Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a disease that affects
a person’s mind and body. Although alcoholism is a fatal
illness, it does not receive the same type of acceptance as other
diseases like cancer or other types of mental illnesses. For people
who become alcoholics, the desire to drink feels as much as a
necessity as sleeping or eating. Because alcoholism is a progressive
disease, as the drinking becomes worse, so do the consequences.
In most cases, the true alcoholic, although able to comprehend
these negative effects, is not able to stop drinking for any considerable
length of time. All alcoholics, no matter what their length of
sobriety, run the risk of relapsing if they do not consistently
treat their disease. Doctors and experts in the field of alcoholism
have proclaimed that to overcome alcoholism is almost an impossible
feat.
The preoccupation with alcohol
is so great that over time the alcoholic is unable to fend it
off. No matter what the consequence, whether it is physical, mental,
emotional or material, the compulsion to drink almost always drives
the alcoholic back to the bottle. Alcoholism is not a disease
of people with “weak wills” but rather this disease
fills the body and mind with an obsession to drink. Many people
have tried over and over to control, limit or stop drinking, with
minimal success. Those who do succeed generally find themselves
miserable and still craving a drink.
Alcoholism is a relatively common
disease although it is not normally talked about. Many people
still believe, despite contrary evidence, that alcoholism is a
disease that only the “man on skid row” suffers from.
In reality, alcoholism does not discriminate; it affects people
of all ages, backgrounds, races and classes. Having alcoholism
does not mean that a person is morally weak, but rather that he/she
has lost the power of choice in regards to alcohol. The initial
symptoms of alcoholism can begin manifesting in early adolescent
years and because alcoholism is a progressive disease, the symptoms
only get worse.
The National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism identifies four major components that characterize
this disease. These symptoms are: craving, impaired control, dependence
and tolerance. The craving is felt both in the body and the mind
and materialize in the form of obsessive thoughts and irrational
actions. The idea of impaired control means a person with alcoholism
is unable to control the amount of alcohol that he/she takes and
is also unable to control his/her behavior once under the influence.
Dependence means that the alcoholic has come to need alcohol physically
and psychologically in order to function normally. Lastly the
alcoholic shows high levels of tolerance for alcohol and needs
more and more in order to have experience the same effects.
People who suffer from alcoholism
need to seek medical treatment and rehabilitation in order to
overcome this disease. Although many alcoholics do not want to
admit that they have a problem with alcohol or feel some type
of shame attached to this disease, this admission is absolutely
crucial to recovery. Alcoholism is a treatable disease and hundreds
of thousands of people are able to get help for it every year.
