Alcoholism- What Is It? What Causes It?
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Alcoholism- What Is It? What Causes It?
Alcoholism-What is It? What Causes It?
I understand that alcoholism, along with substance abuse, has been medically classified as a “disease”. Others have argued that the “disease” characterization is inappropriate and that alcoholism results from “character defects”. Recovery, they say, can come only if these are “removed” by a “higher power”. And some have said that “character defects” are the result, not the cause of alcoholism.
Could it be that all of this “black and white thinking” oversimplifies the nature of a complex illness (perhaps a better term than “disease” at least if the latter connotes something “catching” or contagious). However described, if this implies that there is no voluntary element in suffering or recovery from alcoholism that too may be mistaken. Alcoholism may result simply from excess of pleasure seeking to achieve a “buzz” just as obesity may (but does not always) result from gluttony. The same is true for recovery. That is rarely if ever achieved if the patient remains merely passive and expects to be “cured” exclusively by medicine, like mumps or measles. An alcoholic should voluntarily abstain from alcohol, just as a diabetic should omit or regulate the intake of sugar.
As for “causation” I understand that recent research indicates that a substantial percentage of the etiology is genetic (approximately 60 percent is mentioned). There are other “cultural” factors, like being born into a “toxic” or “abusive” family. Thus the illness has been called a “family” disease. The patient’s neighborhood often plays an important part. Becoming an alcoholic or drug addict must be easier in some neighborhoods. This includes colleges and even high schools for many. And those who have become ill for other reasons, and have to spend some time in hospitals and recovery centers, may become addicted to prescription painkillers, such as oxycontin and oxycodone.
As to recovery, that must be harder if family members are addicted or if there are drug dealers down on the corner. Recovery becomes increasingly harder as the illness progresses (for it certainly does progress with age as well as amount and frequency of intake). The human body in its own miraculous way adapts to the toxic substance and changes its physiology and neurology. It comes to “demand” the substance and if the amount is diminished or discontinued then certain sectors of the brain cooperate (the “AV”) in inducing an already numbed cerebral cortex to cause the patient to take that “first drink” and start down the ever more slippery slope.
In summary, alcoholism is a complex illness, with a complex and multifaceted etiology. In addition, patients today suffer less often than in the past from simple alcoholism and have dual diagnosis with other psychiatric conditions, such as clinical or bipolar depression, obsessive- compulsive, borderline personality and other disorders.
Whatever its nature, its “cause” and whatever plan a sufferer adopts to win the long battle for recovery, the only really important thing is sobriety, the greatest gift of all- freedom from chemical slavery and restoration of one’s “true” self. Then one can say with the Rev. Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Thank God Almighty! I’m free at last!”
W.
I understand that alcoholism, along with substance abuse, has been medically classified as a “disease”. Others have argued that the “disease” characterization is inappropriate and that alcoholism results from “character defects”. Recovery, they say, can come only if these are “removed” by a “higher power”. And some have said that “character defects” are the result, not the cause of alcoholism.
Could it be that all of this “black and white thinking” oversimplifies the nature of a complex illness (perhaps a better term than “disease” at least if the latter connotes something “catching” or contagious). However described, if this implies that there is no voluntary element in suffering or recovery from alcoholism that too may be mistaken. Alcoholism may result simply from excess of pleasure seeking to achieve a “buzz” just as obesity may (but does not always) result from gluttony. The same is true for recovery. That is rarely if ever achieved if the patient remains merely passive and expects to be “cured” exclusively by medicine, like mumps or measles. An alcoholic should voluntarily abstain from alcohol, just as a diabetic should omit or regulate the intake of sugar.
As for “causation” I understand that recent research indicates that a substantial percentage of the etiology is genetic (approximately 60 percent is mentioned). There are other “cultural” factors, like being born into a “toxic” or “abusive” family. Thus the illness has been called a “family” disease. The patient’s neighborhood often plays an important part. Becoming an alcoholic or drug addict must be easier in some neighborhoods. This includes colleges and even high schools for many. And those who have become ill for other reasons, and have to spend some time in hospitals and recovery centers, may become addicted to prescription painkillers, such as oxycontin and oxycodone.
