Causes of drunkenness, alcoholism and drug addiction. What does alcoholism lead to?

Drug addiction and alcoholism

How good it is to be a strong, independent, self-sufficient person! But, unfortunately, not everyone has such qualities. Many people have to fight (have come to terms with) one addiction or another.

Experts apply this term not only to those who cannot part with tobacco, alcohol or drugs, but also to those who find themselves in the grip of gambling addiction, workaholism, nympho- and information addiction... Let's start the conversation with the most destructive addictions - alcoholism and drug addiction.
To help a person who has become addicted, one must first have knowledge about its causes and consequences.

Medical specialists have the term “addictive behavior.” It is characteristic of people who have a predisposition to one or another addiction. The hereditary factor plays a significant role in this. If there were people in the family suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction, then their children and even grandchildren are at risk. Of course, this does not mean that they will certainly get sick with these terrible illnesses, but it is important to be aware of this danger and control their behavior. For example, in America, no one is surprised when people, consciously refusing alcohol at parties or corporate meetings, calmly say: no, I won’t, my father is an alcoholic, and I’m afraid of developing an addiction.

The biochemical characteristics of the body are also important. In particular, there is an enzyme that breaks down alcohol - alcohol dehydrogenase. Its content in the body varies different people. It is known that representatives have very little of it northern peoples. Women have much less of it than men, so they develop alcohol dependence more quickly. Women are also more emotional, therefore, female alcoholism may have other, deeper reasons, in particular psychological. At the same time, women have a naturally stronger instinct for self-preservation. Apparently, this is why in drug treatment clinics there are still many more male patients than women.

Social factors can also trigger the development of addiction. Family traditions, upbringing, the environment in which a person is formed or into which a person finds himself for some reason - all this can both protect against addiction and trigger its mechanism.

An unfavorable environment or simply a frivolous attitude often encourages a teenager to try alcohol or drugs. And then the substance itself comes into play, which “is integrated into the biochemical processes in the body. As a result, there is a need, especially for those who are at risk. And even those who are informed about the dangers of the drug can begin to use it regularly.

Life high

Addiction- a real scourge of our time. Based on their effects, narcotic substances are divided into several main groups.

Opiates. This is the collective name for drugs made from opium. Raw opium is the dried milky juice obtained from unripe poppy heads - the fruit of the soporific poppy. Opiates have a relaxing effect on nervous system, dull the sensation of pain. “The founder of this type of drug is morphine (morphine), which received its name from greek god Morpheus's dream. Today, the most common drug belonging to the opium group is heroin. According to the latest statistics, there are 1.5 million heroin addicts in Russia. Dependence on this group of drugs occurs very quickly. The fact is that we have so-called endogenous opiates in our bodies - endorphins. They give a feeling of fulfillment, happiness, euphoria.

Psychostimulants. These include cocaine (obtained by extraction from the leaves of the coca plant), amphetamines, ecstasy and some other substances, even caffeine (of course, its effect is immeasurably weaker). With different mechanisms of action, they have a similar effect. Their use leads to intoxication and specific excitement; in this state, a person is able to go without sleep for days, practically not eat, and for some time act continuously, like a clockwork mechanism. But there is a law of conservation of energy. A person who uses stimulants artificially depletes his internal energy reserves. He spends it concentrated, and his activity is unproductive. And then, once the warehouses are empty, the next stage begins - recession, depression.

Hallucinogens(psychedelics) are named for their main property - the ability to cause hallucinations, change consciousness and perception. The term “psychedelics” is translated from Greek and means “expanding consciousness.” There are many types of hallucinogens. Many of these substances are found in plants, which people have used in religious rituals since ancient times. The most famous synthesized drug of this type is LSD. Such patients rarely go to the hospital, because when using LSD there is no so-called withdrawal syndrome. LSD is very dangerous with the risk of developing psychosis, because hallucinations are a symptom of acute mental disorders. And if a person is emotionally unstable, prone to psychotic manifestations, then a single use of LSD can awaken a sleeping volcano and trigger irreversible mental processes. Healthy man may try a hallucinogen out of interest and become a lifelong patient in drug treatment or psychiatric clinics.

Cannabinoids(cannabis preparations). These are the most common illicit intoxicants in the world; in terms of widespread use, they are second only to alcohol. Among cannabis preparations, there are two main ones: marijuana (the dried herbaceous part of the plant) and hashish (hemp, plan) - a pressed mixture of resin, pollen and finely ground tops and inflorescences.

The danger of this type of drugs lies in the widespread myth about their ease, that the transition from them to heavier substances does not occur and that you can simply “indulge in them from time to time. In fact, this is a real drug, from which drug addiction develops with its own manifestations. Not everyone will decide to use heroin yet - you still need to inject yourself into a vein. And they smoke marijuana like tobacco, not noticing that a real drug addiction. Once these gates are opened, people eventually either increase their dosage of marijuana or move on to other types of drugs.

Cannabinoid addiction is also dangerous because these substances remain in the body for a long time - in some (depending on the characteristics of metabolism) up to six months. That is, a person may not use the drug, but it will still be present in his body, which is confirmed, for example, by a urine test. Moreover, marijuana loves lipotropic tissue (containing fat cells) and has a targeted effect on the lungs, brain and genitals. Therefore, one of the consequences of taking these drugs is early impotence. As a rule, this happens at stages 2-3, when a person can no longer imagine life without marijuana. Absolutely the same addiction occurs as with “hard drugs.”

Addiction is a chronic disease. Drug addiction specialists do not use the terms “recovered” or “cured”; they only talk about lifelong remission. This means that a person always remains dependent. Even after 20 years of abstinence, under unfavorable circumstances, he can return to this disease.

There is a common expression: in life you have to try everything. So, drugs are a thing that you definitely shouldn’t try. Even a single dose can “wake up addiction. Further, the disease develops according to laws associated with biochemical mechanisms.

