How is alcoholism a disease? - Al-Anon Family Group

searching4peace · Veteran Member

How is alcoholism a disease?

Mattie · ~*Service Worker*~

I think I have a slightly different way of understanding it than most people, so please do read others' responses for the more standard view.

The way I understand it, though, is that it's not a disease the way measles is a disease, but that we understand alcoholism using a disease model. It is like diabetes or epilepsy, or maybe even better, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, in that it requires an underlying genetic susceptibility, but then there also appear to be complex environmental factors that can trigger its appearance in those with the susceptibility. So if you have the genetics, you are vulnerable; but still not everyone will fall victim to it.

It is like schizophrenia and similar disorders in that part of the disorder is that it confuses the mind and keeps the person from seeing clearly that they have a disorder at all.

To my mind, it does not mean that we give the alcoholic a free pass, just as we wouldn't give someone who refused to treat their diabetes a free pass. We would say, "It's too bad that you have this condition, but you need to get treatment for it, and stay with that treatment."

Where alcoholism isn't a "choice," the way I see it, is that we can just put down the bottle and walk away, but they can't. They can't treat their own condition by mere willpower, just as someone with diabetes or schizophrenia can't make themselves healthy by willpower. They need the right kind of treatment. In the case of alcoholism, they need a larger program of recovery (and they need to make the decision, by the day and by the minute, to stick with that program). It would be wonderful if it were just a matter of willpower and they could do it on their own. Thousands, even millions of alcoholics have tried. If it were do-able, it would be done all over the place. But it's not, which is why they need a program. That's their medicine.

I think it's harmful for us to go on believing that it's a moral issue, because then we keep getting impatient and resentful when they don't just stay sober on their own. That belief is just as fruitless as expecting a diabetic to control their blood sugar by willpower.

Since part of the syndrome (or disease) is the inability to perceive the situation clearly, it's as much of a bind as the schizophrenic who doesn't want to follow his treatment because he thinks he really is God. Delusion is part of the package. But sometimes alcoholics do hit bottom and decide they need to do whatever it takes to make life better. Larger clarity seems to come in stages after that, as they work the steps.

Alcoholism causes insanity, and we get sucked into that insanity too. That's why we need to get our own clarity, and our own programs of recovery.

I look forward to reading what others have to say. Take care of yourself and keep coming back.

Debilyn · ~*Service Worker*~

Being an addict is not self inflicted. It is in ones dna. The more addicts you have in you family of origin the more markers are in your dna. So the levels of the addiction can be stronger in some than in others.

A disease is a collection of symptoms. Being an addict has a collection of symptoms. No one chooses to be one

An addict is driven to want to use, or feed whatever addiction they have. They have no choice to just stop. They have to get to a certain place in their life that they will do anything to stop using. Some do some do not.They almost always need help to go into recovery.

Do you honestly believe a person could lose everything, their family, their home, their job, get in a car accident killing someone and choose to have this kind of behavior?

No they cannot just put it down. If they could you can believe they would. That's why we have rehab centers, AA, support groups, literature etc.

I researched addiction a lot through the years. You might want to look into it. It is very interesting. And for me it made me so much more compassionate to the addicts illness.

Love,deb

searching4peace · Veteran Member

Now I am more confused than ever. This seems to be directly in contrast with what AH's out patient program counselor said today. She said that he can control his drinking, that he is not an alcoholic because he was able to drink and go to work every day. That he can choose to not drink or drink less. And that there is no proof of genetic involvement. That he didn't need detox or a 'program'. She gave me a bunch of papers to read about alcohol and alcoholism and none of them discuss genetics or disease. Just symptoms and services offered. I don't understand at all.

It really sounds like she is saying he can just not drink or he can just drink less or just drink socially. That it's up to him. And that you only qualify as an alcoholic if you drink to the point of being incoherent daily and can't hold down a job. Even when I mentioned his Dad, Grandfather, Uncle and Brother are all alcoholics she didn't feel it had any bearing.

I'm getting two very different sets of information here. Is she just incompetent?

If there is genetic involvement then I can see the disease definition a lot more easily. And comparing it to something like bipolar is a little easier for me to grasp. So why wouldn't the only professional I've talked to about this give me any of this information?

