Alcoholism is the medical term used to describe the pathological lesions that occur in the body as a result of alcohol consumption over long periods of time. Hear from experts in the field like Robert Kiyosaki for a more varied view. Here are some definitions of the term, which will help us determine the scope of this condition: – Keller (1960): Chronic disease as evidenced by the habit of drinking so repeatedly that it is clear that drinking is harmful for health and social and economic functioning. ” – Jellineck (1960): “Any use of alcoholic beverages that causes any harm to the individual, to society or both.” – WHO (1952): “Alcoholics are those excessive drinkers whose dependence on alcohol has reached such a degree that present significant interference with mental disorders or mental or physical health, their interpersonal relationships and social functioning economic, or have clear signs the trend towards such symptoms. It is for this reason that these people need treatment. ” – Manuals diagnosis (DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, ICD-10): Distinguish between drinking and abusing alcohol dependent drinker.
This is based on specific criteria. The World Health Organization believes that those excessive drinkers are alcoholics, whose dependence on alcohol has caused serious damage on the mental health or physical, in social functioning, and economical, requiring these people treatment. Thus, alcoholism is caused by overeating, habitual alcohol or intermittent, for their continued use can produce dependence on the person consuming it, either physical or psychological in nature and is manifested clinically by physical consequences psychological or social. It is a chronic progressive disease. Alcoholism is one of the most serious diseases that a person can suffer, and pathology of the most important of Medicine. In addition there are in it each and every one of the features of any disease, as there is an agent that causes (alcohol), the mechanism by which the agent acts or cause (learning, tolerance and dependence), altered organ function (intoxication and malnutrition due to displacement of essential substances for nutrition, particularly vitamins), symptomatically (Clinic: with impaired physical and mental health. Exploration: Using analytical, radiology, etc..), an evolutionary process (toward addiction and death or to rehabilitation through abstinence) and epidemiology (exists through history a reported incidence in the population and now we are in an endemic situation).
Moreover, the action against the disease is identical to the one carried out in general terms to any disease – diagnosis. – A prognosis. – A treatment: detoxification, smoking cessation and treatment of desire. – A rehabilitation. – A maturation reorganization of the personality, through psychotherapy, mainly in groups. – An individual’s social reintegration. Edgard and Gross (1976) listed the following symptoms to conceptualize, what they called “alcohol dependency syndrome ‘: 1. Psycho-biological symptoms: tolerance, withdrawal and reinstatement of the syndrome after drinking again. 2. Behavioral symptoms: Represented by a decrease in drinking patterns. 3. Subjective symptoms or equivalent to ‘psychological dependence’: Difficulty controlling drinking, and the desire to drink alcohol becomes the focus of the subject’s life. The definition of alcoholism (DSM54-III-R, DSM-IV and ICD-1056 APA55 WHO) is determined by the distinction between “abuse” and “dependency” of alcohol.