According to statistics, a quarter of all people who try drugs become addicted, and the average period for the development of the disease from occasional use to persistent drug addiction is about four years. This is the so-called shadow period diseases, when a person can still be helped by timely information. He is still able to control his behavior, understand whether he can quit on his own or whether he needs to seek help. With proper treatment and conscious choice of a healthy lifestyle, even experienced drug addicts achieve stable, long-term remission; many of them work as volunteers, helping other people with the same addiction. Moreover, their work can be very effective - they know the problem from the inside, they understand the feelings and behavior of drug addicts, they speak the same language.

Both are worse

You can often hear that alcohol abuse is a lesser evil than drug addiction. In fact, a person chooses this or that type of drug not because it is “light” or “heavy”, but because it matches his personality type. It's simple different types dependencies. Alcoholism leads to destruction and death of a person in the same way as drug addiction, the only difference is that drugs act faster. Drug addicts rarely live to old age. They “burn out faster, and many die from overdose. An overdose is an almost second-long condition when the respiratory center in the brain is blocked and a person dies from respiratory arrest. Doctors are often powerless.

As for the myth of “soft alcohol,” an analogy can be drawn with “soft drugs.” Alcoholism develops after the alcoholic formula enters the body. The issue of frequency of use is important here. Narcologists believe that those who drink alcohol more than once a week have already developed an addiction. Of course, strong alcoholic drinks have a stronger effect due to concentration. But beer is more insidious than them because of its deceptive lightness. And it leads to serious endocrine changes, disruptions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system (there are concepts of “beer heart”, “beer belly”, etc.) and, of course, to the formation of alcoholism. And if a person cannot cope with this problem on his own, he needs to find the courage to seek help.

It's no secret that many people drink 1-2 bottles of beer every day after work. In addition to the physiological one, a psychological dependence develops here: a certain ritual is performed. When asked why he does this, the beer lover replies: “It relaxes me. But why beer? Because a person is looking for virtual relaxation due to a chemical substance.

Meanwhile, nature itself has given our body the ability to relax and feel euphoria. The human psyche is very vulnerable; frequent stress puts pressure on it. But she is able to relax in a natural way, without external intervention. As already mentioned, the body itself can produce endorphins - internal opiates. This happens, for example, during active sports. Here, addiction is not scary - only health and beauty will increase. And if you look at lovers, it will become clear: they do not require any chemical additives for euphoria.

How to help a patient?

Addiction treatment is a long and complex process. This is not surprising if you imagine that you will have to change habits, completely eliminate a substance that was almost the main thing in a person’s life and occupied all his thoughts.

What treatment methods are used? First of all, coding. This is the so-called prolonged treatment, which gives good results if used in combination with supportive (medicinal) and psychological therapy. The work of psychotherapeutic groups of anonymous alcoholics and drug addicts also helps. A fairly large number of people come out of them with stable remission, who often take the trouble to help those who have become dependent. There are other ways: for example, communes are created where the basis of treatment is sports or agricultural work.

Sometimes patients refuse to be coded on the grounds that they are afraid of possible mental breakdowns. But this is either a myth or an incorrectly structured course of treatment. To find a specialist, you should not call an ad offering, for example, to relieve a hangover. It is better to go to a drug treatment clinic or dispensary, where you can conduct examination and treatment without registration, anonymously.

Unfortunately, one of the main problems of narcology is that it is difficult to get the patient to the doctor. There is even a separate term “anosognosia, that is, denial of the disease. Such uncritical attitude towards one’s behavior is confirmation that the disease already exists. It also happens differently: a person agrees that he has problems, but says that he does not trust doctors, that he will quit himself. But we don’t undertake to repair the TV ourselves or treat a bad tooth. This is a disease like any other and should be treated by a doctor.

Relatives of the patient can be advised, no matter how difficult it may be, to separate the person and the disease. You shouldn’t nag him every day because he’s sick, but you need to make fair claims if he doesn’t want to be treated, and firmly declare that you are not going to be his accomplice. When standard methods - complaints and notations - no longer work, you need to look for non-standard ways. If the patient says: “No, I’m not an alcoholic, why should I go to a narcologist?”, you can answer: “Okay, let a specialist tell you about this. If they don’t find any symptoms for you, we will close this topic. Use any arguments based on the patient’s personality, the main thing is to encourage him to see a doctor to at least find out whether he has such a diagnosis. As a last resort, the relative himself can contact a narcologist, and he will advise how best to influence the patient.

You can receive treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction not only in a hospital, but also on an outpatient basis, without interrupting your work and family. It is also often possible to do without coding; there are other treatment regimens. Another important point: many patients do not fight their addiction because they are afraid of suffering due to drug withdrawal. Now in the arsenal of narcologists there are drugs that can reduce or completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms - the so-called abstinence syndrome. Of course, only a doctor can select them.

Children's addiction

The most painful topic in this conversation is children and severe addictions. Unfortunately, drug addiction is widespread in our country among teenagers and young people: some become acquainted with the drug at school.

A lot depends on the parents. First of all, and it’s somehow awkward to even talk about this, they themselves should not use drugs or get involved in alcohol. But even in seemingly prosperous families, children may develop such problems. Parents, as a rule, do not notice what is happening to the child for a long time; they begin to see the light only when the situation gets out of control. It also happens that parents, subconsciously protecting themselves from difficult experiences, deny the very possibility of such dependence in their family. But who, if not the parents, can watch the child every day and pay attention to warning signs? They have the power to see what kind of company their son or daughter is in, what these guys are passionate about. They are able to notice changes in the child’s behavior: maybe he started listening to different music, he made new friends, he stays late more often, he has become more resourceful and deceitful.

“When high, children can be overly funny (inappropriate to the situation), complacent, or, conversely, indifferent to what previously aroused keen interest. You can smell an unusual smell from their hair, clothes, they have strange accessories: a small Coca-Cola bottle with a hole cut out, straws, burnt spoons. Exists a clear sign– dilated or very narrow pupils, like dots (however, the size of the pupil also depends on the lighting). But recently, drug addicts have learned to put special drops into their eyes to hide these symptoms. In general, children who start taking drugs become very resourceful, they lie sophisticatedly, with excitement - this is one of the symptoms of the disease. During the treatment process, they notice how they gradually get rid of the painful need to lie.

