Moderate intake of alcohol may be a norm for most adults, however if it takes the form of Alcohol Use Disorder, your lives may be in havoc, relationships in trouble, careers at a standstill and legal issues may become frequent. The term Alcohol Use Disorder encompasses two major aspects: ‘Alcoholism’ & ‘Alcohol Abuse’.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are at least 140 million alcoholics in the world; with majority of them being untreated.
Alcoholism or Alcohol dependence is a disease that causes the following symptoms:
- Intense cravings or urge to drink alcohol
- Being too pre-occupied with alcohol, to obtain, to stack up and hide the bottles, drinking alone out of fear and compulsion
- Making unsuccessful attempts at cutting down drinking
- Persistent drinking in spite of being fully aware about one’s own problems with alcohol
- Failing to fulfil major life responsibilities
- Giving up social activities & hobbies
- Consuming alcohol while driving or other situations where it is not safe
- Developing tolerance to alcohol, so that more quantities are needed to feel the ‘kick’ or ‘high’
Alcoholism can creep into a person’s life without him even realizing it. Be it peer pressure or from social gatherings, to even escaping the daily anxieties, depression or frustrations.
Alcoholism needs to be treated radically as following:
- Total detoxification and withdrawal
- Rehabilitation and learning coping mechanisms
- Counselling & support groups
- Medications to control addiction
Couple of drugs are used conventionally to treat alcoholism; however these work only temporarily and come with associated side effects. On the other hand, homeopathy has been extensively used these days to treat alcoholism from its roots with minimum chances or relapse.
Homeopathy considers the patient as a whole; the entire background history is noted and the root cause is found out and tackled with constitutionally selected remedies. A study undertaken by the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) at its Clinical Research Unit, Varanasi, India , administered homeopathic remedies to addicts undergoing withdrawal. The study found that with 241 cases; 209 cases showed improvement with homeopathic treatments.
There are over 100 remedies in homeopathy for alcoholism; the top most being: Sulphur, Avena Sativa, Nat Mur, Cannabis Indica, Nux Vomica, Quercus, Capsicum etc. These medicines are selected on the basis of symptom similarity and administered according to the doses required by the individual. This unique way of treatment make homeopathy holistic and ensures the disease is treated from the roots without worrying about the recurrences.