Alcoholism Is A Progressive Disease.

Is alcoholism a disease? Most people don't believe so, because it simply doesn't have that kind of aspect one assumes a disease would have. Diseases have to do with germs, not substances, right? Wrong. Alcoholism certainly is a disease, and has been recognized so by medical professionals and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

Early signs of alcoholism include frequent intoxication, an established pattern of heavy drinking and drinking in dangerous situations, such as when driving. Other early signs of alcoholism include black-out drinking or a drastic change in demeanor while drinking, such as consistently becoming angry or violent. The main symptom of alcohol abuse occurs when someone continues to drink after their drinking reaches a level that causes recurrent problems. Continuing to drink after it causes someone to miss work, drive drunk, shirk responsibilities or get in trouble with the law is considered alcohol abuse.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV, defines alcohol abuse as drinking despite alcohol-related physical, social, psychological, or occupational problems, or drinking in dangerous situations, such as while driving. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases refers to "harmful use" of alcohol, or drinking that causes either physical or mental damage in the absence of alcohol dependence. In other words, alcohol abuse is any harmful use of alcohol.

Compounding the problem is the progressive nature of the disease. In its early stages, taking one or two drinks may be all it takes to get the "song" to stop. But soon it takes six or seven and later maybe ten or twelve. Somewhere down the road the only time the song stops is when he passes out. The progression of the disease is so subtle and usually takes place over such an extended period of time, that even the alcoholic himself failed to notice the point at which he lost control -- and alcohol took over -- his life.

No wonder denial is an almost universal symptom of the disease. For those who have come to the realization that they do have a problem, help may be as close as the white pages of the telephone directory. But for those who need help and do not want it, intervention may be the only alternative. However, if you have decided, for whatever reason, that you want to stop drinking, there is a world of help and support available. To get a better picture of where you are now, so that you can make an informed decision about how to proceed, perhaps the first person to talk with should be your family doctor.

For those who have committed themselves to not drinking again, or forced by circumstances to not have access to alcohol, the struggle to fight the withdrawal symptoms can become a dangerous battle, one that can actually become life threatening. For some, who are less chemically dependent, withdrawal symptoms might be as "mild" as merely getting the shakes, or the sweats -- or perhaps nausea, headache, anxiety, a rapid heart beat, and increased blood pressure. Although these symptoms are uncomfortable and irritating, they are not necessarily dangerous. But they are often accompanied by the "craving" for more alcohol, making the decision to continue abstinence much more difficult to make.

Some of the psychological symptoms are: feelings of jumpiness or nervousness; feelings of shakiness; anxiety; irritability or easily excited; emotional volatility, rapid emotional changes; depression; fatigue; difficulty with thinking clearly; having bad dreams. Some of the physical symptoms are: headache - general, pulsating; sweating, especially the palms of the hands or the face; nusea; vomiting; loss of appetite; insomnia, sleeping difficulty; paleness; rapid heart rate (palpitations); eyes, pupils different size (enlarged, dilated pupils); clammy skin; abnormal movements; tremor of the hands; involuntary, abnormal movements of the eyelids.