That was one of the first questions I asked my first addiction counselor just before entering an IOP. He told me it's a disease because it can be diagnosed and treated. So I think it depends on how you define the word disease.....Personally, I think it's a disease of free will but I know it's alot more compolicated then that.

There is an excellent movie that also breaks it down and makes it easier to understand called "Pleasure unwoven" by Dr Kevin McCauley, which I highly recommend.

~~~Peace~~~

I don’t think of my past alcoholism as a disease. I can look back and analyze that I was just mentally and emotionally unhealthy. However when I was in it and didn’t even know that I was addicted then that’s different to me.
Honestly I think it’s somatic to label it one way or the other because it manifests in so many different forms and perceptions.
Healthy or unhealthy. But in who’s definition of that? Definitely worth thinking about though.
Know thy enemy... turns out I was my only enemy lol. I still get a good giggle out of that.

for me, whether or not it is labelled as a disease is irrelevant, I just knew it was something that was destroying my life & that I had no control over - until I took the necessary action.......................always good to read other theories and perspectives though.

Yes - people get very caught up in labels.

Whether or not it's a disease isn't going to change anything about the way I approach my sobriety.

I think some don't like the idea of calling alcoholism a disease because it isn't like diseases that are entirely outside of someone's control. Makes people uncomfortable to lump alcoholism with cancer. I get that.

But there are an awful lot of lifestyle diseases caused by poor choices also.

Then it turns into a blame game....who's fault is it. But rather than dwelling on that, energy is probably better spent on finding a solution before you die.

There are so many definitions I don't think anyone will ever be right or wrong about this one.

Love author named Annie Grace... Her books focus on how the unconscious brain subconsciously directs our outlook on drinking. If we bring the negatives (of drinking, instead of the romanticism) to the forefront of our minds, we are better able to deal with the reality of those negatives, Point being, she would, and i would agree that it is not a disease that should define us as in certain circles as "My name is Kori and I am an addict/alcohlolic" That literally defines me by saying that. Grace teaches in her book and i also agree, that there is no alcololism, it simply a poor pattern of self medication that has become a habit...IT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE!

I've always wondered about that label of "disease". If it is a disease, it has to be the only disease that one has complete control over. Someone in recovery has the choice to control the disease and I have controlled the disease for 16 years now.

@ jwally378

Congratulations on 16 years! That's an incredible achievement!

~~~Cheers~~~

I like the non-disease approach for myself before I take the fist drink. I am responsible for my own actions. When I had my slips I didn't blame it on the disease. I worked on the problem that let to the slip. If the same situation occurs again, I will deal with it without drinking.

The disease phase enters after I take the first drink. Will power is no longer a factor in compusltion.

I can say that my body is different when I drink booze. I awaken the inner deamon and then I cannot stop. But if I tell myself it’s the disease of excess, then it’s not a moral problem, but a physical and psychological problem.

I have a disease and it is called alcoholism. It’s not going away and I will live with it the rest of my days... but it is in dormancy when I choose not to drink.

It is just waiting to get out of the bag and bite me again, so I choose to go with the disease route. My drinking led to a liver that was digesting itself because it could not motabolize the alcohol I was pouring down. It would have been liver disease if I didn’t stop and stay stopped.

Disease or what you wish, for about 10 percent of the population booze is bad , and I’m in that 10 percent, did I choose to be alcoholic? No but from the first time I grabbed that square whisky bottle, it was always too much