Hesperian Health Guides
Overcoming Problems with Alcohol and Drugs
HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 28: Alcohol and Other Drugs > Overcoming Problems with Alcohol and Drugs
If alcohol or drug use becomes a problem, making changes can help. But overcoming alcohol or drug use takes time. How difficult it will be depends on what you have been using and what kind of support you receive. Still, it is possible.
Quitting is best for your health, but not everyone wants to quit and not everyone can quit when they want to. Whether you quit completely or lessen your use, you can support your recovery by eating nutritious food, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest.
Contents
Harm Reduction
People who cannot or do not want to quit can reduce some dangers of their drug or alcohol use, including poisoning, overdose, and infections. To avoid alcohol poisoning and drug overdose:
- Eat something a couple of hours before using alcohol or drugs.
- Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after using.
- Trust your instincts—do not drink or use anything that looks, tastes, or smells wrong.
- Start with small amounts and add more only to use what you need.
- Take breaks between doses.
- Do not use different kinds of drugs and alcohol at the same time.
- Have a friend with you to get help if something goes wrong.
To avoid infections:
- Keep your equipment (mouthpiece, pipe, syringe, cooker, snorting kit) clean, and do not share it with others.
- If using needles, use a new one every time, or clean the old one with bleach.
- Do not inject the same place on your body again and again. Move injections around.
Stopping is often made possible with the help of others who support your efforts to stop using.
More Information
starting a support groupQuitting
People quit in different ways. Some completely stop using all alcohol or drugs all at once. Others reduce their use over time. Some people quit at home, and others go to a treatment center. Some people rely only on their families, friends, and peers for support while others seek support from health workers or counselors.
Help may be available (see the resources for “Drugs and Alcohol”). If there are no groups or treatment programs in your area, you could start your own with someone who has been successful helping people stop using alcohol or drugs.
Addiction and withdrawal
When a person is addicted to alcohol or a drug and quits using it, they will go through a period of withdrawal. During this time their body must get used to being without the drug.
After quitting, most signs of withdrawal will last from 1 to 14 days, depending on the drug, and how much and how often a person used it. Many people get through these days without problems. Still, it is important to have someone watch over the person and give help when needed.
TRANSPORT!
Early signs of withdrawal include:
- slight shaking
- nervous and irritable feelings
- sweating
- trouble eating and sleeping
- aches all over the body
- nausea, vomiting, stomach pain
Some herbal teas can help the liver cleanse the body of poisonous effects of alcohol or drugs. A traditional healer may be able to suggest good local herbs.
When someone quits alcohol or drugs after using for a long time, the lack of them in their body can cause seizures.
These signs may go away on their own. If they get worse, see a health worker immediately. If you are in alcohol withdrawal and help is far away, take 10 mg of diazepam by mouth on the way if you have it. This will prevent seizures. Take another 10 mg 6 hours later if the signs are not getting better. You can repeat the dose every 6 hours.
The following signs of withdrawal are an emergency. Get medical help immediately:
- mental confusion
- seeing strange things or hearing voices
- very fast heartbeat
- seizures
Learning to stay free of drugs and alcohol
If you are trying to stay free of alcohol or drugs, avoid places where you will feel pressure to use them. Work with others to organize social events where drugs and alcohol are not used
More Information
helping relationshipsOnce a person has started to overcome their problems with alcohol or drugs, they need to prevent drug misuse from developing again. This often means learning new ways to cope with challenges in their life. This is not easy to do and takes time. People who have misused alcohol or drugs need to feel more power to make changes in their own lives. One way to begin is to make small changes to prove to yourself and others that you can cope with problems.
Here are some ideas for building coping skills:
- Develop a network of support among those close to you and ask for help when you need it. It is much easier to solve problems when you can talk about them and work with others.
- Try to solve one problem at a time. This makes it feel less overwhelming to make changes in your life.
- Talk to a friend or someone you trust about things that worry or upset you or that make you sad or angry. This may help you understand more about why you feel the way you do and what you can do to feel better.
- Volunteer with other people on a project to improve your community. You can learn a lot about working for change, and this may also help you make personal changes.
- Meet regularly one-on-one or with groups of people who are also working to stay free of alcohol or drugs.
