Is Alcoholism Really A Disease???
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 773
Is Alcoholism Really A Disease???
I am curious to know if you really believe in the disease concept? I have to tell you though I'm the alcoholic/drug addict. It has taken me about 5 years and 4 treatments to believe that it's really a disease. A relative of mine had 20+ years of sobriety and started to drink again. It took him only about 9 months to hit bottom again. I believe some alcoholics can use the disease concept as an excuse though.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 4,290
This comes up periodically in here.
My opinion is that addiction is a disease with elements of choice. The addict can choose to fight the disease or not. I also beleive there is a genetic aspect to addiction, a predisposition to addictive behaviors. It does seem to run in families. But genetic predisposition is not the same as a cause since families can have those who are addicts and those who are not. I also do not view addiction as the same sort of disease as diseases such as cancer or the flu. There is a difference.
I do not accept people using the disease aspect of addiction as an excuse personally. Anymore than I allow myself to use my having grown up in an alcoholic household as an excuse for my choices and behaviors.
My opinion is that addiction is a disease with elements of choice. The addict can choose to fight the disease or not. I also beleive there is a genetic aspect to addiction, a predisposition to addictive behaviors. It does seem to run in families. But genetic predisposition is not the same as a cause since families can have those who are addicts and those who are not. I also do not view addiction as the same sort of disease as diseases such as cancer or the flu. There is a difference.
I do not accept people using the disease aspect of addiction as an excuse personally. Anymore than I allow myself to use my having grown up in an alcoholic household as an excuse for my choices and behaviors.
Don't get undies in a bunch
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore MA
Posts: 7,120
Originally Posted by tiburon88 
I believe some alcoholics can use the disease concept as an excuse though.
Rude is rude. Disease or not.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 196
I really like to refer to it as more of an addiction. When my husband was verbally abusive this past summer, it was more of a beast (okay, Mr. Devil, it is time to leave my husband).
Sometimes, it is excuse to say that it is a disease because you have a choice to drink. It is not that you just got cancer. However, when my husband did start to take his recovery seriously, it was easier to see it as a disease--you see the withdraw symptoms, you see how they handle their life socially when they are in recovery.
But now that it has been a couple of months and he has had a relapse in January and another relapse in March--it is back to just being an excuse. He has been unemployed since last June--Where is the humility????Can he just go get any job and say 'Would you like fries with that'?
I went to an AA meeting in support of husband last Saturday and it seemed like a couple of the people there were talking about the pain that they were in and how alcohol used to be a way to deal with that. Humility though is really important in an alcoholic's recovery.
Sometimes, it is excuse to say that it is a disease because you have a choice to drink. It is not that you just got cancer. However, when my husband did start to take his recovery seriously, it was easier to see it as a disease--you see the withdraw symptoms, you see how they handle their life socially when they are in recovery.
But now that it has been a couple of months and he has had a relapse in January and another relapse in March--it is back to just being an excuse. He has been unemployed since last June--Where is the humility????Can he just go get any job and say 'Would you like fries with that'?
I went to an AA meeting in support of husband last Saturday and it seemed like a couple of the people there were talking about the pain that they were in and how alcohol used to be a way to deal with that. Humility though is really important in an alcoholic's recovery.
PADRE
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LONG BEACH
Posts: 9
Is Alcoholism Really A Disease ?
IS ALCOHOLISM REALLY A DISEASE? LETS SEE-
"disease\di-'zez\n: an impairment of the normal state of the living body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition), to specific infective agents (as viruses), to inherent defects of the organism(as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors." Langenscheidt
An impairment of the normal state of the living body (like driving or working impaired) or one of its parts (like the brain) that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions (like eating, sex or thinking) andis a response to environmental factors (like repeatedly ingesting a toxic fluid), (malnutrition)* to infective agents (like hep b or c, HIV, upper resperatory infections), to inherent defects (character defects) of the organism (alergy that causes a dependency on what makes it sick) (genetic anomolies), or to combinations of these factors. PADRE'
OR HOWS' 'BOUT; "ALCOHOLISM:1 : continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks. 2a:poisoning by alcohol 2b: a chronic progressive, potentially fatal, psychological and nutritional disorder associativd with excessive and usu. compulsivedrinking of ethanol and charccterized by frequent intoxication leading to dependence on or addiction to the substance,..." it goes on and on, liver disease, withdrawl etc.
Langenscheidt Merriam-Webster
I guess its' a disease alright!
