Excessive drinking and drug usage are frequently viewed as a psychological problem, one that can only be solved when the abuser realizes why he or she became dependent. In counseling jargon, the problem has been dubbed as chemical dependency. Solving chemical dependency isn’t easy.

Many treatment plans for addicts of alcohol or drugs forget that physiological reasons for abuse exist, The alcoholic starts out drinking the same as anyone in society as a whole. But an alcoholic’s body doesn’t accept liquor as easily. Usually his or her biological makeup dictates that the body get more and more liquor.

The alcoholic no longer drinks to feel high, but drinks to feel normal Their bodies crave alcohol. Without it, they suffer a physiological withdrawal. The same applies to drug addicts. Chemical dependency comes in liquid forms, tablet forms or forms which you smoke or inject,” she said. It’s the same disease.

Once the addict is safely off the liquor or alcohol, he or she may think it’s safe to resume the old habits again, only this time in moderation. That’s where the physical urge comes in. Physiological cravings take over, calling for more and more of the alcohol or drug, until the addict is back where he or she was before kicking the habit. Dependency follows predictable patterns similar to other diseases. The final stages of alcoholism set in about a dozen years after the woman takes her first drink, and about two dozen years after the man sips his first.

Experts aren’t sure of the reason for the disparity. Alcohol or drug dependency is in its advanced stages when the victim suffers withdrawal if the liquor or drug is absent. Withdrawal involves the classic shaky appearance, elevated blood pressure, body temperature and pulse and heavy perspiration. Continued withdrawal usually leads to hallucinations and seizures — symptoms of a physical, not mental or psychological, dependency. The psychological changes needed to recover from the dependency come in recognizing the disease and in altering lifestyles to accommodate it.

The chemical dependent goes through the same process as the person who has been told he has diabetes or heart disease Ms. Woodard likens chemical dependency to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases. The disease won’t go away, but it can be controlled with changes in behavior.

For some diseases, that means changes in diet and exercise, but for the alcoholic or drug addict, it means avoidance of the substance triggering the dependency. The disease has been around since man has been around, but it’s the disease some experts say they know the least about. What they don’t know is why it happens. Medical and nursing schools rarely include chemical dependency as a disease, and that’s something that’s evolving.

Most dependents repeatedly deny their problem, and almost never think of it as a disease. They think alcoholism is associated with the guy who drinks out of a brown paper bag Only 2 percent of alcoholics are derelicts. The vast majority are people who will hang onto their jobs, even after the rest of their lives fall apart.

The addict will lose everything else, but try to hold on to the job. Spouses, other family members and friends may drift away, but the job is usually of the utmost importance to the alcoholic. They’ll say, ‘I can’t be an alcoholic because I work every day.

Work inability usually comes at the late stages of alcoholism. At first, the dependent may arrive late or leave early now and again… The practice becomes more frequent, until days are missed. Because recovering alcoholics can be productive workers some patients will be referred to a detox center by their employers, with insurance covering the cost. The patients get counseling, along with their spouses, families, friends, ministers, employers or anyone
important in their lives.

A person can’t control his disease by willpower, but he can control his recovery. Finding that path to drug or alcohol independence depends on recognition and acceptance of the disease.