Understanding Alcoholism

Most people don’t want to discuss topics like alcoholism (or if you prefer the current term – AUD,  Alcohol Use Disorder). Even when discussions take place, there are different levels of understanding alcoholism.  It’s important to first understand it’s a disease that starts with the use of alcohol. A person could have the biological and psychological predisposition to alcoholism, but, of course, if the person never drinks alcohol, the disease will not progress. A note – when I refer to “alcoholic” I merely mean a person suffering from alcoholism, just as I would refer to a diabetic. To best understand alcoholism, one should understand that the term alcoholic is not a derogatory term. Also, I should note, there have been studies through the years claiming that some problem drinkers can learn to drink in moderation. I’m not going to get into this controversy. It’s true that some people simply abuse alcohol situationally, like after a divorce, in college, at parties, but don’t have the predisposition to alcoholism — that’s a different story. Someone who started going out to bars after a divorce and misused alcohol to get over the divorce can surely receive counseling, deal with the emotions of loss and return to moderate drinking. Alcoholism is something different. Be careful reading “new discoveries” related to alcoholism, every year, it seems, a new “cure” for alcoholism is presented by someone. Get to know the facts and the science.

The disease concept is the biggest hurdle for most people when it comes to understanding alcoholism. Nothing about the disease concept should be used as a cop-out. Just like other illnesses, no one’s responsible from “getting” the disease, but they are responsible for doing something about it once they know they have the disease. Many addiction professionals call alcoholism a chronic, relapsing, brain disease, but the relapse part is misleading. Relapse doesn’t have to happen. Recovery from alcoholism is dependent on the person becoming dedicated to recovery and to not drinking alcohol. It’s more complicated than that, but there are recovery plans available which offer actions necessary to recover. It’s up to the individual to follow the plan. This is not unlike other diseases — there are treatment plans for various diseases, like various forms of cancer or chronic kidney disease. The patient with the disease is responsible for following the treatment plan.

Alcoholism is a brain disease if untreated progressively gets worse. Untreated alcoholism affects all parts of the body, leading to liver problems, heart problems, digestive problems, on and on. The alcoholic becomes physically and psychologically, and, in many ways, socially dependent on alcohol. Although in early and middle stages of alcoholism a person can stop for periods of time, when the person starts back the alcoholism progresses. It becomes harder and harder for the alcoholic to stop without suffering withdrawal symptoms. People sometimes die withdrawing from alcohol. Alcoholism is a viscous downward spiraling disease. The person comes to believe  they can’t live without alcohol. When they try to quit it’s so painful it reinforces their need for alcohol, yet the more they drink the worse it all becomes in reality. The alcoholic can no longer see the reality of his/her condition — denial strengthens and the person blames everything but the alcohol.

Family members and friends can see the person’s dying from constant alcohol use, but the alcoholic minimizes, afraid to face life without alcohol, not knowing how to live without alcohol. In the end stage of alcoholism, there are physical and mental problems which rapidly deteriorate leading to pre-mature death. Even if an alcoholic lingers in the end stage, quality of life is very poor. Drunkenness and sickness are a daily, constant reality. To say a person chose this route and is morally weak just doesn’t make sense. In many cases, the person could have been strong, could have made it through a war, achieved success in business, been a loving father,  became a doctor or a lawyer or a successful actor, a politician or builder. The person could have been strong willed in all parts of his/her life except when it came to alcohol, which progressed through the years until the disease overcame and destroyed the person. This is the common story of untreated alcoholism, or AUD, if you like. If understanding alcoholism can help you or a loved one, you can read about what alcohol does to the brain and body of those who have a predisposition to alcoholism. Or you can call an addiction specialist for a free consult. This is about alcohol addiction, but other drug addictions are similar in the progression and consequences. The information has been available for a long time. But, still, with 1 in 20 people, globally, dying from alcohol use, you’d think we’d all make understanding alcoholism a priority.