The most common definition of an alcoholic is one who drinks alcohol to excess habitually*. Some claim, often including the alcoholic themselves, that such a person drinks to excess habitually because they are responding to a tough life, a new job, an ending relationship, a bad childhood, a recent accident, a great accomplishment, or just about any other reason. If the alcoholic's life ran perfectly, some believe, they would not drink alcoholically.

Some people believe that alcoholism is a disease. This means that no matter what is happening in the alcoholic's life, they will drink alcoholically. By definition, a disease is an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning*. That broad definition fits an alcoholic comfortably since all of us know people whose health is affected by their drinking and still do not stop. Moreover, most of us have enjoyed videos of drunk drivers failing sobriety tests on the roadside. Obviously, they are not functioning normally. In truth, it does not matter if alcoholism is caused by biological factors in the brain, the result of behavioral conditioning, or a combination of both.

The most effective treatment for alcoholism is abstinence of alcohol. Unlike the ineffective sexual abstinence programs promoted by the Bush administration, abstinence from alcohol is 100% effective in treating the alcoholic. Nobody, save the severe alcoholic suffering from delirium tremens during alcohol withdrawal, has died or been made worse off by eliminating alcohol from their diet. Many people, when they finally realize they might have a "slight" control problem of when and how much they drink, try to control to their drinking by creating drinking rules for themselves. One common rule is to limit the number of drinks. Another rule might be to drink only on Saturday nights where there is a high frequency of sun spots. These approaches will fail if they are alcoholic. If they are not alcoholic, then this mindful approach will probably work, at least for a while. Another approach is to give up alcoholic for a year with no exceptions.

The real problem, then, is finding treatments for the alcoholic that cannot abstain from drinking despite their best efforts to "just quit." Possible treatment options include individual and group therapy, Alcoholics Anonymous or other recovery-type meetings, pharmacological agents that reduce the cravings for alcohol or prevent ingested alcohol from being fun, staying at recovery and mental institutions, prayer-a-thons and many other religious methods. Successful alcoholics, those that have long term sobriety, take most of these paths. Their cravings for alcohol -their shame and emptiness- motivated them enough to accept help and the advice of friends and professionals in the field. They gave up their preconceived notions of what would work best for them and embraced the courage and strength of others who recovered from alcoholism. To stay abstinent the successful ones followed the path set down by fellow recovering alcoholics.

A great place to start, whether you are rich or poor, is an A.A. meeting in your neighborhood.

For the San Jose and Silicon Valley area contact: Alcoholics Anonymous in Santa Clara County, California. Their 24-Hour Helpline is 408-374-8511.

Another source is Santa Clara County's Department of Alcohol and Drug Services at 1-800-488-9919.
There is always hope. May peace in sobriety be yours.

*Source: Wordnet 2.1, Princeton University