I have heard that some alcoholics can learn to moderate their drinking and they can stop drinking alcoholically. I thought, though, that the definition of alcoholism was that a person could not drink moderately as the person is alcoholic? Can you please explain?
You ask an interesting question, and one that is filled with controversy and has generated a lot of discussion. As you may know, I have written a book that addresses this issue, and our outpatient program at CAB works with people who struggle with their use of alcohol and are trying to figure out whether they can learn to moderate their drinking or if rather they need to stop drinking completely.
It is certainly true that many people who struggle with alcohol cannot control their drinking and must achieve total abstinence from alcohol if they are going to resolve their problem with alcohol. For such people, one drink leads to uncontrolled drinking, and they must learn never to pick up that first drink. For those people, repeatedly trying to control their use of alcohol and not admitting that they cannot is a key issue, and prevents them from getting better. There are others, however, who struggle with drinking, and over time they learn how to moderate their use of alcohol so that drinking no longer causes them and others problems. In general, those with less severe problems related to alcohol consumption have a better chance of learning how to control their drinking, whereas those with more severe problems will have a smaller chance.
While some may say that anyone who can control their drinking was never alcoholic in the first place, I do not believe that. Research, as well as my own experiences, has clearly shown that some people diagnosed with alcoholism can learn how to control their drinking. I believe that alcoholism is a complicated disorder that varies across people. To repeat, there clearly are people who suffer from alcoholism who cannot control their drinking and abstinence must be the route to recovery. However, there are others who are able to learn to drink in safe and moderate ways. As with other disorders, such as diabetes, what a person needs to do to resolve his or her problem can vary.
That being said, I must say that if anyone who has struggled with alcohol and has successfully resolved their drinking problem via abstinence is reading this, I would not change a thing. As the saying goes, "If the clock is not broken, don't fix it". If abstinence is working, stay the course.
On the other hand, if a person struggles with drinking and wants to see if moderation is possible, they could certainly try, and I would suggest some help and support. In my experience, often a person needs to try to moderate drinking and see that it is not successful before abstinence will be considered.
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Send questions about addictions or related problems to: Take The First Step, c/o The Eagle-Tribune, 100 Turnpike St., North Andover, MA 01845; or send e-mail to michael_levy@cabhealth.org. Questions will be answered in confidence by a clinical team led by Dr. Michael Levy, director of clinical treatment services at CAB Health & Recovery Services in Peabody.
