Literally, one in three families in our country knows firsthand how terrible alcoholism is when a dear and close husband becomes addicted. Thousands of women are thinking about how to get their husbands to stop drinking, especially when the person is not aware of the problem and is not trying to fight the disease alone. Let's talk about techniques you can use to have a chance to save yourself and your spouse from alcoholism.
What is alcoholism?
There is a view that alcoholism can be cured by a simple volitional decision, and if a person drinks they simply don't want to change anything. First, we will challenge this theory, as alcoholism is the most real disease. Addiction can be characterized as physical and psychological.
From a physiological point of view, the body is exposed to toxic substances, as a result of which metabolism is disrupted and all internal organs suffer. It degrades the brain and with it the central nervous system. An alcoholic suffers from health problems between drinking alcohol, does not properly perceive reality, suffers from memory loss.
From a psychological point of view, the alcoholic's "swamp" is no less dangerous - the alcoholic who drinks every day gets used to the state of carelessness and euphoria he feels when drinking ethanol, his sense of responsibility fades. Addicts often lose face and moral character, after which the people around them turn away from them. The lot of drunks who couldn't be healed or saved—dirt, the same alcoholics, and death in the future.
Obviously, no man wants to see his life turn into a nightmare. So alcoholism is a disease! If your husband is an alcoholic and you love him, let him be patient and help you cope.
The Inner Strength To Stop Alcohol
Let's go back to the theory that any alcoholic, independently and without help, can stop drinking forever, because all that is needed is willpower and strength of character. The statement is only partially true in cases where the addiction is exclusively psychological and has not yet triggered physiological changes in the body.
It is possible to wean a husband from alcohol and drunkenness at home only when the drinking of alcohol has not turned into uncontrolled and systematic drinking, without which the person feels bad and is ready to sell his soul for a strong drink. If alcoholism has turned into physical attachment, people, as a rule, don't want to fight it. Alcohol gives them a sense of euphoria and moral satisfaction, erases their ill health and falsely normalizes blood pressure, heart rate and mental clarity. As soon as ethanol starts to be excreted from the body, the malaise returns, and the drunk again takes the wanted liquid and drinks alcohol. In these cases, for a person to stop drinking, the intervention of specialists is necessary.
So, can an alcoholic stop drinking alone?
Not if drinking took the form of alcoholism and did not consist of the usual and frequent household use of alcohol.
What psychological help can be effective
If you decide to save your husband from drunkenness, first of all think about what led to drunkenness. As a rule, only deeply unhappy people join the party and experience their fears and problems silently, from within. To convince your husband to stop drinking in the future, you need to understand the root of the problem and try to eradicate it:
- Try to spend more time with your loved one and don't hide how much he means to you. Do activities together and think about what your husband was addicted to before his addiction.
- In no case don't blame your husband, don't blackmail, threaten or yell - you'll only get the opposite effect and the person will be even more closed in on himself. Don't think about how to teach your husband a lesson about drunkenness, but think about how to help your spouse.
- Try to have a candid conversation and tell what you would be like if your spouse were to choose a sober lifestyle again.
A person who feels important and useful is more likely to give up alcohol.
If we're talking about needing professional help to begin with, you've yet to figure out how to persuade your husband to stop drinking, because it's almost impossible to force a person to change without their consent. In rare cases, the alcoholic himself agrees to the treatment, as this means that the illness is obvious and completely overwhelms the drunk. Your success will become more real if you are patient 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 are practiced in combating alcoholism.
hypnotherapy
Surely everyone has heard of coding alcoholics through hypnosis. The essence of the procedure is to introduce a dependent person into a trance state and suggest some programs. With the help of real hypnosis, an experienced and qualified doctor can do a lot: get rid of fears and insecurities, block depression, discover the root cause of alcoholism.
If you have chosen hypnotherapy, try to find a good, qualified specialist who is known in this area. Remember that among doctors there are also crooks who not only help but can also harm your husband.
Read more about this direction in the article "Coding with Alcoholism Hypnosis".
Consider the most effective and popular hypnosis techniques:
- Autogenic training.
- Hypnosuggestational 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, as within each personality there is enormous potential and a powerful energy force. The method involves minimal intervention by the psychotherapist - the doctor only teaches the alcoholic the basics of self-hypnosis. Its task is to provide impetus and direct the patient's thinking in the right direction.
After learning the basic techniques, the outcome of the treatment depends solely on the alcoholic himself and his desire for recovery. Autogenic intervention is only productive in the early stages of alcoholism or after more serious psychological and medical assistance has been provided.
Hypnosuggestational Therapy
The next technique is based on 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 trust the expert.
The session includes several steps.
- First, it is important to establish a relationship of trust between the alcoholic and the specialist, because to enter a trance, the person must be relaxed and must not resist.
- After the usual conversation, the specialist uses psychological techniques designed to disperse the patient's attention. At the same time, it's essential to keep the conversation going. One or two techniques are enough to put a person to sleep.
- After the alcoholic goes into a trance, the doctor begins to implement certain programs with the goal of quitting alcoholism.
The effectiveness of this method is individual and depends on the doctor's professionalism and the patient's degree of suggestibility. Some relatives of alcoholics noticed that the effect began to manifest itself after the first session, when others needed a course that included 3 to 6 visits.
anchor method
This technique differs in that the person does not need to be immersed in hypnotic sleep.
