1.What is alcohol addiction? “Alcohol addiction” is medically known as alcohol dependence syndrome, which is a compulsive drinking behavior gradually formed on the basis of long-term alcohol consumption, resulting in physical or psychological dependence on alcohol. The main manifestation is that the drinker drinks continuously and persistently regardless of physical and mental health and adverse consequences, and loses self-control over the drinking behavior. Alcohol addiction includes two meanings of mind addiction and body addiction, which are medically known as mental dependence and physical dependence. Psychological addiction refers to the psychological craving for alcohol by the alcoholic. Driven by this psychological craving, the drinker may do whatever it takes to satisfy the need for alcohol. Physical addiction refers to the pathological adaptation of the body to alcohol after long-term drinking. After stopping drinking or reducing the amount of alcohol consumed, withdrawal symptoms such as panic, sweating, irritability, temper tantrums, insomnia and tremors in the limbs may occur, and in severe cases, convulsions and delirium tremens, manifested as confusion, hallucinations and behavioral disorders, which threaten their own lives and may violently harm others. 2, why alcohol addiction is difficult to quit People who are not addicted to alcohol find it hard to understand why alcohol addicts cannot use a little willpower to quit drinking. However, in fact, alcohol addiction has little to do with willpower. They are dominated by a powerful “mind addiction” or “craving” that is even stronger than the need for food and water. Once they stop drinking or reduce the amount of alcohol they consume, they will be surrounded by various psychosomatic pains, such as emotional agitation and depression, physical tremors and convulsions, etc. The causes of alcohol addiction are very complex. Scientists believe that people who are genetically susceptible to alcohol addiction are more likely to become addicted, and that if a person has a “drinker in the family”, he is more likely to become addicted if he chooses to drink. Scientists also believe that environmental factors will determine whether those who are “susceptible to alcohol addiction” will actually develop into alcoholics. A person’s environment, including where he lives, his family, friends, culture, life and work pressures will affect whether he will become addicted to alcohol, such as marital disagreements, poor relationships with relatives, excessive life pressures, work overload, etc. 4.In Shenzhen, alcohol addiction “prefers” migrant workers In Shenzhen, alcohol addiction occurs more often among migrant workers. After entering Shenzhen, migrant workers often fail to integrate into the city culture and live on the edge of the city due to household registration problems and their own reasons, becoming “strangers” in the city. At this time, cultural differences, pressure of life, dashed expectations, lack of family companionship and lack of entertainment may prompt them to “drink to drown their sorrows” or drink to pass the time and relieve stress. Zhou Xuhui of the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province, compared with local residents, the drinking problem of migrant workers in Shenzhen is more serious, and more than half of the alcohol addiction patients hospitalized in Shenzhen Kangning Hospital are migrant workers from factories and enterprises. 5.How to quit drinking Alcohol addiction is actually a disease, and the difficulty of quitting alcohol addiction is not because of weak willpower, but because they suffer from the persistent disease of alcohol dependence which is persistent and recurring, and they are patients who need medical services. Inpatient treatment can provide an environment where patients can leave their drinking, along with medication and psychotherapy, which can help patients quit drinking and help them realize the dangers of alcohol addiction and promote their physical and mental recovery. Patients with milder addictions can choose to take medication on an outpatient basis and quit drinking at home, but for patients with heavy addictions, especially those who need to drink every day, home withdrawal is not advisable because mental and physical withdrawal symptoms, such as alcoholic hallucinations or other psychosis, or delirium tremens and seizures in severe cases, can occur after stopping drinking, and home use of alcohol withdrawal medication may also induce and exacerbate withdrawal symptoms.