It is believed that it is necessary to tell the child in advance about the dangers of drugs, but this is a controversial issue. This requires an individual approach based on knowledge of his psychology. If his curiosity is highly developed, then it is dangerous to arouse interest in this topic. And if he is naturally suspicious, such a preventive measure can turn him away from drugs for a long time. In general, you need to know your child very well and base your conversation with him on what will make him think. For example, for girls who care about their appearance, you can emphasize that the drug will not add beauty. That drug addiction ages you ahead of time: the body becomes bony, the skin becomes dry and wrinkled, hair thins, pockets appear in the corners of the mouth, black circles under the eyes.

If observations of a child have led to alarming conclusions, there is easy way check your suspicions - urine testing. It can be done at home. The pharmacy sells multi-tests for the presence of five types of different drugs. They show the results immediately.

Every twentieth Russian is a chronic alcoholic or drug addict. Moreover, if the share of the former decreases, the level of drug addicts increases every year. Over the past 10 years, alcoholism and drug addiction have become the leading cause of death among people under 40 years of age.

Humanity for its long story discovered many ways to escape reality. Opiates, ethylenes, glucoids are substances known since ancient times. But it was only in the 21st century that the problem took on such a menacing scale. There are billions of lives at risk.

The development of science has given us many great discoveries and has also stimulated the development of pharmacology. The creation of synthesized drugs has become an easy way to make money. Today, the economies of entire countries are formed with the money of drug cartels.

The criminal lifestyle acquired a shade of romanticism and recklessness. A child growing up in such an environment will consider drug use and distribution to be the norm. He will form the wrong social experience and pass it on to his children.

To formulate a plan to combat alcoholism and drug addiction, society must study it. And if 20 years ago the main problem was systematic, widespread smoking. Today these are considered drug addiction and alcoholism.

A modern drug addict is often a completely respectable person; drunkenness is not his strong point. His psychological portrait does not betray an addiction; rather, it creates a bit of adventurism for him.

Concepts of drug addiction and alcoholism

Drug addiction is a mental neurosis, a metabolic disorder, expressed as an irresistible attraction to drugs. Drug-containing substances usually include: opiates, psychostimulants, psychomimetrics, etc. That is, all substances that can cause euphoria, hallucinations, excitement or relieve pain (by affecting the central nervous system).

For a long time Ethanols belonged to the group of drugs. But, in the middle of the 19th century, it was first established that alcohol-containing substances are addictive due to another effect. Therefore, science has established a separate concept for alcohol dependence. Today, alcoholism is accepted as a form of substance abuse. From which the psyche primarily suffers.

According to WHO, alcoholism is the systemic or periodic use of alcohol-containing products in order to constantly maintain a uniform level of ethanol in the body. This is why alcoholics can experience clean periods quite calmly - sometimes up to several months.

Today, science is inclined to believe that alcoholism is one of the types of drug addiction, characterized by the frequency of administration of ethanol drugs for euphoria or sleep.

Alcohol, like any drug addiction, causes characteristic signs of changes in the body or personality degradation. And if physiological changes can be cured, then social decay and neuroses of alcoholics lead to the complete impossibility of family and social life.

Alcoholism, drug addiction, and smoking have led to the fact that in many countries an entire generation has grown up without healthy family values. Young people who have no idea about a healthy lifestyle form their own understandable system of values. In their world, a drug addict is not sick; it is believed that consumption and distribution are the norm. Often the personality of these people is shaped by the pirate system of opportunities - stole, sold, got high. Acting criminally in such an environment is considered a heroic act.

But without taking into account such lower layers, doctors believe that drug withdrawal psychosis is caused by many completely legal products, such as chocolate, tea, coffee, energy drinks, and foods with monosodium glutamate.

Why you want to drink or inject yourself: models of addiction

Among the main causes of addiction, there are two: personal predisposition and environmental influence. But often the factors that push you to drink or smoke are: personal experiences, heredity, pathology of body cells, self-medication.

Research among drug addicts has shown that each of them, as a rule, had a drug addict or alcoholic in their family. Less than one hundredth of one percent of the billion registered drug addicts began taking substances without learning about them from friends or family.

Every third adult is considered an alcoholic. But the significant difference between a casual drunkard and a chronic alcoholic allows us to say that about 0.8-1 billion people on the planet are considered systemically dependent.

Most drug addicts live in their own agglomerations, rarely influencing the quieter strata of society. We encounter alcoholics every day; drinking is considered not shameful; rarely does anyone hide this habit. Few people think that this disease requires treatment.

Cinema, books, social media form false ideas about the relief obtained from drinking 100 grams or excessive euphoria from heroin. Data about the real state of affairs is practically not disseminated among young people. Children and youth do not see the visible consequences of the effects of alcohol or drugs. For them, a degrading person simply disappears, as if becoming an invisible hero who finds himself in a world where everything is good.

It is the desire to live a calm, dry life that most often pushes one down the path of drug addiction or alcoholism. This also becomes the main reason why former drug addicts drink alcohol. One drug is simply replaced by another.

Mechanism and stages of addiction formation

Like any disease, drug addiction and alcoholism go through a number of stages of formation in order to develop a lasting effect. Many drugs are addictive the first time - spice, ecstasy, marijuana.

An alcoholic drink can be perceived for a long time as a relaxing, painkiller; addiction develops over the years. But if the parents had one of the types of addiction, the child will be born with a very high degree of risk.

Both alcohol and drugs, with constant (and sometimes one-time) use, can change the human genome. In this case, experts talk about congenital alcoholism or drug addiction.

How drug addiction is formed

The mechanism of drug addiction formation began to be studied in 1975, when opioid neuropeptides, substances responsible for the system of pleasure and punishment, were discovered in the human brain.

