Is alcoholism a disease? (drugs, how much, compare, abuse)
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Alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol and I suppose that the "disease" only relates to the host of ailments that the addiction causes on the organs of the body. It does not compare to cancer, mental retardation, etc. Alcohol is a coping mechanism and fills the void created by poor mental health - if it were not alcohol, it would be some other vise filling the void - drugs, gambling, sex - whatever it takes to escape. People are no longer held accountable for their behaviors but given a list of excuses to chose from. Is obesity a disease?
How can you put it in the same category as Cancer or mental retardations? Becoming an alcoholic is a choice!
But many people do put them in the same category.
Mental retardation is not a disease; it is a birth defect.
"Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial."
Dependency on alcohol, also known as alcohol addiction and alcoholism, is a chronic disease. The signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence include—
A strong craving for alcohol.
Continued use despite repeated physical, psychological, or interpersonal problems.
The inability to limit drinking.
from
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association, Washington D.C., 1994.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 04-30-2011 at 09:13 AM..
Reason: Leave the modding to the mods, please.
Eh, I disagree with the DSM-IV. I don't think it's a primary disease at all. The addiction is very real, as anyone who's watched an alkie go through withdrawal can attest, but in my involuntary interaction with dedicated, ordained, committed drunks over a lot of years, I know that there are certain character traits that most of them share. The main one is self-centeredness. Even alcoholics who admit to their alcoholism are rarely able to grasp just how much their drinking harms others. They can only see how it affects them. AA works for many of them because it is also based on self-centeredness but in a more positive way.
I do know a small percentage of recovered alcoholics who have managed to do the work and change their outlook and their character flaws to become aware of how their drinking affected others. Some have stopped drinking for decades. This small percentage does represent a lot of people, and because of that, I really have no problem with the medical community classifying alcoholism as a disease so that treatment is available.
As an admitted alcoholic, it is not a disease! I drink because I want to drink. If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only disease that you can stop at any time. I would like to see someone tell a person with cancer to just "stop and get better." The only thing I can say is alcoholism causes other diseases, but is not a disease in itself.
His opinion is as reliavant as any other really. Jut because people are doctors who wnat to treat it has a disaease to get it covered by insurnace or thru work sick leave while others fire people for it. If its a disease then smoking is .Everyone has a right to a opinion and it counts in society. Next you will hear that credit card use abuse is a disease but few except it as such altho it can have social and other reasons as a reason of why people do it.IMO;alcoholism is a treatable addiction and many areas of society treat it has such. I know three former alcoholics who basically stopped on their own with no treatemnt for the addiction.
If someone buys a McMansion that they could not otherwise afford and it is located next to a known chemical waste dump that causes cancer then: Cancer is a choice.
If a woman consumes huge amounts of drugs during pregnancy causing defects in her fetus then: Mental Retardation is a choice.
How can you put it in the same category as Cancer or mental retardations? Becoming an alcoholic is a choice!
But many people do put them in the same category.
No, it is not a choice for these people that are alcoholics. At first it is a choice for them as everyone else BUT their bodies react to alcohol differently and they crave it.
So, yes, it is a disease. Also it is hereditary disease.
As an admitted alcoholic, it is not a disease! I drink because I want to drink. If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only disease that you can stop at any time. I would like to see someone tell a person with cancer to just "stop and get better." The only thing I can say is alcoholism causes other diseases, but is not a disease in itself.
You are not correct IMO. Can you stop at any time? I doubt it. And when you do, you'll have plenty of withdrawal symptoms.
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The only thing I can say is alcoholism causes other diseases, but is not a disease in itself.
