Checkup From the Neck-Up, Episode 30 - Alcoholism: Causes, Costs, and Effective Treatment

Alcoholism treatment physician, scientist, and author of the new groundbreaking book “The Psychology of Mass Addiction,” Dr. Brian Johnson defines alcoholism as “Repeated harm from drinking.” He discusses how the “denial system” keeps people from recognizing the problem, how family members unwittingly support denial (“co-dependent”), how relationship trauma drives people to substitute alcohol for love, the physical and emotional cost of alcoholism including the astounding fact that about 25% of alcoholics die from suicide, what family members can do to change themselves, and how outpatient treatment (sometime including attending Alcoholics Anonymous) is a dramatically less costly and more effective treatment.