Alcoholism; A disease or a behavior?

[Katelin]

Weather or not alcoholism is a disease has long been debated.
Current thought is that the Disease Concept works in understanding and treating the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of drinking.

Having worked in field as an addictions counselor (after 25 years I retired) and having worked as an adolescent counsleor, and having had a great deal of training and having been certified in Maryland, I believe there is no clear cut answer.

(Not to mention being sober for 32+ years and an active member of AA.)
I am not sure if alcoholism is a disease...or a behavior that evolves into an addiction.

I know I can't drink, and I did evolve from a casual drinker to an out of control drinker with blackouts at the age of 23, and ended up in rehab.
I later found out that my grandfather was an alcoholic as was my mother.

Am I addicted to alcohol? I dont know.
What I do know is that I am better off not drinking than I was when I was drinking.

Some people can drink to excess and have no problems, other have a few drinks, go into a chemically induced blackout and call themselves addicted.

But just what is "addiction"? :shrug:
The more we learn about brain physiology, the more we learn about behaviors and physical addictions.

For you consideration:

Man takes a drink.
Drink takes a drink.
Drink takes a man.

And about will power....
Next time you are sick with a disease that causes you to have diarrhea, see how well you can control it using you will power.

Good topic!

 

[vraiblonde]

Do all addictions have a strong genetic influence, obvious signs and symptoms, a natural progression and a fatal outcome if not treated?

Drugs
Smoking
Overeating
Sex

You could make the case for all of them.

My mother is an alcoholic. Nobody else in the family is. -1

Alcoholics don't always die prematurely. Some live to quite an advanced age. -1

There are no obvious signs or symptoms of alcoholism across the board. -1

Not sure what you mean by "natural progression" but so far alcoholism is striking out on the disease meter.

 

[Cowgirl]

I kinda see it as being similar to Type 2 diabetes, which is a disease, right? It can be genetic, but it can be prevented and reversed with the right lifestyle.

 

[Larry Gude]

I kinda see it as being similar to Type 2 diabetes, which is a disease, right? It can be genetic, but it can be prevented and reversed with the right lifestyle.

How? By consistent poor diet?

 

[Cowgirl]

How? By consistent poor diet?

Poor diet, not enough exercise.

And I don't know if the diabetes can be completely reversed, but it can be managed with proper diet. Someone in my family was just diagnosed with it, and the doc said a proper diet will stop it. That means I need to be managing my diet properly if I want to avoid getting it in the future.

 

[Animal]

Drugs
Smoking
Overeating
Sex

You could make the case for all of them.

My mother is an alcoholic. Nobody else in the family is. -1

Alcoholics don't always die prematurely. Some live to quite an advanced age. -1

There are no obvious signs or symptoms of alcoholism across the board. -1

Not sure what you mean by "natural progression" but so far alcoholism is striking out on the disease meter.

Believe what you want, but I will leave the classifying of diseases to those professional organizations that I listed above as they, in my mind, are the experts.

 

[Sonsie]

I kinda see it as being similar to Type 2 diabetes, which is a disease, right? It can be genetic, but it can be prevented and reversed with the right lifestyle.

I see it more as an issue of really bad impulse control. Same thing with morbid obesity, smoking, drug abuse, and sex "addicted" people. Drinking, eating, drugs, smoking, and sex are fun and these folks don't want to rein themselves in. If they do get control it's only after they have life threatening health issues but they never stop wanting their "fix". I quit smoking many years ago now, I still want a cigarette and think about it daily. Will I? No, I won't let it own me again and I won't let my impulse to buy the smokes take over. Once the drink, drugs, and nicotine are out of your system and the withdrawal is over they just don't have the impulse control to say no to their pleasures even for their own good.

 

[vraiblonde]

Believe what you want, but I will leave the classifying of diseases to those professional organizations that I listed above as they, in my mind, are the experts.

I don't leave anything to the "professional" organizations because they have an agenda and don't always release information that doesn't coincide with what they've already decreed. Second-hand smoke studies would be one of them. Global warming would be another.

 

[Cowgirl]

I see it more as an issue of really bad impulse control.

Right....those who know they *may* be genetically predisposed to certain things (alcoholism, type 2 diabetes, etc) should be more in control so they don't give in to the temptation of drinking or eating bad foods.:shrug:

 

[libertytyranny]

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged Alcoholism as a serious medical problem in 1951, and the American Medical Association declared alcoholism as a treatable illness in 1956

That has an extremely simple explanation. Money. Unless something is classified as an illness..it cannot be billed for treatment to an insurance co. That is how countless "psychiatric" illnesses came about as well. a good pt base..and tons of money in "treating" what could easily be fixed with a little gumption and character.


not all type 2 diabetics are overweight or eat poorly. however, all alcoholics drink.


