nannies" can no longer live differently and become co-dependent themselves.

It is necessary to start by letting the person himself understand his addiction . Try to understand the reason why the person drinks. Try to get rid of this reason. If for some reason this is impossible to do, it is important to understand the moment that alcohol is clearly associated with long-standing feelings of "high". For him, the saying: “to drink is grief, and not to drink is doubly” has far from a comic meaning. It is easier for an alcohol addict to live in a binge than in a gray, empty and sober reality. He is afraid of reality, even if this fear is based on a wrong judgment.

Try to see the world through his eyes. No, we are not saying that you should start drinking alcohol with him, but accept the fact that the reality he invented is very different from what it really is. Your main task is to show with real examples how wonderful life really is, and how much alcohol kills it.

No need to threaten him - if it didn't help the first time, then it won't help now, and, perhaps, will only aggravate the situation. As a close person, it is more convenient for you to look for that lever that will make him think about the need to get rid of his own addiction. Take a closer look at his surroundings, you may be able to persuade someone to quit with him. Together, it will be much easier for him to decide on such a step.

Alcoholism is a terrible thing, so don't give up, and most importantly, don't let yourself break . Try not only to keep the old, but also to fill the life of the addict with some new meaning. The busier your days are, the less time you have for alcohol.

Anti-Alcohol Hotline

You can get information on any questions related to alcohol consumption by calling the Healthy Russia Help Desk. The hotline operates at 8-800-200-0-200. Calls to it are free from all regions of Russia.

Hotline of the Narkom Charitable Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, which provides services for the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, including educating citizens about risk factors for their health and motivating them to lead a healthy lifestyle (8-499-250-05 -00) with free consultations of a lawyer, psychologist, social worker on the website of your institution in the "information for the patient" section.

Questionnaire PAS (severity of post-intoxication alcohol syndrome)

If there is chronic alcohol intoxication, then there should be post-intoxication. The more severe the post-intoxication states, the more severe the intoxication itself. In other words, it is possible to identify chronic alcohol intoxication by its biomedical consequences (without asking the patient about the doses of alcohol taken and their frequency) by identifying the characteristics of the state of the respondent after alcohol consumption has taken place.

This condition is known in pharmacology and toxicology as "post-intoxication alcohol syndrome" (PAS) , commonly referred to as "hangover" in everyday life. Its signs develop upon awakening after an alcoholic libation. The severity of the severity of PAS usually directly correlates with the severity of the alcoholic excess that took place the day before.

Diagnosis of chronic alcohol intoxication through the detection of extensive PAS (see the table below) allows you to identify and divide the subjects into regular alcohol users in doses that are individually hazardous to their health and into persons who are not in a state of chronic alcohol intoxication (both teetotalers and drinkers). ).

PAS Questionnaire

Analysis of the results on the completed self-report card:

- the presence of up to 5 positive answers is typical for low-drinkers;

- positive responses from 10 to 15 of the above signs indicate the likelihood of prolonged and regular episodes of drinking in doses that are dangerous to health;

- 15 or more features suggest highly likely alcohol abuse with initial signs of dependence.

It should be borne in mind that even the statement of only one pathological sign on this card the next day after drinking indicates that the respondent is familiar with the negative effects of alcohol.

Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in Russia. According to the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, the average Russian drinks 50 liters of this drink per year. Unfortunately, beer is also a popular drink among athletes who don't mind having a drink after a workout. Everyone knows how harmful alcohol is. In an attempt to evade this fact, mass sports representatives are increasingly resorting to non-alcoholic beer. Contrary to popular belief about the usefulness of this drink for athletes, its harm is obvious. We decided to tell you why you should not drink non-alcoholic beer after training.

What is non-alcoholic beer

Non-alcoholic beer is beer with a low alcohol content. On average, it contains 0. 5% (up to 0.5% ethyl alcohol). Otherwise, non-alcoholic beer is no different from regular beer. It is prepared according to the same recipe - by fermenting the wort with yeast. And to remove alcohol from it, special technologies are used - membrane filtration, which allows you to separate alcohol from beer, and rapid fermentation at low temperatures. Therefore, in non-alcoholic beer, all the components of regular beer remain, with the exception of the high content of ethyl alcohol. Just like its alcoholic counterpart, non-alcoholic beer contains composition harmful to the body cobalt, fermentation products, among which there may be fusel oils and cadaverine or "cadaveric poison".

