Is alcoholism a disease?

This has been a Krallum presentation

11/17/2011 9:07:37 PM

k

11/17/2011 9:08:22 PM

chit chat is not soap box #4

11/17/2011 9:08:38 PM

gaygay meeting

11/17/2011 9:09:50 PM

11/17/2011 9:17:07 PM

Quote :

"Is alcoholism a disease?"

No. It is not. Some people try to classify it as a disorder, but it is not. It's just an excuse to get alcoholics/lushes to feel better about themselves and make them feel like a victim of their own habit.

11/17/2011 9:26:13 PM

Quote :

"What is the difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse? Alcohol abuse4 is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work. Manifestations of alcohol abuse include the following: Failure to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home. Drinking in dangerous situations, such as drinking while driving or operating machinery. Legal problems related to alcohol, such as being arrested for drinking while driving or for physically hurting someone while drunk. Continued drinking despite ongoing relationship problems that are caused or worsened by drinking. Long-term alcohol abuse can turn into alcohol dependence. Dependency on alcohol, also known as alcohol addiction and alcoholism, is a chronic disease. The signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence include— A strong craving for alcohol. Continued use despite repeated physical, psychological, or interpersonal problems. The inability to limit drinking. "

http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#12

11/17/2011 9:31:10 PM

yes

11/17/2011 9:31:24 PM

lol i smoked out kate?

I'm Krallum and i approved this message.

11/17/2011 9:32:55 PM

The inability to limit drinking is someone's poor ability to control their free will. I get that you may not be able to control cravings, however, you can control your actions by refusing to give in to those destructive cravings. Failure to resist displays weakness in free will and someone's ability to be in control of themselves.

Screw the CDC. Not everything they say is the Holy Bible. Where is their empirical data?

Alcoholism is just a mental obsession.



[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 9:55 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2011 9:40:22 PM

Yes.

11/17/2011 9:42:17 PM

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1545723

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Kensington.

OBJECTIVE:

To expound the argument that alcoholism (or "problem drinking") is not best regarded as a disease.


SUMMARY:

Excessive drinking can cause physical disease and involve physical dependence without therefore being a disease itself. The "disease concept" of alcoholism is not needed to justify medical intervention or a caring approach to those who are dependent on alcohol. There is a specific and a general version of the disease concept of alcoholism. The specific disease concept, associated mainly with the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, is contradicted by empirical evidence and unhelpful for preventive and treatment responses to problem drinking, especially for the effort to detect and modify problem drinking at an early stage. The more general disease concept shares these disadvantages and is also ineffective in engendering sympathetic attitudes towards problem drinkers among the general public. It is more useful to view problem drinking as the result of the interaction between the individual's personality and the social context in which he or she has learned how to drink.

CONCLUSION:

For an effective and compassionate societal response to problem drinking, the disease model of alcoholism should be replaced by a social learning perspective.

PMID:
1545723



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Quote :

"Most argue that because the American Medical Association (AMA) has proclaimed alcoholism a disease, the idea is without reproach. But, the fact is that the AMA made this determination in the absence of empirical evidence. After reviewing the history of the decision, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the AMA has been pursuing its own agenda in the face of evidence negating the validity of alcoholism. While the AMA has made extraordinary contributions in the mental health field, it is not outside the box. The AMA is a part of the capitalist paradigm that is necessary for our society to function. The promulgation of the disease concept, in conjunction with AMA approval, has created a multi-billion dollar treatment industry that contributes billions to the health care industry. "

http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/447/1/Alcoholism-is-not-a-Disease/Page1.html


[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 9:48 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 9:49 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2011 9:46:51 PM

[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 9:47 PM. Reason : n]

11/17/2011 9:47:15 PM

[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 10:07 PM. Reason : following el B's lead]

11/17/2011 9:55:17 PM

We'll just agree to disagree then...

[Edited on November 17, 2011 at 10:09 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2011 10:09:14 PM

11/17/2011 10:14:08 PM

Well, in the end alcoholics are still alcoholics. Who cares why?

And if some poor soul actually clicked on this thread looking for real information, there's a really good group that meets at Ephesus Baptist Church and another upstairs at the SECU building downtown.

http://www.raleighaa.com/

11/17/2011 10:16:09 PM

I agree with Hiro. It's another trap that big business/big government has created to fund their greedy needs to fool people into spending billions of dollars into treatment of a non-existent disease. Sure, some people drink too much and that is a problem. But it's not a disease. Everyone does something too much, and in many cases it can be problematic; it doesn't mean they have a disease.

I spend too much time on TWW while at work. I know it's somewhat problematic, I know I shouldn't, but I do anyways. Where is my multi-billion dollar "support" network?

I mean, it's not too much different than doctors labeling kids with 'xyz' disease or disorder in massive numbers. It creates follow-up visits, prescription med needs, etc.

[Edited on November 18, 2011 at 8:59 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2011 8:53:16 AM

Quote :

"A strong craving for alcohol."