:
"disease\di-'zez\n: an impairment of the normal state of the living body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition), to specific infective agents (as viruses), to inherent defects of the organism(as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors." Langenscheidt
An impairment of the normal state of the living body (like driving or working impaired) or one of its parts (like the brain) that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions (like eating, sex or thinking) andis a response to environmental factors (like repeatedly ingesting a toxic fluid), (malnutrition)* to infective agents (like hep b or c, HIV, upper resperatory infections), to inherent defects (character defects) of the organism (alergy that causes a dependency on what makes it sick) (genetic anomolies), or to combinations of these factors. PADRE'
OR HOWS' 'BOUT; "ALCOHOLISM:1 : continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks. 2a:poisoning by alcohol 2b: a chronic progressive, potentially fatal, psychological and nutritional disorder associativd with excessive and usu. compulsivedrinking of ethanol and charccterized by frequent intoxication leading to dependence on or addiction to the substance,..." it goes on and on, liver disease, withdrawl etc.
Langenscheidt Merriam-Webster
I guess its' a disease alright!
:
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 225
Yes, I believe that it is a disease whole-heartedly. First of all, I have had a lot to drink in my day, and it just never ended up affecting me the same way as it does an alcoholic. No choice, no good decisions on my part, were involved at all. Just the way that it is.
I don't really see how it being a disease is an excuse. It's just what it is. Mental illness is a disease, I don't see that people are using it as an excuse if they go off their meds, or stop treatment. It's an understandable tragedy. It messes their lives up, it messes up other people's lives, but that's just life, and it's not done out of spite.
I don't really see how it being a disease is an excuse. It's just what it is. Mental illness is a disease, I don't see that people are using it as an excuse if they go off their meds, or stop treatment. It's an understandable tragedy. It messes their lives up, it messes up other people's lives, but that's just life, and it's not done out of spite.
Today's Muse
Join Date: May 2007
Location: West end
Posts: 1,081
It doesn't matter what it is. All I know is that alcohol creates a problem for me. When I don't drink, I function. When I do drink, I don't. It is what it is. Now...what is it going to be? It is about choices.
I think the confusion gets caught between active drinking and not. When I'm drinking, the disease takes hold and I lose my power of choice. I can't drink, I can not drink. When I'm free from alcohol, I function well in society. When I drink, I exhibit all sorts of unacceptable behavior that does not normally manifest while sober. Being an alcoholic is not an excuse for bad behavior. In fact, isn't it to be expected? Drinking and unacceptable behavior go hand in hand.
Call it a addiction, a malady, a disease, an alergy....whatever. It still boils down to this, my body can not tolerate alcohol. If I indulge, it will ruin me one way or another.
I think the confusion gets caught between active drinking and not. When I'm drinking, the disease takes hold and I lose my power of choice. I can't drink, I can not drink. When I'm free from alcohol, I function well in society. When I drink, I exhibit all sorts of unacceptable behavior that does not normally manifest while sober. Being an alcoholic is not an excuse for bad behavior. In fact, isn't it to be expected? Drinking and unacceptable behavior go hand in hand.
Call it a addiction, a malady, a disease, an alergy....whatever. It still boils down to this, my body can not tolerate alcohol. If I indulge, it will ruin me one way or another.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Kansas
Posts: 10,182
Originally Posted by PrettyViolets
But now that it has been a couple of months and he has had a relapse in January and another relapse in March--it is back to just being an excuse. He has been unemployed since last June--Where is the humility????Can he just go get any job and say 'Would you like fries with that'? .
The disease concept helped me understand why I did what I did, and I am convinced I have a daily reprieve from that disease.
The disease concept does NOT excuse what I have done in the past, and it's my responsibility to clear the wreckage of the past and make amends as best as I can.
If I relapse, then shame on me
No excuse will do.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Jungle
Posts: 5,435
I do believe that the result of drinking can be the disease of alcoholism (and other diseases, i.e. cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, mental illness, etc.). Much like smoking can cause the disease of lung cancer (or other diseases, i.e., emphysema). Drinking is not the disease just as smoking is not the disease. Some people get cancer from smoking--but not everyone. Some people get the disease of alcoholism from drinking--but not everyone.
People have the choice to smoke but they do not have the choice of getting (or not getting) cancer. People have the choice to drink but they do not have the choice of becoming or not becoming an alcoholic.
