Alcoholism - Curable or Just Controllable?

Alcoholism is a progressive and potentially fatal disease.  Alcoholism itself is not curable but it is possible to recover completely.  Recovering from alcohol is to abstain from all forms of alcoholic beverages and medications that contain alcohol such as cough medicines. 

Alcoholism is considered a chronic illness.  As with any chronic illness, it affects entire families.  As a result, the recovery process also affects the entire family and network of friends of the alcoholic.  The good news is that these people can serve as a good support network to enable the alcoholic to abstain from drinking alcohol.  The same way a family would support a chronically ill person is how the alcoholic should be treated because alcoholism is chronic.

Anyone who is an alcoholic will be an alcoholic for the rest of his or her lives.  Even though there is no cure for alcoholism, there is hope for the alcoholic.  That is where recovery comes in - the abstinence from all alcohol on the part of the addicted person.  This is where the control part of the disease comes into play.  It is important to be able to control the desire to have alcohol and to choose not to drink it.  Unfortunately, the sheer nature of being an alcoholic is defined by the lack of an ability to control ones drinking.  In order to enter the recovery phase and thus control the disease itself, the alcoholic must come to the place where he or she is able and willing to take control and stop reaching for alcohol.  Research has shown that the alcoholic cannot willfully control his drinking and therefore should be abstinent.  The alcoholic has to accept responsibility for his addiction and recovery. 

There are some programs that highlight the issue of control of alcoholism and they do not mandate abstinence from alcohol.  Rationing and moderation programs such as these allow the person to have alcohol but with every drink, the person becomes less able to decide that the next drink is a bad idea.  Most alcoholics are unable to limit their drinking and absolutely must abstain from alcohol all together to be successful.  This is still considered being in control of the disease.  In fact, once the alcoholic has exhibited control over the disease by abstinence, rationing or moderation the person is said to be in remission. 

The American Psychiatric Association considers remission to be where the physical and mental aspects of alcoholism are no longer evident regardless of whether or not the person is still drinking.  Most others use the term remission only after the alcoholic has completely stopped the consumption of alcohol.

Alcoholism, regardless of whether the alcoholic totally abstains from alcohol or just drinks in moderation, is a controllable disease.  However, alcoholism is not considered curable because the alcoholic can relapse back into the acute phase of the disease many times with just one drink or one episode of over drinking.  Even when the alcoholic is in remission, he is still considered an alcoholic and will be an alcoholic for the rest of his life.  Regardless of the amount of years since active alcohol consumption, the person remains an alcoholic.  As with any chronic illness, the possibility is always at the forefront for the person to relapse into acute, active alcoholism.

Alcoholism in the News

02/02/2012
US shelter uses alcohol to combat alcoholism
Controversial strategy in a Seattle homeless shelter may sound counter-productive, it has proved anything but.

US shelter uses alcohol to combat alcoholism

01/09/2012
If alcoholism runs in my family, am I at greater risk?
Just as with other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, alcoholism can also run in families

If alcoholism runs in my family, am I at greater risk?

01/26/2012
Kim Richards Admits To Alcoholism On 'Housewives' Reunion
There will be triple the drama when Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion special kicks off on Jan. 30 (9 p.m.) - the first in a three-part series that reunites the ladies for heated discussion with Andy Cohen.

Kim Richards Admits To Alcoholism On 'Housewives' Reunion

01/26/2012
Kim Richards Admits To Alcoholism On 'Housewives' Reunion
There will be triple the drama when Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion special kicks off on Jan. 30 (9 p.m.) - the first in a three-part series that reunites the ladies for heated discussion with Andy Cohen.

Kim Richards Admits To Alcoholism On 'Housewives' Reunion

01/24/2012
Oxford University Press and Medical Council on Alcohol announce long-term partnership
( Oxford University Press ) Oxford University Press is pleased to announce that it has entered a new long-term collaboration with the Medical Council on Alcohol to jointly publish the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Oxford University Press and Medical Council on Alcohol announce long-term partnership