As to recovery, that must be harder if family members are addicted or if there are drug dealers down on the corner. Recovery becomes increasingly harder as the illness progresses (for it certainly does progress with age as well as amount and frequency of intake). The human body in its own miraculous way adapts to the toxic substance and changes its physiology and neurology. It comes to “demand” the substance and if the amount is diminished or discontinued then certain sectors of the brain cooperate (the “AV”) in inducing an already numbed cerebral cortex to cause the patient to take that “first drink” and start down the ever more slippery slope.
In summary, alcoholism is a complex illness, with a complex and multifaceted etiology. In addition, patients today suffer less often than in the past from simple alcoholism and have dual diagnosis with other psychiatric conditions, such as clinical or bipolar depression, obsessive- compulsive, borderline personality and other disorders.
Whatever its nature, its “cause” and whatever plan a sufferer adopts to win the long battle for recovery, the only really important thing is sobriety, the greatest gift of all- freedom from chemical slavery and restoration of one’s “true” self. Then one can say with the Rev. Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Thank God Almighty! I’m free at last!”
W.
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Originally Posted by wpainterw 
Alcoholism-What is It? What Causes It?
I understand that alcoholism, along with substance abuse, has been medically classified as a “disease”. Others have argued that the “disease” characterization is inappropriate and that alcoholism results from “character defects”. Recovery, they say, can come only if these are “removed” by a “higher power”. And some have said that “character defects” are the result, not the cause of alcoholism.
Could it be that all of this “black and white thinking” oversimplifies the nature of a complex illness (perhaps a better term than “disease” at least if the latter connotes something “catching” or contagious). However described, if this implies that there is no voluntary element in suffering or recovery from alcoholism that too may be mistaken. Alcoholism may result simply from excess of pleasure seeking to achieve a “buzz” just as obesity may (but does not always) result from gluttony. The same is true for recovery. That is rarely if ever achieved if the patient remains merely passive and expects to be “cured” exclusively by medicine, like mumps or measles. An alcoholic should voluntarily abstain from alcohol, just as a diabetic should omit or regulate the intake of sugar.
As for “causation” I understand that recent research indicates that a substantial percentage of the etiology is genetic (approximately 60 percent is mentioned). There are other “cultural” factors, like being born into a “toxic” or “abusive” family. Thus the illness has been called a “family” disease. The patient’s neighborhood often plays an important part. Becoming an alcoholic or drug addict must be easier in some neighborhoods. This includes colleges and even high schools for many. And those who have become ill for other reasons, and have to spend some time in hospitals and recovery centers, may become addicted to prescription painkillers, such as oxycontin and oxycodone.
As to recovery, that must be harder if family members are addicted or if there are drug dealers down on the corner. Recovery becomes increasingly harder as the illness progresses (for it certainly does progress with age as well as amount and frequency of intake). The human body in its own miraculous way adapts to the toxic substance and changes its physiology and neurology. It comes to “demand” the substance and if the amount is diminished or discontinued then certain sectors of the brain cooperate (the “AV”) in inducing an already numbed cerebral cortex to cause the patient to take that “first drink” and start down the ever more slippery slope.
In summary, alcoholism is a complex illness, with a complex and multifaceted etiology. In addition, patients today suffer less often than in the past from simple alcoholism and have dual diagnosis with other psychiatric conditions, such as clinical or bipolar depression, obsessive- compulsive, borderline personality and other disorders.
Whatever its nature, its “cause” and whatever plan a sufferer adopts to win the long battle for recovery, the only really important thing is sobriety, the greatest gift of all- freedom from chemical slavery and restoration of one’s “true” self. Then one can say with the Rev. Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Thank God Almighty! I’m free at last!”
W.
I understand that alcoholism, along with substance abuse, has been medically classified as a “disease”. Others have argued that the “disease” characterization is inappropriate and that alcoholism results from “character defects”. Recovery, they say, can come only if these are “removed” by a “higher power”. And some have said that “character defects” are the result, not the cause of alcoholism.