Fuck, I'm an alcoholic.

11/18/2011 8:57:31 AM

Quote :

"Well, in the end alcoholics are still alcoholics. Who cares why?"

That in itself is the most apathetic and depressing statement ever. People CAN change. Most fail to do so, but it is not entirely impossible. You can recover from alcoholism all the same a chain smoker can stop smoking. You don't see anyone calling chain smoking a disease and that actually has physical, addicting properties! I believe society would care why people are alcoholics. I mean, the responsible people in society pay taxes that support alcoholic people who leech off the welfare system to fund their destructive behavior because money for them is better spent on being inebriated rather than buying food, paying bills and debts responsibly, and investing in their future. What about families victim to alcoholic disasters such as drunk driving?

When you answer the why and the how, you can get to the root of the problem and attempt to fix it. Support groups are most definitely an important aid for any disease treatment process, however, it is not the cure or remotely an an attempt at one.



[Edited on November 18, 2011 at 10:01 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2011 9:59:26 AM

Quote :

"A strong craving for alcohol. Continued use despite repeated physical, psychological, or interpersonal problems. The inability to limit drinking."

We all know that alcohol is the answer to any physical, psychological, and interpersonal problems.

11/18/2011 10:04:40 AM

My dad is a recovering alcoholic. He is an attorney. Hardly the leeching lifestyle you are describing when it comes to alcohism. But his disease was very much destructive and real...even if he could pay the bills and put food on the table for his family. Tax payers didn't pay for his rehab (twice)...he did.

And have you ever seen an alcoholic with the shakes because they haven't had a drink? There is most definitely a physical ailment to alcholism.

I was like you too...didn't think it was a disease; just lack of will power. But I see things much differently now having watched a loved one experience it.

11/18/2011 10:06:52 AM

I'm not saying all alcoholics are leeches, but some of the extreme ones are... Even if an alcoholic earns a lot of money or has a lot of money, it doesn't mean they will always be able to pay their way out of the mess they may get into. Some are fortunate to break free from their habit before they get to that point... Others do not.

I've watched two loved ones with it. One relapses from time to time and I've see what that destruction does. Saying it's a disease is trying to justify that one's actions aren't of their own fault. People need to take responsibility for their actions. When it's a bad decision few people own up to it. Most would find an excuse. Until you can prove that drinking is an involuntary action (like Parkinson's disease or Torrets), it should not be classified as a disease so that alcoholics may be excused from.

Quote :

"And have you ever seen an alcoholic with the shakes because they haven't had a drink? There is most definitely a physical ailment to alcholism. "

Yeah... A few times in my previous jobs... More so when I was a cashier at HT.
There are physical ailments with smoking, yet chain smoking is not a disease.



[Edited on November 18, 2011 at 10:19 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 18, 2011 at 10:22 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2011 10:18:46 AM

I would think that leeching is more of a symptom of drug abuse than alcohol abuse.

11/18/2011 10:20:01 AM

Hiro, that is not the definition of a disease....

11/18/2011 10:21:51 AM

it's not a disease. even so, that doesn't mean we should shame the crap out of alcoholics. it can be not a disease while not meaning the person is a worthless sack of crap.

11/18/2011 10:31:36 AM

What is the medical definition of a disease?

Metaphorically, I can see alcoholism as a disease. (A diseased branch of government, an organization that acts like a disease in society, etc).

Alcoholism is an obsession for the consumption of alcohol and/or the state of being inebriated.
If alcoholism is a disease, then logically aren't all obsessions diseases?
Is Gambling a disease? Is the Internet a disease?

The State of NY doesn't acknowledge alcoholism as a disease...
http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/

11/18/2011 10:34:02 AM

Quote :

" would think that leeching is more of a symptom of drug abuse than alcohol abuse."

Alcohol is a drug. Its no different than anything else when you get that bad off.

11/18/2011 10:47:33 AM

I mean, you can google the medical definition of a disease just as well as I can....


It matters not whether its brought on by the affected organism or not.

11/18/2011 10:51:27 AM

there's a 'disease' for everything

I'm feenin for some pusssay right now, and I get pretty bad off if i go for longer periods of time without it


you now, coitus-gottahavus

11/18/2011 10:56:28 AM

i admit i have a problem

11/18/2011 12:11:26 PM

I have curbed my addiction. If I can drink extremely moderately over winter break then its not a disease

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/3/2012 6:13:11 PM

I blacked out thrice over the last few weeks. It had been way too long before that. I missed that feeling. I missed drowning my sorrows. I missed not giving a fuck.

1/3/2012 6:21:37 PM

why are they called alcoholics and not alcoholists?

1/3/2012 6:24:04 PM

hopefully they will have a vaccine for this disease soon...

1/3/2012 6:26:04 PM

I don't think I was ever an alcoholic, but I do have an additictive personality that has overused alcohol in the past. Nowadays I try to force myself toward healthier habits.

1/3/2012 8:26:28 PM