Originally Posted by
DaveyT 
No sorry but it's not the same. As someone who suffers froma genuine physical problem believe me it's utterly insulting to think of alcoholism as a disease.
A disease you can't fix by simply stopping a behaviour. I can't fix my physical illness by wishing it better or doing something differently. It's there, it will always be there and the only t hing that can fix it is some kind of medical discovery.
Addiction is a choice. It may sneak up on us at the beginning. It snuck up on me and I never realise it was a problem. But once you recognise it as a problem the choice occurs, and my choice is to stop. If I manage to stop then my problem goes away.
That's not true. Many scientific studies have shown (permanent) changes in the brain of addicts or people that are more likely to get addicted.
People with low risk for cocaine dependence have differently shaped brain to those with addiction
Studies also show a genetic component to alcoholism:
Genetic signs of alcoholism in women studied for the first time
From that link:
"many studies have shown that there are genetic endowments that can confer greater susceptibility to alcoholism. For example, some variations in enzyme-encoding genes that break down the alcohol molecule are known to be closely associated with a higher intake, since they cause a variation in its metabolization rate which can be up to 30 times higher."
Also your alcoholism will always be there, even if you stop drinking. A proof of that is tolerance, even when you stop for months or years, when you pick up drinking again, you will be back at the same drinking amount within days.
Would you tell someone with diabetes that it is a choice?
It's great that you want to stop and I wish you all the best. However please don't think that after a while it will go away and perhaps in a few years you can go back to moderate drinking, because alcoholics can't.
If it was just a matter of choice, we could choose to drink less and normal amounts.