How to help an alcoholic not drink. How to help your husband stop drinking: useful tips

When I was around people who didn't drink, I never thought about drinking.

Jack London

Quitting drinking is hard, but possible. Only a truly loving loved one can help in such a situation. Those who try to help an alcoholic quit drinking, to save him in order to solve some of their problems (for example, housing) will achieve nothing. Love alone is also not enough to help get rid of severe addiction; you also need to know what to do. Because it happens that the strongest and noblest human feeling in this situation, it forces relatives, while saving the alcoholic, to create an incorrect stereotype of relationships with him. As a result, they only contribute to the development of alcoholism, and themselves become codependent.

The traditional role played by relatives of alcoholics, most often wives, is that of “nanny.” In the classic version, the “nanny” does everything possible and impossible to keep the family afloat and those around them not to realize that there is an alcohol problem. She provides for the family, maintains order in the house, raises children, and this upbringing also has its own characteristics: children from an early age are taught not to wash dirty linen in public. The relationship with the drinking “half” of the “nanny” depends on the state in which this “half” is. During a binge, the “nanny” looks after the alcoholic: she finds him in the places where he drinks and brings him home; calls to work and says that he is sick; tries to neutralize his aggression, often enduring beatings and insults; feeds and washes him.

During the sober period, the “nanny” can continue to look after and please the alcoholic, thus hoping to keep him from drinking, or, on the contrary, as if playing out, burden him with various tasks and responsibilities. In both cases, after some time, another binge develops and everything starts all over again. Such a cyclical algorithm of relationships can exist indefinitely. Not only does the “nanny” with her actions only aggravate the development of alcoholism, but in the end, she herself can no longer live differently. This is why so often the wives of alcoholics, when they remarry, again choose drunkards or drug addicts as their life partners.

The general rule for all relatives, regardless of who is sick - husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter - is not to do anything that contributes to the development of addiction. This means the following:

1. A drinking person must solve his problems himself.

Well, since he creates them for himself, let him decide for himself. IN otherwise he will not have a barrier before the next binge, since he will hope for your help. Sometimes it gets to the point of absurdity: the husband drank the entire “family pot”, there is nothing to eat in the house, and the wife runs around among friends, borrowing money to pay off her husband’s debts that he incurred during his drinking binge.

When trying to save you, you don’t have to call the alcoholic at work and say that he is seriously and suddenly ill. Firstly, it’s not good to cheat - don’t give it to your children bad example; secondly, after two or three such calls, simply no one will believe you and they will, at a minimum, quietly laugh at you; Well, and thirdly, today you will save him from a simple thrashing, which might have stopped him, and tomorrow he will drink even harder and, in the end, lose his job.

From our point of view, it is completely unacceptable for compassionate relatives to buy alcohol themselves in order to soothe an alcoholic. With the same success, you can offer drugs or some other poison to a loved one.

Treatment is not always pleasant and painless.

If, for example, an abscess has formed somewhere on a person’s body, then you can hide it under clothes, spray it with deodorants so that there is no smell, create greenhouse conditions for the person so that he moves less and does not experience pain. Ultimately, all this will lead to the development of sepsis and death. If, despite the pain, you open the abscess and administer a course of antibiotics, although this is also quite painful, then there is a high probability that the person will recover.

2 You need to keep your promises, and if you can’t keep them, then it’s better not to make them.

Alcoholics who quit drinking and drug addicts feel very sensitively where they can achieve something and where there will be a categorical refusal. In this respect, they are like children, and you should often communicate with them as with children: where necessary, praise, and where necessary, punish. But not a single episode, even the most insignificant, associated with drinking alcohol should be left without your attention, and, of course, it is necessary that the degree of “punishment” corresponds to the degree of “offence.” And don’t let the respectable age and respectable appearance of the “guilty” person bother you. Smart carrot-and-stick policies often produce good results across a wide range of age groups and social strata.

So, for example, if a wife promises her husband that in the event of another binge, she will divorce him, and he comes literally “on eyebrows” that same evening, then she should, at a minimum, write a divorce statement the next day and ask her husband to sign that he agrees. An application submitted to the registry office can always be withdrawn, but practice shows: such decisive actions force the husband to think about his problems much faster than numerous reproaches and broken promises.

