panic disorder. Alcoholic neurosis Schemes for the treatment of neurosis in alcoholism headaches
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Alcohol abuse causes various diseases, including alcoholic neurosis. Drinking strong drinks helps many to get rid of physical and psychological discomfort. This way of fixing problems hides terrible consequences that everyone should know about.
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Research on alcoholic neurosis
The term "neurosis" was put forward as early as 1776. He denoted various diseases that depend on the nervous system. At the end of the 19th century, it was found that such disorders were caused by factors that traumatized the psyche. Later, scientists investigated the negative effect of alcohol on the human body, and the relationship between mental disorders and alcohol abuse became known.
In the 20th century, experiments were carried out on cats, which showed that the introduction of a small dose of alcohol to animals calms them down after a tense situation. Then it was found that prolonged use of alcohol begins to itself cause the appearance of anxiety.
And today, various examinations of patients with neuroses are carried out. In Russia, more than 2 million people are diagnosed with alcoholism. And those are just the ones who asked for help. According to statistics, in about 80% of cases, psychopaths, neurotics and people with mental illness are diagnosed with chronic alcoholism.
The effect of alcohol on the nervous system
Today it is known that the use of alcohol provokes great stress for all body systems. The work of the central nervous system is regulated by the brain. This is where ethanol comes in after drinking alcoholic beverages. It is actively absorbed by nerve cells and has a strong toxic effect.
If drunkenness has become a habit, the organs will no longer be able to function normally, negative changes occur:
- nerve cells are destroyed;
- the brain sends the wrong signals to the body;
- the structure of the brain changes;
- cells of the nervous system experience oxygen starvation;
- nerve fibers become less sensitive, lose their elasticity.
Recovery of the central nervous system after drinking takes a very long time, about 2-4 weeks. With regular use of alcohol, the consequences become almost irreversible. The following happens:
- the psyche is disturbed;
- the character of a person changes;
- personality degrades;
- dementia sets in;
- sleep is disturbed;
- decreased interest in family and work.
Under the influence of alcohol, a person ceases to adequately evaluate his actions and control emotions. The influence of ethanol adversely affects thought processes, memorization, logical thinking. At the same time, intelligence decreases, speech becomes primitive, existing skills are lost, and new ones are acquired more and more difficult.
Stages of alcoholism and the development of neurosis
There are three stages of chronic alcoholism. The rate of dependence formation is determined by several factors:
- reception frequency;
- the amount and strength of alcohol consumed;
- age;
- the presence of mental illness;
- social conditions;
- individual characteristics.
The course of alcoholism in neurosis can be slow, and sometimes the stages change very quickly, and within them there is a change in personality, the development of alcohol degradation and an increase in the signs of a neurotic disorder.
First stage
Alcohol dependence usually develops slowly. Initially, it is invisible to others. This is precisely the first stage that the patient himself is not aware of. Alcoholic drinks cause a feeling of pleasure, their dose is gradually increased. A person uses booze in any situation, the reason is more and more often.
Over time, working capacity begins to decrease, in the period between drinking, the state of health worsens, irritability is observed, and sleep disturbance appears. This stage of alcoholism lasts from 1 to 5 years. Sometimes it does not pass into the second stage and continues throughout life. Even in this case, neurological disorders occur.
Second stage
The second stage of alcoholism is characterized by a certain dependence on alcohol. After a small dose, you must definitely continue to drink. The patient develops a hangover syndrome, he removes it with the same alcohol, and in the morning he remembers practically nothing. Over time, amnesia will occur even from a small amount of alcohol. The person becomes more jealous, irritable and aggressive. After conflict situations, there is a sharp desire to drink.
During this period, the symptoms of neurosis are born. These include phobias, tantrums, inventing problems, active excitability, a desire to conflict. Even when sober, these traits can manifest. This only proves the development of neurosis in the patient. Moreover, having taken the right amount of alcohol, he becomes more cheerful, the necessary tone returns to him. A person may be aware of an intense craving for alcoholic beverages, but still sincerely believe in the "objective" reasons for this hobby.
Third stage
With the transition to the last stage of alcoholism, the risk of developing chronic psychosis increases. The patient has sadness, anxiety, sometimes anger and depression, the mood changes dramatically. The third stage of alcoholism is accompanied by diseases of the digestive system, heart and blood vessels, somatic disorders appear. This condition can lead to death, which occurs due to suicide, poisoning by surrogates, as a result of an accident, diseases of the organs.
Types of neurosis
Neurosis is a mental disorder that occurs as a response to circumstances that caused mental trauma. Its symptoms depend on several factors:
- personality type;
- health status;
- habitat;
- social environment;
- features of life.
