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With over fifty percent of the world population abusing alcohol the amount of research done on getting over this addiction is also vast. When an alcoholic wants to give up his addiction he has to undergo two steps in treatment. The first one is detoxification and the second one is psychological counseling.
To understand alcoholism withdrawal we must know what changes happen in the body under the influence of alcohol. The nervous system becomes dependent on alcohol this is a little complex. The brain secretes dopamine and serotonin under the influence of alcohol which give the sense of well being and euphoria. During alcoholism withdrawal the brain craves for dopamine and serotonin for the feeling of well being, this can happen only in the presence of alcohol. Since the addict is undergoing detoxification he is not consuming any alcohol thus the brain goes into depression which is a very important sign of alcoholism withdrawal.
The signs of alcoholism withdrawal depend on the severity of addiction. Mild withdrawal symptoms include body aches, tremors, diarrhoea, insomnia and excessive sweating. This is seen in people who have been under mild addiction for a short span of time. They generally have been consuming less quantity of alcohol for some time. In such cases there is no need for medication and patient compliance is good.
When discussing alcohol withdrawal patient counseling has to be given utmost importance, the mental balance of the patient is usually disturbed and calls for professional help. The counselor will prepare the addict mentally for the detoxification treatment and the alcoholism withdrawal symptoms he is going to suffer. This may sound simple but most patients have at some point in time suffered from withdrawal and know the seriousness of the matter.
Serious withdrawal symptoms are experienced by chronic alcoholics who have been under the influence of the substance for prolonged periods. These have to be monitored since they can be life threatening, they also require medication. Serious alcoholism withdrawal symptoms include high fever, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, hallucinations and delirium tremens. A person suffering from delirium tremens has uncontrolled shaking, panic attacks and severe hallucinations. DT or delirium tremens begins within three to four days of the last drink and lasts up to a week. During this episode the patient must be monitored along with medication like sedatives to avoid life threatening consequences due to high blood pressure and increased heart rate
After the detoxification the body gets rid of all the toxins accumulated in the body due to alcohol. This is followed by the rehabilitation process which teaches the addict the reasons behind his abuse. Once he understands the reasons he can help overcome them but for this he needs the help of support groups and family members. One such group is the Alcoholics Anonymous where they have a 12 step model which helps the addict understand why and how to avoid going back to alcohol. There are drugs like disulfiram which help along with counseling and peer support, the drug alone cannot work.
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