3. Your attitude towards alcohol should always be negative.

Any consumption of alcohol, even the most minimal, even the smell of fumes, should not remain without your negative assessment. This doesn't mean that you have to make scandals with breaking dishes every time. This is exactly what you should not do under any circumstances - such “showdowns” will only lead to the fact that an alcoholic with clear conscience he will go to “relieve stress” and will happily tell his sympathetic drinking buddies what a bitch his wife is, and that he drinks solely because of her. Similar situations we must discuss them calmly, naturally - with a sober head, analyze their reasons and draw real conclusions. It should look something like this:

Expensive! Yesterday, at a party, you drank again, despite given promise don't do this. I was very unpleasant, because at the end of the evening you looked completely indecent, and it was simply scary to return with you, you behaved so aggressively.

You see, yesterday I had a very Bad mood because of troubles at work, and I decided to drink a little so as not to spoil the mood of others with my appearance. And the hostess’s husband was sitting next to him, who kept refilling me, so that I didn’t have time to have a snack. And the vodka was probably of poor quality - I still have a headache. That's probably why I went overboard.

It seemed to me that if a man gives his word, then he should keep it! But it turns out that it’s easier for you to break this promise than to say “no” when they pour vodka on you!

Understand...

No, I don't understand! Let's not deceive ourselves! IN Last year More and more often we have to talk about this - I think it’s time to consult with specialists.

You need it - you get treatment.

Firstly, we both need this, and secondly, no one is going to treat you, we will just talk with a psychotherapist about how to behave in certain situations related to drinking.

Sometimes such a conversation is enough for a person with alcohol problems to agree to come to us, but more often he resists in every possible way, citing the lack of free time, the uselessness of this visit and many other “valid” reasons. You must be unbending and with each new alcoholic episode, insist on your point more and more decisively. Moreover, if conversations are ineffective, do not hesitate to use other methods of pressure, which your intuition and knowledge of your character should tell you. loved one. By the way, do not forget to periodically remind that in developed countries Any person who has the slightest bit of self-respect has his own psychologist, with whom he meets periodically. And not having one is as shameful as, for example, driving a humpbacked Zaporozhets.

4. All conversations with an alcoholic must have a specific logical conclusion.

Any conversation you have, any argument about an existing alcohol problem should end in some way. constructive solution. Under no circumstances should you stop halfway and give your patient’s alcoholic “I” the opportunity to Once again deceive everyone and force them to postpone for indefinite term real anti-alcohol actions. Because usually such conversations end with the alcoholic promising to quit drinking, and everyone formally calms down. It is clear that after some time everything repeats itself from the beginning, and so on ad infinitum. So, if your drinking relative tells you that he understood everything, realized it, deeply repents and will not do this again, take his word that if he does drink at least once again (no matter how much), you will go together to a psychologist.

5. To save you from drunkenness, do not drink in the presence of an alcoholic.

The smartest thing that the patient’s relatives can do is not to drink or keep alcoholic beverages at home. Alcohol in such a house can only be in one form - as part of external disinfectants (iodine, brilliant green, etc.). And although many of our patients who have not drunk for many years feel completely at ease in drinking company and are indifferent to alcohol, it is better to play it safe. The fewer provoking factors, the calmer. This is first, and secondly, remember the following:

The situation is unpromising when one alcoholic, who categorically does not consider himself such, educates and tries to help another alcoholic who has been more “successful” in creating (together with the Green Serpent) everyday and social problems. It is clear that calls for sober life sound unconvincing if they breathe fumes on you, and the difference between a sick person and a similar “healthy” person is that the latter for now I didn’t lose my job from him either for now the wife did not leave.

6. There is no need to hide the fact that your loved one has problems with alcohol.

This is not about the fact that you urgently need to tell everyone about your husband’s drunken antics. No, but you should not deceive anyone, mislead anyone, pretending that you don’t know anything. Under no circumstances should you deceive children, much less force them to tell lies. As a rule, they know and understand everything perfectly.

If you are sure that involving people who have influence on the alcoholic in solving the problem: parents, adult children, friends, bosses, colleagues will help advance the matter - do not hesitate to tell them everything and ask for help.