I don't believe that anyone sets out with the intent to become an alcoholic anymore than someone who smokes sets out to get cancer. The question is......why on earth would anyone START smoking with the knowledge that it could result in cancer. Why on earth would someone CONTINUE to smoke knowing full well that they are damaging their health? Addiction. Why on earth would anyone START to drink if there is a chance that they could become an alcoholic. Why on earth would anyone CONTINUE to drink when it is destroying their lives? Addiction. Why? Because it is the nature of people.....particularly young people. They are invinsible......it can't happen to them. But it does.
Do we feel compassion for the cancer victim that has been smoking since they were 15? Should we feel compassion for the alcoholic who has been drinking since they were 15? Do we feel more compassion for the smoker than the drinker because cancer is recognized universally as a disease?
Bottom line.......alcoholism........it is a disease......an insidious disease. It is progressive and it will result in premature death if it is not treated.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
(By the way.....I am wearing my flame proof suit so I won't take offense to anyone who disagrees with me. We'll just agree to disagree.)
gentle hugs
People have the choice to smoke but they do not have the choice of getting (or not getting) cancer. People have the choice to drink but they do not have the choice of becoming or not becoming an alcoholic.
I don't believe that anyone sets out with the intent to become an alcoholic anymore than someone who smokes sets out to get cancer. The question is......why on earth would anyone START smoking with the knowledge that it could result in cancer. Why on earth would someone CONTINUE to smoke knowing full well that they are damaging their health? Addiction. Why on earth would anyone START to drink if there is a chance that they could become an alcoholic. Why on earth would anyone CONTINUE to drink when it is destroying their lives? Addiction. Why? Because it is the nature of people.....particularly young people. They are invinsible......it can't happen to them. But it does.
Do we feel compassion for the cancer victim that has been smoking since they were 15? Should we feel compassion for the alcoholic who has been drinking since they were 15? Do we feel more compassion for the smoker than the drinker because cancer is recognized universally as a disease?
Bottom line.......alcoholism........it is a disease......an insidious disease. It is progressive and it will result in premature death if it is not treated.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
(By the way.....I am wearing my flame proof suit so I won't take offense to anyone who disagrees with me. We'll just agree to disagree.)
gentle hugs
Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Minneapolis, Mn. Minnesota Alligator Controll
Posts: 286
Stages
In the early stages of alcoholism It is a matter of choices
this Is what we mostly see today, the skidrow drunk has all
but disappered. the latter stages are insanity & eventual death.
choice is long gone, DTs are early warning signs of the latter stages, accute alcoholism, very very hard to arrest. All stages are still there and quite easy to achieveJust keep drinking.
MANY MANY sientists and doctors have recognized it as A
dissease therefore that is what it is. And if it were not considered a dissease,
YOU would be paying for treatment, counseling, & meds. rather than your insurance Co. No one is immune to the effects of alcohol some people are just not interested or never develop a taste for it.
All the insanity still awaits for an alcoholic, how bad do you want to get.
PS the #1 symptom is denial
this Is what we mostly see today, the skidrow drunk has all
but disappered. the latter stages are insanity & eventual death.
choice is long gone, DTs are early warning signs of the latter stages, accute alcoholism, very very hard to arrest. All stages are still there and quite easy to achieveJust keep drinking.
MANY MANY sientists and doctors have recognized it as A
dissease therefore that is what it is. And if it were not considered a dissease,
YOU would be paying for treatment, counseling, & meds. rather than your insurance Co. No one is immune to the effects of alcohol some people are just not interested or never develop a taste for it.
All the insanity still awaits for an alcoholic, how bad do you want to get.
PS the #1 symptom is denial
Last edited by geees poncho; 04-15-2008 at 07:25 PM.
play the tape all the way thru
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 480
While we are on the subject I have a question.
Does the alcoholic start back up where they left off if they were in recovery for a few years, and then went back to drinking? Meaning will they immediately go back to where they left off as far as how much they were drinking prior to stopping and going into recovery?
I have heard this before, but am wondering how that would be possible?
Thanks
Does the alcoholic start back up where they left off if they were in recovery for a few years, and then went back to drinking? Meaning will they immediately go back to where they left off as far as how much they were drinking prior to stopping and going into recovery?
I have heard this before, but am wondering how that would be possible?
Thanks
Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,322
I believe it is a disease. I also think it is hereditary, like many diseases, and certain family members are more susceptible to it than others. Just like breast cancer, or heart disease. When they check your medical history at the doctor's office, they ask which family members had what or died of what. I think alcoholism should be on that list if it is not already.
And yes, Lex, that does happen. I'm not sure what the medical explanation is, but they start up right at the level they had stopped, and it happens pretty quickly.
