Definition of an Alcoholic

Clinebell defines an alcoholic as anyone whose drinking behavior frequently or continuously interferes with his social relations, his role in the family, his job, his finances and/or his health; or, to put it another way, an alcoholic is someone whose drinking behavior consistently interferes with important life adjustments and interpersonal relationships.

This definition distinguishes an alcoholic from a non-alcoholic in the sense that the alcoholic will find it difficult to impossible to stop his drinking behavior even if it is interfering with his life while a non-alcoholic will simply stop the behavior once he sees that the interference is occurring. Further, the alcoholic will find it much more difficult to recognize that the interference is taking place than will the nonalcoholic which is to say that the alcoholic is more inclined to denial.

In addition to the foregoing, the alcoholic differs from the nonalcoholic in that, unlike the nonalcoholic, he will be inclined to blame the offenses and/or insensitivities to others for the drinking behavior. Thus, the alcoholic not only has a problem with denial associated with his drinking behavior but also a problem with projection of blame. The reason for the alcoholic's denial and projection is his fear that if the problem is recognized for what it is, he will have to relinquish alcohol which has now become the essential center of his life.

Even when the alcoholic does recognize that it is alcoh

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riety. (4) In its characterization of alcoholism as a disease rather than as an sin, the program provides a guilt-free as well as a fear-free conception of the problem of alcoholism. (5) AA provides supportive fellowship from and with peers who have the same problem; through the encouragement and shared experiences with their fellows, alcoholics are helped to recover from their addiction. (6) The program provides many medical adjuncts to help the alcoholic achieve sobriety; in other words, AA offers more than just one treatment intervention. (7) AA provides substitute satisfactions for the satisfaction of alcohol. (8) AA gives alcoholics a sense of purpose and a mission. (9) The AA program offers alcoholics not only help for their addiction but also a general path of spiritual growth. (10). The program operates to elevate true self-esteem and not ego grandiosity. Assignment 6 Ten Reasons Why Religion is Successful for Alcoholism Ten reasons why religion can e a successful approach to the treatment of alcoholism are: (1) Religion provides strong cohesiveness to a group effort to maintain sobriety through group commitment to a transcendent value. (2) Religion gives the individual a sense of power far vaster than the

Category: Psychology - D