Rhivenn · Member

Searching - just as with any medical diagnosis process, there are those professionals who aren't the right person to treat, or make a wrong diagnosis. My opinion is, that this woman is doing just that. To my understanding, you do NOT have to be incoherent and lose jobs, etc, to qualify as an alcoholic. My Abf has defined it very well for me: if you can walk away from a partially full drink, knowing you've had enough, then you're probably not an alcoholic. Those that have to drain that last one, and then follow it up with "just one more" probably are alcoholic. Binge drinkers can be A's. Fully functioning A's use their high functioning as an excuse, all over the world, every day. I've heard them speak of it at open AA meetings. It's also been explained to me as being similar to having an allergy. As in, the A is allergic to the alcohol; it makes them behave differently than those who don't have that intolerance. It doesn't rid them of responsibility in managing their disease appropriately - just like the diabetic who still eats cake every day. As for the counselor - she may not be incompetent, but you should seek a second opinion, just as you would with any other, life-altering, medical diagnosis.

Overcome · Senior Member

Searching~

I feel for you. I struggled with much the same questions when I came into the program that you are having now. I think that one of the things that really helped me "accept" that alcoholism was a disease and is genetic, was as a graduate student who was working on a Masters in Biology, I sat through a seminar which explained genetically the family history of alcoholism, from a scientific standpoint. So I don't know where your counselor is getting off on saying that it isn't genetic, when I sat and listened to a PhD say that it was.

Anyway, what helped me with the "disease" part of the question was two things, one was looking the definition up in The American Heritage Dictionary where it defined it as "a condition of an organism that impairs normal physiological function". I could see easily that the alcoholics in my life were "impaired" and I could also see how it was affecting them "physiologically" through the broken "spider veins" in the flushed face, to the blood-shot eyes, to the distended abdomen that indicated an affected liver...to my last alcoholic ex-husband who had (and still has) esophageal varices (look that one up) and also the physiological condition of "wet brain" (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome) these are REAL physiological conditions caused by alcoholism.

The second thing that helped me understand that alcoholism is a disease was someone telling me to break the word down to "dis" ease. The person affected by the disease of alcoholism is not at ease in their own skin, and that like them, we are effected by the disease of alcoholism, because we are at a "dis" ease when we are around them. It affects us in a dys-functional way without the al-anon program and they without the AA program.

I have heard many an alcoholic say that alcohol wasn't the problem, alcohol was the "solution". They couldn't deal with life on life's terms, so they turned to alcohol. The recovering alcoholic will tell you that it is a spiritual as well as a physical disease, and I believe this to be true, just as it effects us (the family) spiritually and physically. The way the family disease of alcoholism has effected me physically is the anxiety that it has brought in the past (anxiety attacks) because prior al-anon I didn't have "tools" to deal with it. I physically got sick (stomach aches, vomiting, headaches) all from stress. I also watched my mother-in-law who was married to my third ex-husband's acoholic/pedifilic father, literally break out in boils all over her head that had to be lanced due to her "denial" of the abuse at the hands of her husband to her son. The physical manifestations of this disease are REAL!!!

I've personally watched alcoholics that I love spiral into a deep, dark chasm of spiritual darkness. One alcoholic that I loved literally told me that he felt like "the devil had crawled inside of him" another repeatedly told me that "the devil wasn't going to get him". It was interesting, to me, that both the first alcoholic that I married and the last (I've been married 4 times to the disease of alcolism-that in itself is a testimony that I too carry the disease) alcoholic that I was married to mentioned the devil in context.

I just want to thank you searching4peace for posting this topic. It has helped me to put down in black and white why "I" personally feel that alcoholism is a disease. I hope some of my thoughts will help you and others as well. And may I add this as a last thought, if you seek peace you will find it, for he (or she) who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Overcome
.