The effect of non-alcoholic beer on the body after training

The phytoestrogens contained in beer lead to hormonal imbalance.

After training, all body systems are exhausted, they need recovery. Drinking beer greatly complicates these processes. Cobalt 9 contained in non-alcoholic beer0078 negatively affects the cardiovascular system . After a workout, the body actively produces hormones that contribute to the growth of muscle mass. The phytoestrogens contained in beer lead to hormonal imbalance. They lower testosterone production, which reduces the positive results from training. Beer has a diuretic effect, due to which beneficial microelements, such as potassium salts, are so necessary for the heart, are washed out of the body. Fusel oils can cause blindness, liver disease, and impotence. It is fusel oils that are the cause of the hangover syndrome. In non-alcoholic beer, they are in small quantities and will not cause a strong hangover. But these oils tend to accumulate in the body.

Conclusions

Drinking beer after a workout can ruin all your efforts. It is better to replace non-alcoholic beer with a glass of mineral water, which will perfectly quench your thirst, replenish trace elements lost during training and will not cause any harm. After training, you can drink a protein shake . Thanks to the amino acids contained in it, the muscles will receive the necessary building cells for their growth. Due to the washing out of useful potassium, sodium and magnesium salts during training, it is necessary to replenish their reserves. To do this, after training, you can drink a water-salt solution: add 120 g of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt to 2 liters of water. Freshly squeezed juices and milk are useful - they will replenish the reserves of vitamins and trace elements. You should not drink sugary carbonated drinks after a workout - they do not contain any beneficial elements for the body, but can lead to a sharp jump in sugar. In addition, an excess of glucose in the blood will cause another bout of thirst. The same water will help to solve the problem.

Watch your health and don't let your weaknesses hinder your physical development.

Anti-alcohol hotline

       For information on any questions related to the use of alcohol, you can call the "Healthy Russia" helpline. The hotline operates at 8-800-200-0-200. Calls to it are free from all regions of Russia.

Hotline of the Narkom Charitable Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, which provides services for the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, including educating citizens about risk factors for their health and motivating them to lead a healthy lifestyle (8-499-250-05-00) with free consultations of a lawyer, psychologist, social worker on the website of your institution in the "information for the patient" section.

Safe dosage of drinking alcoholic beverages and the consequences of exceeding it

The vast majority of citizens, at least once in their lives, asked themselves the question: can alcohol be useful or at least safe?

Despite the centuries of experience of mankind in the use of alcohol, to date, no convincing scientific evidence of the benefits of drinking even moderate doses of alcohol has been received.

In fact, it is only reliably established that there are no STANDARDS and SAFE levels of alcohol consumption . We are talking only about the quantities of alcoholic beverages that may increase the risk of health consequences of their use to some extent. It must be responsibly understood that the harmful effects of alcoholic beverages on the body are due not only to the toxic effect of ethyl alcohol itself, but also due to even more harmful intermediate products of its decay (acetaldehyde, acetic acid, etc.), which have a damaging effect on internal organs and fabrics. The only question is the amount of alcohol taken per unit of time and the state of health of your body.

There is such a concept among specialists as “dose of risk”, which is determined for each person individually at the rate of 0.5 grams of pure alcohol per 1 kg of body weight. In order not to earn alcoholism, heart disease, liver disease, etc. The "dose of risk" must not be exceeded. This is expressed in the fact that you can afford to drink about 1-2 glasses of dry wine or 1-1. 5 bottles of beer or no more than 40 ml of vodka or other strong alcoholic drink per day.

The World Health Organization recommends that men consume no more than 40 g of pure alcohol per day (approximately 2 bottles of beer, 100 ml of vodka or 3 glasses of dry wine). And for women - 30 g of pure alcohol (1.5 bottles of beer or 80 g of vodka, 2 glasses of dry wine). And this is provided that 2 days a week a person will not take a drop of alcohol. At the same time, many experts point out that0078 any regular (3-4 or more times a week) even small amounts of alcohol can have an adverse effect on the course of existing pathological processes in the human body . A number of recent scientific studies have found a link between cancer and regular daily drinking. For example, it was found that if you drink a glass of wine every day, then the risk of developing cancer of the throat or oral cavity increases by 168 percent.