These peptides, when mixed with drugs containing drugs, can destroy the physiological line between what is possible and what is not. Therefore, people who take any drugs believe that they are omnipotent. They have a dull or absent feeling of anxiety and fear.

Getting out of this elevated state is almost impossible. Drugs almost immediately react in the brain tissue, and the brain, using such reserves, stops producing the necessary substances.

Any drug addiction goes through three stages: mental attraction, drug addiction and developmental stage somatic pathology. Using drugs at the first two brings pleasure, at the third stage there is no effect from the usual dose, and increasing the amount causes death.

How alcoholism develops

Alcoholism is also formed on the basis of the activity of opioid neuropeptides. However, ethanol enters into physiological communication with other systems. At a certain stage, the functioning of the body is impossible without its participation. Moreover, if the drug forms a psycho-emotional image, it is accepted, injected and good. However, very little alcohol is required for a long time, which more actively causes severe addiction.

Just like drug addiction, alcoholism goes through three stages, and the formation of physiological dependence is completed already at the first of them.

Ethanol may inhibit the functioning of opioid neuropeptides. In combination with other drugs, this can cause severe forms of phobias and psychoses. Therefore, drug addicts usually do not drink alcohol.

Alcoholism and drug addiction in children and adolescents

The danger of drug addiction and alcoholism is especially pronounced at an early age. If during the formation of the body, the establishment of the hormonal and endocrine systems, any artificial substance is introduced into the mechanism familiar to a person, most likely such a person will not live to be 40 years old.

The problem is that as each person goes through certain stages of growing up, they undergo a natural process of producing the necessary opioid neuropeptides. By interfering with this, drugs or alcohol can completely destroy the necessary basic level instincts.

In addition to the development of many degenerative diseases, the consequences of alcoholism and drug addiction among the younger generation can lead to a lack of fertility, and, as a consequence, to extinction. When the genes of children of alcoholics or drug addicts are formed, it is the reproduction function that suffers first. Few people understand the social consequences of the spread of alcoholism and drug addiction among teenagers.

Recent studies have shown that the cause of infertility for many women over 35 is alcoholism of one of the parents. Moreover, it can often be non-systematic and not affect social life, character.

Often teenage nihilism pushes one to the first dose. Mental disorders can be caused by the environment, the environment. The main physiological sign is that the child has withdrawn into himself and does not want to live in reality.

Systemic treatment as a way to overcome addiction

Factor stopping drug addiction treatment and chronic alcoholism- indifference. Conducted surveys public opinion showed that 85% of people consider any addiction a personal matter.

The answers to questions about child drug addicts showed approximately the same opinion. If this is a teenager 13–17 years old, then it is rare that an adult will even just start a conversation with him. Many are ready to help only those who have not reached the end of childhood - up to 12 years.

Today, any disorder caused by alcoholism or drug addiction is jointly treated by a psychiatrist and a narcologist. For a patient to fully recover, it is necessary to undergo not only drug treatment. The stage of psychiatric care is mandatory.

Medicines are needed at the initial stage of treatment; they prevent you from relapse and start taking them again. After removal physical dependence. The only way of therapy is conversation. At this stage, it is important to change the environment; the participation and support of loved ones is required.

And if the narcological method is quite simple, the stage of psychological restructuring of the worldview becomes difficult for the patient. Synthetic or herbal, narcotic or alcohol-containing substances give the effect of such powerful euphoria that the patient in withdrawal syndrome is not even able to simply smile.
Psychiatry today does not know effective solutions for treating such people. Therefore, they are most often treated with antidepressants. This helps control behavior and assists in the formation of acceptable behavior patterns. A person can adequately assess reality without entering into an ethical conflict with the imposed foundations.

Former drug addicts and alcoholics are not happy about anything. For a long time they are not able to experience positive emotions, they have an overly developed sense of anxiety and fear (often bordering on panic), and they often lack rational, systematic thinking. The only pleasure for them is the support of loved ones.

Rehabilitation of former drug addicts or alcoholics involves preventing their return to criminal world. Education, student life and impulse, the adult world of science, technology, travel - it is important to show addicts that the world does not get better from a dose.

Healing a drug addict - healing society

The medical and social harm of addiction can be observed in all countries of the world, regardless of the standard of living or form government system. The only way out is in a systematic approach. School, family, society, culture, politics - everyone must be aware of the negative consequences.

Prevention of alcoholism and drug addiction should consist of the complete abolition of double standards. You can’t talk about how scary heroin is if you have freely available alcohol or cigarettes. It is necessary to secure the concept of a criminal not only for those who produce or take drugs. But also for those who advertise them.

The best promotion of a healthy lifestyle that works is the story of former addicts about how alcohol or drugs took away part of their lives.

Alcoholism and drug addiction are serious problem modern society.

How can these dangerous diseases be defeated?

Nowadays, alcoholism and drug addiction are a threat to society.

Often people do not understand how others turn into addicted drug addicts and alcoholics. They mistakenly assume that the reason lies in the lack of willpower and moral principles in drug addicts and alcoholics. This prevents them from stopping the use of drugs and alcohol.

But drug addiction and alcoholism are complex diseases. Therefore, good intentions or strong will are not enough to stop drinking and using drugs. Because drugs and alcohol cause changes in the brain. Quitting drugs and alcohol is difficult even for those people who decide to do it. But drug addiction and alcoholism can be successfully treated.

Alcoholism and drug addiction have negative consequences for individuals and the whole society. The total costs of treating drug and alcohol addiction, lost productivity, and costs associated with crime among drug addicts and alcoholics exceed hundreds of billions of dollars a year. But as dire as these numbers are, they do not fully describe the depth of their devastating health and safety impacts. Alcoholism and drug addiction undermine health and take lives.

What happens as a result of excessive alcohol consumption and drug addiction?

These are the problems:

Families are breaking up.
A man loses his job.
Failures in studies begin.

Drug addiction: what is its essence?

Scientists have proven that drug use develops chronic disease human brain. It is expressed in an impulsive, uncontrollable desire to use drugs. Gradually, pathological changes occur in the addict’s brain. They do not allow him to control himself, they interfere with his attempts to stop taking drugs.

