Truth and lies about alcoholism

The World Health Organization has recently released results of a new research, which ranks Russia as one of world’s five most “alcoholic” countries. It seems that Russians should ring the alarm, although no one seems to be struggling against the universal addiction to alcohol in the country.

Photo: Truth and lies about alcoholism

According to unofficial figures, Russians annually consume 17 liters of alcohol per capita. People poison themselves with low-quality alcohol and succumb to alcoholism, which becomes the concern of their families and doctors.

Physiatrist and Candidate of Medical Sciences, Alexander Magalif, explains the difference between a passion for strong drinks and real alcoholism.

Also read: Six-fingered cursed androgyne swills vodka

To find out when a person should consult a doctor, one should clearly understand what alcoholism is and how it starts. Alcoholism is a chronic disease that involves painful and uncontrollable inclination for drinking alcohol in large quantities, frequently improving alcohol resistance, the adequate way of living, abnormal intoxication and alcohol withdrawal syndrome (hangover). According to Alexander Magalif, a person starts to have these problems when his or her daily dose of alcohol amounts to 200 grams.

Besides, the disease starts long before a patient acknowledges that. People tend to justify their weakness by various excuses, for instance, alcohol helps them to overcome their complexes and shyness, etc. However, this may not be an excuse, but a signal for other people to help this person, the expert considers.

Another common reason for developing addiction to alcohol is a liking to frequent parties - the so-called weekend alcoholism. In this case people say that they can not resist their friends who invite them to a bar for a shot or two. “If you do not want your weekend to turn into a drinking bout, you should tell your friends that you have drunken hard and you need a break,” Alexander Magalif recommends. As a rule, such a refusal is highly esteemed.

“Alcoholism is not simply a harmful habit; even your strong will can hardly help you,” Magalif says. It is a serious disease and it should be treated accordingly. A patient needs a normal, long-term and multiple treatment – the way chronic diseases are treated.

The most popular method of treatment is coding. But there are a lot of coding methods and it is hard to choose on your own the only one method that will suit you. The only general recommendation for all patients is to be self-confident and to believe in their recovery.

If you tried, but failed and got into another drinking bout, do not reproach yourself for this and do not try to cease boozing then and there. You had better get out of it properly, restore yourself and decide what to do next.

Vodka. It is no use talking about the harm which this or any other strong drink causes to people. Russian p eople poison themselves with low-quality vodka in most of cases. That is why even home-distilled vodka will be much more harmless than vodka at 100 rubles (about $5) or below.

Canned cocktails. Though it says 'Soft alcohol drink' on the label, they are very harmful and dangerous. They contain only alcohol, sugar and essences, and which is more important – women and children take a liking to it. Thus, serious alcoholism develops.

Beer. One can speak of its benefits for a long time. However, beer can be harmful if consumed in great amounts. One liter a day is considered to be a safe dose for a man.

Wine. Most dieticians recommend including it in your diet. According to Alexander Magalif, the dose should not exceed 30 grams a day, only in this case you can speak of wine as a beneficial drink.

Translated by Julia Bulygina
Pravda.ru