The insidiousness of alcohol addiction is that it takes years to develop, and it goes unnoticed. The thin line between the main stages of the development of drunkenness is erased in familiar companies, collective parties and birthdays, which are an indispensable part of our lives. How to recognize an alcoholic if the situation has not yet become dangerous, and provide urgent support to the person?
What are the individual characteristics of alcoholics?
Ethanol compounds can enter the body and cause physical dependence. However, drunkenness has a psycho-emotional background.
Psychologists believe that there are types of people more prone to addictions:
- emotionally unstable people with nervous hysterical reactions to what is happening and having difficulty motivating;
- people with infantile ways of responding to emerging difficulties, seeking to avoid problems rather than solve them;
- people withlow self-esteem, that they do not understand how to express their own emotions, and experience difficulties with socialization.
Who are they - alcoholics?
In the minds of many people, a drunk is a downcast individual with trembling hands, ready for anything to get a new dose. However, this is not always true. How to recognize an alcoholic?
There are alcoholics who, at first glance, are not much different from ordinary people:
- Active alcoholics. In the company, these are the people who are most worried if they do not have enough alcohol. They enjoy persuading others to drink and are very assertive.
- Home alcoholics. In the bulk there are quite a lot of lonely people who are predisposed to depressed states. They carefully hide their addiction, preferring to drink only at home.
- Beer alcoholics. These are people who cannot imagine their own life without an evening bottle of beer. Over time, the volume of the foamy elixir increases, but the individual is categorically unwilling to accept the presence of a harmful attachment.
- Secret alcoholics. They are hard to identify if you do not communicate with them for a long time. They may basically go without alcohol for several months, and then go on a long binge for a couple of weeks.
Influence of alcohol
Alcohol addiction usually has 3 stages of formation. Due to personal characteristicschanges in appearance and actions may be slightly different. It has been confirmed that in representatives of the stronger sex of a dense physique without difficulties with well-being, drunkenness progresses more slowly. Women and teenagers can reach stage 3 alcohol addiction within 2 years.
Euphoria stage
This is the initial period of becoming dependent, which lasts from 1 to 5 years. An individual evaluates alcohol as a pleasant addition to dinner or a means to relieve stress. A mental addiction is created. After a portion, a pleasant warmth spreads throughout the body, and thoughts seem to clear up. The individual ceases to feel tired and is in a state of mild euphoria. However, this does not last long. After a certain time, the body forms immunity to small portions of alcohol. In order to feel a surge of energy again, you need to increase the proportion and increase the degree of the drink.
Changes occur in the nervous system. A sense of guilt is formed, and the patient seeks to suppress it with new doses of alcohol. The individual becomes irritable, especially if he is a woman, and systematically looks for a reason to drink. Medical practice shows that if a person is removed from relatives, drunkenness progresses more quickly.
Despair stage
The second stage of alcoholism is running in circles, which lasts up to 10 years. The individual still does not feel threatened, but is unable to live without daily infusions. A physiological dependence is formed, similar todrug addict. A characteristic feature of the second stage of drunkenness is the withdrawal syndrome, which differs from a hangover by a pathological desire to take a dose. The individual begins to drink in the morning, not concentrating on the quality of alcohol. The alcoholic's apartment is untidy and he is unkempt.
Apathy Stage
The final stage of the disease. Changes in the central nervous system are irreversible. The individual is in no way capable of solving simple problems. How to recognize an alcoholic by behavior? Often, patients cannot take care of themselves. There is a stable physiological and mental dependence on alcohol. The main indicator is the rapid intoxication after taking a small dose of alcohol. Only complex inpatient treatment can bring an alcoholic back to life in stage 3 addiction.
Ways that can help recognize an alcoholic by outward signs
Drinkers are those people who are very dependent on alcohol. How to recognize an alcoholic and distinguish him from an ordinary person? In case the individual showed at least three addiction factors, it is time to consult a doctor.
Here are the key features:
- A person constantly drinks alcohol and there is a tremor in his hands.
- Man drinking for a long time.
- A person needs a continuous dose increase.
How to recognize an alcoholic by external signs? As a rule, such a person is sloppily dressed, dirty. He has a swollen face, and the complexion becomes normal afterhow the individual will drink again. Often alcoholics can be found among the fairer sex.
How to recognize an alcoholic when meeting? The first sign is that the person is sloppy and looks bad.
How to recognize an alcoholic? If we compare the dependent and the normal person, we can immediately notice one interesting difference. In the morning after the celebration, a normal person, having felt the hangover syndrome on himself, with all his strength strives to put himself in order and for a long time is not yet able to look at strong drinks. And the alcoholic will immediately want to get drunk. The horror lies in the fact that addicted people use alcohol not only on holidays, but also for no reason. The desire to receive immediately arises out of nowhere.
In the event that such an individual decides to quickly refuse to drink strong drinks, he has fundamental difficulties with the nervous system, as well as with well-being. A normal person will be aware that even small and harmless doses can provoke a dependent state. If people start drinking, they risk losing their precious he alth.
How to identify an alcoholic by a photo?
Sometimes it is impossible to fairly assess a person's condition from a photo. But there are a number of signs that allow you to accurately identify the addict.
In accordance with the following features, in 90% of cases it is possible to identify an alcoholic by a photo:
- Red leather.
- Frozen facial expression.
- Puffy eyelids and bags under the eyes.
- Blue-purple spots onface and body.
- Lower eyes.
- Dilated nostrils.
Signs of female alcoholism
Alcoholism, which for a long time was considered only a male misfortune, is acquiring female characteristics. If a woman does not consider alcoholism evil and is disposed to drink at every celebration, she can imperceptibly degrade. It is important to understand the characteristics of female drunkenness. Understanding the problem is the first step to overcoming it.
Signs of female drunkenness can be seen after 3-4 years from the onset of addiction. A swollen face is the main one. In old age, problems not only increase faster, they often have more profound consequences. The initial features of drunkenness in the weaker sex have their own characteristics, but they are basically similar to the hallmarks of alcohol abuse in the stronger sex.
Signs of beer alcoholism
During the daily use of beer to relax and have fun, drunkenness develops, trembling appears in the hands. Feeling a joyful high mood from intoxication leads to a desire to constantly experience such a situation. Dependence develops secretly, and here are the initial signs of beer alcoholism on the face. They are the same as from taking other alcoholic beverages.
How to recognize and save alcoholics?
Science does not know the situation when an individual suddenly became an alcoholic. The disease is formed over time, taking away the vitality of the consumer. Already after a yearconstant use of alcohol brain neurons irrevocably die. This is why alcoholics are notable for poor memory and incoherent speech, even when sober. In rare cases, an alcoholic recognizes his addiction, so it is important to learn to identify the disease by external signs. A patient with alcoholism often dies from a cerebral hemorrhage, cirrhosis of the liver, or a heart attack. Only timely treatment can save a person's life.
