Real Alcoholism

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REAL ALCOHOLIC There are many misconceptions about the true meaning of the word alcoholism and what it means to be an alcoholic. Many people are labeled alcoholic when actually they are merely heavy or problem drinkers. Just because a person has a drinking problem doesn’t mean they are a real alcoholic. Many do not realize there is a difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism. It’s been said that every alcoholic is a drunk but not every drunk is an alcoholic. A lot of people abuse alcohol but given a sufficient reason they can stop drinking. A real alcoholic can’t and won’t. There are lots of people that party and binge drink but they aren’t all alcoholics. They certainly have the potential but that’s not to say that they are one. Hopefully by the time you are done reading this you will see that true alcoholism is much more than just drinking too much or too often. Webster’s Online Dictionary defines alcoholism as an addictive dependency on alcohol characterized by craving (a strong need to drink); loss of control (being unable to stop); physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms; and tolerance (increasing difficulty of becoming drunk). While this is certainly true, real alcoholism goes a little deeper than the scope of that definition allows. All of these traits are present in most alcoholics but there are a few “key ingredients” that were left out. True alcoholism is a genetic disease that you have from birth. It is progressive and quite potentially fatal if left untreated. When I say untreated I mean that if the person starts and continues to use alcohol. There is no cure for alcoholism and this genetic trait can be passed from generation to generation. The person having the genetic type of alcoholism is prone to addiction if they continually abuse alcohol. This genetic malfunction doesn’t allow the alcoholic’s body to metabolize alcohol the way a normal person’s body does. Instead of processing the booze normally an affected person has an allergic reaction to it and they develop the phenomenon of craving. The moment alcohol enters the body the craving begins and that person is usually going to drink another and another. They have no choice. It’s not a matter of will power and strength over booze because with every sip they take the craving increases drastically until stopping is not even an option. This craving is only the start of things to come. Prolong exposure to this craving produces another side effect called “The Insanity of the First Drink.” This is where the mental obsession to drink comes into play. Many alcoholics know that there will be severe repercussions if they drink again. They know they will lose the kids or the house or their jobs yet they still pick up that first drink. Some even know they will die from it. But the obsession is very strong and never leaves. No amount of self control or willpower can make that happen. Some medicines may control it but none will ever take it away once its ignited. Dr. William D. Silkworth summed up the alcoholic mentality best in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, when he said, “To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable, discontent, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks.” In other words, just taking the alcohol away from them will not solve the problem. It only makes it worse. This is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive symptoms of the true alcoholic. One of the greater obsessions of every alcoholic is to be able to control their use and still enjoy it’s effects. But of course that cannot happen due to the craving. And when they attempt to live life controlling their drinking they fall farther and farther into a pit of depression, anger and self loathing. Controlling their drinking isn’t an option either. Eventually, if they are left untreated, a vast majority will commit suicide while “controlling” their drinking. Most alcoholics that commit suicide do it while they are on the proverbial wagon, not while they are actively using. They finally hit what is called “dry bottom” and ultimately take the only escaper route seemingly available to them. This happens because of another little know and hardly talked about symptom of the true alcoholic. We’ve already talked about the genetic defect and how it can lead to the alcohol abuse. And we’ve discussed how that abuse leads to the craving and dependency. We’ve also covered how that dependency ultimately leads to the mental obsession that never allows the alcoholic the luxury of quitting. Now lets talk about the final and unheard of symptom that all REAL alcoholics suffer from. That is called the spiritual malady. Addiction is the byproduct of guilt and despair and after years of living this way all true alcoholics will develop this thing called the spiritual malady. They have been beaten up by booze and their lives and spirits are broken. They have lost faith in themselves, in others and they have lost faith in whatever higher power that they call God. No matter what is said, everyone has some sort of concept of a higher power and the alcoholic has lost faith in that concept. They might attend church and sing hymns but ultimately deep inside, their faith has been broken or forgotten. At the risk of offending people it must be said that many an alcoholic will profess in the name of Jesus Christ while attending church, but their faith is on shaky grounds. They are not really “connected” to their higher power. The true alcoholic usually suffers from the “ism” part of alcoholism, internal spiritual maladjustment. Their “spiritual center” is misaligned after prolonged use and abuse and their real “God” becomes alcohol. Due to the combination of having an incurable genetic defect along with a mental obsession and spiritual malady it would seem like there is very little hope for the afflicted person. After all, alcoholism is incurable by medical standards. But there is hope. Just like other diseases with no hope of a cure, there is such a thing as recovery. A person CAN recover from alcoholism just like a cancer patient can go into remission. According to Alcohol-Information.com, ninety five percent of alcoholics end up dying from their disease, in one form or another, on the average of twenty six years sooner than they would have if they hadn’t abused liquor. Some suffer from liver damage, some commit suicide while a major portion of them die in an automobile accident. These are horrific statistics. Approximately fourteen million people are addicted to or abuse alcohol on a regular basis. Also, five hundred thousand kids between the ages of nine and twelve are dependant on alcohol. But are all of these people real alcoholics? By now you should be able to see that they aren’t all real alcoholics. One thing is for certain, they obviously have problems with alcohol in their lives but that does not automatically classify them as alcoholics. What I am about to say next will probably not sit to well with a lot of people but you can be addicted to alcohol and not be a true alcoholic. Granted, you will eventually become a full blown alcoholic if the addiction is left unattended but it still doesn’t classify you as a true alcoholic. Sooner or later every true alcoholic reaches a certain plateau that may as well be called the point of no return. To quote straight from The Big Book, “Whether such a person can quit upon a non spiritual basis depends on the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not.” In other words if someone has reached this point in their disease, there is only one way to save them. Spiritually. Maybe they can control their mental obsession with drugs and lots of treatment, and maybe they can control the physical addiction with more pills, but they will never fix that spiritual malady. The usual outcome is relaps within a relatively short period of time. Usually the best course of treatment is a few weeks in a detox center to rid the body of any toxins,followed up with vigorous involvement with an accredited AA twelve step program. Unfortunately most never follow up the rehab or detox centers with AA involvement and subsequently a vast majority return to using only to end up at the center again. Many scoff at the idea of going to AA and working the twelve steps upon release from these centers. They do not realize that AA is not just another program implemented to get them sober. It’s a program of living. The Big Book of AA is an actual textbook and if they follow the instructions in it they will “recover” from alcoholism. It is the only textbook that gives the reader step by step instructions on how to do that. So what does it mean to be a “true alcoholic?” A genetic propensity, a physical dependency, and mental obsession are a good cocktail to start off with…if you’ll pardon the pun. But that’s not to say that environment and other outside factors don’t perpetuate the progressiveness, because they contribute a great deal. But for this author, the unknown key ingredient is the spiritual malady. If you have all or most of these symptoms you are probably an alcoholic by most standards. If you have that symptom on top of the rest of them, I would have to say you certainly are one.