And yes, Lex, that does happen. I'm not sure what the medical explanation is, but they start up right at the level they had stopped, and it happens pretty quickly.
Don't get undies in a bunch
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore MA
Posts: 7,120
BC
This topic comes up every so often and the same replies get posted every time.
What it comes down to...disease or not, some of us find that alcohol screws up our life, so we search for ways to handle it.
If it was just a choice that we could just stop... there would be no talk if it was a disease or not. Some of us may be able to just stop but many find that is something we just couldn't do on our own.
Disease or not...we are all here to find answers to a better way of life...a sober life.
This topic comes up every so often and the same replies get posted every time.
What it comes down to...disease or not, some of us find that alcohol screws up our life, so we search for ways to handle it.
If it was just a choice that we could just stop... there would be no talk if it was a disease or not. Some of us may be able to just stop but many find that is something we just couldn't do on our own.
Disease or not...we are all here to find answers to a better way of life...a sober life.
Don't get undies in a bunch
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Shore MA
Posts: 7,120
Originally Posted by lexusgirl
While we are on the subject I have a question.
Does the alcoholic start back up where they left off if they were in recovery for a few years, and then went back to drinking? Meaning will they immediately go back to where they left off as far as how much they were drinking prior to stopping and going into recovery?
I have heard this before, but am wondering how that would be possible?
Thanks
Does the alcoholic start back up where they left off if they were in recovery for a few years, and then went back to drinking? Meaning will they immediately go back to where they left off as far as how much they were drinking prior to stopping and going into recovery?
I have heard this before, but am wondering how that would be possible?
Thanks
It would take me about a week to catch up. (proved it once a long time ago)
Today I would be a two beer drunk. Give me a week and I am sure I could hold down a 12 pack or more.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: behind the viewfinder...
Posts: 6,278
Originally Posted by Kindeyes
I do believe that the result of drinking can be the disease of alcoholism (and other diseases, i.e. cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, mental illness, etc.). Much like smoking can cause the disease of lung cancer (or other diseases, i.e., emphysema). Drinking is not the disease just as smoking is not the disease. Some people get cancer from smoking--but not everyone. Some people get the disease of alcoholism from drinking--but not everyone.
People have the choice to smoke but they do not have the choice of getting (or not getting) cancer. People have the choice to drink but they do not have the choice of becoming or not becoming an alcoholic.
I don't believe that anyone sets out with the intent to become an alcoholic anymore than someone who smokes sets out to get cancer. The question is......why on earth would anyone START smoking with the knowledge that it could result in cancer. Why on earth would someone CONTINUE to smoke knowing full well that they are damaging their health? Addiction. Why on earth would anyone START to drink if there is a chance that they could become an alcoholic. Why on earth would anyone CONTINUE to drink when it is destroying their lives? Addiction. Why? Because it is the nature of people.....particularly young people. They are invinsible......it can't happen to them. But it does.
Do we feel compassion for the cancer victim that has been smoking since they were 15? Should we feel compassion for the alcoholic who has been drinking since they were 15? Do we feel more compassion for the smoker than the drinker because cancer is recognized universally as a disease?
Bottom line.......alcoholism........it is a disease......an insidious disease. It is progressive and it will result in premature death if it is not treated.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
(By the way.....I am wearing my flame proof suit so I won't take offense to anyone who disagrees with me. We'll just agree to disagree.)
gentle hugs
People have the choice to smoke but they do not have the choice of getting (or not getting) cancer. People have the choice to drink but they do not have the choice of becoming or not becoming an alcoholic.
I don't believe that anyone sets out with the intent to become an alcoholic anymore than someone who smokes sets out to get cancer. The question is......why on earth would anyone START smoking with the knowledge that it could result in cancer. Why on earth would someone CONTINUE to smoke knowing full well that they are damaging their health? Addiction. Why on earth would anyone START to drink if there is a chance that they could become an alcoholic. Why on earth would anyone CONTINUE to drink when it is destroying their lives? Addiction. Why? Because it is the nature of people.....particularly young people. They are invinsible......it can't happen to them. But it does.
Do we feel compassion for the cancer victim that has been smoking since they were 15? Should we feel compassion for the alcoholic who has been drinking since they were 15? Do we feel more compassion for the smoker than the drinker because cancer is recognized universally as a disease?
Bottom line.......alcoholism........it is a disease......an insidious disease. It is progressive and it will result in premature death if it is not treated.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
(By the way.....I am wearing my flame proof suit so I won't take offense to anyone who disagrees with me. We'll just agree to disagree.)
gentle hugs
Thank you,
L
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
