The importance of pharmacological treatment for alcoholism

These are the reasons why, when treating alcoholism, pharmaceuticals are a great help.

Alcohol is the most widely 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 on physical and mental health.

Perhaps because of how common people with alcoholism problems are, there are a whole series of stereotypes and preconceived ideas about the figure of what has historically been considered the "drunkard"; 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 unwillingness to improve and integrate properly into society.

However, the truth is that alcoholism exists far beyond the preferences, personal choices and prioritization of each individual. In other words, it has nothing to do with a particular philosophy of life. It is an addictive 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, in the treatment of alcoholism, it is usually necessary to rely on the use of drugs.. Let us see why.

Why do addictions require psychiatric support?

Addictions have a psychological and social side and a biological and medical side.. Intervening in both facets of the problem is essential to provide long-term solutions for people with addictive disorders, and psychiatric support is therefore essential.

What is the "psychiatric" side of alcohol addiction? It has to do with the way this substance interacts with our nerve cells. While other beverages and foods intervene in our psychological processes in a more indirect way through taste, in the case of alcohol, it is not the stimuli captured by the brain, but rather the stimuli that are perceived by the brain. it is not the stimuli captured by the taste buds that lead us to become "hooked" to this type of product (in fact, it is the taste of alcohol that (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 as our neurotransmitters, molecules present in our nervous system and used by neurons to communicate with each other. But the nervous reaction generated by alcohol is anomalous, and in fact, it makes our reward system, the part of the brain in charge of detecting pleasurable situations that we should repeat over and over again, very active. In this way, alcohol "hacks" our brain making it take as a good experience for us an experience that in reality does not suit us.Alcoholic beverages consumption.

The usefulness of pharmacological treatment in the face of alcoholism.

As we have seen, alcoholism is an addiction in which the individual develops a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol available in beverages. Normally, 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 in the workplace.including work and home activities.

As with other drug addictions, alcohol not only interferes with the functioning of the person's neurons, but also transforms their way of interconnecting with each other and establishing neuronal activation patterns; thus, 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 attaches to the receptors of the nerve cells.

Thus, the simple fact of stopping the consumption of alcohol causes a strong discomfort to ariseThis is because the person's brain momentarily "limps" as it suffers an imbalance in its levels of available chemicals; this is what produces the withdrawal syndrome.

Moreover, as time goes by, the brain adapts more and more to the presence of alcohol in the organism, the person needs to consume more and more to get the feeling of being satiated, and on the other hand, he/she must also consume more to keep the abstinence syndrome 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 stems 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 from several months to several years.The patient should be aware that "disengaging" from alcoholism involves maintaining a relatively delicate balance in the functioning of his or her nervous system, since in many cases, if the brain suddenly runs out of alcohol, this can trigger health problems resulting from this chemical imbalance.

In addition, it should not be forgotten that the challenge of stopping drug use involves the management of very intense emotions. Normally, the first phases of drug treatment go hand in hand with moments of high anxiety and stress, and psychotropic drugs can be of great help in preventing the symptoms of these emotional imbalances from leading the person to relapse or get into trouble.

In addition, as many psychotropic drugs have the potential to generate addictions, these processes must always be supervised by medical professionals.The patient will be prescribed specific medications and they will adjust the doses and frequency of intake.

Do you need to start a treatment for addictions?

If you are looking for psychological therapy services and psychiatric assistance in detoxification, detoxification and rehabilitation processes, contact us.

In Llaurant la Llum you will find a team of professional experts in the treatment of addictions and belonging to various fields of health and patient support, from medicine to medicine and health care, through physiotherapy and social work.

We offer outpatient and also residential treatment, the latter in our fully equipped inpatient module. Our work is characterized by combining professionalism and vocation, giving a very personalized treatment and attending a very limited number of patients, to ensure the proper coverage of all your needs. You will find us in Picassent, Valencia.