7. A conversation with an alcoholic must be conducted in a substantive manner.

For this, it is not enough to say that he drinks a lot and often. For him this is an empty phrase. You need to prepare for a conversation with an alcoholic in advance, especially if you are going to involve someone else in this. To do this, it would be useful to record the frequency of alcoholic episodes, the degree of intoxication and behavior in this state. Simply put, you need to keep a diary and preferably with illustrations. That is, if it is possible to film drunken flights, this must be done, and you will discuss the moral and ethical aspects of such actions when you save your loved one from the consequences of a serious and incurable illness.

8 An alcoholic must be given objective information about his illness.

A drinking person unconsciously perceives any information one-sidedly: he hears and sees only what he wants, and what he doesn’t want he lets pass by, without paying any attention to it. Naturally, only that information is allowed into consciousness that does not harm friendship with the Green Serpent. The same alcoholic “I” acts as a censor, inner voice, which sounds inside every alcoholic and in every possible way justifies, disguises, adapts to the norm everything related to drinking.

In this regard, in order for all negative information about the disease and its consequences to reach the recipient, it is necessary to approach the problem creatively. You won't achieve anything if you cover your walls with newspaper clippings and anti-alcohol posters. But if you casually tell us that one of your mutual acquaintances, who, by the way, was several years younger than you, is already in the next world, and his latest binge is to blame for this, the alcoholic may become thoughtful.

One of our patients “woke up” (in his words) after he barely recognized his school friend in one of the homeless people picking around in the trash heap.

9. Help the alcoholic's sober self.

Do not wait for the alcoholic to begin to change his pattern of life, but actively (but not intrusively) help him in this. Take him to the movies, theaters, sports grounds, take him out of town, introduce him to interesting people. It is often very difficult for an alcoholic himself (if, of course, he is still socially adapted) to do this, since he is under constant time pressure - the lion's share his time is taken by the Green Serpent. And he’s already unaccustomed to such events; he doesn’t know which way to approach them.

10. And finally: if you don’t already go to classes with a psychologist or psychotherapist, go to them urgently. It’s not for nothing that the truth exists: “One head is good, but two are better!”

Family members in which the husband or wife abuses alcohol should know how to live with an alcoholic in order to provide timely assistance during periods of exacerbation of the disease. Despite the tragedy of the situation, it can be corrected using psychological techniques and without leaving your loved one alone with their problem. It is almost impossible to overcome alcoholism on your own, but joint efforts caring people, it is quite possible to overcome the painful craving for alcohol.

Who are alcoholics

The signs of alcoholism are almost identical to the signs of alcohol abuse, so the final diagnosis is often delayed. Peculiarities of alcohol dependence that should cause concern among relatives are an irresistible need to drink alcohol, a state of panic if it is not possible to find alcohol.

Alcoholism is more likely psychological dependence than physiological. A patient with such a diagnosis needs the support of loved ones, although he denies this with all his actions. Contacting a center for specialized help for addicts will help confirm assumptions regarding the presence of alcoholism. A narcologist will confirm or refute existing concerns and advise on the treatment of alcoholism.

When choosing a life partner, people cannot predict in advance how things will turn out. further fate. Therefore, realizing that a loved one has become a drunkard, the question arises: is it worth continuing your life next to an alcoholic? The opinions of psychologists regarding alcoholism are contradictory. But they all boil down to the fact that you need to decide what you are willing to sacrifice to save your family. If you still have feelings and want to fight against alcohol addiction, be patient. Start fighting alcoholism as quickly as possible.

Be honest with yourself, soberly assess your capabilities. Confronting alcoholism will require a lot of effort, time, and nerves. Addiction can be dealt with if the person is truly dear to you. If not, it’s better not to ruin your life and find the strength to end the relationship. The situation is more complicated if you suffer from alcohol addiction close relative- parents or own child. IN in this case The question is not whether it is worth living with him, but what to do with an alcoholic.

Living with an alcoholic

Living with a person in the same apartment, even with a loved one, but suffering from alcoholism, cannot be called simple. You will have to come to terms with the fact that your feelings and desires will fade into the background. Treatment for an alcoholic can take many months or even years. And all this time it is necessary to provide all possible support and carry out round-the-clock monitoring. The toll-free telephone number of the center for psychological assistance to alcohol addicts should always be at hand in order to contact specialists in time in case of breakdowns, which will happen frequently.