The patient experiences a deterioration in general well-being, he is worried about:
- insomnia;
- frequent awakenings;
- heartache;
- increased fatigue;
- migraine;
- decrease in working capacity;
- tremor.
Neurosis is of several types:
- Obsessive thoughts and fears. In this case, there is a conflict between the patient's addiction to alcohol and moral principles. He has obsessive ideas, he does not control his thoughts, which are only negative. A person constantly worries and expects bad events in the future. At the heart of such a neurosis is a panic fear of death, disease. This disorder is of a more protracted nature compared to other types of the disease, during it there is always a pronounced anxiety.
- Hysterical. It is characterized by an unstable emotional state, accompanied by motor disorders, impaired sensitivity and speech. The patient's behavior becomes unpredictable.
- Depressive. It is the result of neurotic depression. During it, the sleep pattern is disturbed, painful sensations are disturbed, the desire to rejoice is lost. Performance drops slightly. The patient feels abandoned and alone. The longer he abused alcohol, the more pronounced alcoholic depressive neurosis.
- Asthenic (neurasthenia). With this disorder, distraction, low performance, fatigue, inability to concentrate are observed. A person cannot restrain his emotions and is very irritated over trifles. He is characterized by irascibility, internal tension. Asthenic neurosis is accompanied by headache and sleep disturbance. This type of disease is more common in women than in men.
For persons with alcohol dependence, hysterical neurosis is most characteristic. A person has excessively overestimated claims to others, he does not normally perceive objective and real conditions.
Drinking companions and friends who promote drunkenness are rated positively. The rest who prevent the use of alcoholic beverages become enemies. It can be parents, wife, colleagues. Moreover, any conflict is perceived as a reason for the next intake of alcohol. The cause of such a neurosis is the body's defensive reaction to a situation that the patient regards as insoluble.
Sometimes a patient in a state of intoxication starts tantrums against the background of a quarrel or conflict. A person can fall to the floor, bang his head against the wall, tear his clothes or hair. At the same time, he feels chest pains, convulsions, the color of his face changes. Such seizures can pass and be less pronounced. The patient will behave theatrically, may cry or laugh for no reason, make strange movements with his arms and legs.
Causes of neurosis in patients with alcoholism
The emergence of neurosis, as a rule, is associated with a traumatic situation. Regardless of the type of neurosis, a person experiences a bad mood, anxiety, fears and apprehensions. These sensations bring discomfort, and then he begins to resort to drinking again. The use of alcohol becomes systematic, and the period of abstinence is accompanied by an increase in neurotic symptoms.
Most people drink alcohol for the purpose of calming down. However, drinking brings only a temporary effect. After the withdrawal of alcohol from the body, unpleasant sensations return again with greater force, and a vicious circle arises, from which it is very difficult to get out.
Alcoholism in women often appears on a psychological basis. Neurosis, as a result of alcohol abuse, develops in her due to failures in her personal life, loss of a loved one, family breakdown. She finds solace in the use of strong drinks.
Alcoholism in a woman appears on a psychological basis
During the period of a hangover, the patient may feel anxiety and a bad mood, he is worried about some actions, worried about bad forebodings. After a few days, this condition passes. If the experience of alcoholism is longer, neurosis and psychosis occur. Despite their differences, both of these conditions require the help of a psychiatrist. After all, the consequences of such a state can be the most terrible.
Consequences of alcoholic neurosis
Alcoholism in combination with neurosis can lead to disruption of interaction with other people. Families are often destroyed, problems arise at work. A person who abuses alcohol often skips, is late, quarrels with colleagues and superiors.
Neurasthenic disorders can be observed not only in the drinker, but also in his relatives. So, a woman whose husband is ill with alcoholism may develop a neurosis. She begins to get used to alcohol, keeping her husband company at home so that he does not drink in other places. She may develop permanent depression, while losing the desire to monitor her appearance, nutrition and hygiene. A woman loses interest in life, she can bring herself to death. A child born in a family of drinking parents and not having a normal upbringing may lag behind in development, suffer from neuroses and other mental disorders.
In most cases, neuroses lead to: a decrease in mental potential, the occurrence of various pathologies of internal organs, problems in communicating with others, and a decrease in efficiency.
If you do not see a doctor in time, serious psychosis can develop, provoked by the use of alcoholic beverages. The most famous and dangerous of them is delirium tremens. This condition causes delusions and hallucinations. In such cases, the patient rarely returns to normal life.
Help from a neurosurgeon
A person in a state of neurosis can and should be helped. Over the past decades, many discoveries have been made that allow you to deal with any kind of neuroses. You need to see a neurologist or narcologist. For each person suffering from neurosis on the background of alcoholism, a certain treatment is necessary. It should include medication and psychological methods.
