There are a zillion posts on this already if you do a search on "disease" in the Alcoholism forum.

Read the Doctor's Opinion and More About Alcoholism in the Big Book.

You dont have to use the word disease if it doesnt sit right with you.

However in terms of AA it is important to understand how alcoholism is described as a physical, mental and spiritual problem rather than a moral issue or weakness. To understand what those things are, how they result in powerlessness and unmanageability,identify that they apply to me and my experience and be able to accept that was crucial in terms of step 1 for me.

This is described well in the big book in the Drs Opinion, How It Works, and More About Alcoholism.

I read the doctors opinion and he calls it an "allergy" and that I can agree with....I agree also that some of it can be genetics...
but disease, I dont this he says that word.if im wrong let me know, maybe I do need to reread it

Thanks Nicky, I do agree that it is a mental, spiritual and moral issue....

I know that am powerless and look forward to start working on the steps :)

I hate calling it a disease too because it is a choice - a choice not to drink...but I've heard doctors say that they can tell by some part of the brain -

Wishing you success!

I am happy to be corrected but I don't think it mentions the word "disease" at all in the big book. The words illness, condition, malady are used.

The reason it is considered this way (as illness or condition) is:-
1) to emphasise that this is not about moral weakness.
2) that it is not caused by alcohol but by an internal condition
3) that the body of an alcoholic processes alcohol differently from that of normal people
4) that it is not caused by external factors but by an internal condition

As per my previous post if you understand and accept the phenomenon of craving, mental obsession and spiritual malady and how these manifest to create powerlessness and unmanageability then you have everything you need in terms of description and acceptance of the problem.

IMO - and most here know i believe this way

the disease is ADDICTION - what you feed that addiction is the choice - be it alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, shopping, sex, etc.

Peace!

This is exactly why I suggested doing a search on earlier posts. Now we get to see the debates all over again. Yippee. :-(

For me, I was actually relieved when I heard alcoholism referred to as a disease. It sat very well as to why I had been unable to do anything about it just with my self will/pride.

Yep the three fold illness that I needed to understand came from going through the steps with a sponsor.

Today I know that I can recover yet am never cured.

So....when you phoning your sponsor? Personally, I suggest your sponsor would be pleased you are asking such questions :)

When the Big Book was written and the 12 Step programme put together in the 1930's the medical profession were just beginning to discover about the mental and physical effects of alcohol on the human body. At that time they had no proof but Dr. Silkworth formed an Opinion that the body of the alcoholic was quite as abnormal as his mind.

Later research has led to scientific proof that there are physical differences between an alcoholic and a drinker who is not addicted to alcohol. This is to do with the way in which the body processes alcohol. Like any substance that is consumed, be it food or drink, there are chemical changes in the body that lead to that substance being broken down and alcohol is no different. Enzymes get to work and the alcohol is broken down, first of all, to a chemical called Acetaldehyde; then to Diacetic Acid; then to Acetone. Finally, the Acetone is broken down into Water, Sugar and Carbon Dioxide and the body gets rid of these in various ways.

The problem is that the alcoholic has enzymes that are not of a sufficient quality or quantity when compared to a normal drinker. This results in the alcohol not being broken down completely and some of the acetone is retained in the body. It is because of the presence of the acetone that one drink sets off the physical craving for more. The normal drinker breaks down the acetone completely and therefore taking one drink does not set off the same reaction.

Therefore, the alcoholic is physically different to a normal or social drinker. You can call that difference anything that you like but disease is a good enough description. Another way of looking at it is that the nine from ten people who drink normally are at EASE with alcohol, while the one in ten who is an alcoholic is away from ease or DIS-EASE, (DIS meaning away from something). I was starkly reminded about the difference earlier this evening when my wife and I went out for a meal to a place where people were drinking socially. I was sitting in a place where I could observe those normies over a period of time. They sat around talking and drinking one pint of beer for the best part of an hour. I remembered how many drinks, both up front and sneaked secretly around some corner that I would have taken in that time. They are not addicted to alcohol and they can control their drinking; I am addicted to alcohol and after one drink developed a physical craving for more alcohol that no human power can resist.

When I admitted that I am an alcoholic but still did not ACCEPT the fact, I looked at all sorts of ways that I could prove to myself and to those AA people that I could one day drink safely again. However, once I digested the above facts I could no longer argue with what I had been told all along; that I am physically different to a normal drinker and that no matter how long I stay sober, that difference will always remain. That is why, barring some new scientific breakthrough, I will never be cured of alcoholism. No matter how long I stay sober, that one drink will immediately lead me back to where I left off when I had the last drink.

Any time that I was tempted to drink during those early months of sobriety, all I had to do was to cast my mind back to the above facts. Then, I knew exactly what would happen if I took that first drink and also why it would happen; I could no longer plead ignorance as an excuse. I ACCEPTED that I am and will remain an alcoholic.

Interesting - the word disease is only used once in the big book, whereas malady is used repeatedly. One definition for malady: any unwholesome or desperate condition. That would certainly apply to me. After years of drinking, my spiritual, mental, emotional and physical self had more than a few illnesses to overcome.
Notwithstanding the semantics or what one's logic would tell, the things I did when I was drinking strongly indicated there was something wrong with me.
People that are not sick do not do the things I did.
Alcoholism is a disease. Just like diabetes,you can detect it and get treatment to hopfully control it the rest of your life...

Could you pls give me the page ref of use of disease in the bb - i couldnt find it - thx

Nicky, it is only mentioned once in the first 164 pages in How It Works in the part about Resentments. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease.

Alcoholism is mentioned as a disease is the personal stories of some of the first members, though.

Thanks :-)