How to talk to an alcoholic

If you are living with an alcohol addict, you should know how to live with an alcoholic and understand the psychology of this disease. Communication cannot be limited, otherwise the patient will close himself off even more. outside world and will seek consolation in his usual way. Basic rules for communicating with an addicted person:

• do not try to reason with him while intoxicated;
• do not believe promises made in a state of hangover;
• do not make concessions;
• avoid constant quarrels;
• convincingly present your arguments against alcoholism during a period of clarity of consciousness;
• when issuing ultimatums to an alcohol addict, have the determination to bring them to life.

How to help with a hangover at home

Intoxication is something that relatives and friends of an alcoholic often have to deal with. This excruciating and painful condition can be alleviated at home. Alcoholics try to cope with hangover syndrome on their own using the “beer” method, i.e. drinking a glass of beer. This method, although it helps at first, further aggravates the addiction in the future.

For relatives who are trying to understand how to live with an alcoholic, it is important to know how to help with a hangover. The first remedy is to rehydrate by drinking 1-1.5 liters of water over 2 hours. Various sorbents and soda will help get rid of alcohol poisoning. Vasospasm can be relieved with medications, such as an aspirin tablet, glycine, ascorbic acid.

How to help get out of binge drinking

It is difficult, but possible, to bring an alcoholic out of binge drinking without resorting to medical help. To build a strategy for how to cure an alcoholic, you should take into account the severity of the binge and its duration. You cannot suddenly stop drinking alcohol - this is fraught with complications in the form of a sharp spasm of blood vessels, heart attacks. The dose of alcohol should be gradually reduced to “zero” over 3 days. During this period of alcoholism treatment, it is necessary to detoxify the body to improve well-being.

How to deal with an alcoholic in the family

The line of behavior when communicating with an alcohol addict must be clearly structured. A person suffering from alcoholism quickly learns to manipulate loved ones in order to get the desired dose of alcohol or to justify his habit. You cannot follow the lead of an alcoholic - by doing so, you are exacerbating the problem of addiction. Be persistent and demanding, but always justify your claims by providing convincing arguments and examples negative influence alcohol addiction on the body.

With baby

Parents who are faced with the problem of alcoholism in their son or daughter should show fortitude and not indulge in the addiction. Mother's love is blind to the child’s shortcomings, but to get rid of addiction it is necessary to abstract oneself and choose the ultimate form of communication without concessions. Children are inherently afraid of their parents’ word, so the sooner you take action and explain possible consequences alcoholism, the more likely wean off alcohol and save your child from addiction.

With husband

The theory that male alcoholism is easier to cure than female alcoholism is controversial. But the fact that a man never admits to his addiction is a fact. The wife of an alcoholic has to face difficulties on the way to getting rid of the habit of abusing alcohol, and the first of them is to convince him that there is a problem with alcoholism. How can I help my husband stop drinking if he does not consider it a disease? Requires endurance and ability to find psychological approach, imperceptibly influencing emotional points spouse.

With Father

For a child, a father who abuses alcohol is a test. Parents should lead by example and command respect. It is psychologically difficult for young children to understand how to live with an alcoholic. Awareness of the problem of alcoholism comes as one grows older. It is important that the child takes part in the process of rehabilitation of the father of an alcoholic through frank conversations and expressing his opinion regarding drunkenness. Perhaps, thanks to the trust of children, alcohol dependence will weaken.

With my wife

It is much more difficult for a man to understand how to live with an alcoholic wife, since female alcoholism is a less common form of this disease. First of all, it is necessary to find out the causes of addiction. Women are sentimental, so it’s worth changing your attitude towards your wife and showing concern. Having identified psychological aspects alcoholism, it is necessary to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

How to help an alcoholic stop drinking

cure alcohol addiction Finally, going to a specialized clinic will help. Many women, when solving the problem of how to cure their husband of alcoholism, resort to the coding method. This effective way, but it can have a detrimental effect on the psyche. A more humane method of treating alcoholism is professional psychological help. Main factor, influencing the effectiveness of the process of eliminating addiction is the desire of the alcoholic himself to take the path of recovery.

