h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thanks for a very nice entry - I enjoyed reading it.
I was however, thinking about time ...
Although it is well known that an alcohol- or drug depenedent individual may relapse into abuse even after years and years of alcohol and/or drug free life, the diagnosis of misuse (which is the term used in ICD-10) or dependency has an end: often the lack for symtoms (such as described in the entry) for a year or more is named "in long term remission" and very often the diagnosis is not used at all if no symtoms have occurred for three years or more. One may refer to the problem in terms of "... the patient has had episodes of substance dependecy but has been drugfree for 6 years ..."
On the other hand - at least in my mind - the diagnosos is not as important as the individual's insight, that he may relapse at any time and that it is most advisible not to use alcohol or drugs at all.

Oh, I just saw that part ... alcohol abuse was carefully described - quite similarly as in the entry above - by professor Magnus Huss (1807-1890) of the karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, in his book which was published in 1857. He concentrated more on the problems of the body, but described withdrawal, tolerance and quite a few of the behaviors of alcohol dependent men. The description, if rephrased in today's language, would be more similar to the definition of alcohol dependency as defined in DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition).

Thanks for posting, petrusbroder You make some interesting points.