Recognizing alcoholism as a disease.
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by: EdPhilips
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Is alcoholism a disease? Most people don't believe so, because it simply doesn't have that kind of aspect one assumes a disease would have. Diseases have to do with germs, not substances, right? Wrong. Alcoholism certainly is a disease, and has been recognized so by medical professionals and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.
Mental obsession? Did you ever wake up in the morning with a song playing over and over in your head? It might have been a commercial jingle you heard on television or a song from the radio, but it kept playing and playing and playing. Remember what that was like? No matter what you did, that silly tune kept on playing. You could try to whistle or sing another song or turn on the radio and listen to another tune, but the one in your head just kept on playing. Think about it. There was something going on in your mind that you didn't put there and, no matter how hard you tried, couldn't get it out!
If you don't get diagnosed by your physician, you are more likely not to believe you have a disease, even if you admit that you might over-indulge occasionally on alcohol. It's when you begin to feel you cannot live without alcohol that you should realize you have a problem. When heavy or frequent drinkers suddenly decide to quit "cold turkey" they will experience some physical withdrawal symptoms -- which can range from the mildly annoying to severe and even life-threatening.
For someone who is alcoholic or alcohol dependent, the symptoms include all of those associated with alcohol abuse (above). But alcoholics also continue to drink in spite of all the problems it has caused in their lives.When alcohol abuse reaches the alcohol dependence stage, the person also experiences at least three of seven other symptoms, including neglect of other activities, excessive use of alcohol, impaired control of alcohol consumption, persistence of alcohol use, large amounts of time spent in alcohol-related activities, withdrawal symptoms and tolerance of alcohol.
No wonder denial is an almost universal symptom of the disease. For those who have come to the realization that they do have a problem, help may be as close as the white pages of the telephone directory. But for those who need help and do not want it, intervention may be the only alternative. However, if you have decided, for whatever reason, that you want to stop drinking, there is a world of help and support available. To get a better picture of where you are now, so that you can make an informed decision about how to proceed, perhaps the first person to talk with should be your family doctor.
For those who have committed themselves to not drinking again, or forced by circumstances to not have access to alcohol, the struggle to fight the withdrawal symptoms can become a dangerous battle, one that can actually become life threatening. For some, who are less chemically dependent, withdrawal symptoms might be as "mild" as merely getting the shakes, or the sweats -- or perhaps nausea, headache, anxiety, a rapid heart beat, and increased blood pressure. Although these symptoms are uncomfortable and irritating, they are not necessarily dangerous. But they are often accompanied by the "craving" for more alcohol, making the decision to continue abstinence much more difficult to make.
Based on your doctor's assessment of the severity of your problem, your treatment could involve several phases. If you have become "chemically dependent" upon alcohol, treatment may include detoxification; taking doctor-prescribed medications, to help prevent a return to drinking once drinking has stopped; and individual and/or group counseling. Counseling can help you identify situations and feelings that "trigger" the urge to drink and to find new ways to respond that do not include alcohol. These treatments are usually available in a hospital or residential treatment facility or on an outpatient basis. Because the involvement of family members can be important, many programs also offer marital counseling and family therapy as part of the treatment process.
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