It doesn’t look, sound or act like most diseases we know.
And, generally, alcoholism remains hidden and resists treatment.
Remember what that was like?
Image Source / Digital Vision / Getty Images
No matter what you did, the silly tune kept on playing.
This is an example of amental obsession a thought process over which you have no control.
Such is the nature of alcoholism.
When the drinking “song” starts playing in the mind of an alcoholic, they are powerless.
In fact, a person may not even know it’s there.
All they know is there is a sudden urge for a drink, a physical compulsion.
The Neurobiology of Alcoholism
In 2016, the U.S.
These changes take place in brain circuits involved in pleasure, learning, stress, decision-making and self-control.
Symptoms from alcohol withdrawal can become very uncomfortable or painful.
Alcohol use can progress to a point where the only thing that can relieve thewithdrawal symptomsis more alcohol.
At this stage, the person is no longer drinking to experience pleasure.
In fact, drinking may not even bring any feeling of pleasure anymore.
The drinker is drinking to avoid pain, not to get those feelings of euphoria.
Other pursuits in life that once brought pleasure and balanced out the lows no longer do so.
But, once addicted, substance use also disrupts prefrontal circuits.
At this point, their reward system has become pathological, or, in other words, diseased.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
“At every turn, people with addictions who have a go at quit find their resolve challenged.
But soon it takes six or seven, and later maybe ten or twelve.
Somewhere down the road, the only time the song stops is when the person is passed out.
For this reason,denial is an almost universal symptomof the disease.
And, for those who need help and do not want it, help is still out there.
Are you worried you or a loved one have a drinking problem?
Take a look at theAlcohol Abuse Screening Quizto see how symptoms compare.
Washington, DC; 2016.