Stop drinking if he doesn't want to? Such patients will never agree that they need professional help. There are many methods of conditions. One of them is to convince an alcoholic that he is addicted to alcohol as a drug addict, the other is to add special medicines or folk remedies to food without his knowledge, the third is to instill a fear of dying.

If you find that your loved one drinks alcohol too often, how can you help an alcoholic? Don't expect this to go away on its own. It is necessary to take action immediately before it is too late.

Beliefs

If you manage to convince the poor guy to get treatment, offer your help so that he feels supported. Visit him more often, let him know that you believe in him and will not leave him alone with his problem.

Fear

1. If talking doesn’t help, you can intimidate the alcoholic and instill in him the fear of death. The method, of course, is contradictory, but what to do, you need to try everything.
2. Talk about how often people who drink to the limit drive themselves to suicide, or about cases where a person gets into an accident while drunk and ultimately dies from cirrhosis of the liver or cardiac arrest.

Don’t despair, besides negotiations, there are other methods to help an alcoholic give up the bottle.

How to help an alcoholic if he refuses treatment? In this case, you can make it so that everything alcoholic drinks the patient will hate it.

How to help an alcoholic if he refuses treatment?

There are many medicines and decoctions that can be used without his knowledge. When they are used together with alcohol, a process occurs in the body, after which the alcoholic becomes very sick, vomits, the taste of vodka or wine changes, the head “splits” terribly, that is, the person feels even worse than after a regular hangover. You need to tell the doctor everything you know about the patient’s health problems. Special decoctions and infusions require careful use. Prepare them yourself, strictly following the recipe. Any mistakes can lead to severe intoxication, even death. Medication methods that cure alcoholism include the following drugs:

• Clonidine
• Esperal
• Colma
• Teturam

and many more. They act on an alcoholic in much the same way as decoctions and infusions. But using them without first consulting a doctor is not permissible. There are many more folk remedies to help you get out of binge drinking at home. The most common are:

• decoctions of thyme and St. John's wort,
• tincture of oats, puppeteer,
• decoction of European hoofed grass,
• dung mushroom,
• decoction of bearberry, oats and calendula,
• lovage root with bay leaf.

Before using such drugs, you must consult a narcologist!

This is not a complete list folk remedies from drunkenness. In order for these drugs to enter the alcoholic’s body, they will have to be added to food or drink without his knowledge. As an option, you can turn to witch doctors, healers, sorcerers... It is your right to trust all these people or not, because there are cases when alcoholics stopped drinking after their help. But still, be extremely careful. When all methods do not help, there remains an extreme, but very effective measure - coding.

Coding from drunkenness

One of the coding techniques is to sew ampoules with substances under the skin. This method has been successfully used for more than 60 years. The following drugs are very effective in treating an alcoholic:

• Torpedo,
• Esperal.

Especially negative consequences They have no effect on health. But if the patient wants to drink even one sip of alcoholic potion, the medicine will block the functions of many body systems, decomposing alcohol into water and carbon dioxide. This significantly increases the amount of acetone in the blood and leads to complex consequences. Only the fear of death keeps the alcoholic from his desires. Coding is also a kind of “treatment without the knowledge of the patient.” As you can see, there are many methods and methods. For any advanced case, there is one that is truly effective.

Much in a person’s life can change dramatically only if he wants it. This also applies to drinking alcoholic beverages - if the drunkard does not want to stop drinking alcohol, no treatment methods will help to understand the problem and completely get rid of it. How to help an alcoholic quit a harmful habit that literally “corrodes” his body and leads to the development of large quantity diseases? In fact, there is no single medicine or method that can cure alcoholism.

It has long been an established fact that few people who frequently drink alcohol consider themselves to be heavy drinkers, and therefore do not agree to begin treatment. However, this only aggravates the problem and makes it almost incurable. But you should not turn away from such a person - according to doctors, often relatives of alcoholics want to help them get rid of the disease, but do not know how to do it correctly and less “painfully”. So, how to save an alcoholic if he doesn’t want to - what needs to be done for this, and what methods will help quickly solve the problem?

What is addiction and what signs characterize it?