What happens to the brain when a person takes drugs?

What are the consequences of taking drugs? Drugs contain substances that impair brain function. They destroy brain tissue responsible for sending, receiving and processing information. Drugs (heroin, marijuana) are similar to neurotransmitters. These are substances produced by the human brain. Therefore, drugs can “trick” the brain into inducing a state of imaginary pleasure.

The drugs cocaine or methamphetamine can disrupt nerve cells to release abnormal, enormous amounts of natural neurotransmitters (primarily dopamine). This prevents the body from processing neurotransmitters properly. As a result, there is an excess of dopamine in the brain structures, which causes a feeling of pleasure in the body. Neurotransmitters control movements, emotions, motivation and feelings of satisfaction and pleasure.

There is artificial overstimulation of the zone that causes a feeling of pleasure, which usually responds to natural factors associated with life situations (eating, spending time with loved ones, family). When psychoactive substances enter the body, a feeling of unreal, artificial pleasure arises. As a result, the mechanism of abnormal behavior of a person addicted to drugs comes into motion. Because now the brain of an addicted person seeks to receive pleasure as a result of taking drugs, and not as a result of the natural production of neurotransmitters by the body itself.

When a person continues to use narcotic substances, the brain reduces the production of natural dopamine. This decrease forces the addict to consume drugs more and more in order to enhance the function of dopamine and bring it artificially back to normal. But now an increasing amount of the drug is required to get the desired feeling of euphoria.

Long-term damage causes changes in other brain functions. The neurotransmitter glutamate affects learning ability. When the normal concentration of glutamate in the brain changes due to drug addiction, a person is deprived of the ability to carry out intellectual activities. Now he is unable to perform mental activity, accept right decisions, exercise self-control. He doesn't feel normal without taking drugs.

In a person who has become addicted to drugs, heroin, marijuana and other drugs cause an uncontrollable desire to use drugs for pleasure. Now these drugs are more necessary for him than everything he has in his life (family, friends, career, health, happiness).

What is the mechanism of drug addiction?

How does a person become a drug addict?

People begin experimenting with drugs for various reasons:

Some people want to try it out of curiosity.
Others just want to have a nice evening with company.
Still others see their friends doing it.
Still others strive to improve athletic performance in this way.
Others use this method to alleviate some psychological problem.
A number of people already had this in their family.
Some people do this because of traumatic childhood experiences.

Accidental use of a narcotic substance does not automatically lead to the development of drug addiction. But there is no specific boundary that separates casual use from systematic use of a drug. This fine line depends on individual characteristics person. Regardless of the frequency, frequency and amount of drugs consumed, this causes an increase in negative problems in the life of an addicted person. These problems relate to work, school, study, relationships with parents, acquaintances and friends.

What is the process of developing drug addiction?

A person experimenting with drugs is sure that he can stop at any moment. But medical practice shows that usually a person continues to take them. The reason is that now only a narcotic drug allows him to feel full and happy, causing euphoria. Rarely addicted people are able to recognize the moment when they have gone overboard dangerous line, behind which trouble awaits them.

Uncontrollable drug addiction always creeps up unnoticed. It increases sharply. Nowadays people take drugs more and more often, in large doses. Gradually, an addicted person is no longer able to cope without the drug. He is haunted by panic and pain if he has not taken drugs. In this situation, it is already very difficult for the drug addict to stop. If he does not find an alternative to drugs, their use will continue. This is how drug addiction occurs.

When drug addiction subjugates a person, he may miss or often be late for work or school. His performance at work may gradually deteriorate, and he may begin to neglect social or family obligations. But he can't stop on his own. What began as a voluntary choice turned into physical and psychological dependence on the drug.

Why do some people become addicted to drugs while others do not?

No one can predict that a particular person will become addicted to drugs. The threat of this disease depends on a number of conditions:

Individual biological characteristics.
Social environment.
The age of this person.
Duration of drug use.

The more such risks a particular person has, the more significantly the likelihood of developing addiction increases.

What conditions contribute to the growth of drug addiction?

Genetic characteristics can increase a person's vulnerability to the effects of drugs. These risks may increase gender differences and various mental disorders.
A person’s environment: family, friends, colleagues, classmates, and so on. It is important which moral principles were laid down during upbringing, what kind of life the immediate environment of this person leads.
Early initiation of drug use. The earlier drug use begins, the greater the likelihood of a person becoming a drug addict. This is especially dangerous for people in their teens. Because drugs have a negative impact on the brain functions that regulate decision-making, a teenager's self-control deteriorates. For this reason, people in puberty are extremely susceptible to risky behavior and drug addiction.

It is possible to treat drug addiction. There are remedies available to help counteract the powerful destructive effects of drug addiction.

How can you overcome drug addiction?

This disease can be successfully managed. If a person uses drugs because they fill a void in their life, they are at risk of having their life ruined by accidental drug use or addiction. To maintain a healthy life balance, it is imperative to have other positive experiences in order to feel comfortable. It is very important for a person to have interests, hobbies and a favorite thing in his life. Need to communicate with interesting people. Then you won't need drugs to artificially get a feeling of pleasure.

A fund to combat drug addiction was created in the country. It exists in Moscow. This foundation employs specialists who are looking for opportunities and ways to help drug addicts. There was no such fund before. It was created to solve the problem of drug addiction. If people cannot quit their addiction on their own, they can get help from the fund. This fund is helped by people who are not indifferent to this misfortune.

The Orthodox Church does not remain aloof from this problem. So she created the Saint's Charitable Foundation righteous John assistance to drug addicted citizens. Many people were able to stand on the right way thanks to this fund. Today such an organization exists in many major cities countries. The activities of such a fund are an example of a caring attitude towards a national problem. Representatives of the foundation organize events promoting healthy image life.

