Current Events > Do you consider alcoholism a choice or a disease?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was talking to someone about this. They said you can't compare it to a disease because you don't choose to have a disease. But you choose to put that bottle to your mouth and take a drink.

I was like, then why can't alcoholics have a few drinks socially if they choose to without it spiraling into an out of control binge? It's pretty much universally accepted that someone suffering from alcoholism can't have a single drink ever.

A choice for some, a disease for others.

If they still have a choice, they aren't an alcoholic.

Alcoholism is a dependency. Going cold turkey can be extremely dangerous (physically and mentally), and needs medical supervision and treatment.

Cancer can be a result of bad luck but it can also be a result of poor personal choices, especially with regards to smoking. Initially you choose to drink or not, but once something becomes an addiction then quitting is a little bit more involved than a simple choice. Then you go back further and look at why they first started drinking that much in first place and the number of instances they are self-medicating because of a different issue ain't zero.

Ex-alcoholic. (Although the truth is, you're never really an ex-alcoholic.) The only real choice you have is to try to stop, and it's not an easy road.

It's a choice that can spiral into a disease.

Its an addiction

Yeah if you "choose" to be an alcoholic... you don't have alcoholism.

As previously mentioned, it's an addiction. Now, not every alcoholic is addicted to the point where they need medical supervision for detox, but the psychological addiction and the compulsion to drink is no joke. Your friend is incredibly ignorant.

Whether it is or isn't is not a meaningful distinction. Either way it needs to be treated as a disease.

It's both.

My mother is an alcoholic. She's in complete denial about it and it has absolutely ruined her life. She went from being a middle-class homeowner to having to sell damn near everything she owns and move back in with my grandmother. I was at a point where my life was in complete shambles and I begged her, for one night, to not drink so that I could talk to her as my mother and not the slurring, stumbling drunk she becomes when she slams back four beers. She refused.

She has a mental illness. She shouldn't drink alcohol at all because she physically cannot stop herself from overdoing it. She chooses to drink.

i wouldn't understand it either way because regardless in whichever form it comes in, it universally tastes like crap.

bfslick50 posted...

Then you go back further and look at why they first started drinking that much in first place and the number of instances they are self-medicating because of a different issue ain't zero.

I drank for nearly 20 years as just a "Friday/Saturday night down the pub with the guys" guy. What started me circling the drain later in life -- drinking steadily and more and more heavily -- was going through a period of what I'd call emotional decompression when my mother died from vascular dementia after I'd spent several years caring for her.

ai123 posted...

If they still have a choice, they aren't an alcoholic.

Alcoholism is a dependency. Going cold turkey can be extremely dangerous (physically and mentally), and needs medical supervision and treatment.

Yeah, that was me 20 days ago. I thought I was dying and didn't have insurance. Got it now but needed it then. My brain was totally dependent on alcohol to function and everything went haywire.

After almost 3 weeks I still feel like total shit. Medical supervision is highly recommended and I feel lucky I didn't have a seizure and croak.

Vampire_Chicken posted...

Ex-alcoholic here. (Although the truth is, you're never really an ex-alcoholic.) The only real choice you have is to try to stop, and it's not an easy road. People choose to start drinking because it's a legal and socially acceptable (you might almost say socially obligatory) recreation, you can manage it and moderate it (well, except on special occasions!) for years, and not everyone becomes addicted. But by the time you come to understand and accept that you are, it's too late.

Quality post.
I do drink, and I am reeling it in a bit.

But holy shit, doesn't almost everyone.
I spent three years in a wine and liquor store.
People buy heroic amounts of alcohol on the regular.
I mean shopping carts full.

SiO4 posted...

Quality post.
I do drink, and I am reeling it in a bit.

But holy shit, doesn't almost everyone.
I spent three years in a wine and liquor store.
People buy heroic amounts of alcohol on the regular.
I mean shopping carts full.

I was embarrassed being a regular at a store. I'd stop there every night after work for years and get the same thing. They even gave me shit on a tab when my debit card didn't work because they knew I'd be back the next day to pay for it.

I haven't been there in 3 weeks so they probably think I'm dead. Wish I had all the money I pissed away.

LeoRavus posted...

I was talking to someone about this. They said you can't compare it to a disease

I'm sure they say a lot of things.

Disease. You do choose to drink, but once it becomes alcoholism it is not really a choice any longer.

LeoRavus posted...

I was embarrassed being a regular at a store. I'd stop there every night after work for years and get the same thing. They even gave me shit on a tab when my debit card didn't work because they knew I'd be back the next day to pay for it.

I haven't been there in 3 weeks so they probably think I'm dead. Wish I had all the money I pissed away.

Whatever gets you through the night is one thing.
Tons of people drink after - before - and during work.

You have no idea some of the shit I've seen.
And some of these people think they are classy.
These are the same people who will call you out on the height of your grass.

I really don't care if someone drinks, it's their overall actions that I will judge.

Its a disease, however, some people choose to not get help for their substance dependency.

Congrats on your sobriety. Its one day at a time, but you can do it.

Vampire_Chicken posted...

VampireCoyote posted...

Its weird to me that we have two vampire animals.

It's a choice that can lead to disease.

