Read this article to find out more about kids and alcohol, including how to tell whether you or someone you know has a problem. An alcoholic is someone whose mind and body crave alcohol. Alcoholism is an illness, just like asthma or diabetes . People who have alcoholism have lost control over their drinking and are not able to stop without help. They also lose control of how they act when they are drunk.
Alcoholism is chronic, which means it continues for a long time.
And alcoholism gets worse as time passes. Alcoholics shouldn't be ashamed. They aren't weak or bad. The only way to recover is to stop drinking. First, the alcoholic must want to stop drinking.