Why is Alcoholism Considered a Chronic Disease

Are you an alcoholic? If the answer is an echoing YES, then this post is meant for you. Actually, it is for anyone who has a family member or friend who is an alcoholic. The blame goes to television and peer pressure. Firstly, we find that in movies and music videos, alcohol is shown as a means to forget your worries. That’s not all! There are movies where alcohol consumption is showcased as a cool thing to do.

We have been waiting to break this to you! Alcohol is not the only way to enjoy in a party. A party is meant to celebrate friendship, love and even achievements. You can celebrate it in other ways such as eating good food, making memories and dancing. All these help in creating memories and alcohol intake can make you forget the important moments.

Now drinking in parties is one thing. There are people who are drinking on a regular basis. The world calls them alcoholics, but we are trying to wipe away the tag! An alcoholic is a person who depends on alcohol and makes excuses to drink. It is not how much you drink, but is rather about a person having the physical or desire to drink alcohol. This desire is uncontrollable and you find excuses to wash down several drinks.

As per the doctors, alcoholism is a chronic disease. For those of you who are not aware of what chronic disease means, we shall cover that in the next section. This post is about answering the following question – Why is alcoholism considered a chronic disease?

Let’s get started!

Defining Chronic Disease

As per U.S. National Centre for Health Statistics, chronic disease is something that persists for 3 months or more. This is not a disease that you can cure by prescribing medications or giving an injection. Some of the classic examples of a chronic disease include obesity, colon cancer, breast cancer, stroke, seizures, epilepsy and alcoholism.

In a nutshell, a chronic disease is something that cannot be treated with medicines, treatments, surgery or vaccines. In fact, these diseases cannot go away. There are certain self-damaging behaviours that could increase the chances of getting this disease. These include poor eating habits (excessive intake of junk food or high-caloric foods), use of tobacco, and not indulging in physical exercise.

As per Mayo Clinic, a chronic disease can get worse without treatment. What is the treatment? As far as we know, an alcoholic cannot give up on alcohol immediately as that could lead to horrid withdrawal symptoms. It is not advised to leave alcohol all of a sudden without a doctor’s approval. Doctors call alcoholism a chronic disease that progresses.

Why alcoholism? In order to understand this, keep reading and find out the right answer.

Why is alcoholism a chronic disease? Revealing the Truth

Majority of the people are tired of finding an answer on the search engine. We have answered the question carefully. Pay attention and read it carefully!

• Alcoholism is related to genetic components. If there is a family history of alcoholics, it is possible that the children may have it too. Since it runs in the family, alcoholism is related to chronic diseases.
• There are environmental factors that come into play. Let us take the example of obesity. You have a culture of eating high calorie foods such as white rice, pork and potatoes. This is your staple food and it is the cause of gaining weight. Obesity also happens due to the lack of exercise and poor eating habits. If you are not giving up on unhealthy foods, you will continue to be obese. Similarly, if you have a family culture of binge drinkers then you get affected by it. The environment plays a positive/negative role in shaping our thought process and lifestyle.
• Let us take the example of diabetes. There is no cure, but the doctors recommend you to control it. It can be controlled by not eating certain foods and exercises on a regular basis. Similarly, alcoholism persists for a long time and it has no cure. Psychiatrists will only suggest you to undergo therapy or try to control your alcohol cravings.
• Along with high intake of alcohol, there are behavioural changes in a person. They become violent and tend to pass out at inappropriate places and destinations. They do not remember what happened last night and tend to wake up feeling sluggish. It has a negative impact on your overall health.

In a nutshell, it is a chronic disease and cannot be cured. However, the doctor or therapist would suggest you to join a rehab or go for group sessions. The treatment for this is also going to be a long-term procedure. You need a change of attitude and lots of control.

How to TREAT Alcoholism?

Now that you know that alcoholism is a chronic disease, it is best to control the urge to drink. Being a full blown alcoholic can cut down several years from your life.

The simple ways to leave alcohol is to not keep bottles of vodka, wine or whiskey at home. Do not keep any alcohol bottles inside the home. Throw it away and tell yourself that it is harming you negatively.

If your peers are pressuring you to drink alcohol, always know that good friends will never force you to be like them. They would help you to get out of the messy situation.

Joining a rehab is a good option. Meet people who are trying to give up on alcohol. You can have a buddy who is in the same journey as you.

Stay busy, fall in love and do what you love. Sometimes your hobbies can keep you occupied! Join an art class, teach music to kids, cook and start a cooking blog, travel the world, and make new friends who understand your situation.

Always know that alcoholism is something that you have control over. Just like you have control over your emotions, you will learn to say no to something as harmful as alcohol.