Always felt like alcoholism like all addictions is a symptom of poor coping skills. There is a large genetic component to people's ability to cope with stress, pain and discomfort. Some people can drink and never become addicted, whereas other people get addicted instantly and the only time they truly feel alive is when they are indulging in their addiction.

Most addicts can't quit their addiction cold turkey. They have to replace the addiction with another addiction that is less damaging or slowly wean themselves off. So if we define disease as a trait you are born with IMO it's a disease, since some people are much more genetically inclined towards substance abuse.

deathproof12 posted...

Always felt like alcoholism like all addictions is a symptom of poor coping skills. There is a large genetic component to people's ability to cope with stress, pain and discomfort. Some people can drink and never become addicted, whereas other people get addicted instantly and the only time they truly feel alive is when they are indulging in their addiction.

Most addicts can't quit their addiction cold turkey. They have to replace the addiction with another addiction that is less damaging or slowly wean themselves off. So if we define disease as a trait you are born with IMO it's a disease, since some people are much more genetically inclined towards substance abuse.

The weird thing is, I never craved alcohol. Just the "normal" feeling it gave. I got to the point where it was extremely hard to function socially without it. Even at work. Physically I guess I was addicted due to the heavy withdrawal that I think it still going on. As of now the thought of taking a drink makes me feel sick.

I've done other drugs and never got hooked on any of it. It was usually situations where other people had it and I was like whatever.

LeoRavus posted...

The weird thing is, I never craved alcohol. Just the "normal" feeling it gave. I got to the point where it was extremely hard to function socially without it. Even at work. Physically I guess I was addicted due to the heavy withdrawal that I think it still going on. As of now the thought of taking a drink makes me feel sick.

I've done other drugs and never got hooked on any of it. It was usually situations where other people had it and I was like whatever.

Yeah, the first few times you take it it's the best thing ever, then as your tolerance grows more and more you need to take higher dosages and do it more frequently just to feel normal. Then only way to get that euphoria is to cycle off and lower your tolerance, but you need to drink just to feel normal now.

It starts as a choice, but it doesn't necessarily remain one.

Alcoholic here... Sober since November. It's a disease... I can't have a single drink without having another. Or another. I drank before work, on the way, at work, and of course after. It's like my mind can't grasp the concept of moderation and it sucks.

Luckily I can have non-alcoholic beer and be okay. I probably drink more of those than I should but I can easily go without. If it weren't for my wife's tenacity and sticking with me I'd be divorced and likely homeless. I know it's been hard on her and the kids and even though I still crave really bad sometimes it's getting easier. I quit cold turkey, going from about twenty four beers a day plus maybe half a fifth of liquor (sometimes a whole bottle...) to nothing. I was shaking like a fish outta water and got close to be hospitalized. Thankfully I'm okay now. But damn it was rough!

A choicely disease.

Enderknight17 posted...

Alcoholic here... Sober since November. It's a disease... I can't have a single drink without having another. Or another. I drank before work, on the way, at work, and of course after. It's like my mind can't grasp the concept of moderation and it sucks.

Luckily I can have non-alcoholic beer and be okay. I probably drink more of those than I should but I can easily go without. If it weren't for my wife's tenacity and sticking with me I'd be divorced and likely homeless. I know it's been hard on her and the kids and even though I still crave really bad sometimes it's getting easier. I quit cold turkey, going from about twenty four beers a day plus maybe half a fifth of liquor (sometimes a whole bottle...) to nothing. I was shaking like a fish outta water and got close to be hospitalized. Thankfully I'm okay now. But damn it was rough!

Cold turkey here too and it was a dangerous move without medical insurance. I kept having spasms like zapped by electricity. Couldn't sleep for 4 days straight or look at bright screens like the laptop or TV. Hallucinations, vertigo, face was burning up, etc. It was the worst withdrawal I've ever experienced and feel like I wouldn't survive another since they only get worse.

Starts as a choice, develops into a disease

It is clinically considered a disease.

https://iuhealth.org/thrive/is-addiction-really-a-disease#:~:text=Alcohol%20or%20drug%20addiction%2C%20also,that%20can%20happen%20to%20anyone.

bfslick50 posted...

Cancer can be a result of bad luck but it can also be a result of poor personal choices, especially with regards to smoking. Initially you choose to drink or not, but once something becomes an addiction then quitting is a little bit more involved than a simple choice. Then you go back further and look at why they first started drinking that much in first place and the number of instances they are self-medicating because of a different issue ain't zero.

^This. I had a conversation similar to this with my friend few months before she passed away(had COPD). I asked her what choices would she change. She said smoking and her 2nd husband(a abuser and tried to murder her). Although she dabbled with smoking before that event, it effected her long term for decades. Quitting is hard, she tried multiple times. Something would happen and she slipped right back. I think maybe 20 years ago was the tipping point if she stopped then she would be alive today. It's always a choice to start

my brother is an alcholic, drinks probably close to 30 beers a day. it started as a choice for him, but now it's a disease.

Its a choice until it isnt.

Fortunately for me, its very much a choice.

AsucaHayashi posted...

i wouldn't understand it either way because regardless in whichever form it comes in, it universally tastes like crap.

depends on the alcohol. lower commoner beers taste like crap.

need wine coolers. wine. maybe sax on the beach drink if want flavor.