Alcoholism Isnt A Disease 1

Anonymous Article

Alcoholism is not a disease. It

could cause a disease, something

malfunctioning within the body;

but even at its most destructive,

the drive to drink excessively is

more a symptom of other conditions than a disease  

in and of itself.

Although so-called alcoholics may experience

physical manifestations of being poisoned, chief among

them the physical need for alcohol to rid the body of

withdrawal symptoms, this is not a disease but a vicious

cycle. When the medical community "cures" alcoholics, it

does so by trying to introduce enough emotional strength

in the alcoholics so that they don't need alcohol. The

treatment is not about alcohol. Alcohol may be damaging

to one's body but requires no medication to fix (with the

exception, perhaps, of Alabuse, which makes any alcohol

consumption immediately painful and uncomfortable for

the alcoholic). Sure, people who drink alcohol need

alcohol -- but they also need air, and water and food.

Just because alcohol is not necessary for existence, why

should reliance on its effects be called a disease when

reliance on oxygen isn't seen as such? 

The body is not meant to live forever; but we should be

able to enjoy life. Sometimes compulsiveness makes us go

too far, but this can happen with almost any substance -

- water, soda, candy, movies, porn, shoplifting, religion.

While many see the effects of alcoholism as a social

"disease", this is metaphorical. Without alcohol, where

would we be? Only using other crutches, trying to deal

with an existence whose meaning we are not privy to.

Introducing a substance into one's body is not a disease.

It could be a disorder, but alcoholism is not what needs to

be cured, it's what brought the alcoholic to overly rely on

the spirits in the first place. Therefore the "disease" needs

to be redefined. If someone has a chronic illness in which 

certain symptoms are manifested, the medical community 

should search for ways to treat the illness at its root  

rather than mask the symptoms.

Raging Alcoholic