Tyler Baze - put the whiskey down, son

[GenuineRisk]

Not recognizing alcoholism as a disease is like assuming that the mentally ill just need to "snap out of it."

Defined:

In a 1992 JAMA article, the Joint Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) published this definition for alcoholism:
“Alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, mostly denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic.”

There's a reason alcoholics who have stopped drinking are called "recovering." it's because they'll never be "cured." They won't ever be able to drink as someone who is not alcoholic can drink. It's a disease.

My father is drinking himself to death. It's an awful thing to watch. And I spent years angry about it. But, for whatever reason, I was spared the addictive need for alcohol my dad has. Which means I can't ever understand what's going on in his head. I can't judge, because I will never truly understand.