Understanding Alcoholism as a Disease

There has been a long-standing heated debate as to whether alcoholism is a disease or not. Some would say it is and some would stay firm in their disagreement. Yet, if you ask anyone who has recovered from it, they would answer “yes” without a moment’s hesitation.

Technically, alcoholism doesn’t fit the requirements for it to be called a disease. There are some who even deny that it exists. Though it has been tagged as a progressive, chronic and fatal disease by medical experts, those who are still under its spell would deny that it is a disease. But come to think of it, excessive alcoholic intake shows the same characteristics with that of diseases. Also, it has a predictable course and a set of recognized symptoms.

But before delving deeper, some basics must be considered first. To clarify matters, alcoholism is an obsession which elicits a desire from someone to drink drowning amounts of alcoholic beverages. An alcoholic has no control over his emotions and he satisfies it by drinking even more. Also, it gradually increases through time. What started as a drink of two would become ten or more in a day. Because its progress happens in months and years, noticing that alcohol has taken over your life would be difficult.

A lot of people would hesitate to call it a disease because it is not brought about by any germ or virus. Against this viewpoint, there are some who would argue that though alcohol is not a bacteria, it still is a toxin that enters the body through intake. Some would even point out that alcoholism is just an excuse to drink.

No matter how different the medical world feels about this, doctors have referred to this as alcohol dependence syndrome. They would even point out that alcoholism is progressive and has different stages. The first would usually have the potential alcoholic take a bottle of beer or two. Then, as time progresses, the addiction would go on to the middle stage. Here, it would be very hard to stop someone’s desire for a drink. And when all is lost, the alcoholic’s addiction would roll on to the end stage where alcohol has totally taken a strong grip on his life.

Because of this gradual pace, a lot of alcoholics deny that they have lost control. The addiction did not happen overnight and therefore, most alcoholics suffer from this denial.

Just as viral diseases are diagnosed, doctors have a way of diagnosing alcoholism too. They usually conduct behavioral and medical exams to determine it. The behavioral exam would delve deep into your alcohol intake, drinking patterns, behavioral history and other environmental concerns such as stress levels.

On the other hand, the medical exam looks at the physical symptoms that alcoholics manifest. This is performed in order to determine whether alcohol has damaged any of an individual’s internal organs.

With all of the points presented here, alcoholism is definitely a disease. Yet, this disease can certainly be managed with self-control and other people’s support. Do not let the disease of alcoholism ruin your life.

If you or someone you know suffers from alcoholism or addiction please visit us at www.sobersources.com and see the available resources and support forums we can offer you.