To combat drug addiction, a fund was created in Ivanovo. There is also an organization in Samara in which specialists help people addicted to drugs get rid of this disease. The City Without Drugs Foundation has been created in Yekaterinburg. It has been around for fifteen years. In Moscow, to combat drug addiction, the No Drug Foundation was created, which carries out serious work on the prevention of drug addiction. The Drug Free City Foundation is supported by residents of the country who have an active lifestyle. Former drug addicts are grateful to this foundation for its help. A similar fund operates in Irkutsk. The foundation carries out work aimed at preventing drug addiction. To help the foundation, caring people hold charity events.

Drug addiction prevention

Drug addiction is a preventable disease. Research results have shown that attracting family, school, funds mass media are effective in combating drug abuse. Education and outreach are key to this prevention work to help youth and the general public understand the risks of drug abuse. Teachers, parents, and medical professionals must explain that drug addiction can be prevented.

What is the essence of alcoholism?

The problem of alcoholism is very acute.

Alcohol (or ethyl alcohol) is an antiseptic and solvent that has wide application in medical practice. But this alcohol has a toxic effect on the human body if the substance is used internally in large doses.

Almost all people have tried alcoholic drinks at least once in their lives. But why does not all people develop alcohol addiction? The main factors that contribute to the development of alcohol dependence are personality traits that prevent this person from adapting to social life:

No life goals.
Excessive shyness.
Constant mental and emotional stress and overstrain.
Inability to cope with problems that arise in life.
No hobbies or interests.
Monotony in life.
Psychological trauma.

Alcohol addiction is a disease. Drunkenness kills people. What could be worse?

It is characterized by abuse alcoholic drinks despite the negative consequences.

Risk factors for developing problems with alcohol include:

Low self-esteem.
Anxiety.
Genetic features.
Flaws in education.

It is believed that alcoholism goes through three phases in its development.

The first phase is characterized by the following symptoms:

Lack of gag reflex to alcohol.
The feeling of disgust for alcohol after drinking disappears.
An alcoholic is looking for a reason to drink again.
The ability to control the amount of alcohol taken is lost.
An alcoholic is unable to stop drinking alcohol.
He gets pleasure only after drinking alcohol.

The second stage is characterized by the following:

The doses of alcohol increase.
A person accepts it in forms that are condemned by society (for example, in the workplace).
A person feels able to work only after drinking alcohol.
The dose is increased several times, necessary for a person to get drunk.
Hangovers become common.
For the first time, dysfunction of internal organs appears: increased blood pressure, there is a strong heartbeat because he is suffering cardiovascular system. Sweating is tormented because the endocrine system is disrupted. Disorders of the digestive tract become commonplace.
A dependent person does not remember many events.
It develops, the signs of which are hallucinations, obsessions, and attacks of aggression.

The third stage of this disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

Exhaustion of the body.
A hangover even from small doses of alcohol.
Intellectual and moral degradation.
Insomnia if you do not take alcohol.
Seriously affected internal organs(heart, liver, kidneys, brain). This can lead to the death of the addicted person.

Sometimes people wonder what is worse - alcoholism or drug addiction. But what could be worse than destroying your own life? Both of these diseases are great evils. What's worse than that? Only death.

Some people who drink alcohol for a long time can stop drinking on their own. But most do this only temporarily.

Long-term alcohol and drug abuse and the development of alcoholism and drug addiction can be destructive and even life-threatening.

They negatively affect the functioning of almost all organ systems. But the problems of alcoholism and drug addiction can be successfully solved.

Thank you for your feedback

Comments

Megan92 () 2 weeks ago

Has anyone succeeded in ridding their husband of alcoholism? My drink never stops, I don’t know what to do anymore ((I was thinking about getting a divorce, but I don’t want to leave the child without a father, and I feel sorry for my husband, he’s a great person when he doesn’t drink

Daria () 2 weeks ago

I have already tried so many things, and only after reading this article, I was able to wean my husband off alcohol; now he doesn’t drink at all, even on holidays.

Megan92 () 13 days ago

Daria () 12 days ago

Megan92, that’s what I wrote in my first comment) I’ll duplicate it just in case - link to article.

Sonya 10 days ago

Isn't this a scam? Why do they sell on the Internet?

Yulek26 (Tver) 10 days ago

Sonya, what country do you live in? They sell it on the Internet because stores and pharmacies charge outrageous markups. In addition, payment is made only after receipt, that is, they first looked, checked and only then paid. And now they sell everything on the Internet - from clothes to TVs and furniture.

Editor's response 10 days ago

Sonya, hello. This drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence is actually not sold through pharmacy chain and retail stores to avoid overpricing. Currently you can only order from official website. Be healthy!

The problem of addiction among teenagers is not a personal matter for those who have already encountered this problem. Prevention of alcoholism and drug addiction is the task of society as a whole.

Today, the prevention of alcoholism and drug addiction among adolescents is the main goal for maintaining a healthy generation. The problem of addiction to addictions at the moment it's quite sharp. The number of people who use alcohol and drugs is growing rapidly. At the same time, addicts are becoming younger and younger. Every person is familiar with the consequences of bad habits, but for few people this is a deterrent.

The dangers of alcoholism and drug addiction

The use of alcohol and drugs (even unsystematically) causes significant harm to a fragile body. Many diseases are caused precisely by bad habits, including a decrease in the body’s defenses. Also, many addicted teenagers suffer from mental or nervous disorders.

At the same time, an immature child’s body very quickly gets used to alcohol and drugs. The likelihood that a child will become addicted to alcohol is very high, even if he regularly drinks only low-alcohol drinks.

The risk also increases in case of drug addiction. Teenagers' frivolous attitude towards alcohol increases the problem. Many are convinced that it is okay to drink alcohol two or three times a week and that preventing alcoholism and drug addiction is an unnecessary measure under such circumstances. But this possibility should not be ruled out, even if a teenager drinks several times a month.

Focus of events

Taking into account the individual characteristics of the groups in which alcoholism and drug addiction prevention is carried out, three types are distinguished. Activities aimed at protecting adolescents from bad habits are included in initial prevention. Such measures involve working with children who have not previously used alcohol or drugs.

