In the Big Book, they describe alcoholism as a two headed monster, one side being a physical allergy that, once we take that first drink, we can't stop. The other half is the mental obsession, that we are incapable of avoiding that first drink. I would think that there are varying levels of the two, especially the mental part. A lot of our enviornment dictates what our mental make up is, and everyone's varies. Being an abuse survivor, my mental make up is driven towards the drink, hence I have to do lots of work on that aspect to help curb the mental half of it, meetings, stepwork, therapy, etc. There are biochemical and genetic aspects to addiction, especially alcoholism that feed the "unable to stop once started" part of it. I am sure that once you have spent some time in the throws of the disease, both parts will be present, your brain has spent to much time out there not to have undergone behavioral changes, but the degree of it I'm sure varies. That's just my laymans two cents, any one can feel free to contradict what I said, I won't be butthurt or anything.
camedown
