(January 20, 2014 at 2:03 pm)Chas Wrote: Did you even read your link? It does not say that it's been proven - it says that the question is not settled.It is a moral issue - from the link I posted:
And my point was and is that it is not a moral issue.
- The disease theory of alcoholism is just that... an unproven theory.
Dr. Herbert Fingarette has observed that the disease theory of alcoholism is embodied in four propositions:
- Heavy problem drinkers show a single distinctive pattern of ever greater alcohol use leading to ever greater bodily, mental, and social deterioration.
- The condition once it appears, persists involuntarily: the craving is irresistible and the drinking is uncontrollable once it has begun.
- Medical expertise is needed to understand and relieve the condition ('cure the disease') or at least ameliorate its symptoms.
- Alcoholics are no more responsible legally or morally for their drinking and its consequences than epileptics are responsible for the consequences of their movements during seizures."
Next:
- The second proposition, that drinking necessarily becomes uncontrollable once it has begun, had been disproved over a quarter century ago by more than 100 research studies reporting that a significant proportion of alcoholics return to moderate or controlled drinking without problems. Since then, the number of such studies has more than doubled.
The proposition has also been disproved by a nation-wide survey of alcoholics conducted by the United States government. It found that 17.7% of alcoholics are now drinking in moderation. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has discovered that
- Twenty years after onset of alcohol dependence, about three-fourths of individuals are in full recovery; more than half of those who have fully recovered drink at low-risk levels without symptoms of alcohol dependence.
About 75 percent of persons who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol (rehab) programs and AA. Only 13 percent of people with alcohol dependence ever receive specialty alcohol treatment.
The moral issue AND it's impact:
- The fourth proposition, that alcoholics aren't responsible for their behavior, is certainly not true. In 1988, the United States Supreme Court found that alcoholism is always the result of the alcoholics "own willful misconduct." It reaffirmed the lower court's finding that there exists "a substantial body of medical literature that even contests the proposition that alcoholism is a disease, much less that it is a disease for which the victim bears no responsibility." It also noted that "Indeed, even among many who consider alcoholism a 'disease' to which its victims are genetically predisposed, the consumption of alcohol is not regarded as wholly involuntary."
...
The disease concept of alcoholism removes the responsibility of alcoholics for their own behaviors. Dr. Peele asserts that "Perhaps the most dire consequence of the disease model of addiction is that it has encouraged the abdication of individual responsibility for outrageous conduct" and he suggests that "Creating a world of addictive diseases may mean creating a world in which anything is excusable."
...
The belief that consuming any alcohol triggers an uncontrollable urge to continue drinking and to do so in excess becomes a dangerous self-fulfilling prophesy. Research has demonstrated that alcoholics who reject the belief are much more likely to drink without problems after ending treatment than are those who believe it.
...
Those studies in which alcoholics are randomly assigned to AA, to other forms of treatment, or to no treatment report that alcoholics assigned to AA either do no better or actually suffer more relapses than do those assigned to other treatment or to no treatment at all.
Unfortunately, attending AA or other disease theory programs may be worse than doing nothing because members (or patients) are taught that they cannot succeed on their own because they suffer from a chronic disease that can't be cured.
Quote:It is listed in the DSM as a recognized disorder.Well what's a "disorder" then, is it a disease?
Maybe if you're talking about a bacterial infection with some obvious associated symptom, maybe both terms can mean the same thing. Obesity is a disorder too isn't it? But it's not a disease - eating disorders however are. So don't go trying to confuse people by blurring the line between disease and disorder.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke