Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence,[1][2] is a disabling addictive disorder Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder". It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits despite its negative effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing. Like other drug addictions Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder", alcoholism is medically defined as a treatable disease A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal disfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. Ecologically, disease is defined as.[3] The term "alcoholism" is a widely used term first coined in 1849 by Magnus Huss, but in medicine the term was replaced by "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence" in the 1980s DSM III.[4] Similarly in 1979 an expert World Health Organisation committee disfavoured the use of "alcoholism" as a diagnostic entity, preferring the category of "alcohol dependence syndrome".[5] In the 19th and early 20th centuries, alcohol dependence was called dipsomania Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol. It was used in the 19th century to describe a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are most commonly conceptualized today as alcoholism, but it is occasionally still used to describe a particular condition of periodic, before the term "alcoholism" replaced it.[6]
The biological mechanisms underpinning alcoholism are uncertain, however, risk factors include social environment The social environment , also known as the milieu, is the identical or similar social positions and social roles as a whole that influence the individuals of a group. The social environment of an individual is the culture that he or she was educated and/or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts. A given social, stress Stress is a term in psychology and biology, first coined in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become a commonplace of popular parlance. It refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism – human or animal – to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined,[7] mental health Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological, genetic predisposition A genetic predisposition is a genetic affectation which influences the phenotype of an individual organism within a species or population but by definition that phenotype can also be modified by the environmental conditions. In the rest of the population, conditions cannot have that affect. Genetic testing is able to identify individuals who are, age, ethnic group, and sex.[8][9] Long-term alcohol abuse produces physiological changes in the brain such as tolerance In social, cultural and religious contexts, toleration and tolerance are terms used to describe attitudes which are "tolerant" of practices or group memberships that may be disapproved of by those in the majority. In practice, "tolerance" indicates support for practices that prohibit ethnic and religious discrimination and physical dependence Physical dependence refers to a state resulting from chronic use of a drug that has produced tolerance and where negative physical symptoms of withdrawal result from abrupt discontinuation or dosage reduction. Physical dependence can develop from low-dose therapeutic use of certain medications as well as misuse of recreational drugs such as. Such brain chemistry changes maintain the alcoholic's compulsive inability to stop drinking and result in alcohol withdrawal syndrome Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is the set of symptoms seen when an individual reduces or stops alcohol consumption after prolonged periods of excessive alcohol intake. Excessive abuse of alcohol leads to tolerance, physical dependence, and an alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The withdrawal syndrome is largely due to the central nervous system being in a upon discontinuation of alcohol consumption.[10] Alcohol damages almost every organ in the body, including the brain; because of the cumulative toxic effects of chronic alcohol abuse, the alcoholic risks suffering a range of medical and psychiatric disorders.[11] Alcoholism has profound social consequences for alcoholics and the people of their lives.[12][13]
Alcoholism is the cyclic presence of tolerance, withdrawal, and excessive alcohol use; the drinker's inability to control such compulsive drinking, despite awareness of its harm to his or her health, indicate that the person might be an alcoholic.[14] Questionnaire-based screening is a method of detecting harmful drinking patterns, including alcoholism.[15] Alcohol detoxification Alcohol detoxification, or detox, for individuals with alcohol dependence, is the abrupt cessation of alcohol intake coupled with the substitution of alcohol with cross-tolerant drugs that have similar effects in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal. As such, the term "detoxification" is somewhat of a misnomer since the process does not is conducted to withdraw the alcoholic person from drinking alcohol, usually with cross-tolerance drugs, e.g. benzodiazepines to manage withdrawal symptoms.[16] Post-medical care, such as group therapy, or self-help groups, usually is required to maintain alcoholic abstention.[17][18] Often, alcoholics also are addicted to other drugs, most often benzodiazepines A benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), was discovered accidentally by Leo Sternbach in 1955, and made available in 1960 by Hoffmann–La Roche, which has also marketed diazepam (Valium) since 1963, which might require additional medical treatment.[19] The alcoholic woman is more sensitive to alcohol's deleterious physical, cerebral, and mental effects, and increased social stigma, in relation to a man, for being an alcoholic.[20][21] The World Health Organisation The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the estimates that there are 140 million alcoholics worldwide.[22][23]
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Classification and terminology
Misuse, problem use, abuse, and heavy use refers to improper use of alcohol which may cause physical, social, or moral harm to the drinker.[24] Moderate use is defined by The Dietary Guidelines for Americans as no more than two alcoholic beverages per day for men and no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for women.[25]
The term "alcoholism" is commonly used, but poorly defined. The WHO defines alcoholism as "a term of long-standing use and variable meaning", and use of the term was disfavored by a 1979 WHO Expert Committee. The Big Book The Big Book – so named because of its relative size - is more formally known as Alcoholics Anonymous. It was first published in 1939. The main authors are the two founders of Alcoholics Anonymous William Griffith Wilson (Bill W.) and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith (Dr. Bob) (from Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement claiming more than 2 million members and declaring its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith (Bill W. and Dr. Bob) in Akron, Ohio. Along with other early members, Wilson and Smith) states that once a person is an alcoholic, he always is an alcoholic, but does not define what is meant by the term "alcoholic" in this context. In 1960, Bill W. Wilson achieved sobriety on December 11, 1934 and maintained it throughout his remaining 36 years. Despite the success and notoriety afforded him by the accomplishments and growth of AA under his leadership, he continued to suffer from episodes of depression, the most serious of these between 1944 and 1955. In 1955 Wilson turned over control of AA said:
- We have never called alcoholism a disease A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal disfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. Ecologically, disease is defined as because, technically speaking, it is not a disease entity. For example, there is no such thing as heart disease Heart disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of different diseases affecting the heart. As of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone.[verification needed]. Instead there are many separate heart ailments, or combinations of them. It is something like that with alcoholism. Therefore we did not wish to get in wrong with the medical profession by pronouncing alcoholism a disease entity. Therefore we always called it an illness Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered a synonym for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist. Some have described illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease, or a malady A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal disfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. Ecologically, disease is defined as -- a far safer term for us to use.[26]
In professional and research contexts, the term "alcoholism" sometimes encompasses both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.[27] and sometimes is considered equivalent to alcohol dependence.
In psychology and psychiatry, the DSM is the most common global standard, while in medicine, the standard is ICD. The terms they recommend are similar but not identical:
Despite the imprecision inherent in the term, there have been attempts to define how the word "alcoholism" should be interpreted when encountered. In 1992, it was defined by the NCADD and ASAM The American Society of Addiction Medicine is a professional organization for physicians who specialize in the treatment of addiction. It is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland as "a primary, chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking."[32] MeSH Medical Subject Headings is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences; it can also serve as a thesaurus that facilitates searching. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed article database and by NLM's has had an entry for "alcoholism" since 1999, and references the 1992 definition.[33]
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shame table Manchester Evening News The table, released by the Centre for Public Health, calculates how blighted by booze each area is by using figures on healthcare, alcohol -related benefit ...
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Often times it is difficult to accept the fact that one is already suffering from the symptoms of alcoholism Sometimes this starts out as light indulging with a group of
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The Watershed: Faced with extraordinary trauma of losing both parents to alcoholism and divorce, seven siblings form a unique family structure. ... amazon.com.
