Is Alcoholism really a disease?
Is a "Mental Obsession" really a diease
Answer:
The disease theory of alcoholism is based on the assumption that alcoholism is progressive, chronic and fatal. I believe that some people are predisposed to react differently and unfavorably to the effects of alcohol.
This predisposition to over-consume alcohol certainly has psychological components but it also has physical components that cause the alcoholic's body to react to and metabolize alcohol differnetly than non-alcoholics. I'm not sure we can place a weighted value on how much of alcoholism is psycological and how much is physical. Whether alcoholism is psychological, chemical/physical or a combination of both, the result is that a person is acting under some influence to consume alcohol in excess and, in fact, to their personal detriment.
It is difficult, if not impossible, for a non-alcoholic to understand the twisted rationalizations and single-mindedness of an alcoholic engaging in alcoholic behaviors. Clearly, the alcoholic's mindset factors heavily into his/her drinking behavior. The alcoholic's mind is so twisted that, to paraphase Bill W's words, they need to hit bottom to experience a moment of clarity. This clarity enables the alcoholic to seek treatment. The moment of clarity only comes to many when they are chronically ill due to their drinking.
You're asking if a mental obsession is really a disease. If it is easier for an alcoholic to label their alcoholism a disease and to seek treatment on this basis because having a "disease" is less stigmatized; then let's say its a disease and focus on treatment not only for the alcoholic but also for the alcoholic's friends and loved ones.
My point is that alcoholism is curable. The cure is ovbviously not drinking. Many people cannot stop drinking without treatment. Treatment may come through Alcoholics Anonymous, rehabilitation centers, doctors, some combination, etc. Without intervention, many alcoholics will die; some of alcohol related accidents, some due to premature aging and some due to the chronic debilitating effects of the alcohol like liver damage.
If it helps to label alcoholism a disease and, because of this label, provide treatment vehicles, facilitate the means to provide insurance payment of treatment and to encourage alcoholics to seek treatment for themselves and their loved ones...I'm all for calling it a disease!
it depends on the sircumstances and the reasons why they drink. i personally believe it is a disease, but i do see your view on things.
I see it as doctors do. Alcholism is a disease. just as depression. It's something that takes over your life, body, soul, and mind. People drink for many different reasons to "deal" with pain and it becomes an easy scape goat to "deal" with any and all pain.
I've first handedly seen alcholism. I good friend of mine is only 25 yrs old and had been an alcholic since he was 16, he was full blown by 21. Last year we had to call an ambulance b/c he only wighed 80 pounds, couldn't keep anything down but booze. He's been sober for almost a year now and only has 33% of his Liver left.
Alcholism, is like cutting, pulling out hair, ocd. It's something that consumes you and you feel that you can't survive without it.
My friend, spent 3 weeks in the hospital and it took three months after that for him to stop shaking and walk again. That's how bad it dwindled his body.
It is something "mental" but in order to solve the problem you must treat it like a disease and get to the root of the issues as to why the person results in drinking the "pain" and normalties of life away.
yes, it is a disease and is hereditary.
If a doctor tells you it is a "mental obsession" he needs to go back to school!
It is a disease -- it is an allgergy that develops over time. Your brain builds up a sensitivity to it and it takes more and more to reach the level you used to reach on maybe three.
I am a recovering alcoholic with six years sobriety.
When I first joined AA and they talked about alcoholism being a disease, I thought it was a cop-out.
Then I read some articles . . .
. . .
ALCOHOLISM A TRUE ALLERGIC STATE
The inevitable conclusion is that true alcoholism is an allergic state, the result of gradually increasing sensitization by alcohol over a more or less extended period of time. The constancy of the symptoms and progress is too fixed to permit any other explanation. Some are allergic from birth, but the condition usually develops later in life. The development and course of these cases are quite comparable with the history of hay fever patients in many respects. One may enjoy absolute freedom for many years from any susceptibility to pollen. Year after year, however, there gradually develops a sensitivity to it in certain individuals, culminating at last in paroxysms of hay fever that persist indefinitely when the condition is fully established.
I wish I could take an allergy pill and be able to drink, but they haven't come out with that yet.
One drink is too many and a thousand isn't enough.
Source(s):
WWW.SILKWORTH.NET
In 1956, the American Medical Association (AMA) determined alcoholism to be a disease because it met all 5 AMA criteria necessary to be such: PATTERN OF SYMPTOMS, CHRONIC, PROGRESSIVE, SUBJECT TO RELAPSE, and TREATABLE. The disease of alcoholism can also be FATAL. Alcoholism cannot be cured, only arrested. Treatment is not always successful, and relies on the alcoholic’s ability to control their addiction.
The "Mental Obsession" is just a symptom of the disease.
The medicine and health information post by website user , ByeDR.com not guarantee correctness , is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
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