What Is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism
refers to any condition that results in the excessive
consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the health
problems and negative social consequences it causes.
Alcoholism, is a disease which results as a direct
consequence of alcohol abuse.
Studies show
that there are 17.6 million Americans with alcohol problems,
and almost every family in the country is touched in some way by
alcoholism. Odds are that everyone has a friend or
co-worker struggling with alcohol. The costs of this
epidemic are staggering: drunk driving, broken families,
domestic violence, health problems and a host of other social
problems are a direct result of alcoholism.
This means that
people do not choose to become alcoholics, alcoholics
do not drink because of a lack of willpower and alcoholism
is not of a moral deficiency. This disease is continuing,
progressive and fatal. Alcoholics who continue to drink
will get worse over time, and it will eventually kill them.
However, alcoholism is by no means a death sentence. Just
like some other incurable diseases, such as diabetes, there ARE
successful treatments for alcoholism.
How Do I Know If I'm An Alcoholic
When does
someone cross the line in to alcoholism? Is my spouse,
family member or friend an alcoholic? The best way to
determine this is to look for patterns in their daily life.
Someone with a drinking problem will have negative consequences
that are directly related to their drinking. An
alcoholic thinks differently than a normal person: they will
crave alcohol, and look forward to times when they will
be able to drink. They will forgo activities they enjoy to make
time for drinking. These ways of thinking eventually will
lead to signs that are visible to the people who are close to
the alcoholic.
Common Signs Of Alcoholism
-
Drinking to
excess at social functions (family events, birthdays,
parties).
-
Having
difficulty stopping or reducing drinking.
-
Trying to
hide alcohol consumption (stashing bottles around the
house, using breath mints to cover alcohol).
-
Repeated
absences, tardiness and poor work performance related to
drinking.
-
Legal problems
due to drinking (DUI, fights, domestic violence).
-
Neglect of
family responsibilities (missing events, appointments).
-
Problems at
home (arguments, abuse, even separation or divorce).
-
Spending an
excessive amount of time drinking, being intoxicated or
recovering from the effects of drinking.
-
Switching
brands or types of alcohol to control drinking.
-
Recurrent
instances of driving while intoxicated (whether they are
arrested or not).
Each
alcoholic is different, and they do not all have the same
outward signs. The insidious part of alcoholism is that
it can go undetected for years at a time. Some refer to this as
"functional alcoholism," where a person is able to
maintain their job and finances, and largely hide the damaging
effects of their drinking. These higher functioning
alcoholics are actually more difficult to treat, because of
a psychological defense mechanism called denial.
What Is Denial In Alcoholics?
Denial,
in alcoholics, is the process where someone tries to explain,
rationalize and minimize their drinking. It is extremely
powerful, and is perhaps the biggest roadblock to recovery from
alcoholism. An alcoholic may deny the existence of
a drinking problem. They may say their drinking is not that bad.
They may blame their drinking on some outside force, such as
stress or family problems. An alcoholic will say these
things to family and friends, and probably believe it
themselves. The family and friends of the alcoholic can
also be in denial: they may choose to ignore warning signs of
alcohol dependence, make excuses on behalf of the
alcoholic or minimize the seriousness of the problem.
How To Overcome Alcoholic Denial
Denial begins to
be broken down when the alcoholic acknowledges that they
have a problem. Once that happens, the recovery process can
begin. For many alcoholics, this means spending some time
at an alcohol rehabilitation center. The purpose of going
to a treatment program is to educate the person about the
disease of alcoholism and teach them how to be happy and
successful without drinking. For more information on what
happens in an alcohol treatment program, please visit our
treatment page.
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