The document discusses alcoholic mental disorders, highlighting causes such as heredity, psychological factors, and personality traits. It outlines various types of alcoholic psychoses, including pathological intoxication and delirium tremens, along with their symptoms and treatments. The text emphasizes the importance of therapy, support groups, and gradual reduction of alcohol intake for recovery.

1. ALCOHOLIC MENTAL
DISORDERS

2. Introduction
• Mental disease – excessive alcoholic consumption for many years
• Alcoholism in some cases - secondary symptom - underlying personality
disturbance
• Hence diagnose alcoholics for other mental disorders
• High incidence – 45 age, bachelors, widowed / divorced, urban

3. Normal drinking Alcoholic
 Doesn’t have irresistible craving  Strong cravings
 Moderate in consumption  Uncontrolled consumption
 Simple motive to drink  Deep seated & complex motive to
drink
 Drinks to induce pleasant feeling
tone, physical & mental
relaxation
 Drinks whenever available
without any well being reason

4. Etiology
1) Heredity :
• Urge to drink is never inherited
• Increase the probability that a person turn to alcoholic as a solution to his
problems
2) Psychological theories :
• Solvent for responsibilities
• Sorrows & cares are drowned
• Vehicle of escape from domestic conflicts, business worries, inferiority feelings
• Eraser of painful memories
• Gives courage to coward & confidence to shy, nervous person
• Permits a flight from disappointments & frustrations of reality

5. 3) Psychoanalytical theories :
• Due to repressed homosexuality – 1st
• Argument – drink in company
• Auditory hallucinations – accuse homoerotic practices
• Partial suicide – deriving from elements of aggression, ungratified eroticism &
feelings of need from punishment related to aggressiveness – 2nd
• Drawback – many men are solitary drinkers, devoid of homosexual content &
more direct methods of suicide are available

6. 4) Cortical inhibition theory :
• Exerts a paralyzing influence on cerebral cortex
• Cerebral cortex – seat of memory & higher mental functions
• Cerebral paralyze – frees from disturbing memories & thoughts, abolishes
reason, removes caution
• Freely expresses his true feelings, emotions, & inner personality
• Aids in escaping one’s mental & social life & escape the world of reality
• Fails to explain why some become addict but not others

7. 5) Personality factors :
• Extroverts are prone to addiction incidental to social drinking over a
period of years
6) Social factors :
• Higher incidence – grape growing countries & in countries where
alcohol is freely & cheaply sold

8. General Effects of Alcohol
1) Simple intoxication :
• Alcohol – Toxic drug
• Too much in short time – temporary symptoms
• Determined by blood & urine analysis
• Amount of alcohol in blood ranges from 0.01 – 0.05 %

9. Mild state Moderate state Severe state
• 0.01 % • 0.1 % • 0.2 %
• Feelings of well being,
euphoria noted
• Irritability, arrogance,
ego noted
• Lack of self -
management
• Good natured & over
talkative
• Becomes a social
nuisance
• Needs help in walking
• Physical state – warmth
& Relaxed
• Hazy perceptions,
slurred speech,
staggers when walking
• Drowsy & nauseated,
stupurous sleep –
protects from fatal
dose

11. 2) Alcohol Addiction :
Alcohol Morphine
 Not habit forming drug  Habit forming drug
 Produce tolerance but fixed
at certain level
 Produce tolerance – not fixed
 Less craving  More craving
 Withdrawal doesn’t cause
goose flesh, chills, cramps,
muscular twitching
 Withdrawal cause goose
flesh, chills, cramps,
muscular twitching

12. Types
Alcoholic
psychose
s
Pathologic
al
intoxicatio
n
Delirium
tremens
Korsakoff’s
psychoses
Acute
alcoholic
hallucinati
on
Alcoholic
deteriorati
on
1) Pathological intoxication :
• Result due to ingestion of small quantity of alcohol
• Blind uncontrollable anger, profound mental confusion
• Occurs in patient with psychopathic background such as epilepsy,
schizophrenia , hysteria, patient with brain injuries & low blood
sugar
• Motor coordination & speech is unaffected
• Recovery – can’t recall events occurred during attack

13. 2) Delirium Tremens :
• Early symptom – cessation of drinking
• Before the onset of acute symptom, patient is too sick to drink
• Patient with normal personality
• Patient with various metabolic disturbances, vitamin B deficiency are prone to this
• Early signs – anxiety, fear, insomnia, headache, nightmares & convulsions
• Onset – sudden & at night
• Visual hallucinations are predominant
• Physical symptom – tremors of the hand, restlessness, profuse perspiration, fever
• Treatment – rest in bed, maintenance of proper nutrition, prolonged sleep, warm
baths

14. 3) Korsakoff’s Psychosis :
• Result due to alcoholic abuse over a period of 25 years
• Vit B1 deficiency – important contributor factor
• Inability to form new associations
• No recall of memories occurred during attack
• Aware of memory impairment
• Able to answer perfectly when asked about night before alcoholic
• Shows degenerative peripheral nerves
• Treatment – vitamin B1 given, immediate cessation of alcohol, rest

15. 4) Acute Alcoholic Hallucinosis :
• Exhibit – schizoid traits
• Results due to alcohol addiction for at least 15 years
• Symptoms – anxiety, hallucinations, insomnia
• Auditory hallucination is predominant
• He usually hears that persecutors spreads rumours about him to the 3rd
person
• They appeal to the police for the protection
• Well oriented & clearly conscious
• After recovery fair recall occurred during attack is seen
• Introvert persons prone to this
• Hospitalization is very important

16. 5) Alcoholic deterioration :
• Excessive use for many years – general disintegration of personality
• Mental symptoms – irritability, loss of ambition & power, memory impairment,
suspiciousness etc..
• Physical characteristics – reddening of face & nose, bloated appearance, flabby
muscles, decreased resistance to disease, tremors etc..

17. Treatment & Prognosis
• Tapering off alcohol either gradually or immediate withdrawal
• He must learn to avoid alcohol even when it is available
• Punishment – temporary withdrawal
• Medicines & pills
• Putting nauseating drugs in drinks
• Stimulating drugs – Benzedrine – general state of well being
• Psychotherapy
1) Suggestion, persuasion, hypnosis etc..
2) Alcoholics Anonymous - fellowship of men and women who help each
other with their common problem with alcoholism
3) Conversation method – to understand his own problems & to encourage to
overcome