Deviations in the psyche against the background of alcoholism


White fever

This kind of alcoholic psychosis occurs usually during a hangover. Harbinger of the white fever - persistent violation of sleep( nightmares or insomnia), an obsessive state of anxiety, tension, confusion and fear. A person can not stay alone in a room, go out on the street. The behavior changes drastically - a person constantly listens, speaks to himself with his voice, peers at familiar objects, as if he sees them for the first time. The most obvious symptom is the committing to the sick, as it were, of protective movements by hands. A person begins, for example, to unravel the non-existent ropes, shake off visible insects, etc.

These signs indicate the need for an urgent placement of a person in a hospital. If no measures are taken after 1-2 days, the fever will become worse, then the condition will become menacing. At night, the patient begins to see spiders, snakes, rats, devils, ghosts. They sort of creep out from under the bed, attack from dark corners, try to harm. Gradually, other deceptions of feelings are added to visual hallucinations. They begin to hear the sounds of the trampling of the hoofs of devils, the conversation of creatures peeking out from under the bed, who are allegedly plotting to kill him. A person feels how his body is wrapped around a snake, as it is run by rats or spiders.

instagram viewer


One of the main obvious signs of white fever is the trembling. For the most part, the tremor covers the area of ​​the eyelids, tongue, toes and hands. Because of a trembling voice, speech becomes vague. The handwriting also changes sharply - it becomes angular, jumping and uneven. At the peak of the white fever, the temperature rises to 40 °, but it also happens to be low. Sweat appears on the face, the pulse sharply increases.

Acute alcohol hallucinosis

Sometimes visual hallucinations are absent in the patient. The central place is occupied solely by auditory hallucinations and delirium of persecution associated with them. Such signs are very characteristic for the second most common form of alcoholism psychosis, called acute alcoholic hallucinosis.

Similar to white fever, an acute hallucinosis occurs more often in the evening or at night. At first, people hear some strange sounds, noises, sometimes music. In an attempt to find their source, the patient is perplexed, starts to resent, get scared. Gradually confusion and anxiety grows, moving into a strong unmotivated fear. The patient begins to hear voices, often menacing and condemning, who threaten him, insult him, condemn his behavior. A patient with an acute alcoholic hallucinosis then listens to the voices, then starts to justify himself, to answer out loud to someone's questions. On the face alternately you can see that expression of confusion and surprise, a grimace of protest, fear and despair.

To auditory hallucinations very quickly join the delusional ideas, corresponding to the nature of hallucinations. The most frequent is delirium of persecution. Increasing hallucinations and deepening delusions takes hours. Very soon the patient enters a state of complete despair, uncontrollable anxiety and fear. All his actions are aimed only at "saving"!He is trying to deal with the "persecutors", to destroy the conspiracy directed against him. The main goal of the patient is to prevent the execution of the verdict handed down by the alleged voices.

The patient can become dangerous to others. Often, the state of fear, anxiety and extreme desperation pushes him to deal with his "offenders", whom he can see in close people, neighbors or colleagues. One patient set fire to his own apartment in order to prevent the penetration of votes there. Another, trying to tear himself away from the "pursuers", jumped out of the train running at full speed.

Often the acute alcoholic psychosis suffered in patients leads to a sharp decline in mental abilities, memory failures. This leads to disability, and sometimes to a lifelong stay of a person in a psychiatric clinic. But in addition to alcoholic psychoses that arise sharply, there are dangerous forms of slowly developing alcoholic psychoses. They tend to be protracted for many months and even years. They will be discussed below.

Alcoholic depression and delirium of jealousy

Alcoholic depression usually occurs in the background of a hangover. The patient has a bad mood, melancholy, which is accompanied by irritability with a touch of anger. Sometimes the patient is prone to increased tearfulness and suffers from unmotivated anxiety. There are thoughts about "ruined life", its uselessness, worthlessness of its existence, persistent reluctance to live further. In this state, alcoholics attempt suicide most often.

Alcoholic delirium of jealousy occurs in chronic alcoholics with noticeable signs of personality degradation. Most often it concerns middle-aged and elderly people. Patients begin at first episodically, after intoxication or in a hangover state, to talk about partner's unfaithfulness. Then the charges become more frequent and intrusive. It is characteristic that at the beginning of the formation of delirium of jealousy, all the arguments presented to patients( poor attitude or coldness towards them from the partner) have real prerequisites. Drunkenness, rudeness, lack of restraint, as well as problems with potency, caused by years of drunkenness, in fact, entail alienation of spouses. Reproaches in infidelity are gradually expressed even more often, even in a sober state. Sharply changes the behavior of the patient, who begins to demand admission of treason, develops surveillance after the partner, seeks evidence of infidelity and pondering the methods of punishment.

It is characteristic that patients often see a rival as one of their relatives, neighbors, people familiar to them. One patient, for example, was jealous of his wife to his own grandson. It is a mistake to consider such manifestations of jealousy as the rebirth of love. This is only a manifestation of the disease, and in such a state the patient needs qualified medical help.

Ambient people should understand that a person with a white fever has no sense in proving that there are no devils or animals attacking him. The intensity and brightness of visual hallucinations for him will always be more real than reality. It is useless to try to convince a patient with an acute hallucinosis that his life is not threatened. It is better not to hesitate, but urgently to call for emergency psychiatric care. Timely hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital will help to eliminate the threat for the life of the patient himself and for the lives of others.