The program of preventive measures includes conversations on the dangers of alcohol, involvement in community service, awakening interest in sports training, tourism, art, and so on. It is reasonable to carry out primary activities among adolescents in educational institutions according to accepted methods.

Secondary prevention

Secondary measures against alcoholism and drug addiction among adolescents are focused on the risk group. Such prevention takes place among young people who drink alcohol and drugs. Measures are also aimed at persons with increased degree the likelihood of dependence on destructive habits. These are considered children from dysfunctional families, with manifest social neglect, mental disorders, and so on.

Secondary measures are necessary in order to identify adolescents who use alcohol or drugs and prevent them from developing a persistent dependence on addictions. To take measures of this kind, professional assistance from narcologists, psychologists, and other specialists is required. Measures must be taken in a timely manner to prevent irreversible consequences in the development of the situation and the emergence of various diseases.

Tertiary prevention

Tertiary measures involve helping patients who are close to the topic of alcoholism and drug addiction. Such prevention includes diagnosis, as well as treatment in health and rehabilitation centers. Activities at this stage should be aimed at preventing further personal decay and maintaining a person in a capable state.

In this case, we can already talk about a complex disease that requires long-term and thorough treatment, the effectiveness of which largely depends on the patient’s desire to cope with his problem of alcoholism or drug addiction. As a rule, specialists have to help teenagers with an already formed disease, when all the tragic consequences of addiction have already manifested themselves.

Methods to combat adolescent addiction

Predisposition to bad habits observed among adolescents with a shaky psyche, with frequent manifestations aggression, hysteria. It is important that protective measures include sanitary and educational activities among young people.

Educational institutions should regularly organize seminars to train teachers in techniques for detecting various types intoxication and to form in their minds an understanding of the seriousness of the problem. It is imperative to provide real examples of the severe consequences of alcoholism and drug addiction.

It is also important in prevention to organize interaction between the services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, drug treatment and the commission for minors. Police officers should help attract young people to examination and treatment for drug addiction and alcoholism. If a teenager does not want to visit a drug treatment clinic, resists influence and is the main link in a group of dependent children, then prevention should include additional administrative measures.

There are many ways to influence children's attitudes towards addictions. It can be quite difficult to implement them, but they almost always help achieve the desired goal, to protect the child from alcohol, drugs and the influence of the environment that abuse them.

It is worth noting that prevention will give the desired result only if the teenager completely trusts his parents. To establish the right relationship with your child, you need to spend more time communicating with him. If a parent is not interested in his problems, he will begin to discuss them with those who are ready to listen. Then there will be no trust with the teenager.

Don't mistake moralizing for communication. Many children stop talking to their parents about what worries them when instead of help they receive only accusations and reproaches.

It is not necessary to understand the child’s beliefs; it is more important to listen to him, accept him and not impose his adult point of view. Parents must understand that the child is not their property; he may have his own opinion, which must be taken into account. It is advisable to be interested in who your child spends time with and know his friends. And most importantly, parents should serve as an example to their child. To do this, you need to strictly adhere to your beliefs and be consistent in your actions.

Risk group

Teenagers whose parents suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction find it much easier to obtain intoxicants. Opportunity to try various types They have drugs and alcohol from an early age. But at the same time, children see by example what addiction leads to and how it affects the way of their family. For this reason, children who grew up in a dysfunctional family often adhere to firm convictions never to drink alcohol or drugs and strive with all their might to improve the lives of their parents and save them from addiction.

Sometimes it is they who become ardent fighters against intoxicating substances. Even small quantity alcohol causes them a persistent disgust (psychological and physical).

But most often, as a child grows up, he quickly masters the skills of smoking and drinking alcohol. The program laid down by their environment, in particular, their parents, begins to launch. This is explained by the fact that the family is an example of interaction with environment, solving problems and meeting needs.

Such children are at risk and need prevention. The united influence of the entire team of teachers and specialists is required to provide professional assistance and support to children from disadvantaged families. It is also important to determine what values the student is guided by at the initial stage of their formation.

Every person has abilities and positive qualities, the teacher’s task is to consider them in the child, identify his talents, and interest him. This will help distract him from the unhealthy environment in the family and direct his attention to additional activities.

Solving the problem

The media and TV screens regularly report news about the ban on smoking in public places and the advertising of alcohol. But nevertheless, quite often you can meet minors on the streets with beer in their hands. Alcoholism and drug addiction among young people is largely the fault of the adult generation. If there is a clear demonstration of alcohol, smoking, and drug use in their environment, then no amount of prevention will help children avoid this problem.

Adoption of strict restrictions on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to teenagers, collaboration drug control, police, teachers, parents can influence the addiction of young people to toxic substances. It is important to show teenagers what addictions can lead to.

Excellent preventive measure There will also be the introduction of mandatory drug testing in schools. At the first signs of addiction in a teenager, he should be immediately referred for examination and treatment.

Conclusion

The problem of addiction among young people is a common concern. Drug use greatly increases the likelihood of contracting AIDS, hepatitis, and the spread of venereal diseases. It is impossible to study and at the same time depend on alcohol and drugs. Teenagers with addictions quite quickly sink to the social bottom, degrade, and find themselves drawn into crime. Problems arise with the family, society, and the child becomes potentially dangerous to others.

In order for the measures taken to prevent alcoholism and drug addiction to be effective, to reduce the risk of the problem occurring, and for patients to receive maximum assistance in treatment and rehabilitation, a competent legislative framework is needed. First of all, it is necessary to establish administrative responsibility for the use of alcohol and drugs. Provide for the possibility of searching persons to identify prohibited drugs, substances, and alcohol.

You should also pay the necessary attention to the younger generation, you need to hold conversations and meetings with them, involve them in community service and other activities. Adolescence is considered a period when the child requires special attention. This will help avoid unpleasant consequences in the future.