Could it be that all of this “black and white thinking” oversimplifies the nature of a complex illness (perhaps a better term than “disease” at least if the latter connotes something “catching” or contagious). However described, if this implies that there is no voluntary element in suffering or recovery from alcoholism that too may be mistaken. Alcoholism may result simply from excess of pleasure seeking to achieve a “buzz” just as obesity may (but does not always) result from gluttony. The same is true for recovery. That is rarely if ever achieved if the patient remains merely passive and expects to be “cured” exclusively by medicine, like mumps or measles. An alcoholic should voluntarily abstain from alcohol, just as a diabetic should omit or regulate the intake of sugar.
As for “causation” I understand that recent research indicates that a substantial percentage of the etiology is genetic (approximately 60 percent is mentioned). There are other “cultural” factors, like being born into a “toxic” or “abusive” family. Thus the illness has been called a “family” disease. The patient’s neighborhood often plays an important part. Becoming an alcoholic or drug addict must be easier in some neighborhoods. This includes colleges and even high schools for many. And those who have become ill for other reasons, and have to spend some time in hospitals and recovery centers, may become addicted to prescription painkillers, such as oxycontin and oxycodone.
As to recovery, that must be harder if family members are addicted or if there are drug dealers down on the corner. Recovery becomes increasingly harder as the illness progresses (for it certainly does progress with age as well as amount and frequency of intake). The human body in its own miraculous way adapts to the toxic substance and changes its physiology and neurology. It comes to “demand” the substance and if the amount is diminished or discontinued then certain sectors of the brain cooperate (the “AV”) in inducing an already numbed cerebral cortex to cause the patient to take that “first drink” and start down the ever more slippery slope.
In summary, alcoholism is a complex illness, with a complex and multifaceted etiology. In addition, patients today suffer less often than in the past from simple alcoholism and have dual diagnosis with other psychiatric conditions, such as clinical or bipolar depression, obsessive- compulsive, borderline personality and other disorders.
Whatever its nature, its “cause” and whatever plan a sufferer adopts to win the long battle for recovery, the only really important thing is sobriety, the greatest gift of all- freedom from chemical slavery and restoration of one’s “true” self. Then one can say with the Rev. Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Thank God Almighty! I’m free at last!”
W.
Very true.
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Very insightful post.. yes it's complex, as are all addictions. In my case, removing the alcohol simply allowed other addictions to manifest themselves. Any distraction from reality was acceptable to my brain, which was seeking relief from anxiety, frustration, and emotional pain. I had to look deeper, peeling back the onion.
Research, therapy, online participation here at SR.. ultimately it has taken more than insight to find peace of mind, but rather a spiritual solution instead. Working the 12 steps to let go of ego and accept a higher power, being grateful, and learning humility is bringing more peace than trying to figure out all the technical reasons why I was so dysfunctional. I had to get out of my head. That's where the problems originated.
Research, therapy, online participation here at SR.. ultimately it has taken more than insight to find peace of mind, but rather a spiritual solution instead. Working the 12 steps to let go of ego and accept a higher power, being grateful, and learning humility is bringing more peace than trying to figure out all the technical reasons why I was so dysfunctional. I had to get out of my head. That's where the problems originated.
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Originally Posted by advbike
Very insightful post.. yes it's complex, as are all addictions. In my case, removing the alcohol simply allowed other addictions to manifest themselves. Any distraction from reality was acceptable to my brain, which was seeking relief from anxiety, frustration, and emotional pain. I had to look deeper, peeling back the onion.
Research, therapy, online participation here at SR.. ultimately it has taken more than insight to find peace of mind, but rather a spiritual solution instead. Working the 12 steps to let go of ego and accept a higher power, being grateful, and learning humility is bringing more peace than trying to figure out all the technical reasons why I was so dysfunctional. I had to get out of my head. That's where the problems originated.
Research, therapy, online participation here at SR.. ultimately it has taken more than insight to find peace of mind, but rather a spiritual solution instead. Working the 12 steps to let go of ego and accept a higher power, being grateful, and learning humility is bringing more peace than trying to figure out all the technical reasons why I was so dysfunctional. I had to get out of my head. That's where the problems originated.
Bill.
