Alcoholism, Disease or not?

Question

AA would suggest it is, The medical industry seems to be divided, And heavy drinkers just ignore it, Whats your opinion? If you are a medical person of some description, please state.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Bill Wilson did not call it a "disease" in the Big Book, and at a conference for clergy in the 60s said he did not believe it was a disease is the strict sense of the word.

It became a disease mostly for medical and insurance reasons. Alcoholics were treated pretty poorly by hospital staff back when AA was getting started. And if the hospitals and doctors wanted to get paid for alcohol treatment, it was to their advantage to classify alcoholism as a disease.

Dr. E.M. Jellinek pushed the disease concept (It was later discovered that a large portion of Jellinek's credentials were non-existent: http://www.peele.net/lib/jellinek.html )

Marty Mann, often touted as the first woman to get sober in AA studied under Jellinek. She went on to form what eventually became the National Council on Alcoholism, using the Yale School of Alcohol Studies under Jellinek to establish scientific legitimacy for the disease concept. Her former occupation was in publicity.

Answer 2

I originally trained to do drug and alcohol abuse counseling. At the time we were taught it was not a disease in the strictest sense of the word, because there is not an outside cause, such as bacteria or virus. It is not the result of some failure of a part of the body to function correctly, or fails to function, so it is not a syndrome either. It falls more in the category of a behavioral problem with some possible genetic component, and sometimes with the actual physical complication of inability to properly metabolize the alcohol. I believe that to be a truer definition of what alcoholism truely is. It is not a disease, it is a behavior problem with a possible genetic predisposition. You can't entirely blame it on genetics alone, as many children of alcoholics don't become alcoholics, and there are instances where somebody is the only one in the family who becomes an alcoholic. I think initially the alcoholic uses alcohol as a means of coping with situations they otherwise lack the mechanism to cope with. It works well enough for them, and allows them to avoid dealing with the underlying problem or insecurity. The reason it is so difficult to stay dry is because most treatments deal primarily with the alcohol and not the underlying problems, and are of too short a duration to really be effective. It is really difficult to break an addiction and teach more constructive habits and behaviors in just 90 days- even less in some cases. It is more difficult if you are dealing with a long standing addiction, and if the person is not really motivated to change. If it were a true disease, a course of medication would take care of it all. Of course, the cause is not something that would respond to that sort of treatment.
Although we have come a long ways since the days when it was considered to be a sort of moral failure and the sign of a lack of personal control, there are really only a handful of treatment options. Even so, none of them can boast a really good sucess rate. Last I looked at the statistics, the recidivism rate was still hovering around 80%, meaning that 80 of 100 persons will not remain "dry" for long. Most don't make it 6 months, and some leave the treatment facility and go directly to the nearest pub, bar or liquor store. We further complicate matters when we consider it a disease, by considering that it can be "cured". It is never cured, merely controlled- usually through sheer strength of will on the part of the person. I think we do the whole problem a disservice by calling it a disease, since that implies a lack of fault and responsibility as well. The alcoholic may crave alcohol, and does become physically dependant on it, I know. But I also know that until the person accepts responsibility for his behavior and determines to control it, there is no hope of recovery. There is no vaccination to prevent it, there is no pill or injection to cure it. It is not caused by a germ. You may be predisposed to become an alcoholic, but nobody pours the drink down you. It's your hand lifting the glass, bottle, or can to your mouth. That's a behavior, so alcoholism is a behavioral problem. AA may want to have it considered a disease because it puts a more socially acceptable face on things, but that's all just politically correct rhetoric. I suppose we could always just call them sobriety challenged, if that would make folks happier. I'd still consider it a behavioral disorder.
Incidently, I left substance abuse counseling to work on my degree in adolescent psychology. I tended to take a very dim view of most of the treatment paradigms popular in the field, and felt most of the programs available for treatment left a lot to be desired.