In 1985-1989, at the height of the anti-alcohol campaign, epidemics of substance abuse swept across the USSR. They reached, first of all, the younger generation. The sources of the toxic effect were substances household chemicals. Then, compared to the present state of affairs, there were not so many of them. We will not list them - they are widely known. Mortality from the use of toxic substances broke all records - tens, hundreds died. Thus, in Barnaul in 1986, 300 children and adolescents aged 12 to 16 years died. Teachers and narcologists, faced with such an epidemic, were completely unprepared. Treatment of substance abusers is still a very uncertain topic: the disease does not exist as such! At the time of poisoning, there is a clinic for acute poisoning with a specific poison and treatment is carried out according to this clinic (regular detoxification therapy). But, having “recovered,” the teenager goes out into the street and again and again takes (sniffs, swallows, breathes, or even injects it under the skin or into a vein) a toxic substance.

Sociologists then took up the problem of substance abuse, but their surveys and testing led nowhere. Repressive measures remained: drug addicts were caught, attics and basements were closed, the parents of the instigators were fined... Then, against the backdrop of the social cataclysms that began in the USSR, the problem of substance abuse faded into the background. However, it remains relevant to this day, both in our country and abroad. True, it partly gave way to the problem that came to the fore drug addiction. The bulk of drug addicts in Russia now are teenagers.

Alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction have a very hidden (endogenous) connection with each other. In particular, this is manifested in the fact that these vices of human society cannot be explained by any socio-economic or psychological conditions. There is an abstract concept called “social climate” that is sometimes invoked to explain this social evil. After all, for example, it is impossible to imagine that in Sparta there could be alcoholics, substance abusers and drug addicts! But there were only a few of them in Nazi Germany. This problem does not exist in modern Iran either.

Genetically, alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction (and this is confirmed by modern research) are most likely related to each other. Rather, it looks something like this: parents with a hereditary burden of mental pathology give birth to children who are substance abusers or drug addicts (“mutants,” “degenerates,” “degenerates,” according to different terminology). The determining factor for the “type of mutation” is the social environment. Therefore, alcoholism, substance abuse, and drug addiction should become the object of social medicine, while clinical medicine (reanimatology, narcology and psychiatry) deals with subjects of this pathology.

Below we will consider in detail the general and individual aspects of alcoholism, substance abuse and drug addiction. In the meantime, let us pay attention to the fact that practical and theoretical helplessness in relation to these medical and social problems sometimes leads to strange “positions”, the essence of which is to “understand” their patients (whether they are an alcoholic, a substance abuser or a drug addict). Thus, many kind words have been said regarding alcoholics: “escape from cruel and unfair reality” (although it is hardly possible to imagine Hamlet as a drunkard), “alcohol civilizes a person, softening his aggressiveness,” “alcohol promotes communication,” etc.

The same applies to drug addicts, and this position leads to the “protection” of teenage drug addicts from doctors, psychologists, teachers, parents and other teenagers who do not take drugs. The general misfortune of psychologizers of drug addiction is that substance abusers, alcoholics and drug addicts are very different in terms of personality, characterology, and abilities of experiencing and thinking. But they act the same! Therefore, the point is not what they feel, but what makes them take poisons.

If we are to psychologize in relation to substance abuse and drug addiction, then from the point of view not of the human self, but of the masses. You can start at least with S. Freud’s book “Psychology of the Masses and Analysis of the Human Self.” At the beginning of his work, Freud cites an excerpt from a book by the famous psychologist G. Lebon.

“The strangest thing about a psychological mass is this: whatever the kind of individuals composing it, no matter how similar or dissimilar their lifestyle, occupation, character and degree of intelligence may be, but by the mere fact of their transformation into a mass, they acquire a collective soul , due to which they feel, think and act completely differently than each of them individually felt, thought and acted. There are ideas and feelings that manifest themselves or turn into action only in individuals united in masses. The psychological mass is a provisional being, which consists of heterogeneous elements united for a moment, just as the cells of an organism by their union create a new being with qualities completely different from those of individual cells.”

We have quoted Le Bon in such detail because his thoughts will help us clarify some of the provisions of the next section on "mental epidemics and criminal crowds." It is the laws of the latter that substance abusers and drug addicts obey (of course, taking into account that this rule also has its exceptions).

Hospitals and clinics all over the world know patients who arrive bringing with them a bag of various medicines, which they systematically, in different combinations taken for decades (“for blood pressure”, “for the stomach”, “for the heart”, “for the liver”, etc.). These patients have voluminous, several volumes of outpatient charts and medical histories. They are given various “chronic” diagnoses and are usually treated with the medications that they themselves tell the doctor. This iatrogenic(jatros - Greek doctor) substance abusers, psychologically and physiologically (but not clinically!) dependent on medications. If you take away “their medicine” from them, then what will happen is not an exacerbation of some disease, but real abstinence. There is nothing to treat them like drug addicts. It is too late to re-educate them, because they, as a rule, are people over 50, and are also characterologically changed towards a psychopathic personality.

Another group of drug addicts consists of patients suffering from phobias(fear of getting sick). They systematically take medications for a non-existent disease, thus turning into substance abusers. One of these patients with cardiophobia took up to 80 nitroglycerin tablets per day (ten times the lethal dose!). He did not suffer from any cardiovascular disease.

Now a few words about alcoholism. The social worker must clearly distinguish "domestic drunkards" and sick chronic alcoholism. The main signs of chronic alcoholism: 1. presence hangover syndrome; 2. presence of binges; 3. change in tolerance to alcohol (according to the scheme: dose increase, plateau, dose reduction); 4. personality degradation of the alcoholic type (bragging, deceit, tendency to steal for the sake of drinking, overvalued ideas of jealousy with decreased potency, etc.).

When making a differential diagnosis of chronic alcoholism, it is always necessary to identify whether the patient has “primary” or “secondary” alcoholism. "Secondary alcoholism" - This is an alcoholism syndrome in a patient suffering from some kind of sluggish mental illness (most often schizophrenia or manic-depressive psychosis, but sometimes epilepsy, “reliable” by systematic alcohol intake, which is clinically difficult to differentiate).

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