In addition, be aware that in some situations even taking one “risk dose” of alcohol per day is undesirable: for example, if you are going to drive a vehicle, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, when you are taking certain medications, when you have many diseases (diabetes, gout, etc. ), and even more so when you cannot control the process of drinking (i.e. you have signs of alcohol addiction).

To drink or not to drink alcohol is, in any case, a personal matter and the choice of each of us . Just remember that using it in large or even moderate conventional doses will sooner or later damage your health. And alcohol problems that have already arisen are not only harmful to health and psyche, but also various professional, family and social negative consequences of excessive drinking.

Anti-alcohol hotline

For information on any questions related to alcohol consumption, please call the Healthy Russia Help Desk. The hotline operates at 8-800-200-0-200. Calls to it are free from all regions of Russia.

Hotline of the Narkom Charitable Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, which provides services for the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, including educating citizens about risk factors for their health and motivating them to lead a healthy lifestyle (8-499-250-05-00) with free consultations of a lawyer, psychologist, social worker on the website of your institution in the "information for the patient" section.

The main tactics of the behavior of the relatives of a “drinking” person to motivate them to stop drinking alcohol.

When a person becomes dependent on alcohol, not only he suffers, but his whole family. Constant quarrels, scandals and endless persuasion to "quit", and the expectation of new alcoholization interfere with a normal life. But, as a rule, codependence is hidden behind attempts to save a relative, to pull him out of the clutches of addiction. Let's take a typical situation. The wife calls her husband's work and tells him that he is ill while he is drinking. She helps him get out of an unpleasant situation, but at the same time, covering him and freeing him from responsibility for his actions, contributes to the continuation of alcoholism.

Codependency is a pathological condition characterized by strong emotional, social or even physical dependence on another person. The codependent person, having allowed the behavior of another person to influence him, becomes completely absorbed in controlling the actions of this other person, and thus regulate his own state. Thus, not only the dependent person himself needs adequate assistance, but also his relatives.

There are certain tips to help overcome codependency and motivate the addict to sobriety.

1. Allow the chemically addict to live as badly as he allows himself, but do not try to artificially worsen his life.
2. Stop deceiving yourself that you have the right to solve a person's problem for him, that you are able to change the core of a person's personality.
3. Do not hide from society the misdeeds of the addict, but also do not make public scandals about alcoholism.
4. Do not help with debt obligations due to alcoholism, do not cover at work (study), etc.
5. Do not take money because of the risk of alcoholism.
6. Do not confront an addict while intoxicated.
7. During the period of sobriety, do not "read morals" to the addict, but analyze your experiences, material losses, giving specific dates, places, characters.
8. Be sure to consult with specialists if you have questions about the motivation for treatment and ways to overcome the craving for alcohol.

Successful application of mechanisms to combat addiction depends on the patient himself, but the creation of adequate conditions for motivation for sobriety and the correct information policy depends on relatives.

Anti-alcohol hotline

For information on any issues related to alcohol consumption, please call the Healthy Russia Helpline. The hotline operates at 8-800-200-0-200. Calls to it are free from all regions of Russia.

Hotline of the Narkom Charitable Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, which provides services for the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, including educating citizens about risk factors for their health and motivating them to lead a healthy lifestyle (8-499-250-05-00) with free consultations of a lawyer, psychologist, social worker on the website of your institution in the "information for the patient" section.

Features of adolescent alcoholism

Adolescents usually drink alcohol in the company of their peers. Subsequently, the intake of alcohol becomes a kind of group need. While a teenager is not in his company, there is no desire to drink, and when he gets into a familiar environment, the corresponding stereotypes of behavior are activated. Along with talking, arguing, walking, listening to music and visiting nightclubs, drinking is beginning to be perceived as an integral element of normal communication. Many experts consider this stage as a period of formation of group mental dependence, anticipating the development of teenage alcoholism.

In adolescents, anosognosia (denial of alcoholism) occurs faster than in adults, the ability to control the amount of alcohol consumed disappears. A patient with teenage alcoholism becomes angry and aggressive or weak-willed, lethargic, lacking initiative. Early alcoholism can be diagnosed in cases where a teenager for 6-8 months or more, regularly with a frequency of 2-3 times a week and more often consumed alcohol in a daily dose of at least 0. 25-0.3 liters. vodka or an equivalent amount of other alcohol. With a change in living conditions (cessation of contact with the group, change of scenery, etc.) and adequate psychological correction in the early stages of teenage alcoholism, most mental disorders become less pronounced or disappear.