An experienced specialist must first determine the cause of alcohol dependence and the development of a neurotic disorder. Sometimes narcologists do not pay attention to this aspect, and the neurosis manifests itself again, but in a more severe form. It is advisable to communicate with the relatives and friends of the patient in order to conduct a qualitative analysis of psychotic processes. Despite the close relationship between alcoholism and neurosis, they need to be treated separately.
Unfortunately, there is no remedy in the world that will help to cope with the disease in a short time. However, today there are many drugs that can cope with alcohol addiction, it is forbidden to prescribe them yourself. We need a comprehensive methodology, consisting of several stages:
- Taking medications that have a detoxifying effect, restore the functioning of internal organs, and relieve alcohol intoxication.
- Elimination of craving for alcohol, psychotherapeutic techniques that are aimed at motivating the patient so that he wants to give up alcohol forever.
- Use of medications to control relapses.
- Adapting to a new life, establishing interaction with others.
All these stages should be accompanied by the support of relatives and friends.
How to deal with neurosis on your own
To get rid of alcoholic neurasthenia or other types of mental disorder, you must first stop drinking. In most cases, the only way out of the situation is to contact a narcologist. Quitting alcohol on your own is difficult and dangerous. The nervous system may not be able to withstand the complete rejection of alcohol, and the problem will lead to a stroke or delirium tremens. Especially long and difficult treatment of alcoholism occurs in women.
There are folk recipes that help cure alcohol addiction, cope with neurosis, but they give a temporary effect. It is better to use various herbal decoctions and other non-traditional methods of treatment after consulting a specialist. Some resort to the help of magic, using conspiracies and rituals. Similar cases of curing patients are known, but such methods are rather self-hypnosis and do not guarantee a long-term effect. In addition, you can become a victim of scammers and charlatans.
If the patient decides to start treatment on his own, you need to be prepared for the possible consequences and strongly want to get rid of the addiction. In this case, some recommendations should be considered:
- There should be absolutely no alcoholic beverages in the house.
- It is necessary to avoid companies where they constantly drink. It is better to communicate with someone who does not drink at all or got rid of this bad habit.
- You need to find a business or hobby for yourself that you like, so that it distracts from thoughts.
- You can do meditation or yoga. The practice of self-hypnosis helps a lot.
- It is necessary to observe the regime of the day, take herbal baths, temper. You should pay attention to your diet and include foods rich in vitamins and minerals.
- It is important to get enough sleep and rest every day.
- It is better to avoid conflict situations, change your lifestyle and even thoughts. You have to try to be positive about everything.
- It is better if someone will monitor the patient's condition, visit him, monitor his behavior.
Therapy of neurosis against the background of alcohol abuse is a complex process that does not always lead to success. Full recovery will require absolute sobriety, a categorical refusal to use alcoholic beverages and the understanding that alcohol is not an antidepressant, but a drug.
A new clinical concept of alcoholism O.V. Novikov, G.Z. Shakirzyanov
Chapter 11
As you know, neurosis is a psychogenic (conflictogenic) neuropsychiatric disorder, which, as a rule, occurs in response to psychotraumatic circumstances. Patients with an alcoholic disease of all types, as well as habitually abusing people, quite often have - and sometimes serious - conflict situations both in the family and at work. Nevertheless, there are practically no developed neuroses in nuclear alcoholism, there are no neuroses in a large number of patients with alcoholic substance abuse, while in habitually abusing (domestic) patients, massive alcoholization asthenia affects the nervous system. In the anamnesis of these individuals, we often find a diagnosis of one or another neurosis, which our patients tried to stop with alcohol.
In neurasthenia, the pathogenic conflict lies in the discrepancy between the capabilities of the individual and her excessive demands on herself. Naturally, this type of conflict is impossible for patients with nuclear alcoholism, since they do not have excessive demands on themselves. With this type of alcoholization, there is an overestimation of one's own merits.
It is known that neurosis is a disease of personality. Therefore, if a personality changes, then its attitude to many previously significant moments is rebuilt in favor of one desire and aspiration - to drink alcohol; this explains the difference in the reaction of the individual to the conflict. The personality of a patient with nuclear alcoholism perceives calmly family, professional and even administrative-legal norms of influence, i.e. intra-family and industrial conflicts are no longer so pathogenic for this patient that the personality gives a neurotic breakdown.
Patients with alcoholic substance abuse also show pronounced neurasthenic symptoms: poor sleep, heart pain, low performance, fatigue, headaches, sweating and a number of other unpleasant sensations. Most of these people have a conflict situation in the family and at work, because of which experts found in these patients only toxic neurosis-like asthenic symptoms, losing sight of the alcohol disease (substance abuse). Most patients with alcoholic substance abuse are aware of the short duration of the therapeutic effect of alcohol, so they voluntarily go for treatment and give up alcohol for a certain period.
