Is alcoholism a disease? Yes, alcoholism, or alcohol abuse, is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic, because of their alcohol addiction, will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems.

Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person’s lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person’s genes and by his or her lifestyle. In many cases, whats needed is an intervention. If an alcoholic is unwilling to get help, what can you do about it?

This can be a challenge. An alcoholic can’t be forced to get help except under certain circumstances, such as a violent incident that results in court-ordered treatment or medical emergency. But you don’t have to wait for someone to hit rock bottom to act. Many alcohol rehabilitation centers, especially the luxury residential alcohol rehab centers, suggest the following steps to help an alcoholic get treatment:

Stop all cover ups. Family members often make excuses to others or try to protect the alcoholic from the results of his or her drinking. It is important to stop covering for the alcoholic so that he or she experiences the full consequences of drinking.

When we’re young, we want to be surfers in Malibu, or pro hoopsters in Los Angeles or own a luxury sports car – no one grows up wanting to be an alcoholic. Alcohol addiction, or alcoholism, is an involuntary disability with genetic, psychological, and environmental factors influencing its development and symptoms. It persists over time with physical, psychological, and emotional impairments often accumulating as drinking continues. Denial becomes an integral part of the disease and a key obstacle to recovery.

Alcohol abuse can amplify the risk for the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box) cancers. Being an alcohol addict can also cause immune system problems, brain damage, liver cirrhosis, and harm to the fetus during pregnancy. In addition, risk of death from automobile accidents and injuries at work increases with misuse of alcohol. Furthermore, both homicides and suicides are more likely to be committed by people who have been under the influence of heavy alcohol. Medically supervised detoxification is critical with severe alcoholics as seizures can occur from withdrawals. Long term addiction recovery is dependent on an effective drug detox program, drug rehab and alcohol treatment center instilling effective coping skills into the individual.