Alcoholism Disease Or Not
Best regarded as a disease.
Alcoholism disease or not. Research has shown that alcoholism is a choice not a disease and stripping alcohol abusers of their choice by applying the disease concept is a threat to the health of the individual. The disease concept oozes into every crevice of our society perpetuating harmful misinformation that hurts the very people it was intended to help. Alcoholism has been recognized for many years by professional medical organizations as a primary chronic progressive and sometimes fatal disease. When alcoholism becomes a disease.
The brain has been physically altered by extended exposure to alcohol causing it to function differently and therefore creating addictive behavior. One of the early founders of aa whose program is based around the disease concept was marty mann. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family health or legal problems. To make matters worse generally it denies it exists and resists treatment.
Once you label somebody as having. Though there may be no easy cure for alcoholism or alcohol use disorder the condition is treatable. It can be difficult to determine when alcohol use becomes alcoholism but in the simplest terms it s often when a person loses control over their use of alcohol. Alcoholism also known as alcohol addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that s characterized by compulsive decision making impulsive behavior and relapse.
The disease concept of alcoholism is not needed to justify medical intervention or a caring approach to those who are dependent on alcohol. Whether or not alcoholism is a curable disease is a common question among many including those dealing with addiction as well as loved ones and friends who might be trying to help someone with the disease. It s triggered by genetic and environmental factors and it causes biological changes in the brain that make abstaining from alcohol nearly impossible without medical treatment. You may start drinking casually and then more heavily.
Benjamin rush who in the 1800s was the first to claim alcoholism was a disease also claimed that being of african. It doesn t look sound smell and it certainly doesn t act like a disease. The average proportion thought to be personal weakness was 31 percent. This could constitute an abuse problem but not necessarily the disease of alcoholism.
The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. As alcoholism is an addiction it is considered a disease of the brain. Who says alcoholism is not a disease a national study of doctors in the united states reported in the road to recovery asked them what proportion of alcoholism is a disease and what proportion is a personal weakness. Alcoholism is not a disease dr.