American Society of Addiction Medicine Says Alcoholism a Disease

  Over fifty years ago the American Medical Association declared that alcoholism is a disease. Now the American Society of Addiction Medicine is also stating that alcoholism is a chronic disease of the brain. Hopefully the American Society of Addiction Medicine declaring that alcoholism is a disease will help minimize the number of individuals that discriminate against people who suffer from the disease of addiction. It is not uncommon for people to feel that those who suffer from alcohol abuse and drug addiction are weak in character as opposed to actually suffering from a chronic brain disease. Just like the commercial that aired in the eighties stated the truth is that no one ever grows up saying that they want their life to be ruled by addiction be it to alcohol, drugs or both. No one wants to wake up sick and have to look for alcohol or drugs just so that they can avoid painful withdrawal symptoms and hopefully be able to get through the day. Once addicted to drugs and alcohol a person’s brain is literally taken for hostage and they will likely be unable to make healthy lifestyle decisions. Eventually their life revolves around where they are going to get their next drink or fix from. Everything else becomes secondary. Addiction is a slippery slope that can bring the suffering to their knees quickly and cause them to lose their family, jobs, homes…and sadly sometimes their life. The positive side of addiction is that just like other diseases professional help can help an individual to recover and go on to lead a life that is productive, happy and free of chemical dependency. Many who have been able to turn their life around did so by first going to a medically supervised detoxification followed by various forms of therapy that is offered in addiction treatment.