[madisgram]

before i recovered from alcoholism i had no definitive knowledge about this disease. frankly i was relieved when the doctor diagnosed me as alcoholic. i thought i'd lost my mind!!!
during this holiday season there's usually a lot of booze around. personally at one time i "celebrated" all thru it. hopefully this may help someone else by reading these articles.

Alcoholism, which is also known as "alcohol dependence syndrome," is a disease that is characterized by the following elements:

• Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: The frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun.
• Physical dependence: The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. These symptoms are usually relieved by drinking alcohol or by taking another sedative drug....etc http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/homework/a/blwhatis1.htm

Symptoms of Alcoholism



A maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:

1. Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
   • a need for markedly increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect
   • markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of the .... http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/sym...of-alcoholism/