Alcoholism is the dependence on, or addiction to, alcohol. It's a chronic, progressive, and sometimes fatal disease. The reasons why one person develops alcoholism and another doesn't have been the subject of much study. However, while this research has produced no certain predictors of alcoholic drinking, there is evidence indicating there might be a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. According to the National Council on Alcoholism, a child of an alcoholic has four times the risk of becoming alcoholic than does a child of non-alcoholic parents.
Some alcoholics begin drinking to the point of intoxication from their very first drink.
For most others, the disease is progressive, beginning with acceptable social drinking. Family members and friends can help the alcoholic if they do several things. First, they must abandon any wishful thinking that the alcoholic will one day be able to drink safely, recognizing that alcoholism is nearly always progressive. Second, they must accept the alcoholic for what he or she is - someone who can't control drinking. Third, they must stop enabling the alcoholic to continue drinking by rescuing him or her from mistakes.