The therapist's goal 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 to a word or memory, after "collision" with which an alcoholic experiences certain emotions. Positive sensations induce the patient to perform certain actions, negative anchors cause negative sensations and play the role of a kind of stop sign.
The anchor method is effective in combination with drug treatment and only when the alcoholic interacts and trusts the specialist.
group psychotherapy
Another way to stop a husband from drinking alcohol is to send him to group psychotherapy sessions, known throughout the world as the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The working principle of such groups is simple - classes in a group of patients with an illness show the alcoholic that he is not alone and that there are many people with the same problem. "If they can stand it, I can stand it too, " thinks the addict and the ice starts to move. Alcoholics communicate, share experiences and problems, support each other. Being in such a society is beneficial for introspection and maintaining self-esteem.
The therapist uses playful techniques to help alcoholics feel part of a team, which is also an important part of recovery.
The psychotherapy course lasts several years, the ideal number of people in a group is 5 to 10. The method is time-consuming but very effective.
family therapy
Family groups are not considered less effective, whose aim is to ward off drunkenness with the help of care and attention, as well as to teach the wives of drinking husbands to support and understand their soul mate.
Families of drug addicts along with alcoholics gather in small groups and live together, which is especially valuable in the period when the person has just completed drug treatment and it is very difficult for him to "reestablish himself" in society. In the beginning, therapy is accompanied by the constant presence of a specialist who teaches wives to support and respect their husband, in addition to conducting various training sessions aimed at reducing anxiety. It is important to clearly remember a psychologist's advice and show understanding. Another advantage of this method is the interaction with other families with the same problem: both the alcoholic husband and the wife see that they are not alone in their abyss, they feel that they belong to society, they are more relaxed, decisive and friendly.
All the techniques we've listed are related to psychological assistance, but therapy often cannot completely eradicate the problem of alcoholism and is practiced exclusively in combination with medications.
Drug treatment for alcoholism
Let's talk about how to deal with your husband's drunkenness if he doesn't want to and isn't ready to voluntarily turn to brainwashers.
Often the wives of alcoholics complain that their drinking husband categorically does not want to be treated and does not even think he is sick. In these cases, there can be no professional psychological assistance, because even if it is possible to arrange with an alcoholic husband to go to the psychotherapist, he will do it as a favor and will not reinforce the specialist's efforts with feedback and a desire to recover.
The solution for such situations is the use of medication and hospitalization.
Let's consider the common methods of such treatment in more detail:
- Codification. The principle of codification is to instill in the alcoholic the information that the consumption of alcohol will cause health problems and even death. For this, injections, pills and alcohol blockers are used, in addition to electrical impulse therapy. The method is effective at any stage of alcoholism, even the most severe stage. Wives have a new lever - they try to scare their husbands by constantly reminding them that ethanol can lead to torture and death. Some even try to cure their husbands of alcoholism without their knowledge by adding drugs to their food. This categorically cannot be done because allergic reactions are possible. For more information, see the "Coding for Alcoholism" article.
- Vitamin therapy. The fact is that during a binge, the body becomes intoxicated, losing useful substances and enzymes. If you give the body what it needs again, the pains of alcohol withdrawal will be significantly lessened and the person will have new strength to fight the addiction. The drugs offered to the alcoholic contain a large amount of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, PP - they have a tonic effect and improve the alcoholic's well-being.
- Acupuncture is another effective treatment for alcoholism. After diagnosing the stage of the disease, the specialist works at various points in the body with acupuncture needles. Thus, the body cleansing process is activated, psychological dependence is weakened. Detailed information is presented in the article "Acupuncture for alcoholism".
- Plasmapheresis is a therapeutic device that works by purifying blood plasma. The blood passes through a special filter and returns to the alcoholic's body. The method is not very popular, as many are afraid to fight the disease in a radical way.
All of these methods are suitable for mandatory treatment, which is agreed and planned without the husband's knowledge. It is important that the alcoholic is constantly monitored by specialists and that the treatment is carried out exclusively by professionals.
Alternative treatment of alcoholism with non-traditional methods
It is essential to mention the fight against alcoholism with folk remedies. This includes all kinds of tinctures and decoctions from a variety of plants. Here are some of them:
- centaury
- Lovage root.
- Lavrushka.
- Litter.
- Honey.
- Crack root.
- Soda.
- Plants with an emetic effect.
Folk remedies such as extracts and infusions of worms and insects are also popular.
Psychological counseling and literature to help fight alcoholism
If your husband realizes that he is an alcoholic and is willing to make an effort to fight him, the battle can be considered won. Medical and psychological professionals offer alcoholics books to help them fight any addictions, among which alcoholism ranks first.
There are also a large number of private offices you can turn to for help from professionals.
We saw what needs to be done to get the husband to stop drinking. The prognosis for recovery depends not only on the individual characteristics of the alcoholic's body and his desire to be cured, but also on his support and participation. In no case do you try to teach your husband a lesson about drunkenness with rudeness and anger, because this will have the opposite effect and your drunk will only insist that he is not loved and understood.
How to get your husband to stop drinking alcohol? Admit he's sick, convince your husband of that, and prove you're not indifferent to his fate.