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Originally Posted by madgirl
"Old men ought to be explorers" - your post made me think of the T.S. Eliot poem. 
The whole work is hard to digest (for me) but I love that beautiful line and thought.
The whole work is hard to digest (for me) but I love that beautiful line and thought.And that's a nice looking dog you have!
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I liked your post wpainterw.
I am not one for statistics either , I always ask " according to who ? "
Ive noticed that there are a few more than usual posts this past week asking/telling about the why,s and how,s alcoholism/addictions .
Why me ? how did this happen ? is of no consequence to me now @ age 60 all I know is I can't drink alcohol again .
Thanks
I am not one for statistics either , I always ask " according to who ? "
Ive noticed that there are a few more than usual posts this past week asking/telling about the why,s and how,s alcoholism/addictions .
Why me ? how did this happen ? is of no consequence to me now @ age 60 all I know is I can't drink alcohol again .
Thanks
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Well said Thomas59! Especially when you wrote, "It is of no consequence to me now @ age 60 all I know is I can't drink alcohol again." Even if everything disappears, if it all should end, go down waving the proud flag of sobriety. That is the true "consequence", what really matters!
W.
W.
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P.S. Some may say “Why do I need to think about “what alcoholism is or what ‘causes’ it? The thing I have to focus on is that I can never drink again and must follow a plan to make sure that I never have a slip or relapse!”
Of course not drinking is the main object. Sobriety all important. And to attain that end it does little good merely to “read about” alcohol and its causes and/or to sit back and say, “It’s a ‘disease’ and that means that it’s a health situation that only the doctors can cure. So all I have to do is get good doctors and let them tell me what to do.”
Every alcoholic or substance addict should get good medical help but he or she should also have a “plan” which requires personal initiative. You have to get a shovel, know how to use it and start digging your way out, not digging in deeper.
So what good does knowing what alcoholism or addiction “is” if you have good medical help, a plan and a shovel? Is anything else just “stinkin’ thinkin’? It is if you just rely on books and doctors. But if you have the plan and shovel then knowing something about alcoholism and its causes may help a lot with overcoming shame and humiliation which usually accompanies being haunted by the past, particularly if influenced by those (and there are many) who cling to old ideas of “It’s just his/her own fault. Drank himself to death. A failure. Never was able to get a good grip himself. Got what he deserved. Nothing but a fall down gutter drunk!”
Yes, a few folks still talk like this and more even think like this. Genetics, cultural setting, parental abuse, “dual diagnosis”, etc. they think just avoids the blunt reality that he’s just been a “bad boy”, should be “ashamed of himself”. And “the leopard never loses its spots.”
Do they talk this way about diabetes? That a person has to avoid sugar, no matter how nice it is? Obesity (maybe some prejudice as to what they call “gluttony”)? Deformity?
I recall an earlier thread I put up on “Shame, Gossip, etc.” Knowing what alcoholism is and what causes it may help with that!
So don’t turn your brain off completely when someone says, “Stinkin’ Thinkin’!” Don’t throw away the books! See the doc, form a plan, get a shovel, dig your way up and out to freedom, happiness and sunshine. The past is past. Gossip will always be there. One of those things that you “cannot change”.
Of course not drinking is the main object. Sobriety all important. And to attain that end it does little good merely to “read about” alcohol and its causes and/or to sit back and say, “It’s a ‘disease’ and that means that it’s a health situation that only the doctors can cure. So all I have to do is get good doctors and let them tell me what to do.”
Every alcoholic or substance addict should get good medical help but he or she should also have a “plan” which requires personal initiative. You have to get a shovel, know how to use it and start digging your way out, not digging in deeper.
So what good does knowing what alcoholism or addiction “is” if you have good medical help, a plan and a shovel? Is anything else just “stinkin’ thinkin’? It is if you just rely on books and doctors. But if you have the plan and shovel then knowing something about alcoholism and its causes may help a lot with overcoming shame and humiliation which usually accompanies being haunted by the past, particularly if influenced by those (and there are many) who cling to old ideas of “It’s just his/her own fault. Drank himself to death. A failure. Never was able to get a good grip himself. Got what he deserved. Nothing but a fall down gutter drunk!”
