I wrote a post to this thread last night, but it seems to have disappeared. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. I'm going to ignore it; I do that sometimes.
I am a product of the disease concept-12-step inspired treatment industry. While I have some cynical views on that practice today, it worked nonetheless. I realize that I had significant depression, PTSD, and perhaps an Axis II somewhere in there, secondary to traumas. Alcohol was my response to that, until it stopped working. I find it difficult to separate the two.
I responded to the idea of a alcoholism as disease, probably because I like clinical explanations. To me it meant that I was not responsible for getting it, but I was responsbile for what I did about it. In short, I found self-forgiveness and hope all in one. Of course, I've known others who opted to believe that having a disease made them responsbile for neither, which justified continued drinking. Whether alcoholism is a disease or a mental health issue is not relevant to me today: I don't know that I would do anything differently. A religious person might respond well to the "repent, sinner!" school of thought and find his/her way in a faith-based support group. I was fortunate to find what spoke to me.