In my profession, I have seen people drinking themselves to death and yet they are not able to accept that it can be a problem. From Devdas, Anthony, Maahi, Rahul Jaykar, Tommy Singh, and Avi, to Kabir Singh, our cinematography has showcased alcoholism with a bit of glamor and pain. The reality of this is far from the truth.
Alcoholism is a full-blown disorder recognized worldwide but sadly, our society is a bit behind in comprehending how it is affecting not only our patients but those around them.
Many times a family would come to me with a pre planned agenda set in mind to get their patient “cured” of this “bad habit”, it takes a lot of courage for me every time to burst their falsely laid bubble of hope.
My motive is not to break their hearts but rather to break the myths that they have surrounded themselves with. Some of these are rather ardent and later on become major reasons for obstructing my treatment.
“It is admirable if someone can hold their liquor.”
Now, it seems funny to me that why would people think that. Many of my patients undergoing severe health conditions would boast about their ability to hold their liquor. While I must emphasize that they are patients and indeed do not understand how alcohol itself is their bane, on the other hand, it is the family who seems to be unfazed about all this. That is truly astonishing to see that a family whose patient is on the brink of his death would justify his drinking stating that “if he drinks till 8, he is okay but his overnight or daytime drinking must be stopped”.
“Alcohol is not a drug.”
Most of the time when families bring their patients to me, they are not able to understand that their patient is undergoing some disorder. They are neither ready to accept it as a disease nor are they willing to change their perspective. For them, alcohol is a pastime, a way to socially blend in, a gateway to enjoy things and they firmly believe that if medications are used, the consequences can be reversed and patients can start drinking “normally”.
“Alcohol intake can be controlled with willpower, one does not need help to leave it.”
Let’s look at this a bit carefully. Everyone consumes sugar but not everyone is diabetic. Similarly, people consume alcohol and not everyone turns into an alcoholic. Alcoholism or alcohol use disorder is a widely renowned physical disease with biological, psychological and sociological components. Once it has turned into a disorder the outcome can not be changed. My patients are powerless against it and require immediate care and attention to manage their physical symptoms and withdrawals. Willpower will not do much once you are suffering from a disorder. The way you can not control your diabetes with willpower, equivalently, with willpower alcoholism can not be contained.
“Age can affect whether or not alcohol will become a problem.”
Some of my patients have this belief that since they are in the latter half of life, alcohol will not affect them that much. They strongly believe that they have crossed the age to have active addiction disorder but this is far from true. Addiction can manifest itself at any point in life and honestly, age has got nothing to do with it.
“After detox, one can resort back to drinking normally.”
It astonishes me beyond anything that a patient who comes to me with extremely biological ailments in the last stage of liver cirrhosis would still believe that after detoxification, he would be able to have a drink or two. Sometimes it is too late for my team and I to do anything and yet the patient would not stop drinking. This is the power of addiction. It is never dormant and requires an active program to keep the patient in sobriety, recovery and functional state.
Addiction is a physical disorder and despite the normality surrounding alcohol, it does not justify that it can not turn into an addiction. Alcoholism or AUD is a widely known and WHO-recognized disease that requires treatment contingencies like any other physical affliction. There are various rehab centers available with the team of professionals to support and guide you well to recover from such deadly disease. Alcohol leads to various health issues if taken as an addiction.
The Hermitage Rehab is one of the leading luxury rehab center in India offering best treatment in the Northern India and recovered 1000 plus patients from addiction with their detox process and underlying recovery program. It is now possible to get recover from any kind of substance abuse and lead a happy life ahead.
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