• Alcoholism is a commonly used term that describes an impaired ability to limit alcohol use, despite the harmful consequences of continued use.
• In this respect, alcoholism meets the definition of addiction, which is "the repeated involvement with a substance or activity, despite the substantial harm it now causes, because that involvement was (and may continue to be) pleasurable and/or valuable."
• Alcoholism is not a diagnostic term recognized by American Psychiatric Association. The correct diagnostic term would be alcohol use disorder (alcohol addiction).
• Like all addictions, the severity of alcohol addiction may range from mild to severe.
• Alcoholism generally refers to an extreme range of severity, but problems with alcohol use begin long before this degree of severity.
• In 2011, 15 million people were classified with a substance use disorder for alcohol.
• Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States, including productivity and health- and crime-related costs, were $235 billion for alcohol.

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• There is no one single cause of alcohol addiction. Instead, there are multiple causes that can be grouped into four basic categories.
• These four categories are: 1) biological causes, 2) psychological causes, 3) socio-cultural causes, and 4) spiritual causes. Psychologists call this the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model of addiction.
• The biological causes of alcohol addiction include each person's unique physiology and genetics.
• Psychologically, people learn to anticipate some benefit from drinking alcohol even though it is harmful. These benefits can include: 1) stress reduction, 2) relief from boredom, 3) pleasurable sensations, 4) coping with negative feelings or situations, or 4) simply the benefit of avoiding withdrawal symptoms.
• Socio-cultural influences also contribute to the development of alcohol addiction as it affords opportunities for pleasing social discourse and interaction.
• Spirituality is another causal factor that can determine whether an addiction develops and flourishes.

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• The diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder is based upon a pathological set of behaviors related to alcohol use. These behaviors fall into four main categories:
• Impaired control - 1) Using alcohol for longer periods of time than intended, or using larger amounts than intended; 2) Wanting to reduce alcohol use, yet being unsuccessful doing so; 3) Spending excessive time getting/using/recovering from the alcohol use; 4) Cravings that are so intense it is difficult to think about anything else.
• Social impairment - 1) People may continue to use alcohol despite problems with work, school or family/social obligations; 2) Someone continues to use alcohol despite having interpersonal problems because of that use; 3) Important and meaningful social and recreational activities may be given up or reduced because of alcohol use.
• Risky use - 1) someone repeatedly uses substances in physically dangerous situations; 2) Some people continue to use alcohol even though they are aware it is causing or worsening physical and psychological problems.
• Pharmacological indicators (tolerance and withdrawal) - 1) Tolerance occurs when people need to increase the amount of alcohol to achieve the same desired effect; 2) Withdrawal is the body's response to the abrupt cessation of a alcohol, once the body has developed a tolerance to it.

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• There are four basic approaches to alcoholism treatment: Biological, Psychological, Socio-Cultural, and Spiritual.
• People can combine these various approaches to match their individual needs and circumstances as they work to develop their own individualized, custom-tailored approach to recovery.
• Biological approaches to addictions treatment attempt to correct or modify the presumed underlying biological causes of addiction. According to biological models of addiction, a "broken" or damaged brain causes addiction.
• Psychological approaches to alcoholism recovery aim to increase a person's motivation for change.
• In addition to changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, individuals embracing recovery may also need to restructure their social world.
• Strengthening the motivation for recovery is very helpful. One such approach is called Motivational Interviewing.
• There are also several effective types of psychotherapy for addictions. These are: Relapse Prevention Therapy; Contingency Management; Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
• Socio-cultural approaches to addictions recovery emphasize the important influence of social groups on individuals as they attempt to recover. These include: 1) harm reduction strategies such as needle exchange programs, or public campaigns such as designated drivers, 2) family approaches to addictions treatment, and 3) the social support approach to addictions treatment.
• Spiritual approaches to alcoholism recovery are based on research that has repeatedly demonstrated that spirituality can have a positive effect on recovery from many diseases and disorders. The most well-known spiritual approaches to addictions recovery are the 12-step support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

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