Yes, alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic 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. (See also “Publications,” Alcohol Alert No. 30: Diagnostic Criteria for Alcohol Abuse and Dependence.)
2. Is alcoholism a disease?
Featured Resources
- ADAPP’s Spring Newsletter
- Social Media and Youth Mental Health
- Cell Phones & Social Media Use
- ADAPP’s Winter Newsletter-News You Can Use
- Talking to Children about War
- Mental Health Awareness
- Support Children When Scary Things Happen
- Welcome Back-School Mental Health
- Parent Backpack for Returning to School
- COVID-19
- Mass Violence and School Shootings
- Visit ADAPP’s 50th Anniversary Website!