Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol is one of the hardest drugs to stop using considering its wide spread use and popularity in today's culture. It is easily accessible at most convenience stores and as we all know, convenience stores are everywhere. For a person trying to kick their addiction, something as simple as paying for a tank of gasoline could be a big issue. It can be challenging if the person is not on the right footing when entering the store. They may suddenly find themselves looking through the glass freezer doors, scanning the shelves, moving from Coca-Cola to Pepsi down to the energy drinks section and then to the alcohol section. For a normal individual (non alcoholic) it is a simple issue. They would give little thought and apply little effort in turning and walking away.

But for an alcoholic that wants and needs to drink, turning and walking away from the freezer door is like drowning in the middle of a stormy ocean, seeing a life preserver nearby but not reaching for it. For the normal individual, this example seems extreme but for the alcoholic that is still drinking, it is a hard truth.

Alcohol addiction has yet to be completely understood by the scientific and medical communities. One thing commonly agreed upon is that alcohol addiction, or alcoholism, is a fatal disease if not treated. Luckily, it is treatable. Though there has yet to be a vaccine invented that will cure the disease of alcoholism. As of today, there is no proven permanent cure for alcoholism. On the bright side, there are numerous ways to combat alcoholism for those willing to stop drinking and accept help.

Alcoholism is considered by most to be an obsession of the mind and allergy of the body. When thinking of an allergy, most people think of an allergic reaction to, say, shellfish. For someone who is allergic to shellfish to sit at the dinner table and fill their stomach with it could be fatal. But what if this person has an obsession that cannot be controlled once they begin eating the shellfish? They need more and more until they have filled themselves with it and must be hospitalized because of it. Family members and friends can hide the shellfish, not buy it, skip the shellfish sections of the local market but somehow, someway, the individual with the shellfish obsession will find a way to get it and eat it. Again, this sets off a turn of events that nearly kills the person and lands them in the hospital. Alcoholism is similar to the example above.

As it has been said before, one drink is too many and a thousand is never enough. The disease of alcoholism is sly, mysterious, potent and patient. A non alcoholic can be at a social event, have a drink maybe two, start to feel tipsy or a sense of loss of control, nausea might set in and they will stop. For an alcoholic at the same event, they will have a drink and begin to feel more in control, more elated and free. Another drink increases that feeling so another will be needed after that and another and then another. The alcoholic will continue to drink and will be drunk before the night is over.

When a person crosses the line between normal drinking and alcoholism, they will never be the same again. It is like changing a cucumber into a pickle. The pickle will never be cucumber again. The alcoholic will try to grasp the same feelings and emotions they once associated with casual drinking but it will elude them indefinitely. They will continue down numerous paths to try and regain what once was but will exhaust every avenue until there is nowhere else to turn. Even then, they may still drink.

Alcoholism is misunderstood by the general population and there is good reason behind this. Non alcoholics will never be able to comprehend the powerful obsession affiliated with alcoholism. It is something that cannot be understood unless it is lived by the individual themselves. Even the alcoholic may be baffled by their life threatening dilemma. Not too long ago alcoholics were thrown into insane asylums and locked away. But there is hope for the alcoholic today. By accepting help, an alcoholic can increase their chances of living a purpose-filled and happy, alcohol-free life.