Yes, according to authorities like National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Alcoholism and American Society for Addiction Medicine, Alcoholism is a disease. Basically, Alcoholism is an Addictive Disorder which is often defined as a “treatable disease”.
Simply put, Alcoholism is a compulsive urge to indulge in alcohol abuse despite of the awareness about its ill effects. This craving for alcohol may be the result of physical dependence or simply a need to get “high”. Both lifestyle as well as hereditary factors can be held responsible for causing this chronic disease.
But, this disease can be avoided by proper self control, especially right at the beginning by not at all indulging in the habit of Alcohol abuse. Therefore, it is sometimes considered more of a personal choice rather than an inevitable disease.
Authorities have categorized this problem as a disease in order to help the affected individuals understand their situation without any guilt and hence overcome this habit by seeking proper medical help.
Though, this concept of Alcoholism as a disease at times backfires when the affected individuals argue that Alcoholism is not their personal choice but a disease which can neither be avoided nor cured by self control and determination.
The treatment of Alcoholism involves the use of certain medicines and proper counseling to help control this problem to a great extent. A number of home remedies for Alcoholism have also been found useful in dealing with this disease.
Effects of Alcoholism
This progressive disease may cause several physiological and psychiatric problems, not to mention the negative social consequences. Hangover is one of the most common ailments associated with over consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Some common ailments caused by Alcoholism are Cirrhosis of the Liver, Pancreatitis, Epilepsy, Cardiovascular Disease, Alcoholic Dementia and other such diseases. Chronic Alcoholism affects the normal brain function adversely and increases the risk of developing Psychiatric Disorders like Panic Disorder, Depression Disorder etc.
Alcoholics generally find it difficult to control their alcohol cravings because of the presence of withdrawal symptoms caused by Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.
These symptoms include problems like anorexia, depression, insomnia, alcoholic hallucination, seizures, palpitation, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other such symptoms. But these symptoms tend to subside gradually with the help of proper Alcoholism treatment.
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