Unique Original Articles » What is Alcohol Addiction?

Sometimes drinkers are literally killing physical pain. Many people with bad backs, for example, have turned to drink as a means of coping. But such physical pain will normally be accompanied by emotional pain as well, and in the the vast majority of cases the pain is comprehensively psychological.

Indeed, experts commonly point to a huge overlap between drink problems and mental health issues. The two often co-exist side by side. Alcohol misuse can be both a cause of depression - because alcohol depresses the activity of the brain - and a consequence of depression. So there can often be something of a 'chicken and egg situation', in which it is not entirely clear whether the depression or the alcohol abuse started first, because the two can so easily feed off each other.

Just about every alcoholic has some form of depression or anxiety. The illness causes them to go in search of something to make them feel normal and is therefore a form of self-medication.

The realisation that nothing must be allowed to get in the way of being able to access this anaesthetic can lead to the drinker putting together an elaborate web of lies to try to disguise their dependency. Whereas before they may have put your love or friendship before most other things now it will be the drink that they place first, before you and before anybody or anything else. The the drive from within to drink has become so overwhelming that, even though they may periodically make promises to quit, they are actually powerless to carry out their good intentions without medical help.

The letter below, which is used as an educational tool used in the addiction field to help families of seriously addicted drinkers understand their condition, summarises many of these points admirably.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FAMILY I am an addict. I need help. Don't solve my problem for me. This only makes me lose respect for you and for myself. Don't lecture, moralise, scold, blame or argue, whether I'm drunk or sober. It may make you feel better, but it makes the situation worse. Don't accept my promises. The nature of my illness prevents my keeping them, even though I mean them at the time. Promises are my only way of postponing pain. And don't keep switching agreements; if an agreement is made, stick to it. Don't lose your temper with me. It will destroy you and any possibility of helping me. Don't let your anxiety for me make you do what I should do for myself. Don't believe everything I tell you. Often, I don't even know the truth - let alone tell it. Don't cover up or try and spare me the consequences of my drinking. It may reduce the crisis but it will make my illness worse. Above all, don't run away from reality as I do. Alcohol dependence, my illness, gets worse as my drinking continues. Start now to learn, to understand to plan for recovery. Find Al-Anon or any organisation that exists to help families in just your situation. I need help - from a doctor, a psychologist, a counsellor, from some people in a self-help programme who've recovered from a drink problem themselves, and from a Power greater than myself.

Thank you for listening An Addict

So a key message to take on board is that once someone has reached this stage of dependency it's essential to resist the indulgence to act as some kind of amateur therapist. Whilst you may have a compulsion yourself to do this (which is where codependancy can creep in if you're not careful) you must facilitate them to see a specialist as soon as possible.
Edmund and Helen Tirbutt are best-selling co-authors of Help Them Beat The Booze

More information on Help Them Beat The Booze is available at
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