As alcoholization continues, psychopathological manifestations become more persistent. With the abolition of alcohol, an abstinence syndrome develops, with vegetative disorders, and with the aggravation of teenage alcoholism during the withdrawal period, mental changes come to the fore - dysphoria, hysterical reactions or depressive disorders. With teenage alcoholism, the ability to learn is reduced, an attitude is formed that allows excessive use of alcoholic beverages, antisocial behavior. Patients suffering from teenage alcoholism often find themselves in an unfavorable social environment, commit offenses and end up in juvenile colonies.

Anti-alcohol hotline

For information on any issues related to alcohol consumption, please call the Healthy Russia Helpline. The hotline operates at 8-800-200-0-200. Calls to it are free from all regions of Russia.

Hotline of the Narkom Charitable Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, which provides services for the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction, including educating citizens about risk factors for their health and motivating them to lead a healthy lifestyle (8-499-250-05-00) with free consultations of a lawyer, psychologist, social worker on the website of your institution in the "information for the patient" section.

Experts: with 30 g of alcohol per day, the increase in mortality begins

drink "Severe"

Russia is known as a country with the "northern model" of alcohol consumption-so experts call the way to drink shock doses. Together with us, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the Baltic countries stand out in this row. With the “southern model”, which is much less dangerous to health - it is practiced, for example, in Italy, Spain, France, Greece - citizens drink quite regularly, but little by little, and less strong alcohol: a glass of dry wine at lunch or dinner.

According to experts, in general, Russians have recently been reducing their “libations” - according to official data, in 2016 each person had less than 10 liters of alcohol per year, which is significantly less than in 2015 (while in a prosperous European region there are countries where they drink 14 liters per year). However, the extreme method persists and prevails in our country, when people “take on their chests” large doses, up to deadly ones.

“This is, for example, more than 1 liter of vodka at a time,” explains Head of the Health Risk Prevention Department of the Central Research Institute of Health Informatization of the Ministry of Health of Russia Daria Khalturina. - It should be understood that with age, the ability to endure extreme alcohol loads is significantly reduced. For example, if at the age of 18, being healthy, you can drink a liter of vodka and get off with a severe hangover, then the body of a 45-year-old man may no longer survive this. In our country, the death rate is very high from overdose.

HOW NOT TO BRING?

Are there safe amounts of alcohol and what are they? There is a lot of controversy on this issue, there are different opinions. What should the common man be guided by? The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates the limit of an absolutely dangerous dose : 60 ml of ethanol for men and 50 ml for women. In terms of alcoholic beverages, this is respectively 180 or 150 g of vodka, or 1.5 beer, or 0.5 liters of wine per day. Beyond these boundaries, critically dangerous consumption begins. However, according to epidemiological data (that is, based on the results of long-term observations of large groups of the population. - Auth.), It is clear that already with 30 ml of ethanol per day, an increase in mortality begins , says Daria Khalturina. This is 90 g of vodka, 800 ml of beer or a large glass of wine. That is, drinking so much, a person is definitely harming himself.

NOT ONLY CIRRHOSIS

What threatens those who drink without seeing the shores? Many people traditionally remember cirrhosis of the liver, but in fact, the scale of damage and even destruction of the body is much wider, doctors warn. Alcohol is a carcinogen, so alcohol abuse leads to the development of diseases that scare people the most - various types of cancer. In particular, it has been proven that alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing cancer of the breast, lip, tongue, esophagus, liver, stomach, and bladder.

“If a person consumes more than 30 ml of ethanol per day , he also has an increased risk of neurodegeneration,” explains Daria Khalturina. As a result of , intelligence decreases , memory and character deteriorate, and the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases increases. Moreover, with age, our nervous system becomes more susceptible to the dangerous effects of alcohol. In general, long-term studies and observations of tens of thousands of people have shown that alcohol abuse, in particular the regular use of vodka, reduces a person's life by an average of 8 years.

IMPORTANT

No less strongly than on the elderly, alcohol has a negative effect on the young organism. The human brain is actively formed until the age of 25, and drinking alcohol before this age inhibits the development of the brain etc., experts say.