Alcoholic psychosis

The 43-year-old man, residing in Van Lang district, Lang Son province, regularly drank alcohol, did not eat or sleep, and suffered from seizures and delirium. His family took him to the hospital for treatment, but when he returned home, he continued drinking.

This was the third time this man had been hospitalized for mental disorders caused by alcohol abuse. This time, he was hospitalized in a state of delirium, emotional disturbance, hallucinations, and convulsions. After examination, the doctors diagnosed the patient with mental disorders caused by alcohol abuse and prescribed treatment according to the Ministry of Health's protocol.

Patients with alcohol-induced psychosis show signs of delirium, irritability, and inability to control emotions. (Photo: BVCC)

According to Dr. Trinh Thi Viet Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Lang Son General Hospital, recently, the department has received 1-2 patients hospitalized every day for treatment due to alcohol-related mental disorders.

Most patients are admitted to the hospital in serious condition, with many comorbidities such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, and stomach disease. In particular, many people suffer from delirium tremens with symptoms such as delirium, irritability, uncontrolled emotions, screaming, cursing, anxiety, panic, hallucinations, beating people, causing injury to themselves and those around them.

“This is the most serious and common complication in people who abuse alcohol. This symptom is also called "alcohol withdrawal state". The cause of delirium tremens is neurotoxicity and metabolic disorders due to alcohol. The disease appears after stopping drinking alcohol for about 12 - 48 hours with prominent symptoms of delirium-like consciousness disorders and neurological disorders, the patient may have epileptic seizures", said Dr. Ha.

Alcohol-induced psychosis is the result of long-term alcohol abuse, causing direct damage to the brain and internal organs, causing metabolic disorders in the body, making the disease complicated and difficult to treat.

Doctors must closely monitor the patient's progress and symptoms to treat the patient with medication, and must also encourage and provide psychological support to the patient and the patient's family throughout the treatment process.

Most patients respond well to treatment in the hospital. However, the treatment of mental disorders and withdrawal for alcohol abusers is not as difficult as the maintenance and prevention of alcohol use relapse for patients in the family and community.

In fact, many people relapse into alcohol use after treatment, and many patients are frequently hospitalized for alcohol-related mental disorders. Therefore, patients themselves need to have the willpower and determination to quit drinking, and at the same time comply with the treatment regimen and psychological therapy as directed by their doctor.

Families and society need to persistently encourage patients to give up the habit of drinking alcohol, not to discriminate or shun them, but to help them reintegrate into the community. When seeing signs of mental disorder due to alcohol, the family needs to take the patient immediately to a medical facility for proper treatment, not to self-treat at home.

In addition, everyone needs to raise awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol on physical and mental health and quality of life. At the same time, people need to maintain a healthy lifestyle, minimizing the use of alcohol, tobacco and stimulants to avoid affecting health.

Compared to previous years, the rate of alcohol-related mental disorders treated at the hospital tends to increase from 5% to 10% and is getting younger in age. In the first quarter of 2024, the unit received nearly 100 patients with mental disorders caused by alcohol abuse. The patients are mainly men of working age and residing in rural areas. Most of them were hospitalized with symptoms such as delirium, irritability, uncontrolled emotions, screaming, cursing, anxiety, panic, hallucinations, beating people, causing injuries to themselves and those around them.

Alcohol abuse causes serious effects on the physical and mental health and quality of life of the patient. Therefore, everyone needs to be aware of protecting their own health and the health of those around them by using alcohol safely.

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