Jerry F · ~*Service Worker*~

Aloha Searching...We use to read some of the AMA (American Medical Association)
description of alcoholism when I first got into program and rather than give you a
litany of sources it would be good to go do the research yourself. You sound like
you are where I was when I first got into recovery. I was taking alcoholism very
personally and up in my head without knowing anything about it and not knowing
that I wasn't knowing. You sound like you're ready to do the search and so I would
encourage you to do that. Sitting infront of me is one of my college texts; a paper
back titled "Under the Influence" by Milam and Ketcham. Yes I went to college to
find out about the disease aspect of alcoholism and drug addiction because I had
problems believing what I was hearing in the rooms of Al-Anon. My college education
confirmed what I was hearing in the rooms however please do your own investigation
because it will be much more worthwhile and you will be able to pass on the wisdom
to others. (((((hugs))))) smile

ythannah · Senior Member

Nothing underscored the fact that alcoholism is a disease more for me than watching my mother die from drinking. After two emergency hospitalizations due to alcoholism, she had been told in no uncertain terms that she could not drink any longer. Yet she absolutely could not stop, and eventually her liver failed.

Before her retirement, she managed to hold down a job very successfully -- partly due to her employer's generous sick time alotment, I'm sure. Some people dismiss the term "functional" alcoholic, but that's the best way for me to describe my parents' alcoholism: they managed their drinking carefully so that their work lives stayed intact. I'm sure they both suffered withdrawal symptoms all day, Monday to Friday, for many years.

Alcohol is a physically addictive substance; that is scientific fact. What really isn't clear is the mechanism by which some of us are more susceptible than others to falling under the spell of addiction. Genetics certainly play a role, as having an alcoholic relative correlates with a higher incidence of being one, but it's still not 100% -- with two alcoholic parents, I should be doomed, but I went in the other direction and don't drink at all (largely from fear). But MRI scans of addict brains show actual physical changes in key areas, most notably in parts of the brain relating to impulse control, so it's much much more than mere 'willpower'. At some point the choice to drink or not is being made by an altered, diseased brain and not a rational one.

searching4peace · Veteran Member

Thank you all for your responses. So much to think about here. And so much more research to do. I've spent a good portion of the day looking into addiction and alcoholism. I believe I've just got the tip of the iceberg. The more I look the more I find. Right now what I am very aware of is my ignorance. So much that I don't know. I'm going to do the research myself. Thank you all for giving me some good places to begin.

I am not sure what if anything I should do about AH's counselor. I feel like she is missing the mark on this. Just the little bit of research I was able to do today has me feeling very uncomfortable with her stance on it. I am very upset that she is telling my AH he can continue to drink. I feel like she is setting him up for failure. He went to this place to get support and help to stop drinking and he is being told he can continue to drink and he can control his drinking. No information I have found yet has said that an alcoholic can control their intake. If they could do that they wouldn't be alcoholics. And I haven't read anything yet that says he doesn't qualify as an alcoholic because he holds down a job.

I don't know how to handle this. Is this someplace I should just hold my tongue and let it play out? Would I be out of line to share my concerns with her or my husband? If they are both asking me to come to sessions and to participate does that mean I'm allowed to express concerns with the process or that I am expected to be there purely in a supportive role?

I need to get a few more f2f meetings in and dive into some literature. I feel very shaky and unsettled. Definitely feeling far from peaceful this evening. Maybe this is a good chance for me to practice step 1. I am powerless over my AH path to recovery. I am powerless over his choices and decisions. I am powerless over his drinking. These things aren't mine to control. I need to let them go.

Debilyn · ~*Service Worker*~

Hon were you in the room with him as his counselor talked?

After around 10 years of Al Anon and 5 years of college, I learned so much. Also my ex AH was very open with me. He was a very intelligent man.

He explained what makes altimatums not work, that A's hate Al Anon. He called his raving addict side, the other one.

You sound very intelligent too. It will be hard to see the truths of addict.

Its sad as it is like a timebomb waiting inside our kids. The ones who have the markers, are predisposed to being an addict. Soon as they use a drug including alcohol, they are caught up in the disease.

I could drink daily for months and be able to stop. Could smoke and just stop. An addict cannot. I don't have any known relatives that were addicts.

Yes some people use it to medicate their life. Sadly it makes their lives worse and when they want to stop, they find they can't.

They are no more weak than if they had any other disease.

Its great you are asking these questions. It also helps us to wake up those things again to share our experiences.

Addicts carry around so much guilt they cannot stand themselves.

again were you in the room or was A sharing what counselor said? love,deb

GailMichelle · ~*Service Worker*~

You have received many informative responses already. Like Jerry, I would suggest you reading the book "Under the Influence" by Milam, Ph.D and Ketcham.

