Hi again,
I've been reading over the replies here and realized that my own reply was not worded as I meant it. My answer to the quote below was that it does stand alone and to clarify what I believe would be better described as saying I see it as a physiological disorder...not a mental disorder.
What was in my mind when I replied earlier was that alcoholism -does- affect the mental process, in relation to how they process alcohol and also how they think (my idea of 'mental') about it. Maybe the point is too subtle to even mention but I was not happy with how I communicated my thoughts.
So is alcoholism a mental disorder that stands alone, even without any consumption...or is the disease caused by the intake of alcohol?
Whenever it comes down to behavioral issues being 'mental' vs biological there are some gray areas and perhaps the two are more one than has been previously thought. Biochemical and genetic factors have a part as well and to call it a just a 'mental disorder' did not sit well with me. I hope that I have not offended anyone by my previous reply.
In my early years of attending Alanon and open AA meetings I was often turned off by the comments about having an allergy to alcohol...or comparing it to diabetes. As I have grown in my own recovery and studied a bit....I think those analagies are valid ways to describe how an alcoholic 'reacts' to alcohol. The bottom line is imo, if a person has this disease and they drink there's trouble.