Is alcohol dependency trauma or allergy?

About 10 years ago, I wrote an article on alcoholism to address what it is that many people seem to suffer shame around: an inability to control their drinking. Now, I find myself updating my observations based on the information currently out there, as there is now a school of thought suggesting that alcohol dependency (the term which is more palatable for some than alcoholism) and many other addictive behaviours are trauma-related. Yet, my school of thought is that alcohol is a completely different kettle of fish that creates a chemical reaction in the brain.

The question that continues to flummox me when working with clients with alcohol issues is: if it is only trauma, why can a person not moderate their drinking after sorting their trauma out? The first drink continues to get them drunk.

Reconsidering the roots of alcohol dependency

My next train of thought has been that maybe it is a boundary issue; that, as children, boundaries were not taught. Simply put, the person never knew when to stop, and they always wanted ‘more’. Yet, again, once learning boundaries, moderate drinking still does not occur; the first drink still gets the person drunk.

Next train of thought: a lack of connection/love, so an attachment injury where alcohol is used as a soother. This seems to be partly true, as alcohol can be used to change the way someone feels in that moment so they get temporary relief (dopamine hit). Yet, they are then in a healthier relationship with themselves and others, feel more secure, yet still moderate drinking does not occur.

Alcoholism and the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (1938/9)

Doctor Silkworth wrote an article, part of which is:

“We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult.”

Is this still true today? Is it a manifestation of an allergy as opposed to trauma?

Is alcoholism an allergy?

If you look the word allergy up in the Oxford Dictionary, it states:

“A damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially a particular food, pollen, fur, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive”.

We hear of nut allergies and a person can never safely eat a nut; we hear of people with strawberry allergies, penicillin allergies, etc, getting all kinds of symptoms. We do not question ‘nut allergies’, and today we are asked in restaurants, "Is there anything you are allergic to?" So, could alcoholism really be an allergy, disease or illness which, once ingested, creates a reaction in the body (rather than it just being about trauma) or about the person choosing to drink or about lack of self-will?

Of interest is that many accept these ‘allergies’ without question yet we do not seem to accept that there may be an allergy to alcohol.

How alcohol affects the body and mind

From my very limited medical experience, it seems that the body converts alcohol (ethanol) to acetaldehyde, which then creates a craving in the body and an inability to stop. This means, at drink six, there is more craving for the person than there was at drink one!

Note here: craving only occurs once the alcohol (ethanol) is ingested, so when you hear someone say "I am craving a drink", that statement is not technically true, as this only occurs once alcohol is in the body.

The growing dependency on alcohol

Generally, the longer alcohol is used, the greater the dependency. King Alcohol becomes a dependency/burden for the person using and all who come into contact. The ‘yets’ may start to come…. I have not drunk in the morning ‘yet’; I have not taken time off work sick ‘yet’; I have not cancelled going out due to my home drinking ‘yet’.

It may start to rob the person of their health, wealth and well-being. It can take all who come into contact with it hostage as it becomes the primary attachment in a person’s life.

Seeking support for alcohol dependency

Please do not suffer alone if you feel your alcohol use is different to others. Do not let what you hear about alcohol dependency/trauma stop you from getting support for yourself. Do not fear a journey of discovery, as it may just be the most freeing ride of your life. 

Find a therapist who can support you to live a life where you are released from the chains of alcohol, so you are free to make choices for yourself rather than being firmly in the grasp of alcohol, where the drink is taking you long before you take it (habitual).

Working through alcohol dependency

It may be that we find that your alcohol usage really is trauma-related, and currently, you use it to escape/change the way you feel to ease any discomfort.

If this is the case, your healing process is illuminating your past and processing it in the now. Additionally, we will create a new toolbox (coping strategies) to assist you in living life with an altered attitude.

However, if we find you are more of the allergy type and, having cleared out your past, you still are unable to safely drink, it may be your only way to live a contented satisfied harmonious life is through abstinence (the thought of this can be initially terrifying for those who are currently alcohol dependent which is, of course, a normal reaction!).

The purpose of this article was to question whether alcoholism really is just trauma-based, un-stigmatise getting support, and reaffirm it is not a question of control, will-power or strength. It may really be what they thought it was last century; a progressive disease (which puts the person at dis-ease) which always gets worse, and never better. And, worse still, if left untreated, it does more than rob, it actually kills! 

Please, if this is you, do get yourself support as a whole different way of living is available! There is hope!