Is Alcoholism an Individual Illness or a Symptom of a Wider Mental Issue?

Alcoholism is often linked with mental illnesses like depression. Some people refer to alcoholics as having an ‘addictive personality’. This makes one wonder about whether alcoholism can really stand alone as an illness. To help you get a better understanding of this addiction in general, we are going to look at whether alcohol addiction is an individual addiction or merely a symptom of a wider mental issue.

For the Love of Alcohol

Alcohol rehab clinics spend a lot of time delving deep into the minds of their patients. They need to understand the root of the addiction. What they almost never find is that someone has decided to drink simply because they love alcohol. Most people will not enjoy the constant hangovers and the constant problems caused by excessive drinking.

There are an extreme minority of people who do enjoy alcohol for the love of alcohol, but regardless of this,there is always a deeper issue at hand. To understand this, one has to ask how they came to love alcohol so much in the first place.

What Causes Alcoholism?

Alcohol is a form of escape. Aswith any other drug or hobby performed to the point of obsession, it is an escape from the real world. You can find sex addictions, drug addictions, and shopping addictions, to name just a few. When someone carries out an addiction, they only concentrate on what they are doing. They do not think of the rest of the world.

For many, this allows them to avoid the realities of life. Rehab centres are so difficult to reside in because it is all about confronting these realities for what could be the first time in years.

Alcoholism is caused by something hidden deep underneath. It is all about running away from what you are most afraid of.

Alcoholism: Something Bigger

Now we know that alcoholism alone is a symptom of a wider mental issue. They go hand-in-hand with each other. Nobody abuses an escape mechanism unless they want to escape from something. The difficulty drug rehab clinics have in the short-term is uncovering the reason behind the addiction. Sometimes the alcoholic cannot put their finger on it, and this means they will require extensive counselling.

We cannot underline the importance of discovering the real reason behind an alcohol addiction. Once a counsellor finds this out, they can look to drill down into the circumstances and determine a way for the patient to get over it.

This is also why going cold turkey with alcoholism does not work. Yes, it may address the symptoms, but even if it issuccessful,it is not going to help anyone in the long-term. They still have the reasons for turning to alcohol in the first place buried deep underneath. They may not become an alcoholic again, but there is a good chance they are going to become addicted to something else.

The so-called addictive personality is not a genetic disorder. It’s representative of a deep-seated issue that has yet to be addressed. Until it is addressed properly, the cycle of addiction will continue.

We believe in the importance of mental health when it comes to rehab centres. They have taught thousands of patients inside alcohol rehab clinics how to deal with other mental conditions during their rehab journey.