With alcohol substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder is often observed. Here, the pathogenic conflict is presented as a contradiction of internal tendencies, expressed in the struggle between desire and duty, between moral principles and personal attachments. Often the result of a pathogenic conflict is a vegetovascular crisis with a feeling of impending death, which the patient perceives as a signal of a severe fatal condition. A person gives a neurotic breakdown to this somatic catastrophe, the resulting fear of death is fixed in the higher parts of the brain and manifests itself every time the patient enters this situation or remembers it. Thanks to these obsessive experiences, with the help of a psychotherapist or on their own, patients refuse alcohol, i.e. they don't drink anymore under any circumstances. True, the obsessive-compulsive disorder itself is not eliminated without specialized help, but acquires a protracted unfavorable course.
Hysterical neuroses are characteristic of persons with alcoholic substance abuse. The pathogenic conflict in this neurosis lies in the overestimated claims of the individual to the surrounding reality with an underestimation or ignorance of objective real conditions. This type of conflict is not typical for nuclear alcoholism, in which such a discrepancy is practically impossible, since here the measure of human relations and life problems is the attitude of the people around the patient to his alcoholization. Only drinking companions and people who promote or encourage drunkenness are positively evaluated. All those who resist drinking (wife, family, employees) are “enemies”. At the same time, any conflict is a new reason for drinking, i.e. here the type of response to the conflict is devoid of complex personal processing. A change in personality in nuclear alcoholism prevents the development of neuroses (neurasthenia, hysterical form, obsessive states), and only sometimes neurotic breakdowns are observed.
Continued alcoholization in habitual drinkers only contributes to the development of neurosis, which takes an unfavorable protracted course, since massive alcohol intoxication is an asthenic factor for the nervous system.
Alcoholization in neuropsychiatric diseases
And today, the mass of patients suffering from various endogenous diseases (schizophrenia, various psychoses, etc.), as well as neurotics, psychotics and psychopaths who consume alcohol quite regularly, are still diagnosed with chronic alcoholism in almost 80% of cases.
The new concept and classification of alcoholic diseases help the doctor to more confidently differentiate the alcoholic and non-alcoholic genesis of the concomitant disease or its “facade”, to detect the atypical development of the narcological syndrome and the psychological characteristics of the drinker.
Since the diagnosis of an endogenous disease often tends to favor alcoholism (especially at a young age), our task is primarily to detect the specific signs of this disease. So, schizophrenia is characterized by unmotivated drunkenness. The withdrawal syndrome is either not detected (usually abusing), or it manifests itself weakly enough that, in the partial absence of quantitative and situational control, gives us the right to suspect alcohol substance abuse.
Psychotic reactions in the endogenous process are easily detected when intoxicated. This includes paranoid mood, violent emotional outbursts, chaotic sexual behavior, etc. At the same time, the attraction to alcohol is only a continuation or an integral part of disorders of the general sphere of inclinations (suicides, lack of interest in the opposite sex or heterosexual disinhibition, etc.). The existing psychopathology is only exacerbated by regular drinking, but over the years, the defect of patients (autism, poor orientation), on the contrary, is smoothed out, the severity of painful experiences under the influence of chronic alcoholism is “extinguished”.
Therefore, the diagnosis of "malignant alcoholism", made by narcologists before the age of 24-26, requires the detection of a possible endogenous process, and only then it is necessary to proceed to the differential diagnosis of alcohol manifestations.
Often distorted emotionality after long years of drunkenness (coarseness, heartlessness, coldness) in psychopaths, schizophrenics, their personality disorders, impoverishment of the range of vital interests are perceived as a consequence of the alcoholic pathological process. But it is enough to carefully interview relatives, analyze the dynamics of psychotic processes (with schizophrenia they go much faster than with alcoholic diseases), identify the cause of social decompensation (change of job, leaving a career, a prestigious place, neglect of work, long absenteeism - these phenomena do not occur in schizophrenics). accompanied by external conflicts and logical explanations) - and differential diagnosis is simplified.
The appearance of the first psychoses (often occurring with minimal alcoholization and lasting up to 2-3 months, unlike short-term alcoholic psychoses) helps to immediately remove the “alcoholization mask” and make the main diagnosis of an endogenous disease.
It is clear that when diagnosing any alcoholic disease that accompanies schizophrenia, treatment with sensitizing (“anti-alcohol”) drugs is absolutely contraindicated due to the patient’s mental disorder (formally agrees to treatment) and the lack of criticism of the disease and his condition. Favorable medical conditions and therapeutic rehabilitation measures for the underlying disease simultaneously lead to remission and recovery of the patient.
