The Importance Of Pharmacological Treatment For Alcoholism
Alcohol is the most consumed drug in the world, and although the habitual use of this substance is very normalized in practically all societies and cultures, it is still true that the addiction to which it can give rise has very severe effects. in physical and mental health.
Perhaps because people with alcoholism problems are so common, there are a whole series of stereotypes and preconceived ideas about the figure of what has historically been considered the “drunk”; beliefs and clichés that lead to criminalizing those who suffer from this type of addiction because it is assumed that what happens to them is a problem of “mental weakness”, of lack of will to improve and integrate correctly into society.
However, the truth is that alcoholism exists far beyond each person’s preferences, personal decisions, and way of establishing priorities. In other words, it has nothing to do with a specific philosophy of life. It is an addictive type disorder that includes behavioral alterations and modifications in the functioning of the nervous system, which implies that it is a pathology with a psychological and a biological part. And the latter implies that, When treating alcoholism, it is usually necessary to rely on the use of drugs Let’s see why.
Addictions have a psychological and social side, and another biological and medical side Intervening in both facets of the problem is essential to provide long-term solutions to people with addictive disorders, and therefore, psychiatric support is essential.
What is the “psychiatric” side of alcohol addiction? This has to do with the way in which this substance interacts with our nerve cells. Although other drinks and foods intervene in our psychological processes more indirectly through flavor, in the case of alcohol It is not the stimuli captured by the taste buds that lead us to “get hooked” to this type of products (in fact, most first experiences with alcohol are unpleasant in this sense).
What generates addiction is the way in which alcohol interacts with the neurons in our brain, because unlike other molecules, it has the ability to cross the barrier that separates the circulatory system from the nervous system, and this allows it to be captured by our neurons.
Thus, when alcohol reaches the nerve cells, it activates them in a similar way to that of our neurotransmitters, molecules present in our nervous system and that are used by neurons to communicate with each other. But the nervous reaction generated by alcohol is abnormal, and in fact, it causes our reward system, the part of the brain in charge of detecting pleasurable situations that we must repeat over and over again, to become very active. In this way, alcohol “hacks” our brain making it take as a good experience for us one that is actually not good for us : the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The usefulness of pharmacological treatment for alcoholism
As we have seen, alcoholism is an addiction in which the individual develops a physical and psychological dependence on the alcohol available in beverages. Usually, The consumption of these products begins in recreational contexts and gradually invades all aspects of the person’s daily life including work and activities carried out at home.
As occurs in other drug addictions, alcohol not only interferes with the functioning of the person’s neurons, but also transforms the way they interconnect with each other and establish neuronal activation patterns; In this way, the individual’s nervous system becomes “accustomed” to working with a large amount of alcohol available in the blood, part of which crosses the blood-brain barrier and couples to the receptors of nerve cells.
Thus, The simple fact of stopping consuming alcohol causes severe discomfort , among other things because the person’s brain “limps” momentarily due to an imbalance in its levels of available chemical substances; This is what produces the withdrawal syndrome.
Furthermore, as time goes by the brain adapts more and more to the presence of alcohol in the body, the person needs to consume more and more to obtain the feeling of being satiated, and on the other hand, they must also consume more to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay. The result of this is a vicious circle: the longer alcoholism goes untreated, the more deeply rooted the psychopathology becomes both in the individual’s habits and in the functioning of his or her own nervous system.
The use of psychotropic drugs to help people with alcoholism arises from the idea that to overcome this addiction it is not enough to simply stop drinking alcohol. It is necessary to accompany the person in this process, which is always gradual and lasts between several months and several years and be aware that “getting off” alcoholism involves maintaining a relatively delicate balance in the functioning of your nervous system, given that in many cases, if the brain suddenly runs out of alcohol, this can trigger health problems derived from that. chemical imbalance.
Furthermore, we must not forget that the challenge of leaving behind the use of a drug involves the management of very intense emotions. Normally, the first phases of treatment to stop drugs go hand in hand with moments of great anxiety and stress, and psychotropic drugs can be of great help to prevent the symptoms of these emotional imbalances from leading the person to relapse or get into trouble..
Furthermore, as many psychoactive drugs have the potential to generate addictions, These processes must always be supervised by medical professionals who prescribe specific medications and adjust the doses and frequency of intake.
Do you need to start addiction treatment?
If you are looking for psychological therapy services and psychiatric assistance in detoxification, cessation and rehabilitation processes, contact us.
In Llaurant la Llum You will find a team of professionals who are experts in the treatment of addictions and belong to various areas of health and patient support, from medicine to medicine and healthcare, including physiotherapy and social work.
We offer outpatient and also residential treatment, the latter in our fully equipped admission module. Our work is characterized by combining professionalism and vocation, providing highly personalized treatment and assisting a very limited number of patients, to guarantee correct coverage of all their needs. You will find us in Picassent, Valencia.
