Alcohol Abuse: Alcoholism as a Disease Essay -- Health Addiction

The line of alcohol abuse has been recognized for thousands of years, just only more recently put on we begun to see alcohol dependency as a treatable disorder. According to the incorrupt ailment ride of Alcoholism, familiar use of alcohol can be identified as a disease. Websters Dictionary defines the concept of disease as follows Any departure from health presenting marked symptoms malady unsoundness disorder. Therefore, as many occurrences of alcohol excess get up such symptoms, it is somewhat understandable that drunkenness is classified as a disease. The Classical Disease Model appears to offer a hopeful option. Treatment and dispassionateness can allow people to lead fulfilling lives. Adjacent to the notion of potomania as ain failure or moral deterioration, the Classical Disease Model appears to be a more desirable concept as it provides a motive for the alcoholic to seek intervention and gain sympathy, minimizing personal guilt. As alcoholism is seen as a pro gressive and, to an extent, hereditary illness for which those afflicted are not accountable, victims avoid being ostracized from society (Jellinek, 1960). Labeling the trouble as a disease allows the medical profession to take responsibility for the treatment of alcoholism, which puts the problem in a more favourable light than if it were in the hands of psychologists or social workers, thus detaching the blade connected with the problem while it is put on a par with other diseases such as diabetes or cancer. However, critics of the Classical Disease Model believe blemish helps reduce alcohol problems and aids the alcoholic. Any effort to reduce the stigma which is faced by the alcoholic will reduce pressures to moderate use and could have the additional ... ... the alcoholic of responsibility for their problem. Labeling an alcohol problem as a disease is perhaps as stigmatising as the problem itself and could have the effect of dissuading many problem drinkers from seeking he lp. It focuses mainly on those whose boozing has become excessive and is thus restrictive. The Classical Disease Model may appear convenient for alcoholics who want to deny they have a problem, to that extent it is likely to do more harm to the individual and the community than good, and so it is clear to see why, in the 21st Century, the Classical Disease Model is viewed as entirely inadequate. Works CitedJellinek, E. M. (1960.) The Disease Concept of Alcoholism. New Haven, Conn. College and University Press. Lender, M. E. (1979). Jellineks typology of alcoholism Some historical antecedents.Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 10(5), 361-375.