With cyclothymia (circular patients), with melancholy, doctors sometimes mistake pseudo-dipsomania for a true drug addiction. Most often, alcohol is consumed by patients in the manic phase. And here, in the diagnosis, we are helped by symptoms characteristic of the phase of intoxication (hyperactivity, struggle with shortcomings). Additional alcohol consumption, it would seem, does not affect the increased emotionality of the drunk patient. And the onset of the depressive phase in circular patients, unlike alcoholics, is easily eliminated by taking alcohol or other drugs, which they often resort to.
During psychosis, patients have a very high tolerance to alcohol, but in the morning of the next day they do not feel hangover symptoms, although there is craving for alcohol due to a craving disorder. During the “light period”, alcohol symptoms are reduced, normal sensitivity to alcohol is restored, and the craving for alcohol fades.
In the treatment of these patients, one must remember about the synergism of alcohol and mild antidepressants.
Chronic alcohol intoxication is known to increase the occurrence of symptomatic epilepsy. Epileptic seizures of alcoholic origin (here alcohol is present as a catalyst and provoking factor) and dysphoria indicate an alcoholic disease. The question of the provoking participation of alcohol in the manifestation of a genuin epileptic seizure remains open, however, true epilepsy is not obligately associated with alcoholism, although there is information about common pathogenetic radicals of these pathological processes (neurotransmitters, enzymes). This must be taken into account by narcologists when the patient's drunken state breaks off to prevent convulsive seizures, the threat of status epilepticus and affective changes.
The greatest difficulty in differential diagnosis is always psychopathic personalities, the definition of their alcoholism.
The similarity between the personality of an alcoholic in an advanced form of the disease and the personality of a psychopath is so great that the process of changing the personality of an alcoholic has been qualified as psychopathization.
Ordinary alcoholization (without the presence of a drug addiction syndrome) often helps the patient to discharge his affective tension, to realize, and eventually to get rid of his desires. Therefore, according to relatives, often a psychopath in intoxication is more acceptable to them than in a sober state.
A detailed and thorough history is required for the diagnosis of psychopathy. Psychopathic features are identified already in childhood and persist without significant changes throughout life. This prevents the full adaptation of the individual to the environment. Psychopathy today is not seen as a mental illness, it is an anomaly of character. One of the specific features of psychopathy is the persistence of pathological symptoms throughout life. There are many variants of personal pathology, but basically patients are divided into inhibited (pathologically closed, psychasthenics) and excitable personalities (excitable, hysterical, unstable, sexual psychopaths). Many other variants of abnormal personalities are described - emotionally labile, cold, anancaste, fanatics, explosive, etc. The leading disorder in all these personalities is a pathological change in the functioning of the emotional-volitional sphere.
There are no psychopathic individuals or groups in their pure form, they are characterized by a complex of various inclinations, more often such as sexual perversions, or they are emotionally dull individuals, etc.
Here, as in alcoholic nosology, there are many options (types) for the development of the pathological process, and the gradual accumulation of psychopathic features in one group does not lead to a “linear” qualitative transition to another group, evolution (but rather movement from one pole to another) is carried out only within the programmed psychopathological process.
Increased irritability, excitability, malice and other violent, affective manifestations are often found in response to minor occasions. This is an excitable type, its clinic is clearly formed by the age of 20-25. People with this type of disease do not get along in a team, because they are constantly fighting for their “trampled rights”, “for justice”. They often develop such protective traits as flattery, pedantry, accuracy, as well as vindictiveness and cruelty, which resemble epileptoid personalities.
Paranoid psychopaths show a tendency to overvalued formations, combined with suspicion and increased self-esteem. Among these persons we meet “litigators” with exaggerated adherence to principles and petty pedantry. Alcoholization exacerbates distrust, suspicion, suspiciousness, and psychotraumatic circumstances can lead these processes to delusional coloring (delusions of jealousy, invention, etc.).
Hysterical psychopaths are characterized by the desire to attract the attention of others at all costs, to be at the center of events, to be talked about, admired. To achieve this goal, they do not neglect any means. But mental immaturity and infantilism makes it difficult to develop the abilities that they really have. It is important for the doctor to know about their increased suggestibility and autosuggestibility. However, this suggestibility is selective, only to what contributes to their comfortable state. But even to achieve the state of admiration they need from others, they are not capable of prolonged volitional tension (“... no, no, no - we want today, no, no, no - we want now ...”).
The hysterical type of psychopathy is indicated by non-dangerous injuries on the hands and body inflicted by patients themselves. Hysterical psychopathy is formed by the age of 12-17 and, under favorable social conditions, takes on a benign course, otherwise behavior of the “escape to illness” type is formed.
