Alcoholism is a Disease

Unfortunately, in our western society at large, there is still much shame and misunderstanding directed towards the alcoholic. Alcoholism is probably one of the most misunderstood diseases ever known to man. It is a mental obsession coupled with a physical allergy. Once an alcoholic takes one sip of alcohol it ignites the process of craving, and the alcoholic needs more. One drink is too much, and 1000 drinks are not enough.

The alcoholic has typically tried every form of control know to man. He will drink only at home, never at work, only wine and beer, try controlling the amount of drinks, drinking only on weekends, and we could add to the list without end. If an alcoholic wants to test himself, let him try to drink only one drink, and stop abruptly. If he can do that, he is probably not an alcoholic.

When an alcoholic controls her drinking, she does not enjoy it. When she enjoys her drinking, she can't control it.

The Disease Concept of Alcoholism

The American Medical Association defines alcoholism as an illness or disease. Dr. David Ohlm, an expert in the field of alcoholism, has defined alcoholism as follows:

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, incurable disease characterized by loss of control over alcohol and other sedatives.

• Chronic: Lasts a long time.

• Progressive: Alcoholism goes through a series of increasing symptoms and it does not go away. It gets worse even after long periods of sobriety, and can be reactivated by a single drink.

• Incurable: One can not return to normal drinking. One can return to a normal life, but only by stopping drinking.

• Disease: A condition in which bodily health is impaired and interferes with the ability of the person to function normally.

• Loss of control: Once the alcoholic takes that first drink after a period of being sober or abstinent, he/she can not predict with any reliability whether he/she is going to have a normal or abnormal drinking episode. Therefore, they do not control the alcohol, it controls them.

This is the major factor in defining alcoholism--can one predict their behavior every time they drink?