How long do you have to drink before you become an alcoholic?

• do you have to drink everyday.... for like years? or can you become and alcoholic by drinking 3-4 times a week for years?

• Answer:

  Alcoholism Modern Day System Alcoholism is described as a chronic, incurable disease. The person is not responsible for his uncontrolled drinking, nor is he responsible for his behavior. The lies told, the people hurt, the family and social relationships damaged, the working abilities strained, and the crimes committed will bring consequences, yet it is the disease that caused the behavior. The medical model is dominant in society today because the urge to drink often feels like a disease. It feels like something else takes over when alcohol is available. The experts define alcohol abuse as “for those who experience it, it feels like anything but a decision. If there is a decision to be made, it feels as if the disease does the choosing.”[i] The disease model was first popularized in the 1930’s by Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Wilson did not use the disease label because it was well-supported by research. He used it because he thought it would help men and women to be more open about their drinking problems. In other words, he was using a metaphor: drinking is like a disease. Over the past fifty years the disease model has lost its metaphoric quality and the sentence has been shortened to “drinking is a disease.” The disappearance of the little word “like” has made a large impact in how our society understands alcoholism.[ii] What is Alcoholism? Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes these symptoms according to the NIAAA: · craving – a strong need, or compulsion to drink · loss of control – the inability to control one’s drinking on any given occasion · physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking · tolerance – the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to ‘get high’[iii] Other ways to define alcoholism are given in the Recovery Resource Book by Barbara Yoder: · A chronic disease that has a biological origin. It is progressive, fatal without treatment, and affects a person mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. · A way to drown feelings. · The heart gone astray; a spiritual disease. · A progressive disease A lifetime disease. An equal opportunity disease. A drug addiction no better no worse than any of the others. It cannot be cured but can be arrested using AA, self-help groups, therapy groups, and most of all “a higher power.”