Why Is Recovery From Alcoholism So Difficult? And Is There Hope For Successful Treatment?
by Percy Menzies We hardly need to repeat the statistics on alcoholism, in terms of deaths and injuries due to accidents, hospitalizations, broken families, lost productivity, etc. Indeed, alcoholism (or alcohol dependence) is one of the major public health issues facing our nation. It would seem logical that with all the advances we have made in the various fields of medical science, that by now, we should have been able to subdue this beast of alcoholism. Unfortunately, we have barely made a dent in the battle against alcoholism, which costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Millions of dollars are spent each year in researching just about every aspect of alcoholism from genetics, to blocking the effects of alcohol. Some of the research is very exciting and has certainly advanced our understanding of this devastating disease, and we expect many more equally exciting findings to come in the near future. A succinct definition of alcoholism (and for that matter, all add