In my opinion, this book answers your question.

I gave each of his family members a copy of this book when I sat down with them to tell them why I was leaving the marriage. I do not think any of them read the book. But I tried to offer them information that would have helped them understand his condition.

searching4peace · Veteran Member

No, I was there. Not taking anyone else's word for it. I was in the room myself. Bah :0(

Mattie · ~*Service Worker*~

Searching, I am dismayed to hear about this counselor.

I will say that there are several theories about alcoholism out there. As I understand it, the great majority of experts believe in the theory that AA and Al-Anon follow. Some experts like to refine pieces of the theory and so there are people who disagree on different details and so forth.

There have also been some organizations and recovery groups who have advocated for "controlled drinking." They say that with the right training and mindset, alcoholics can learn to control their drinking. The most promiment of these groups was founded by an alcoholic. (Frankly, all alcoholics maintain they can control their drinking -- despite massive evidence to the contrary -- so that makes alarm bells go off for me right there.) Anyway, after the founder killed someone drunk-driving, she announced that her theory about controlled drinking had been wrong. You'll no doubt find references to this theory and group if you read widely.

My own conviction about this is that of course there are some people who can control their drinking. Those people are called non-alcoholics. It's the people who fail to control it that we're really talking about.

My second point is that when I was trying to cope with my AH's drinking and the breakdown of my marriage, we went to a series of counselors. All of them were nice, earnest, smart people. I now see that none of them had sufficient experience to handle a drinking problem, even though they all said they did. They set my own recovery back a long way because I believed what they said. One believed everything my AH said about his drinking -- that it was moderate, that I was paranoid when I said he was lying and hiding his drinking, etc. One believed him when he said okay, he'd just quit -- she thought an alcoholic could just make the decision and poof! problem solved! None of them recommended AA or a recovery program. Even though he'd had two DUIs and lost his license for a year! I could go on, but the thought of their well-intentioned ignorance just makes me boil. To think how I trusted them, and how he got more ammunition about how I was just exaggerating the problems. I now even realize that a friend of mine who became a substance-abuse counselor has an alcohol problem himself! I'm sure he's not giving his clients very good advice.

So my point is just that even the nicest counselors sometimes just don't have the training or depth of understanding to handle this. I am dismayed to read that your H's counselor thinks being "functioning" means you can't have an alcohol problem, and the other misconceptions that alcoholics themselves use in their denial.

But as Jerry suggests, do check out further reading and see what conclusions you come to. As they say, knowledge is power! I hope you will find Al-Anon of use and keep coming back.

pinkchip · ~*Service Worker*~

I can try and expain this as an Alcoholic: That tendency to not be able to cope with emotions and to have the screwy thoughts that lead to wanting to check out and numb ourselves to reality is truly the disease of alcoholism. The actual drinking is a symptom. Alcoholism can go into remission through working a diligent and continuous AA program. This is the same as how diabetes can be kept in check with inslulin and/or diet. So...while it is a disease, leaving it untreated is a choice and I do understand where your frustration comes from. Unfortunately a person usually has to sink really low until they accept the label of alcoholic...I am not sure what it will take for your husband. Most of the sober folks I know in AA had their wives, husbands, or partners leave them due to their drinking. Many had several divorces due to their drinking... This is not to say you should or shouldn't leave him...that choice is up to you.

Years and years of drinking will cause a person to be extremely self-centered and to have little to no empathy or understanding of how they are hurting others. The amount of work it takes for an alcoholic to come to terms with the train wreck they created is often too much to handle so they relapse again and again...or never try and sober up cuz there is so much self-hate.

Yes...alcoholics are extraordinarily selfish by nature, that is why in AA we are pretty devout and focused on service because it directly combats the tendency to regress back into that... One of the only things I can tell you that might help you be more compassionate (not even saying you need to be cuz you have a right to be angry with him)...is that it is NOT fun to be addicted to alcohol to the point that it makes you sick, you can't deal with life, can't deal with stress, and are literally chained to a bottle for survival...and yet the thing that is giving you survival is also killing you. For me is was a nightmare. I know I hurt other people when I drank but I hurt myself worse than anyone believe it or not.