Alcohol addiction is a serious craving for alcohol, which causes a lot of harm to health. Dependent person becomes angry, aggressive and nervous, which negatively affects not only his psyche, but also the condition of those around him. Such people begin to gradually “fade”, because in their lives there is only room for the next binge drinking.

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to overcome alcoholism among heavy drinkers - for this, loved ones need to try hard and not give up if another failure. If a person drinks consciously, one should resort to secretive methods of treatment, with the help of which it will be possible to overcome the addiction without the consent of the drinker.

If none of the beliefs about starting treatment help an alcoholic, you can use some standard methods, with the help of which it will be possible to make a serious breakthrough in the fight against addiction.

By which one can judge the onset of the disease include:

• frequent desire to drink alcohol;
• lack or loss of vital interests;
• constant drinking of alcohol for no reason;
• loss of work, friends and hobbies.

The sooner treatment of the disease is started, the more successful the result will be. Therefore, if a person does not want to start getting rid of addiction, and he is not interested in the persuasion of relatives, he needs to act independently, using secretive methods of treatment. However, when performing them, you do not need to give up in case of failure, since conscious treatment of alcoholism in a loved one requires a lot of effort and time. But still, first you need to try to persuade the drunkard to quit his addiction, that this will really be better for him and those around him.

Convincing an alcoholic to quit drinking as the main method of treating drunkenness

If a drunkard does not want to start treatment for addiction and believes that he does not need treatment, this is his main problem. In this case, you need to try to influence his psyche with the help of specific beliefs. It’s worth trying to talk calmly with the person, and also let them know what they look like after drinking alcohol again. It will also be useful to convey to the patient that his hobby does not make a person beautiful at all, but, on the contrary, creates a lot of difficulties and troubles in his life, which he may not notice at first. However, one “speech” will not be enough for a drunkard.

Relatives or relatives need to prepare for the conversation in advance and select serious evidence that will allow the alcoholic to believe your words. For example, it is worth trying to collectively explain to a person that his hobby has a detrimental effect on his health and relationships with loved ones. Also at this time, you can show him a video recording in which an alcoholic, after drinking alcohol, behaves ugly and even offensively. Often, persuasion by a team gives good result, because a person (especially a person) becomes ashamed of his behavior, and he tries to look after himself in every possible way. Moreover, what could be better than observing yourself from the outside?

It is also better to try to tell the drunkard that because of his hobby, he lost something dear to him - these could be gifts from a loved one, as well as keys to a car or apartment, a telephone, and so on. The point of this technique is for the addict to realize his guilt and try to change.

Excellent and compelling arguments are:

• a hangover, as a result of which a person becomes very ill and is ready to do anything to make this condition stop faster;
• money spent, which as a result is not enough for household needs;
• worsening of already poor health, which leads to the development of many serious diseases;
• the appearance of psychosis in an alcoholic, which will be quite difficult to cure.

As practice shows, after much persuasion of a person, he still agrees to treatment procedures.

Therefore there is no need once again get upset, work systematically in the right direction, and then everything will definitely work out. Usually, alcoholics cannot decide to visit a narcologist - then they need help with this, because after prescribing treatment it will be much easier for the drunkard himself - in this case there is an excellent chance to overcome alcoholism.

Discreetly adding drugs to an alcoholic's food

If beliefs and evidence of the harm of alcoholism do not help a drunkard, it’s time to resort to extreme methods. One of them is (you can buy them on the Internet) or folk recipes, which can cause a long and strong aversion to strong drinks.

There have long been special preparations that, when interacting with ethanol, immediately react with it - this leads to a deterioration in the taste of alcohol. In addition, such drinking can cause:

• severe pain in the head;
• nausea;
• vomiting;
• stomach ache;
• dizziness.

If implemented this manipulation several times, this will certainly discourage the alcoholic from drinking strong drinks.

It is important to note that before using this or that drug you should consult a doctor so as not to harm a person’s health during chronic form alcoholism. Typically, a doctor prescribes treatment for an alcoholic with the following medications:

• Clonidine;
• Magnesium sulfate;
• Esperal;
• Teturam;
• Colma.

These medications will be easy to mix into the patient’s food or drinks, the main thing is to do this in strict accordance with the instructions.

