Disability Resource Directory

What is Alcoholism?

 Surprisingly, many people wonder what an alcoholic is and what is alcoholism. There is much information to be covered on the subject of alcoholism. The coverage here of this disease will be but a glimpse of the condition.

The term alcoholism is given to a disease which creates a strong craving for alcohol. The person that has this condition is considered to be an alcoholic. These people seem to have varying degrees of need in their drinking desires. While some seem to need the alcoholic beverage constantly others only seem to crave a drink when something goes wrong for them or causes them a degree of stress which is more than they feel they can handle on their own. Still, others are what are known as a social drinker.

While the medical world does not know the exact causative factor in alcoholism there is a suggestion that social factors, genetic factors and psychological factors all contribute to the development of this condition. Additionally, the term alcoholism is not simply equivalent to excessive drinking of any magnitude. It is more a relationship of severity and to the extent of the disorders related to alcohol use along a progressive course.

And while the person with a drinking problem might even realize they could harm their health or circumstances in their life caused by excessive drinking, they seem to not have the ability to control the drinking and cravings for the alcohol. They can grow to depend on that alcoholic drink as a means to support their psychological well being. They have become dependent on alcohol. But to what magnitude?

Well, the magnitude of a drinking problem varies with each affected person. As such, there have been some terms created to signify to what degree a person is affected by the need for alcohol. What are these terms or levels of disorder?

• Social Drinker
• Heavy Drinker
• Problem Drinker
• Alcohol Dependent

The least severe of the alcohol disorder is: Social and the most severe is a dependent drinker. Furthermore, with each increase in drinking needs, the health risks also will increase. Let's look at what these levels basically mean...

• A social drinker is defined as a person who drinks to enhance their experience at a social gathering but the drinking is not the focus of their activity.
• A heavy drinker is basically defined as a person who incorporates alcoholic drinking into more and more activities with the focus being on drinking.
• A problem drinker is basically defined as a person who does not recognize that drinking alcoholic beverages and getting the resulting intoxicating effects have become a goal in itself. They often will deal with a problem by drinking even if it was originally caused by having too much to drink.
• An alcohol dependent person is a drinker that can not control or resist the urge to drink during an alcoholic drink period. This is the stage or level that a doctor considers a serious disease..

So, there you have a brief explanation of what qualifies someone as an alcoholic and a very brief look at alcoholism.

This article is to be used for information purposes only. It is not a diagnosis, treatment or cure for alcoholism or any other physical, emotional or mental disorder. You should always consult a health professional for proper diagnosis, treatment or cure for any physical, emotional or mental disorder.