Who's Alcoholic?
The stereotyped
picture of the drunken, skid-row bum is a myth. 95% of all
alcoholics are employed. 45% of them hold management positions;
50% have college degrees.
Alcoholism
may be defines as a disease, an addiction, or dependency, but the symptoms
are the same:
- an
overwhelming desire to drink
-
ever-increasing tolerance for alcohol
-
personality changes caused by drinking
-
impaired judgment due to drinking
-
concealed drinking
-
emotional and/or physical isolation from friends and family
-
difficulty in daily functioning
-
physical problems
-
blackouts from drinking
The
alcoholic drinks compulsively to the point of intoxication, over and over
again, and continues to do so despite the concern of family and friends,
physicians' warning and that little voice inside that says "You're
killing yourself."
How It
Develops
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease, just like Alzheimer's or
diabetes. It begins with the discovery that drinking can produce a
temporary mild euphoria, and progresses to looking forward to that
feeling and then to seeking it out. The need becomes an obsession,
which becomes an addiction.
Social
drinking leads to psychological addiction for the alcoholic, and at some
point, the body's metabolic processes are altered to include and depend upon
alcohol. This is where physical dependence - true addiction - begins.
Alcoholic
Personality
Alcoholism may be caused by an inherited vulnerability to alcohol or may
be passed from parent to child as a learned way of coping with
discomfort and stress.
In either
case, these traits characterize addiction personalities:
- anxiety
about personal relationships
-
emotional immaturity
-
excessive dependency
-
tendency to be smokers and/or heavy coffee drinkers
- low
tolerance for frustration
-
feelings of loneliness & isolation
- low
self-confidence & self-esteem
-
impulsiveness
-
perfectionism
-
ambivalence towards authority
-
inability to express emotions
-
excessive guilt
Denial is
the chief symptom of alcoholism. "I can quit any time" is a
typical statement. This is not the same as lying - it is
self-deception, a defense against unpleasant realities. The alcoholic
may be the only one who believes his denial, but his is often so vehement
that friends and families remain silent.