For medical specialists, the most difficult cases in therapy are cases of psychopathic personalities of an unstable type. They sincerely repent, easily make promises, their treatment often takes on the character of a game. They are touchy, but everyone will forgive the offender if he praises them. They love company, are burdened by loneliness, they do not have their own principles, and they are extremely malleable to other people's influences. If you do not organize constant external control, they “stagger” through life without deep attachments and often fall into anti-social companies. Without therapeutic and social measures, they quickly become an inveterate drunkard.
The inhibitory type is the most favorable for treatment, a good prognosis. Alcoholization exacerbates the feeling of inferiority and shame in patients of this type. Even minor difficulties, loads cause them irritable weakness, outbursts of affect, along with increased sensitivity, "mimosity", impressionability, they are fixed on hypochondriacal experiences (sleep disorders, discomfort in the heart, head, decreased sexual potency, etc.) .
With age, there is a gradual smoothing of psychopathic features, but in the menopause they become aggravated again, being replaced and leveled over time by atherosclerotic affective disorders.
As our practice shows, alcoholization in habitually abusing and alcoholic drug addicts exacerbates the primary psychopathological symptoms of the personality. But the complex treatment of both types of pathology leads to positive results. With nuclear alcoholism, psychopathology is smoothed out, but in turn accelerates and aggravates the patient's social decompensation, as a result, his life ends in a catastrophe.
The low curability of patients with neuropsychiatric diseases requires a differentiated approach to treatment and support based on state and social assistance.
It develops on the basis of a strong dependence on alcohol, which has a detrimental effect on the internal organs and central nervous system. The manifestations of such ailments are extremely unpleasant, and the relationship between addiction and panic attacks is rarely recognized by the patient, which makes the situation more complicated.
Why does neurosis develop?
This term hides a whole group of mental disorders that easily turn into a chronic form without proper intervention. But why does alcohol have such a devastating effect on the body's systems? Several factors contribute to this:
- uncoordinated muscle activity resulting from impaired brain function;
- constant narrowing and expansion of capillaries, causing oxygen starvation in nerve cells;
- high toxicity of alcohol decay substances.
In such conditions, the central nervous system is in a critical situation, therefore, with alcoholism, neurosis is more of a natural outcome than an unpleasant surprise. In addition, the situation is complicated by the fact that people who already have certain mental disorders drink to calm down, only worsening their condition.
What is the manifestation of addiction neurosis?
With a single excess of the permissible dose of intoxicant, a person who has problems with the central nervous system will experience only an attack of bad mood. In some cases, the blues may last several days, but the consequences will be limited to this. However, if alcohol is consumed on a daily basis, the problems become more significant.
Neurosis is the collective name for a whole group of mental disorders that, in the absence of therapy, progress and become chronic. The intake of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, can provoke their occurrence in a person. Those who regularly drink alcohol are especially at risk. There are those who try to treat already existing psychological problems with alcohol. How are neurosis and alcohol related?
How are neurosis and alcohol related?
Drinking alcohol is a big stress for all body systems. If libations have become a habit, then he can no longer function normally, because:
- There are changes in the functioning of the nervous system: cell destruction occurs.
- The brain starts sending the wrong signals to the body. There is an inconsistent activity of the muscles. For example, the eye muscles contract out of sync, and for this reason, a person sees a blurry image in front of him.
- Capillaries and small arteries suffer, which causes nerve cells to experience oxygen starvation.
- Systematic stay in a state of intoxication can lead to changes in the structure of the brain.
- The decay products of alcohol are toxic, cause poisoning of the body.
All this cannot but affect the functioning of the brain and nervous system. The result is a temporary or chronic mental disorder.
Alcohol destroys the human nervous system
Alcohol as a "way to calm the nerves"
Some patients suffering from anxiety disorders and other psychological problems drink alcohol for the purpose of calming down. But alcoholic drinks bring only a temporary effect: after the end of their exposure, unpleasant symptoms return with renewed vigor. There is a vicious circle from which it is not easy to get out.
In other people with autonomic disorders, on the contrary, alcohol worsens the condition. Changes in well-being caused by exposure to alcohol, they regard as symptoms of the disease. Patients complain of tachycardia, chest pain, fear of death due to a heart attack.
Neurosis as a result of alcohol consumption
The most harmless mental disorder after heavy drinking is a bad mood and anxiety as a manifestation of a hangover. It seems to a person that yesterday he committed some unforgivable act or disgraced himself. There is a premonition of a bad event in the future. But such "pangs of conscience" end after 1-3 days, when the body recovers.