Because something has health reprecussions does not make it a disease. car crashes kill you too.,.but are not a disease.

I have the obvious signs and symptoms of liking rock and roll..still not a disease.

do smokers have a disease?

the genetic component is overhyped..went controlling for other things such as socioeconomic status andage of first drink, area where they live. etc etc it doesnt really show much. I will try to find a real study to show this..


here is what my favorite professor told me.
When you hold a gun up to the head of someone with diabetes..you cannot make him start producing insulin. But you sure as hell can stop that drunk from taking a drink.

 

[Animal]

I don't leave anything to the "professional" organizations because they have an agenda and don't always release information that doesn't coincide with what they've already decreed. Second-hand smoke studies would be one of them. Global warming would be another.

Who or what should determine if it is a disease or not, SOMD forum Larry Gude polls?

 

[kwillia]

Who or what should determine if it is a disease or not, SOMD forum Larry Gude polls?

Hey now, Larry Gude polls could very well change the face of our nation... well, if people actually started paying attention to them.

 

[Katelin]

That has an extremely simple explanation. Money. Unless something is classified as an illness..it cannot be billed for treatment to an insurance co. That is how countless "psychiatric" illnesses came about as well. a good pt base..and tons of money in "treating" what could easily be fixed with a little gumption and character.

As noted in the article about the Disease Concept, and of which you hit off: Money!!

And the amount of money poured into the "Prevention" aspect of addiction is in the billions!!!

As earlier stated, the disease concept is controversial and not without critics. Two well-known critics are Stanton Peele (16) and Herbert Fingarette (15), both of whom have written books, as well as articles disputing the disease concept of addiction.

Since the disease concept is attributed to Jellinek, a lot of criticism has been directed at his research, which was the basis for his conclusions about the disease concept. Jellinek's data were gathered from questionnaires that were distributed to AA members through its newsletter, "The Grapevine". Of 158 questionnaires returned, 60 were discarded because members had pooled and averaged their responses, and no questionnaires from women were used. Jellinek himself acknowledged that his data was limited. Therefore, one might wonder why Jellinek's concept of the disease of alcoholism received such widespread acceptance.

One reason is that the disease concept is consistent with the philosophy of AA, which is by far the largest organized group dedicated to help for alcoholics.
Secondly, as Peele noted: "The disease model has been so profitable and politically successful that it has spread to include problems of eating, child abuse, gambling, shopping, premenstrual tension, compulsive love affairs, and almost every other form of self-destructive behavior... From this perspective, nearly every American can be said to have a disease of addiction." (16)

 

[vraiblonde]

Who or what should determine if it is a disease or not, SOMD forum Larry Gude polls?

Believe addictive behaviors are a disease of you want. Makes no difference to me. :shrug:

 

[Larry Gude]

Hey now, Larry Gude polls could very well change the face of our nation... well, if people actually started paying attention to them.

It is my deeply held suspicion that you, most likely, think you are funny.

 

[vraiblonde]

here is what my favorite professor told me.
When you hold a gun up to the head of someone with diabetes..you cannot make him start producing insulin. But you sure as hell can stop that drunk from taking a drink.

It's the "want to". There are all kinds of people who go to their graves drinking and drugging. Then there are those who decide that that's not the life they want, and they stop. Some stop with help and some just...stop.

You cannot just stop having cancer or diabetes or whatever.

 

[Larry Gude]

Who or what should determine if it is a disease or not, SOMD forum Larry Gude polls?

It's a forum. A discussion forum. For discussing things, even arguing. Not so everyone holds hands and agrees.

 

[Larry Gude]

here is what my favorite professor told me.
When you hold a gun up to the head of someone with diabetes..you cannot make him start producing insulin. But you sure as hell can stop that drunk from taking a drink.

Wow. That about says it all right there. Good 'un.

 

[Larry Gude]

You cannot just stop having cancer or diabetes or whatever.

Yup.

 

[Animal]

It's a forum. A discussion forum. For discussing things, even arguing. Not so everyone holds hands and agrees.

So then, for discussion sake, are you of the mind that it has been classified a disease for its profitability or some other reason?