Viewing Alcoholism as a Disease

Many people have a problem when thinking of alcoholism as a disease because it simply doesn’t seem like one. It doesn’t look a disease; nor does it sound, smell, or act like a disease. To cap it all, it regularly denies it exists and refuses to accept treatment.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence offers a detailed and complete definition of alcoholism, but perhaps the simplest way to describe it is “a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink.” Alcoholism has been accepted by professional medical organizations for many years as a major, constant, progressive and at times deadly disease.