Clinical pictures

Alcohol withdrawal can have both physical and mental symptoms. The most common physical symptoms include shaking, sweating, restlessness, nausea, headache, sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, and seizures.

A particularly severe form is delirium tremens. This condition manifests itself through short-term memory impairment, respiratory problems, and heart and circulatory symptoms. Altered consciousness is a life-threatening complication which can progress to coma. This can develop when alcohol is discontinued abruptly after prolonged regular use.

Mental withdrawal symptoms can include depressive mood, anxiety state, concentration problems, mood swings, and aggressiveness.

Alcohol withdrawal should always take place under medical supervision.

From a medical standpoint, this is strongly contraindicated. Withdrawal means liberation of the body from the addictive drug. Depending on the addictive substance, withdrawal can have serious physical consequences. Withdrawal should therefore always take place under inpatient psychiatric supervision. It is easier to confront the disease outside the familiar environment which may be tightly connected to the addiction. Without supervision, the risk of failure is very high.

The boundary between temporary changes or limitations on sexuality and sexual dysfunction cannot always be clearly defined. Since sexuality is complex and the body and psyche are equally involved, many influences can have a short-term negative effect on sexual life. Occasional periods of unhappiness or orgasm difficulties are normal and occur in many people.

A central feature of a sexual dysfunction is that the symptoms persist for at least half a year. They also can cause distress: Sexuality, as you know it and like it, can no longer be interpreted satisfactorily. This leads to problems in partnership, to psychological effects and to a generally stressful life.

Many causes can lead to sexual dysfunction. These include:

• Physical causes such as cardiovascular diseases, hormonal changes, diabetes, surgical interventions in the genital organs (for example, cervical removal/prostate removal), cancer, rheumatism or Parkinson's disease. Physical pain during sex, caused by inflammation, for example, can also lead to dysfunctions.
• Taking medications can cause side effects that lead to sexual dysfunction. Antidepressants can reduce libido and hormone-based contraceptives reduce sexual desire.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol and the use of drugs such as marijuana can reduce sexual desire or excitability.
• Mental causes such as anxiety about pregnancy or stress, grief and conflict can impair sexual function.
• Problems in a partnership can also be the cause of sexual dysfunction. Constantly arguing or paralysing routine, tabooing of sexual desires or lack of tenderness have a negative effect on lust, excitability and ability to have an orgasm. 

Depending on the cause diagnosed, sexual dysfunction can be treated with drugs. But there are other good options. If there is a mental disorder, for example due to traumatic experiences, psychotherapeutics with individual therapy is possible. If the cause of sexual dysfunction is not due to physical or mental illness, sexual therapy, behavioural therapy, or couples therapy may be indicated.

Psychosocial treatment approaches have proven to be more effective than the use of drugs. They can be used to treat physical and psychological causes of the dysfunction. For beyond the restoration of sexual functions, it can be helpful to broaden the understanding of sexuality and also to enable other forms of physical communication. Since medications are also a possible cause of sexual dysfunction, changing medications or adjusting doses can help after consultation with your doctor.