Keep taking care of you,

Mark

usedtobeanyer · Senior Member

I struggled with this concept myself for a while--I have a post on this very board basically asking the same questions you are. You've received some great responses from some very smart people here. All I can tell you is that the more you fight this concept of alcoholism being a disease, the harder this will be for you. I know it is a hard concept to grasp, but just understand that medical professionals have classified it as a disease. It is a disease. They can't control it, not without treatment and AA. Read the post written today by "Dizbee" about her 28 year old daughter. Your husband may not be at that stage yet, but reading that you can see how this is a disease.

I think most people have struggled with this concept when it was first mentioned to them, so you are not alone...

danielle0516 · Senior Member

Searching4peace,

I'm not sure how or when exactly I came to truly believe alcoholism was a disease...I think it was a gradual process, a combination of education (reading lots of books, Alanon, and reading addiction related info online) and watching my husband fall deeper and deeper into despair, losing almost everything: his job, his mental health, physical health, almost his life, finances destroyed, his sanity, his dignity, and now, almost me.

I came to really believe it had to be a disease, it just had to be - after all, what rational sane person would sit by and let this happen to their life? No logical person would continue to drink despite losing all of the above, despite almost dying.

My husband was the most loving, caring, compassionate person I had ever know - I watched him gradually become someone I did not recognize...a cruel, mean spirited, unbelievably selfish, insane, completely irrational person completely incapable of logical thought and reasoning. That's a sickness, a disease, a combination of symptoms that just took him over - body, mind and spirit.

I think, or for me anyway, part of my resistance to really believing it is a disease was the thought that: "well, if he loved me enough, he would stop".... the wanting to be loved enough, the wanting to be able to fix it, why couldn't I, why wasn't I enough? Love isn't enough. Doesn't matter how fairy-tale like that love was, how beautiful it was. It just isn't enough.

I totally understand your frustration with the therapist. I've been there. When my husband was about to leave a 2.5 week stay at a psych ward, we had a meeting with his psychiatrist. This psychiatrist told my husband that he could learn to moderate his drinking by learning to manage his anxiety - there are groups and programs available blah blah. Because the anxiety came first - it caused the drinking as a coping mechanism - so therefore, if the anxiety is managed, the drinking is too! Voila! puke.

I challenged the psychiatrist a little, but, all in all, I felt unprepared, and was totally caught off guard, not expecting that from a professional. If only I knew then was I know now I would have given him a piece of my 'education'! Most of all I was terrified and frustrated as I knew my husband would think this was his pass to go and drink. Nothing like the professionals backing him up. Drinking brought my husband to the psych ward b/c he became suicidal (as do many addicts). Also, I hate confrontation and that's something I need to work on, I need to learn to stand up for myself - that was also holding me back in dealing with my husband's psychiatrist...it's like I didn't want the doctor to hate me or something....or I felt bad using up his time or challenging him - yep, something I need to work on. I did challenge him a bit, but would quickly give up after his answer would take 10 minutes long rambling about 10 different things that I would forget what I brought up in the first place.

Thank you for posting this topic...it's a good one and I learned something from every response I read. I also just bought that Addictions book on Amazon - I haven't read that one yet.

Most significantly for me, I found when I started really believing and understanding addiction is a disease, I noticed a huge shift in my thinking. I went from resenting my husband and gossiping about his latest drunk escapades to deeply loving him despite this, and feeling compassion for him and his disease and the guilt, shame ect.. he is living with. I don't resent him anymore, I feel bad for him and I'm sorry he is struggling through this.

I hope you find your peace.

-Danielle

-- Edited by danielle0516 on Sunday 6th of March 2011 01:33:15 AM

searching4peace · Veteran Member

Thank you all for your responses. I'm not sure what I'll say to his counselor when I meet with her again. But I am so glad I posted this here. The analogies really help and I can use all the references as places to start my research. I think it may really just be a lack of experience on the counselor's part. I don't get the impression that she means any harm. But it does seem very much like she is putting the cart before the horse. Like she believes the stress and anxiety cause the drinking and that if he can learn to cope with those the drinking will stop. I think the drinking causes the stress and anxiety. And it needs to stop before those other issues can be addressed. I wonder if she has any experience with the AA or the concepts behind it.

danielle0516 · Senior Member

Hi Searching, I just had to reply to your last comment.

