Alcoholic anosognosia is the complete absence of consciousness of one's illness and the first obstacle in getting rid of alcoholism and treating alcohol dependence syndrome. Anosognosia and dependence dictate the establishment of a constant abuse of alcohol. The term "anosognosia" is understood as "negation", "absence" of the disease consciousness in the patient, in our case - in the alcoholic.
Anosognosia alcoholic is a psychopathological phenomenon that directly affects the prognosis of alcoholism and the likelihood of its treatment. In other words - this is the degree of severity and neglect of alcoholism, consisting in the attitude of the patient to his pathological behavior, to his treatment and the existence of an attitude to sobriety. Anosognosia is the defining psychological feature of both mentally ill people and alcoholics.
In the first stage of alcoholism, a beginner alcoholic underestimates the likelihood of a painful passion for alcohol. Even initially intelligent, hypochondriac personalities, and those stumble here as a stumbling block. Alcoholic anosognosia is manifested in the patient's extremely persistent conviction that he does not have chronic alcoholism, and never will. And the state of anosognosia is affected not only by people with little intelligence and weak character, but also educated, strong-willed and educated people.
This suggests that alcohol actually damages the brain cells and cuts down the consciousness and will of the person. That is, anosognosia is a psychopathological phenomenon in mental disorders and alcoholism.
Do you guess that you are pushing close people, for treatment of alcoholism without the knowledge of the patient, what is the main motive? Of course, this is alcoholic anosognosia!
And here, most importantly: in the pathologically changed personality of a patient with alcoholism, any information about the negative effects of alcohol, on the harm of alcohol - the patient's consciousness is discarded. After all, it is dangerous to the psyche, it activates the subconscious and leads to the need to change the way of life in sobriety. The fact of the matter is that entrenched, painful and destructive desires cause a mechanism of psychological protection of consciousness. A person does not know that he is mortally sick. Unfortunately, this fact speaks of deep pathological lesions and alien formations in the human psyche. Almost the alcoholic is not mentally healthy.
Signs and severity of anosognosia
Alcoholic anosognosia manifests itself in the justification of drunkenness. He does not consider himself ill or sick in his illness. Condemns friends, relatives for lack of attention and understanding to their person. He does not tolerate the imposition of a sober way of life and the need for personal inner work for the value and motivational reorganization of his life.
With each weighting of alcoholic illness, the transition of the stage of alcoholism, the intensity and severity of the pathology of mental processes increases at the organic level, the chances of surviving and recovering from alcoholism decrease.
The most interesting, but anosognosia is also found in people close to alcoholics, leading a relatively sober way of life. They underestimate the frequency of drinking from their family member, perceive it as pampering, as a non-serious phenomenon, and impossible for their family. They themselves find an excuse for the drinker for his colleagues at work and neighbors. Call this phenomenon "co-dependency".And it turns out that the drinker is not treated, starts to go into drunken drunkenness, then - he may die from hypothermia, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and the family wonder how it happened, where we used to look.
