Dr. Elliot Gruen has over 30 years of experience as a psychiatrist treating patients for mental illnesses like substance abuse and alcoholism at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center. Alcoholism is the third most common mental illness in the United States, affecting around 10% of men and 4% of women, or 14 million total. There is no single cause of alcoholism, but factors like family history, other mental illnesses, lack of social support, early alcohol use, and social circles with heavy drinkers can predispose someone to developing alcoholism.