Yes, a few folks still talk like this and more even think like this. Genetics, cultural setting, parental abuse, “dual diagnosis”, etc. they think just avoids the blunt reality that he’s just been a “bad boy”, should be “ashamed of himself”. And “the leopard never loses its spots.”
Do they talk this way about diabetes? That a person has to avoid sugar, no matter how nice it is? Obesity (maybe some prejudice as to what they call “gluttony”)? Deformity?
I recall an earlier thread I put up on “Shame, Gossip, etc.” Knowing what alcoholism is and what causes it may help with that!
So don’t turn your brain off completely when someone says, “Stinkin’ Thinkin’!” Don’t throw away the books! See the doc, form a plan, get a shovel, dig your way up and out to freedom, happiness and sunshine. The past is past. Gossip will always be there. One of those things that you “cannot change”.
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Yeah.
For me it turns out that it doesn't matter. Is it a disease or not? Don't care. Is it genetic or not? Don't care. The question is, "Do I want to DO something about it?"
Thankfully, I got to the place where I did. Freedom is pretty freaking awesome.
For me it turns out that it doesn't matter. Is it a disease or not? Don't care. Is it genetic or not? Don't care. The question is, "Do I want to DO something about it?"
Thankfully, I got to the place where I did. Freedom is pretty freaking awesome.
Giving up is NOT an option.
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Location: Western Wisconsin
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I think it does help some people (me included) to know that alcoholism is a complex disease, with a strong genetic component, and that it is not just some "moral failing." There are still many people out there who do not understand addiction, and will judge us as being "weak" or "bad" with no willpower. I even felt that way about myself for a long time before I got help and quit. I "knew" that I wasn't a bad person, and that my drinking had been out of my control for some time, but I still came down pretty hard on myself. Understanding more about my disease from a scientific perspective has helped me not feel ashamed. Other people may still judge me or gossip about me, but I just don't much care about that anymore. And I'll gladly explain what I know about addiction to anyone who asks me.
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Originally Posted by mfanch
Yeah.
For me it turns out that it doesn't matter. Is it a disease or not? Don't care. Is it genetic or not? Don't care. The question is, "Do I want to DO something about it?"
Thankfully, I got to the place where I did. Freedom is pretty freaking awesome.
For me it turns out that it doesn't matter. Is it a disease or not? Don't care. Is it genetic or not? Don't care. The question is, "Do I want to DO something about it?"
Thankfully, I got to the place where I did. Freedom is pretty freaking awesome.
W.
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Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
WP, it seems to me that alcoholism is a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol, an addiction much like many others. We become addicted by developing a tolerance to the effects of alcohol, primary of which is an elevated level of dopamine. It is caused by continued consumption of alcohol over long periods of time.
Why need make this more complicated than this?
FWIW, I have over three decades of experience that says I can drink alcohol just fine - I drank every day, all day, near the end. However, I have decided that is something I will no longer do. A choice.
Why need make this more complicated than this?
FWIW, I have over three decades of experience that says I can drink alcohol just fine - I drank every day, all day, near the end. However, I have decided that is something I will no longer do. A choice.
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Originally Posted by freshstart57
WP, it seems to me that alcoholism is a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol, an addiction much like many others. We become addicted by developing a tolerance to the effects of alcohol, primary of which is an elevated level of dopamine. It is caused by continued consumption of alcohol over long periods of time.
Why need make this more complicated than this?
FWIW, I have over three decades of experience that says I can drink alcohol just fine - I drank every day, all day, near the end. However, I have decided that is something I will no longer do. A choice.
Why need make this more complicated than this?
FWIW, I have over three decades of experience that says I can drink alcohol just fine - I drank every day, all day, near the end. However, I have decided that is something I will no longer do. A choice.
I have now 28 years of sobriety. Now the only thing I can do with my remaining years, which are few, is to try to help others. If it has been no help to you then perhaps there are some who may feel a little better, a little less shame, humiliation, less "disgrace", less regret. I hope so.
W.
Last edited by wpainterw; 09-14-2016 at 01:38 PM. Reason: Shame, Regret
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