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Alcoholism Cure
The word cure brings to mind
the end of a ceaseless disease leaving no
remnants behind. When a disease is cured it is
not in remission, not dormant but cured. There
are still many diseases in the world today that
are currently incurable. Some of the more
familiar ones are Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer
disease, Schizophrenia, Polio, etc. There are
some diseases that can be vaccinated against,
such as Polio, which will prevent the individual
from contracting the disease but once infected,
is still consider incurable.
With all our technological,
scientific and medical advances, there still
remain a large number of diseases that are
incurable yet treatable. One of these diseases
is alcoholism.
The term Alcoholism Cure can
be quite misleading. This places in the mind an
idea that once cured, the individual (the
alcoholic) will be able to drink normally
without any of the old behaviors or
repercussions they once associated with alcohol
use. When an alcoholic takes a drink of alcohol
an obsession and craving develops that is so
severe that only the intake of more alcohol will
overcome it. The only true cure for alcoholism
is total and complete abstinence. This is easier
said than done for the alcoholic. Some
rehabilitation centers and organizations claim
to have an alcoholism cure. A cure is 100%
effective 100% of the time. There has yet to be
shown any center or organization with that type
of success rate.
There have been temperance
movements, pledges, oaths, documents signed and
even federal laws prohibiting the sale or use of
alcohol yet none of these have cured the
alcoholic or kept them “off the sauce”
indefinitely. There have been cases throughout
history where the purportedly alcoholic
individual suddenly loses their desire to drink
and never drinks again for the remainder of
their lifetime. Cases like these have baffled
the best of minds.
One school of thought says
this individual was never truly an alcoholic but
a chronic drinker that was able to change their
drinking habits. Another says this individual
has had a psychic change in which their whole
outlook and person as a whole is different
almost overnight. Either could be true. One
thing that either side could agree on is that
the individual had a life-altering experience
that gave them the ability to stop drinking
altogether. They no longer felt the need to
drink ever again.
But what about those other
million or so alcoholics who will never
experience something of this nature and who may
likely die by the wayside? Where is their cure?
Why would something of this nature happen to
just a select few and not to all of them? Some
may say it is an act of Providence. Others say
coincidence or circumstance. There really is no
one single answer. This example and examples
like them should be laid at the feet of unbiased
observers to decide for themselves. But waiting
and hoping for something of this nature to occur
could eventually kill an alcoholic who is still
drinking.
Again, the only true cure for
alcoholism is a lifetime of total and complete
abstinence and this usually done with the
support of friends, family and others like a
support group. Without this support it is widely
agreed on that the alcoholic has very little
chance of maintaining a sober lifestyle for any
extended amount of time.
By: Patrick McLemore
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