Answer 3

As a recovering alcoholic I defend my opinion to the hilt.
I believe it is learned behavior as most of us come from dysfunctional families who in one way or another has not taught us good coping skills.
We looked for things to make us feel different than we were feeling.
My feeling is that if someone says it is a disease or a brain imbalance,they are really sherking the whole sum of their responsibility in their addiction.
I was insecure,had a lack of self esteem,doubted my abilities,never felt like I belonged anywhere and felt less than unless I had a man in my life.
Alcohol gave me all of these things or so I thought until it I woke up one day and realized I was still all of those things but now living in an unmanagable life due to my alcohol consumption.
I NEVER realized that alcohol was a problem,I thought it was my solution and I could NOT see how quitting alcohol could make my life better but it has by leaps and bounds.
I now have 10+ yrs of sobriety and though life is not perfect and neither am I,today I have a life that I always wanted.
I still have the same dysfunctional family but today I know when it is time to get up at family functions and leave whereas I always felt that I had an obligation to them
Today I know how to handle situations that use to baffle me. . quote from the Book of Alcoholic Anyonomous.

Amen

Answer 4

Alcoholism is not a disease but it is only an addiction.

Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholic's normal personal, family, social, or work life. The chronic alcohol consumption caused by alcoholism can result in psychological and physiological disorders. Alcoholism is one of the world's most costly drug use problems; with the exception of nicotine addiction, alcoholism is more costly to most countries than all other drug use problems combined[citation needed]. Alcoholism is not a psychiatric diagnosis. In countries that use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) put forth by the American Psychiatric Association, recognizable diagnoses include Alcohol Abuse, Alcohol Intoxication, Alcohol Dependence, and Alcohol Withdrawal.

While alcohol use is required to trigger alcoholism, the biological mechanism of alcoholism is unknown. For most people, moderate alcohol consumption poses little danger of addiction. Other factors must exist for alcohol use to develop into alcoholism. These factors may include a person's social environment, emotional health and genetic predisposition. In addition, an alcoholic can develop multiple forms of addiction to alcohol simultaneously such as psychological, metabolic, and neurochemical. Each type of addiction must be treated individually for an alcoholic to fully recover.
Substance use disorders are the major public health problem facing many countries. In the United States today, more than 15 million Americans are estimated to suffer from alcoholism. "The most common substance of abuse/dependence in patients presenting for treatment is alcohol." In the United Kingdom, the number of 'dependent drinkers' was calculated as over 2.8 million in 2001..

There is considerable debate regarding the Disease Theory of Alcoholism. Proponents argue that any structural or functional disorder having a predictable course, or progression, should be classified as a disease. Opponents cite the inability to pin down the behavioral issues to a physical cause as a reason for avoiding classification.

Answer 5

Id say its a condition, a habit just like smoking but it really takes over your life and the affects are devastating to your health and family life my uncle is an alcoholic, he suffers from depression and just drinks all day long and he doesnt think he as a problem but we do tell him he as to stop it some days he does but then he goes on binges i think he does know deep down but he just cant help his self its to easy for him to buy cheap beer and cider from the shop and pub

Answer 6

It is an addiction.

It becomes a disease when abused.

The disease part of it comes in because of what it does to your body.

Have you ever seen an alcoholic die of liver disease? Not a pretty sight at all.

Answer 7

Its is defiantly a problem. I am not an expert but I am lead to believe by the numbers that alcoholism would have to be either a genetic problem or a disease.

Answer 8

Yes, it is a diseaese. I'm a recovering drug addict who has been through a lot of drug rehabilitation programs. At all of these places it was drummed into us by Medical Practitioners that alcoholism/drug addiction/gambling addiction/sex addiction were all treatable diseases. All these programs use the 12 steps of A.A., they only change the words, alcohol/drug/gambling...etc.

Answer 9

This becomes a disease inflicted by you at great cost.I am not recovering from my drinking. In fact i am drinking now

Answer 10

its a syndrom that means it involves many compotant
1) physical
2) mental
3) social
4) and habbit of justifying it as right