The Disease of Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological consequences, but it can be treated through detoxification and anti-anxiety drugs. What will be explained in this essay is basically the history of alcohol, signs of one possibly being an alcoholic, possibilities to why one becomes an alcoholic, and treatments for it.
In the past, alcoholism was often viewed as a moral weakness or character flaw; it was thought that the person could stop drinking if he or she really wanted to. It wasn't until 1970, with
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The APA manual distinguishes between alcoholism and alcohol abuse. The latter is a less severe problem; unlike alcoholics, alcohol abusers do not develop physical withdrawal or compulsive alcohol use. However, like alcoholics, their drinking has negative health, economic and social effects. Both alcoholics and alcohol abusers need treatment, although the goals differ. In most cases of alcohol abuse, the goal is to limit drinking, while for alcoholism, it is to stop drinking altogether.
Why some people become alcoholics remains a mystery, although most scientists now agree that a combination of genetic and environmental factors increases a person's vulnerability.
Based on the results of Swedish adoption studies, some researchers divide alcoholism into two types. Type I, the most common, occurs in both men and women and is associated with adult-onset alcohol dependence. This form, also known as "milieu-limited" alcoholism, appears to be the result of "genetic predisposition and environmental provocation," according to NIAAA's 1991 publication Alcohol Research: Promise for the Decade--that is, the development of alcoholism in these cases is an interaction between inherited predisposition and the person's life situations.
Type II, or male-limited, alcoholism, on the other hand, is due mainly to genetics. It occurs only in men, usually with early onset in the teen years, and is more difficult to
Alcoholism (sometimes called Alcohol Use Disorder in the technical literature) is, essentially, defined as a dependency on alcohol for an individual to function in his/her daily life. The condition is related to but distinct from "alcohol abuse". In the latter case, an individual may be said to have a drinking problem, but s/he is not dependent on alcohol, i.e. alcohol is not a required part of that person 's life. This is an important distinction to make as often
E.M. Jellinek has been called the father of alcohol studies because his work has played a primary role in the shift from alcoholism as viewed as a defect, to alcoholism as understood, recognized, and treated in the illness and disease model. The disease model suggests that addiction is an illness. It proposes that addiction and alcoholism are a result of the impairment of healthy neurochemical or behavioral processes. The disease model is widely leveraged in therapeutic settings and it actually forms the basis for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Nar-Anon.
Since the consumption of alcohol is necessary to develop alcoholism, the availability of and attitudes towards alcohol in an individual's environment affect their likelihood of developing the disease.
Alcoholism has become one of the most prevalent diseases in our society today. The everyday pressures of life and the burden of worries that we face every day have served as a catalyst for this growing affliction.
Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disorder (“Alcoholism”) affecting more than twenty-two million Americans in the United States today (Wholey 18). Alcoholics are prone to dramatic and
Alcohol Use Disorder, most commonly known as Alcohol Abuse or Alcohol Dependence, is widely known as problem that occurs with individuals who consumes an enormous amount of alcohol on a regular basis often in a single use. The individual is consumed with the thought of drinking most of the time and often feel as though they need it to continue with living their daily lives, even though, they are not really living at all because the enormous amount of alcohol causes a dysfunction for their daily tasks. It inhibits their ability to take care of their family, have social relationships and performing activities at work. It is believed that genetics can play a massive role towards an individual developing an Alcohol Use Disorder.
