Jazzman

I think both yes and no.
I think yes because insurance covering rehab makes it an option to more people.
I think no because some addicts and loved ones use it as an excuse or crutch.

Bottom line is how does the understanding/classification help you? In my case it was helpful to come to terms with it in my own mind, but in reality it didn't make one bit of difference to the outcome of my story.

Florence

Yes it is. It's accepted by the medical community as a whole. I don't think this is up for debate anywhere in the scientific community. There is a ton of research showing the negative behaviors and compulsions are medically related, that it is physical and psychological, that the symptoms are chronic if untreated and that they change you for life. Diseases affect people physically as well as emotionally, they change their personalities -- same as with cancer, diabetes, or viral diseases like Hep C or HIV.

It meets every criteria for "disease" we have.

Whether or not addiction is a disease is a red herring, IMO. It's a reason to flog yourself for leaving or not leaving, when the real answer is accepting that the negative behavior you're tolerating is part and parcel of the disease, and the person with the illness is refusing treatment.

I mean, how long would you stay with an HIV positive partner who refused to take anti-virals? How about a partner with a blood-borne cancer that refused chemo? Or a partner with broken teeth who refused to see a dentist? People with diabetes have to do their blood sugar routine to stay healthy and whole. People with mental illnesses have to take their meds and get oversight from a treatment team to stay healthy and whole. People with addiction issues need the same AND they need to stay sober.

A person with a disease they REFUSE to manage is choosing to burden their partners, friends, and family, with worry and despair, no matter what the disease is.

LexieCat

I never met an alcoholic who needed to stretch too far to find an excuse.

OnawaMiniya

Good one

OnawaMiniya

Some here are saying that the debate is pointless, but here's something to consider: Anyone new to having an alcoholic in their lives, or even just someone seeking to understand things with more depth, it isn't pointless to them.

I do wish I had added "does the label of disease help or hurt an alcoholic?" to my original post.

So many excellent points being made here, by recovered alcoholics and those who have an alcoholic in their life...on both sides of opinion. Very interesting to me!

NoelleR

"...if it weren't true, then calling it a disease would not help anyone..."

Actually, there's some interesting economics behind this. By the AMA classifying alcoholism and addiction as diseases, insurance companies may cover them, and more folks may be able to afford treatment (it really ain't cheap).

Of course, the opposite is absolutely true, too. Take away the classification of disease; insurance companies wouldn't cover it; treatment would be out of reach for many (mebbe even most) folks; many treatment centers might close; more folks would be without work.........etc., etc., etc.

So, is it a disease or not........? It's an interesting conundrum, eh.........

(o:
NoelleR

wolfpackfan45

I believe it's a disease. Mental illness is also a disease. Of the brain. I believe alcoholism is a disease that originates in the brain. Classifying it as a disease doesn't give the alcoholic a license to drink at all. Anyone can develop some type of disease. But it's the patient's responsibility to treat that disease. Diabetics have to take their insulin and watch their diet and manic depressives need to see their therapists and take their meds. My husband has heart disease. He must watch is diet, take numerous meds, and see his Dr. to stay healthy. Compliance. It's the same with the disease of alcoholism. I see no difference and it doesn't seem quite right to treat it differently. The problem is that one of the symptoms of alcoholism is denial that there is a problem.

Sueski

Here is a related question: do you think that labeling it a disease affects whether we maintain or cut off our relationships with active alcoholics? In other words, does how we see the problem affect how we respond to its presence in our lives?

lillamy

Absolutely. If I'm seeing my A as a jerk who just refuses to quit drinking, I will treat him differently than if I see him as a person with a disease who has no insight into his illness and therefore refuses to seek treatment.

I will still make decisions regarding whether I want that person in my life based on his behavior, but I'm more likely to have compassion if I see him in the second light.