That is EXACTLY what my AH's psychiatrist said. That my husband always had GAD - General Anxiety Disorder, social anxiety, on and off bouts of depression, and so he drank as a coping mechanism...So, if those underlying issues (mental health) were addressed, then he wouldn't need to drink anymore, he could learn to drink like normal people. They people at the hospital and psych ward determined that mental health issues 'came first'...so, therefore lets address those and drinking would be ok. Ya, well, most people are not active alcoholics at 8 years old so DUH, of course mental health issues came first.

Even though deep down I knew that was crap, a part of me was relieved, and since slipping back into denial is so easy, and so I thought for a moment "oh yay, so he's not an alcoholic, just bad anxiety, we can deal with that!".

When I brought up AA, the psychiatrist said he supported it and thought my husband should go. BUT, suggesting that my husband could control his drinking if he managed his anxiety....well you don't drink in AA so... makes no sense.

I regret not being more assertive and standing up for what I believed to be true (that drinking, alcoholism, was at the root of my husband's mental break down). I wish I better informed myself before that meeting with his psychiatrist. I don't blame myself as I did the best with what I had and was dealing with so much at the time, but....I wish i knew then what I know now.

freeagain · Veteran Member

I watched a loved one die of the disease. I was a kid. I recognised him as sick. He smelled, he couldn't talk straight and he could barely walk. Who, in their right mind, would choose to live that way? And when the Dr's and the family told him he was going to die if he kept drinking and he still did....what else could that be??? When he was peeing blood and vomiting up bile and he could no longer take pleasure in his life. When he lost his kids and everyone was yelling at him to STOP DRINKING and still he couldn't....what else could that be? Because it seems to me, if he had ANY choice, it would NOT have been to have wet brain for the last years of his life and then bleed out internally to externally with pain meds doing nothing to comfort him. I am pretty sure no one would choose that.....

It's a progressive disease. I watched it progress from about the middle of the disease to the end.

Then I watched my H, having the exact same disease, although I would have never believed it, go thru the same stages. Who in their right mind, with their own willpower, would actually CHOOSE to spend all their money on a drug KNOWING that it was going to hurt their family???? Who does that???? An alcoholic. My H didn't have wet brain, he didn't have reverse tolerance, he didn't HAVE to drink everyday to keep the tremors and the delusions away....he hasn't gotten to that place yet. If he keeps drinking he will.

The two most dangerous things to an A are alcohol and enabler. An enabler will kill an A sometimes quicker than the drug and with far more conditional love.

If your H is intent on getting help, and you mention that he can't go without drinking, then his disease is at a very serious place. The body becomes physically dependent on alcohol and withdrawls can literally kill an alcoholic. They need to detox under a Dr's supervision. Alcohol withdrawl is the most dangerous detox there is including crack and heroine. Alcohol damages the internal organs and brain. It is literally a poision. And it stays in the system longer and the damage is more insidious.

But here's the deal, there is nothing you can do for your H. The only thing you can do is educate yourself and focus on yourself. That will bring you peace. His counselor sounds like he has no clue when it comes to addictions. He sounds like a marriage therapist. They are generally coming from a place where they see "normal" people who may have communication problems or anxitey issues. He is not equipt to deal with a deadly disease.

I used to get mad at the disease model. I mean, I did TONS of drinking and drugs and when I got pregnant I decided that I would no longer drink or drug. And so, I didn't. Ever again. My H quit with me and 2 years later was back at it....I was furious. I grew up what was HIS problem????? I am not an A. He is. And again, I cannot stress enough that NO ONE in their right mind would CHOOSE to be an A. No one. It's not a choice.

danielle0516 · Senior Member

Feeagain said:

"hey are generally coming from a place where they see "normal" people who may have communication problems or anxiety issues. He is not equipt to deal with a deadly disease."

I totally agree. I've been there...with countless doctor and therapist types. So sad how this disease is so misunderstood. You'd think psychiatrists, who deal with more 'severe' mental health patients, (at least the ones in hospitals and psych wards) most of which have a substance abuse problems, would tend to want to better educate themselves about addiction, the vicious cycle of phych meds and alcohol/drug abuse, but..sadly, many see only the mental health issue and treat that. Well, the meds don't work when you drown them with booze.

