Alcoholism and the Disease ModelIs alcoholism a disease?I guess any discussion of drinking should begin with a definition... Alcoholism is a disabling addictive disorder. It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing. How's that? Maybe not perfect, but close enough for our purposes. I think about when I first sought addiction treatment and shrugged off the idea that it was a disease. I thought that was a 'cop-out'. I thought calling it a disease made me a victim...which I definitely did not want to be. "I Have Strong Will Power So I Should Be Able To Control My Drinking!"Even in the face of overwhelming proof, I still clung to the possibility that my problem was simply one of self control. I thought that if I could just take a little time away from alcohol that maybe I could drink "properly".
Here is one way to think about it...imagine an otherwise healthy person who picks up a hammer and slams it down on their own thumb. They scream in agony and ask "why did I do that?" They writhe and swear "I'll never do that again!" The next day they pick up the hammer and WHAM!You wouldn't say that person had a will power problem. You would say that person had some sort of emotional problem. That's a silly example...but I think you get the point. No person in their right mind would intentionally put themselves through the emotional and physical wringer of alcoholic drinking. It must be a disease. Alcoholism May Be A DiseaseAs early as the 1930s, forward thinking doctors labeled Alcoholism a disease. One such person was Dr. William Silkworth, Director of the Charles B. Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions in New York City.Dr. Silkworth described Alcoholism as "an obsession of the mind and an allergy of the body". For an alcoholic, that means drinking is actually a compulsive cycle. It starts with a "can't get it out of our minds" craving that won't go away until we drink. Soon after having that drink the craving kicks back in until we have another drink. The cycle has no end...other than passing out. "Normal" drinkers eventually get an "okay...I've had enough signal" from their brains. Alcoholics never seem to get that signal. For Alcoholics, Alcohol is DeadlyAt the risk of sounding like your mother...alcohol is dangerous. For alcoholics, it is deadly. Let's not forget that people die every day from alcoholism. Some lucky alcoholics are saved from alcoholism by either quitting on their own or finding some sort of alcohol treatment. Recent evidence even links alcoholism and infertility.I am not a doctor, but this all fits with my experience drinking. I could never understand how someone could sip on a cocktail for 45 minutes until the ice melted then pour it down the sink. That sort of behavior simply did not compute in my mind. Someone once told me "if you ever wonder if you have a problem with alcohol, you probably do". I would have to agree. The good news is that the "problem with alcohol" is a disease. Like most diseases, it can be treated.
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