Public services for alcohol dependents have grown by 37% in three years.

Camila Maciel
Reporter from Agência Brasil

São Paulo - "I came from a situation where I spent practically 24 hours a day drunk. I'd wake up, the bottle was beside me. I'd go to sleep, the bottle was there too." For almost ten years, this was the daily routine of aircraft mechanic assistant Pedro Carlos de Vieira, 40 years old. "Now, I see life differently. I see how much I lost. I spent all this time without making plans." Like Pedro, an average of 1.970 people per month went to the Alcohol and Drug Psychosocial Support Center (Caps AD) units in the city of São Paulo to seek treatment for alcohol dependence last year.

In three years, the total number of consultations grew by approximately 37%. There were 1.238 in 2010 and 1.542 in 2011. According to psychologist Vilmar Ezequiel dos Santos, manager of the CAPS AD (Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs) in Santana, the increasing demand may be related to the trend of seeking treatment earlier and earlier. "From our experience in the field, we noticed that people used to seek help after many years of substance use, up to 20 or 30 years. Now, we are observing that this time to recognize oneself as ill has been decreasing."

Last December, 1.596 alcohol-dependent individuals were treated at the 25 CAPS (Psychosocial Care Centers) units in the city of São Paulo. Of this total, 18,5% are women. Broken down by age group, seven out of ten people treated are between 40 and 59 years old.

Santos believes this changing trend is related to society's maturation in addressing the issue. "Today, people are more concerned. There's the issue of traffic. The Dry Law drew attention to this, that you can't drink and drive. This perception will have an impact on the population, encouraging them to seek help. The family, which previously didn't want to know [about the dependent], which they ignored, is now more attentive and concerned."

It was Pedro's family who identified a worrying situation and took action. "If it weren't for my sister, I would still be the same way, and I don't know for how much longer. I wasn't violent, nor did I harm anyone, but my mother was very sad about the situation," he reported. He, who is from Recife (PE), was brought to São Paulo last September with the challenge of building a new life project. "I got a job as a doorman, for now. It's something. But I want a job in my field [aviation]."

The manager of the CAPS AD (Center for Psychosocial Care for Alcohol and Other Drugs) explains that, more than just taking medication or undergoing therapy, treatment should provide the patient with a perspective on life. According to him, it is necessary to help the person regain a sense of purpose in life, that is, to look ahead and see a situation different from the one they experienced before treatment. "It's not enough to just stop using," he explains.

Santos says that, on average, treatment for alcohol dependence lasts between two and three years. "It can't be short-term. But it varies a lot [depending on] the person, the problem, and the level of commitment. There are cases where the commitment is so great that the person will be in treatment forever."

In comparison to other drugs, he says it's impossible to determine if alcohol dependence is easier to treat. "It will depend on each case. Sometimes alcohol is more difficult, yes. It's something more ingrained, it's part of the person's life. Alcohol is more socially accepted. Society is more lenient, it's more well-known in terms of its use. Identifying that this is a problem is a more difficult matter."