The pysch ward where my husband stayed...most patients in there were schitzophrenic, only a couple anxiety or depressing patients, but most all them abused drugs or alcohol.

I wish there was a co occuring illness, addiction and mental health, facility. Well, there is but is costs about $6000 a month so as I haven't won the lottery yet, that was out of the question.

pinkchip · ~*Service Worker*~

What is funny is that on the detox and rehab units they are aware of co-existing mental health problems. At least it works 1 way. You are right about it not working the other way Danielle. I was trained in Clinical Psychology and finished all my doctoral level course work. Now I am trying to get licensed as a mental health counselor and oddly one of the courses that the board says I need to take is Substance Abuse and Recovery. If it wasn't too self-disclosing I would try and opt out with life experience. We focused very little on substance abuse in my training. It used to be that insurance wouldn't pay for psychologist to treat alcholics and addicts and it was standard to refer them out. Now, insurance does reimburse some psychologists to treat addicts and alcoholics, but they still don't have the education.

Diva · ~*Service Worker*~

I am of the opinion that alcoholism is NOT a disease. I believe it is a self-inflicted addiction which can be controlled by the addicted if that person is determined enough to live each day having decided to put alcohol aside.

I have a food addiction; I love to eat, but I realize overeating is not good for my physical or mental health, so I maintain a normal, healthy weight. I quit smoking 30 years ago by simply putting the cigarettes down on the table and vowing never to smoke again. Guess what? I never did. Tooting my own horn? Maybe just a little, but my reason for pointing these facts out is that an addicted person charts his/her own course through strength.

Some will quote a litany of reasons why alcoholism should be classified as a disease. But, for me, the reasons just don't cut it. The use of the word,"disease" means only that the alcoholic has a handy crutch on which to fall back.

Is alcoholism in the DNA? May be, but that does not mean an alcoholic has no control over his/her actions.

Maybe I will be proven wrong. But considering the evidence, I do not believe I have been so far. People die left and right from smoking - yet smoking is not a disease. The related illnesses are the diseases. Same holds true for obesity. So, that considered, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis are just a couple of DISEASES that kill the alcoholic.

Now, you must believe what your heart tells you is right. And, yes, of course, look at the facts and judge for yourself.

Disease or not, AlAnon is a tremendous tool which helps the loved ones deal with the everyday problems they face related to a family member's or friend's drinking. So what I think or what others think really doesn't matter.

There are those who upon reading this response will say to themselves and perhaps to me as well, "Here is that troublesome Diva again, returned to stir the pot." I take that as a compliment, knowing that to make sense of a thing, we must consider all sides.

I send you all good wishes,

Diva

-- Edited by Diva on Thursday 10th of March 2011 09:43:05 AM

linbaba · Veteran Member

The Dictionary Definition of Disease is "An unhealthy condition of mind or body with with a specific set of signs and symptoms"

works for me

hotrod · ~*Service Worker*~

Hi All
Great point Lin Works for me too

I like to do what alanon suggests and "Take what I like and just leave the rest"
To me "leaving the Rest" means I do not argue about it,r try to change anyones opinion or justify my own opinion.

I just move on to my recovery

flopadopilus · ~*Service Worker*~

I can't tell everyone how many times I come back and read this in the morning to try to stop blaming myself for this disease. I am so greatful for all the great information in this forum and anyone new to this forum should read this! Thanks again all you smart people that have learned some of lifes really hard lessons ahead of me.

Breakingfree · ~*Service Worker*~

I found this helpful yet again today and just wanted to bring it back to the top.

serenity47 · ~*Service Worker*~

Thank you breakingfree for bringing this to the top. I too found it helpful to read through this today. Particularly pinkchips explanation that while yes it is a disease, ... leaving it untreated is a choice. Not being able to cope with emotions and wanting to numb out the reality is truly the disease of alcoholism. Thank you Pinkchip for your wisdom. It makes great sense to me..

John · ~*Service Worker*~

alanon.activeboard.com/t42428736/why-alcoholism-is-categorizedlisted-as-a-disease-by-ama-expl/

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.