It is crucial to understand that severe cases of dependence on alcohol or a narcotic substance should be treated in a hospital. Its serious physiological and psychological dimensions make it almost impossible for the individual to cope with them without medical intervention.
However, my experience shows that long before a person becomes physically dependent on a substance (alcohol, light drugs, heavier substances, tranquilizers, or painkillers), there is a long period of problematic consumption.
My take on this condition is that it is a kind of self-medicating – a failed attempt to silence an underlying problem with the help of a chemical substance. The usual result, however, is that the practice itself becomes a grave problem. Many people do not turn to a specialist on time and thus develop mental and physical dependence. It is for these reasons that a specialist should be contacted as soon as possible.
In psychoanalytic therapy, we talk about everything that has been avoided to date with the help of alcohol, drugs, or medication.
Psychotherapy is also highly recommendable for people who have already overcome dependence but would like to familiarize themselves more with the problem that has led them to problematic consumption in the first place.