To begin, research of genetics has shown some information on how genes support alcoholism being a disease. Genetics and the brain are connected as other organs, such as the heart and genetics are connected (Nurnberger). People can inherit heart diseases from their parents through their genes. There is no difference with alcohol. Alcohol damages the brain cells and can increase the chances of a child to become more dependent on alcohol. According to Nurnberger, “For alcohol dependence, about 50 percent is related to genetic factors and the other half to environmental factors, such as availability of alcohol and cultural factors” (Nurnberger). Although environmental factors play a high role in alcohol consumption, genetics, as shown, have played half the role. People become dependent on alcohol, and not only can it be hereditary to pass the gene to increase the chances of becoming an alcoholic, but alcoholism can even cause a change to other genes to possibly cause depression and anxiety problems (Nurnberger). Saying that alcoholism is not a disease when it can be passed through genes and alter other genes would be like saying autism is not a disease or disorder. The reason is because the brain is genetically altered, like alcoholism, and it can change other
In 1849, Swedish physician, Dr. Magnus Huss coined the term “alcoholism” to describe a diseased condition caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. Also in 1849, a French doctoral candidate, M.Gabriel, first used the term in its modern sense, as a disease which causes one to lose control over his/her intake of alcohol, leading to excessive use of alcohol, what we now call addiction ( Keller & Doria,1991).
Alcoholism today is not considered as a moral failure, majority of the people view it as a disease. Alcoholism is a chronic primary and progressive disease and it can also be fatal in some instances. It is termed as a chemical disease as it breaks down in the stomach as well as bringing a different effect on the brain of the alcoholic as compared to a non-alcoholic. Alcoholism can be classified as a biological disease since the chemical predisposition of alcohol consumption is inheritable. Therefore, alcoholism should not be punished instead it should be treated. The reason behind classifying alcoholism as a disease is because the progression of alcohol dependence occurs through stages in a natural sequence .This progression is similar to that of the development of physical illnesses. In recent interpretations of alcoholism as a disease the focus is on the biological factors which differentiate alcoholics from nonalcoholics. This disease concept has led to development of the idea that those who abuse alcohol are often out of control and abstinence is the only method for treating this disease.
Does the environment that one grows up in contribute to alcoholism or is alcoholism determined by genetics? It wasn’t until 1991 that alcoholism was considered both a medical and psychiatric disease by the American Medical Association. Alcoholism is defined in the dictionary as a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally. (dictionary.com). It is also defined as an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness
Many people may think that alcoholics are people who drink often or drink everyday, but in reality, alcoholism is when people can not control their drinking. There are also different types of alcoholism. For instance, some alcohol abusers may drink everyday because they think it makes them feel better and they use it to deal with
Genetic factors are said to play a large role in Alcoholism. Although it is not proven it is said that one can inherit the disease. Phycology is said to also be a factor, such as a person having an addictive personality or low self-esteem in their appearance or general outlook on life. Environment also plays a key role, if a person is around drinking or has influence that promote this behavior they are more likely to have a drink.
Social and cultural factors play roles in to establishing drinking patterns and the development of alcoholism. In some cultures, there is conflict between abstaining and accepting the use of alcohol as a way to change moods or to be social, thus making it difficult for some people to develop stable attitudes about and moderate patterns of drinking. Society tends to aid in the development of alcoholism by making alcohol seem glamorous, showing that by drinking, you will become more popular, more glamorous and more worthy of respects from others.
People drink in many ways, for many different reasons. We drink socially, to gain acceptance into a group. We drink alone to ease stress, to cope with our problems, or we “drink because we like the taste or how it makes us feel”#. Often drinking is a learned behavior, starting out as a social drinker; you quickly become psychologically and physically dependent. When someone reaches this stage they are often classified as an alcoholic. To an alcoholic, drinking becomes a compulsion; they cannot stop themselves from having another drink, like a social drinker can. In many cases alcoholics don’t even have to drink continuously in order to be an alcoholic. One the problems of alcohol addiction is that it’s something that doesn’t just effect the individual but it effects, friends and family as well. Spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can all be influenced by alcohol abuse.
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and potentially fatal disorder which leads to physical and psychological harm, and impaired social and vocational functioning. It is characterized by tolerance, physical dependence and/or pathological organ changes, all of which are the direct/indirect consequence of the alcohol ingested (Light 5). Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence," can be recognized by four obvious symptoms.