Alcoholism as a Disease
Important information about alcoholism and how to recognize it
Call 2400 3501This message may be for you or someone else
If you or someone you know has a problem with alcohol, due to uncontrolled drinking, this brief information, which is a Message from Alcoholics Anonymous, may be the beginning of a new way of living, staying sober day by day, away from the first drink of alcohol.
Is Alcoholics Anonymous for You?
12 Questions Only You Can Answer
Our experience has taught us that anyone who answers YES to FOUR or more questions has definite alcoholic tendencies and may already be a problem drinker. Why not ask yourself these questions? Remember that it is not shameful to admit that you have a disease. If you really have a problem, the important thing is to do something about it.
Have you ever tried to stop drinking for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?
Do you resent the advice of others who have tried to get you to stop drinking?
Have you ever tried to control your drinking by switching from one alcoholic beverage to another?
Have you taken a morning drink during the past year?
Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble?
Has your drinking problem become progressively more serious during the past year?
Has your drinking created problems at home?
At social affairs where drinking is limited, do you try to obtain "extra" drinks?
Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can stop drinking "on your own" whenever you wish?
During the past year, have you missed time from work because of drinking?
Have you ever had «blackouts» as a result of drinking?
Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink?
Alcoholism as a Disease
Alcoholics Anonymous does not say that alcoholism is a disease, but rather reaffirms what the World Health Organization defined as such in 1957.
Many and different interpretations have been given about alcoholism. Most Alcoholics Anonymous members believe that this disease consists of a combination of two elements; a physical allergy to alcohol, and a mental obsession with it, that does not measure its consequences. That it is a disease impossible to stop with willpower alone. That it is a progressive and incurable disease, but that, like other diseases, it can be arrested.
Who is an alcoholic?
Within A.A., an alcoholic is known as any person who cannot control their drinking, which leads to personal problems (moral, spiritual, health), family problems (treatment, communication, economic), work and social problems. It is a person who suffers from a physical compulsion, coupled with a mental obsession with drinking.
The decision is yours
Only you can decide whether the Alcoholics Anonymous program, its suggested way of life, seems reasonable to you and whether it can be useful. It is a decision that you must make yourself and that no one else can make for you.
Those of us who are now A.A. members joined this Fellowship because we recognized that drinking had become a problem we could not control without help. At first, many of us refused to admit that we couldn't drink socially, but when experienced A.A. members told us that alcoholism is a disease that can be arrested, like diabetes, we began to look for symptoms of the disease in ourselves. We faced the reality of this disease, just as we might have faced any other serious health problem.
We honestly answered real and concrete questions about our drinking patterns and their effect on our daily lives.