Bad mood is one of the manifestations of mental disorders
Alcoholic neurosis and psychosis, which occur against the background of a long experience of use, are of great danger. Their types differ from each other in clinical manifestations: a person can behave violently or, on the contrary, become depressed with suicidal thoughts. All of these conditions require psychiatric help.
Symptoms of alcoholic neurosis are various. They depend on the type of person, the characteristics of his life, state of health, environment. Deterioration of general well-being in the absence of pathologies joins psychological manifestations and deviations in behavior:
- insomnia, violation of the schedule of sleep and wakefulness;
- decreased performance, inability to concentrate;
- cardiac pain;
- migraine;
- tremor;
- high fatigue.
Alcoholism in combination with neurosis leads to disturbances in interaction with the outside world. The family is often destroyed, or the relationship in it leaves much to be desired. A person has problems at work. Due to addiction, he may have absenteeism, and neurosis negatively affects relationships with colleagues and superiors.
Alcoholism combined with neurosis leads to conflicts at work, in the family
Hysterical neurosis
Often there is a hysterical neurosis after alcohol, especially when its use has become a habit. The patient is not able to adequately assess the conditions and norms of the world around him. It may seem to a person that everyone treats him unfairly, exaggerates his craving for alcoholic beverages, makes too high demands and unreasonable claims.
Drinking alcohol causes a violent reaction. A person in a state of intoxication begins hysterical seizures, the impetus for which is usually a conflict or quarrel. The patient may fall to the floor, beat his head against the walls, begin to tear his clothes and pull out his hair. The complexion changes, chest pains, convulsions often appear.
After drinking alcohol, hysterical neurosis is possible
After drinking alcohol, hysterical seizures sometimes go less brightly. In this case, the patient's actions outwardly look theatrical and look like attempts to attract attention. A person can sob uncontrollably or start laughing without stopping for no good reason, take a lying or sitting position and make chaotic movements of the limbs.
Hysterical neurosis is often combined with disorders of the sense organs, speech disorders. The patient is characterized by egocentrism, he always tries to be in the spotlight by any means. Therefore, others get the impression that he enjoys his seizures.
obsessive-compulsive disorder
At the heart of obsessive compulsive disorder very often lies a conflict between a person's addiction to alcoholic beverages and moral principles. This mental disorder is characterized by the appearance in the patient of obsessions and the desire to perform strange actions. Such thoughts appear spontaneously, and a person cannot control them. They necessarily have a negative emotional connotation, making a person worry, expect bad events. The patient is unable to get rid of such obsessive thoughts without the help of a psychiatrist.
If a person has a vegetovascular crisis with signs of a panic attack while drinking alcohol, then the patient may regard this as a sign of imminent death. All days he lives in anticipation of the “attack” being repeated, because the feeling of imminent death has already been imprinted in the brain. A person may begin to turn to various doctors and require serious examinations, which most often do not find significant deviations.
Panic fear of death underlies obsessive-compulsive disorder
Often obsessions are paranoid in nature. In this case, after drinking alcohol or in a state of hangover, it seems to a person that they want to physically eliminate him or harm his health. Another common scenario of obsessive thoughts has to do with jealousy. The patient under the influence of alcoholic beverages becomes suspicious, assures himself and those around him that he has become a victim of adultery. Often this is accompanied by aggression: insults, shouting and even assault.
In the treatment of alcoholic neurosis, the main role is played by the refusal of alcohol. You will also need psychotherapy sessions and medication. If you do not turn to a specialist in time, then severe psychoses can develop, provoked by alcohol intake, the most famous of which is delirium tremens. Such conditions are often accompanied by delusions and hallucinations, and their treatment can not always return the patient to normal life.
Vegetative-vascular dystonia is extremely unpleasant, although. The main manifestation is too changeable vascular tone, which “does not keep up” with the pace of human life. Some patients with VVD, especially with, try to help themselves with alcohol. For a short time, the condition is relieved, but the subsequent “return” reduces the entire pleasant effect of alcohol to zero.
Is alcohol really good for VSD?
Neurocirculatory or vegetative-vascular dystonia is an exclusively domestic diagnosis that cannot be found in foreign medical literature. In international classifiers, there is somatoform autonomic dysfunction and generalized anxiety disorder, which is closer than others to our understanding of VSD.
The basis of the VSD is considered to be an imbalance between the two parts of the autonomic nervous system - sympathetic and parasympathetic or activating and inhibitory. Normally, these two parts balance each other, and we can cry and laugh after stress, sleep soundly after physical overload, or blush all over when entering heat from frost.
The hypothalamus and the cerebral cortex “conduct” our vegetative system, where signals from all corners of our body flock. It is with the insufficiency of the hypothalamus, its neuro-endocrine defects in the work that physicians associate the likelihood of the formation of dystonia.