DreamsofSerenity

All the medical reasons for which it is classified as a disease make total sense to me. However my emotional reaction to my XA was nothing at all like an emotional reaction I'd have to someone with another type of disease. I suppose this would be true of any mental illnesses though.

What really convinced me the most that alcoholism is a disease was all the reading I have done on SR. How else do you explain the fact that the alcoholics in our lives act in such similar ways? Many times the crap that comes out of their mouths are like words from a script they are all given at the liquor store. To me there's no other explanation for these staggering similarities in behavior between people from every imaginable background, age, ethnicity, etc. than that their behavior is caused by the same disease.

Florence

DoS, this was groundbreaking for me. It knocked me right out if the exceptionalist, magical, super special snowflake thinking.

BadCompany

The words alcoholism and disease either mean something specific or they mean nothing at all. We don't get to alter reality because it is convenient or seems expedient. We are not voting on whether a painting is pretty or not. When I use the term active alcoholic i am talking about a person that will die if they do not stop drinking. That is the reality of alcoholism. If we just toss it out there and vote on the definition of that term, something important will be lost.

BadCompany

Wow. Just wow! Once a month I speak at a treatment center and have to field this question from time to time. I will be using your answer from now on.

LexieCat

Yeah, huge insight for me, too. I actually never thought of that, but it makes SOOO much sense.

Although the word geek in me (and twisted sense of humor) did smile at the phrase "staggering similarities."

OnawaMiniya

Conundrum, good way to put it. At least I think so. I'm still not sure what I would call it. I don't know if I'd say disease, or what. I do know is not as simple as "just" stopping. Our he would. In the rare and few moments of honesty, he has acknowledged that whether he's had a good or bad day, drinking always seems like a good idea. He has lost much to drinking. He'd "just stop" if he could so simply.

Which came first, the chicken or the eggnog?

Tamerua

Time and again, people compare it to cancer: I think it should be compared to bipolar or severe depression. It can affect mood and behavior and left untreated, pushes people away.

Slightly different topic, I was listening to NPR and they were discussing compulsive gambling. They took folks who were compulsive gamblers and folks who weren't and compared their brains' reactions to a "near win" on a slot machine. The compulsive gamblers brains registered the near wins as wins. I realize that isn't alcoholism, I just found that fascinating and think that there are probably a lot of addiction studies still out there or even yet to be done to explain all of this. I'm on my phone or I would post a link.

OnawaMiniya

Oh wow! That makes sense. Very interesting!

Justfor1

I have family members addicted and I struggle in and out of addiction. My take, which is not popular with most A's, is that no it's not a disease. There has never been proven a alcoholism gene. Cancer does not cause people to lie, steal, not work, endanger others, panhandle, ect...Interestingly enough, accepting and admitting I have a disease or a "drinking problem" has never kept me sober. In my struggles I'm beginning to accept that it is a moral problem. The majority of alcoholics I know were deceitful people long before they picked up a drink. However, if it helps the alcoholic recover than I'm all for them thinking otherwise.

allforcnm

I think alcoholism and drug addiction both need to be looked at like a "disease". For me, once I really started understanding the medical aspects of it, everything became clear. I always suggest people go to The National Institute of Drug Abuse website because they do an excellent job of explaining addiction, and talking about treatment. They also have so much information available to parents who are concerned about prevention for their kids. So many studies, and lots of research information that I find really fascinating.

allforcnm

Don't know if you have ever seen the movie Pleasure Unwoven, but it goes through the whole process of addiction, and it talks about how it can transfer between alcohol, drugs, gambling, and even codependency issues. I think it is interesting to look at the whole picture because often within a family there will be addiction but it takes on different forms. One person might be an alcoholic, another a workaholic, another drug addict, another codependent. And people don't always recognize lesser evils that still have addictive qualities like being a workaholic. There are YouTube clips of the Pleasure Unwoven movie on the f&f of substance abusers forum. They are in the sticky that talks about Addiction as a Complex Disease. Well worth the watch.