As a treatment folk ways You can use decoctions based on:

• thyme;
• centaury;
• oats;
• puppeteer

If possible, these decoctions are added directly to alcoholic drinks, thereby providing a powerful healing effect on the body.

Thanks to these methods, it will be possible to convince a person to quit drinking - the main thing is to have patience and not give up in case of failure.

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It can be very difficult to watch alcoholism ruin the life of a friend or family member. As a rule, a patient with alcoholism needs to undergo a rehabilitation course in order to receive full help. If you want to help, you must first determine whether the person is truly an alcoholic. And only then start helping your friend get the right treatment.

Steps

Part 1

Ask the person to stop drinking

Look for signs of alcoholism. Having problems with alcohol does not mean completely becoming an alcoholic. Problems with alcoholism can be solved and overcome by the patient himself, but treating the disease “alcoholism” requires external intervention. Typically, the symptoms of alcoholism are as follows:

• Problems at school and at work, such as being late or missing work altogether due to a hangover
• Frequent memory loss after drinking
• Getting in trouble with the law due to drinking, such as being arrested for being drunk in in public places or drunk driving
• Inability to leave a glass of alcohol half full or to be near alcohol and not drink it
• Consistent binges and hangovers
• Relationships damaged by alcohol use
• Strong desire to drink in the morning and withdrawal syndrome in the absence of booze

1. Think about what you will tell him. Once you decide to talk to a person about his drinking habit, rehearse exactly what you are going to tell him. Be brief, objective and thorough. This will prevent the patient from moving away from you and will relieve him of the feeling that you are putting emotional pressure on him.

   Talk to the person. If you notice any signs of alcoholism, talk to the person and let them know about your concerns. Explain to him that his behavior is affecting others and he needs to stop for his own good and the good of his family. Tell him about the problems that will follow due to alcohol abuse.

   • Choose a time to talk when he is sober. For example, the morning is usually the best time, and it’s okay if the patient has a hangover. Argue that he is destroying his body day after day.

2. Don't argue or judge. When you talk to a person about his bad habits, do not start with accusations and condemnations. Avoid constant moralizing about drinking, as this can only make the situation worse. Such reasoning will only prevent the patient from revealing to you the reasons for the constant desire to drink.

   Try to understand him. When you talk to him about his problem, you can safely ask about the reasons that push him to do this. You should also find out whether the patient has good system support. If not, you can suggest getting group help.

   Don't force a person to stop drinking. Alcoholism is a complex disease, so you are unlikely to be able to overcome it with force. Moreover, it may encourage a person to drink more.

Part 2

Providing assistance

First of all, do not drink alcohol in the presence of the patient. This will make it much more difficult for him to stop drinking. It can also lead to unhealthy habits in your life. You can help another person by meeting and spending time in places that do not sell alcohol. In addition, this will make the task much easier for the patient.

Tell others. Ask people in your close circle if they have noticed any disturbing behavior or if they think the person has problems. You shouldn’t call him an alcoholic and, especially, talk about it to those who shouldn’t know about it. Don't violate his privacy rights.

Talk to him. Remind him that you care about him, care about him and want to help him. Share with him what you notice and ask him what needs to be done to help him. Be prepared for the fact that the person may refuse your help and begin to avoid you for some time.

Try to involve a professional. If the alcoholic refuses to go to treatment or won't even consider it, try getting a therapist. The specialist will have sufficient experience working with various types alcoholism, he can work with you to create a special treatment plan suitable for your friend.

• The specialist will explain to you and the patient’s loved ones how to behave and how to react in difficult situations.

1. Be encouraging throughout your treatment. If an alcoholic agrees to go to treatment and take necessary measures, be sure to support him. Don't let him feel guilty or ashamed, show him that you are proud of his desire to get better.

2. Be prepared for disruptions. If a person contacts rehabilitation center and has undergone treatment, he may be very vulnerable after treatment. For most patients, treatment does not end; they constantly have to fight alcoholism. Friends and relatives of the patient should support him, despite the recurrence of the disease (the disease recurs in almost all patients).

   • Find quiet activities for you to do that don't involve drinking alcohol. Ride bikes, play cards, cook, go to museums, parks, etc. After all, imagine that you were both “stranded in the rain.”
   • Encourage him to attend meetings frequently Alcoholics Anonymous and necessary consultations.