Neither AA nor naltrexone will necessarily work for everyone. And graduates have been known to return to the Betty Ford Center. But we need to start taking alcoholism seriously and treating it seriously. And we have to stop blaming alcohol and the alcoholic. AIDS used to be viewed as a disease that was the result of homosexuality and so-called lifestyle choices .
Alcoholism is viewed similarly.
AIDS came out of the closet and is now considered a mainstream disease, usually covered by health insurance. It s time for alcoholism to come out of the closet. Not to take anything away from the success of AA, but alcoholism is not an anonymous disease. It affects real people with names and faces, families, friends, and jobs. Unlike AIDS, it s not a question of finding a cure for alcoholism.