The main manifestations of VVD are divided into 3 main types:
- - pain and interruptions in the heart, a feeling of lack of air, discomfort throughout the body;
- - periodic rises in blood pressure, provoked by stress or a "unfavorable" position in the psychological sense;
- - a persistent decrease in blood pressure to fainting, also provoked by stressful events or experiences.
Between these basic forms, there are intermediate, aggravating the condition.
The insidiousness of the VSD
The diagnosis is made after a comprehensive examination, when organic or irreversible causes caused by structural changes in organs and tissues are excluded.
During the initial treatment, this diagnosis can only be preliminary, requiring clarification. The problem is that in different years VVD included the initial forms of ischemic and hypertensive heart disease, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stress cardiomyopathy, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, multiple sclerosis. For some time, even infections existed in the rank of VVD, namely the period before the development of fever.
With the development and increasing availability of diagnostic equipment, the number of conditions attributed to VVD is gradually decreasing. Finding out the exact cause of the disease allows you to exclude many diseases from this rubric.
VSD is such a definition where you can “dump” a lot of incomprehensible states. There is no medical error in this, there is a lack of diagnostic equipment and methods. Therefore, the established, long-standing diagnosis of VVD in a person does not exclude repeated studies, the use of previously unused diagnostic methods. Sometimes, in the course of a diagnostic search, a disorder is discovered from which a person can be completely cured.
Effects of alcohol
Ethanol is quite rightly called a universal tranquilizer. This substance, the minimum amount of which our body produces on its own, is necessary for the flow of metabolic processes. Therefore, when we infuse ourselves with ethanol of external origin, the body does not need to recognize and worry too much about this substance.
Ethanol is not only related to our body, it is also a high-calorie food product or alimentary (food) factor that can accelerate and change the absorption of both other foods and drugs.
Each person's body has its own tolerance or tolerance for alcohol. It is believed that alcohol tolerance is determined by the Asian gene inherited from our ancestors.
It is useful to remember that the Russians began to drink alcohol only from the 14th century, when it was imported from Europe. That is, Europeans before us have been drinking for 14 centuries. This time is more than enough for Europeans to undergo natural selection. The average European can drink much less than the Russian because his drunken ancestors have already been rejected by evolution.
What does alcohol do to the brain?
It is safe for yourself to drink 100 g of beer. Each subsequent gram of alcohol causes aggregation or clumping of red cells - erythrocytes. A small thrombus forms, which clogs a vessel of suitable diameter - a capillary.
A person at this time feels elated, he begins to stagger slightly, his gait becomes less confident, and his gestures become less accurate. At the moment of intoxication, the part of the brain fed from the clogged vessel is simply switched off from work.
After the formation of a microthrombus in the capillary, the further development of the situation occurs in different ways - as lucky as anyone:
![](https://i2.wp.com/depressio.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/399-3.jpg)
If the neuron dies, then connective tissue takes its place - the form remains, but the function does not.
The human brain consists of more than 100 billion nerve cells, they can be "drinked away" for a lifetime, and there will still be. But the problem is that with each dead neuron, the margin of safety of our "commander in chief" falls. Nature is smarter than us, and never runs out of reserves to the end. At some stage of drunkenness, a person is waiting for psychosis or dementia, paralysis or heart attacks - both make further alcohol intake impossible for a while.
How does alcohol use affect IRR?
Alcohol has its own toxic effects:
![](https://i1.wp.com/depressio.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/399-2.jpg)
The danger of alcohol is that people are not aware of the threat posed by this substance. A feast, pleasant company, relaxation, positive emotions - all this is inextricably linked with the use of alcohol. However, it is worth tracing the life of one person who constantly consumes alcohol, as the extinction of both intellectual and physical form becomes visible in a short time.
It all depends on the dose
Complete refusal of alcohol, including the New Year with traditional champagne, birthdays and weddings, is hardly possible - and most likely not needed. Depriving yourself of small pleasures is painful and unpleasant.
You need to understand that different doses of alcohol turn off different parts of the brain. In the experiment, it was proved that small doses inhibit motor or motor activity. Large dosages block the areas responsible for decision making and memory.
A person with VVD needs to understand what dose is comfortable for him. People with the hypotonic type tolerate alcohol best of all, they have a slight increase in vascular tone, which gives them a feeling of health.
Pure vodka is best tolerated in small quantities - up to 50 grams. Vodka contains only ethanol, which has a vasoconstrictive and then a vasodilating effect. Wines - even all-natural - contain a lot of intermediate metabolites that cause headaches, palpitations and other troubles.
People who do not react well to even modest doses of alcohol, it is better to give it up altogether.