I know this is going to piss *someone* off, but...
I don't much care. I've listened to the buzz about "diseases" and the buzz about the things we can or can't do anything about, and I'm not sure I buy it all.
I am the adult child of an alchoholic. If you look at my paternal bloodline, you can probably see booze dripping off the DNA for a while back. That being said, and knowing that I've had a few too many drinks in my lifetime, I don't buy that alcoholism is a disease. Sorry. The minute that you tell me it's a disease I have no control over, you make me a victim, and I'm here to say "fuck you!"
I am not a victim. I have control over what I choose to put in my mouth, whether it's chocolate or chocolate-flavored cordial. I choose to open the second or third or nineteenth bottle of MGD, or to not open them. It's my choice, and sometimes, it's been a hard one. There have been nights that I look at the bottle of Belvedere vodka sitting on the top of my fridge, and think that the bottom of it is something I want to see, but I don't. I want my marriage and my job and my school more. Those are my choices. I don't get to choose cancer, or choose diabetes, or choose hepatitis. I just don't. I can choose my reaction to alchohol, but if you tell me that my genes predispose me to being a drunk, then you've just told me that you've decided that I'll be a victim.
You can take the philosophy, and get bent with it.
Yes, I know...some people can't control themselves when it comes to booze. That's a problem with self-control, not a medical issue. Sorry. I'm a bitch when it comes to this, and I know it.
And I'm sure that someone will make the comparison between depression and alcoholism. Bring it on. Just don't expect me to agree with you.
posted by Soldier Grrrl @ 5:09 PM
7 Comments:
I completely agree with you. And, Penn & Teller do to. On their show (titled Bullshit), they have shown the BS behind Alcoholics Anonymous.
I went to Ala-teen for a while when I was younger and it helped, but I've long thought that AA folx tended to trade one addiction for another. You go from drinking to obsessively attending meeting and swilling coffee like it's going out of style.
I've known too many folx who have said "Okay, that's it, I don't drink well and I'm not gonna do it anymore," to think that it's out of people's control.
Well, I'll speak up for addiction.
Apparently some folks are more easily addicted (I'm talking physical, not psychological) than others and it's those that need all the help they can get.
Probably the most common American physical addiction is nicotine and if you are and have tried to stop, you know how difficult it is. My wife was a two-pack a day smoker for over thirty years, and so was her younger sister. Over forty years ago my wife decided to quit - found it easy to do - and never wanted another. Her younger sister- a very strong-willed woman, tried to quit many times; kept smoking even after her lungs failed, and died two years ago. One was addicted, the other apparently wasn't.
Alcohol addiction isn't quite as clear as to what's physical addiction and what's psychological - apparently it's easier to get off booze than cigs, but alcoholics often need all the help they can get also.
Surprisingly, (or maybe not) what seems to help the alcoholic most is a fundamental change of lifestyle - often a religious conversion or move into another culture.
I personally think there's a difference between an alcoholic and a "heavy drinker"
Well, I'll speak up for addiction.
Apparently some folks are more easily addicted (I'm talking physical, not psychological) than others and it's those that need all the help they can get.
Probably the most common American physical addiction is nicotine and if you are and have tried to stop, you know how difficult it is. My wife was a two-pack a day smoker for over thirty years, and so was her younger sister. Over forty years ago my wife decided to quit - found it easy to do - and never wanted another. Her younger sister- a very strong-willed woman, tried to quit many times; kept smoking even after her lungs failed, and died two years ago. One was addicted, the other apparently wasn't.
Alcohol addiction isn't quite as clear as to what's physical addiction and what's psychological - apparently it's easier to get off booze than cigs, but alcoholics often need all the help they can get also.
Surprisingly, (or maybe not) what seems to help the alcoholic most is a fundamental change of lifestyle - often a religious conversion or move into another culture.
I personally think there's a difference between an alcoholic and a "heavy drinker"
Well, I'll speak up for addiction.
Apparently some folks are more easily addicted (I'm talking physical, not psychological) than others and it's those that need all the help they can get.
Probably the most common American physical addiction is nicotine and if you are and have tried to stop, you know how difficult it is. My wife was a two-pack a day smoker for over thirty years, and so was her younger sister. Over forty years ago my wife decided to quit - found it easy to do - and never wanted another. Her younger sister- a very strong-willed woman, tried to quit many times; kept smoking even after her lungs failed, and died two years ago. One was addicted, the other apparently wasn't.
Alcohol addiction isn't quite as clear as to what's physical addiction and what's psychological - apparently it's easier to get off booze than cigs, but alcoholics often need all the help they can get also.
Surprisingly, (or maybe not) what seems to help the alcoholic most is a fundamental change of lifestyle - often a religious conversion or move into another culture.
I personally think there's a difference between an alcoholic and a "heavy drinker"
"You go from drinking to obsessively attending meeting and swilling coffee like it's going out of style."
That was the entire point of that particular Penn & Teller episode. I will say that some drugs are definite physical addictions (heroin, nicotine and some pain killers). My father almost died from trying to quit smoking. His blood pressure went up 100 points when he tried.
However, substituting one addiction for another is not the answer. An addicts best solution is to remove him/herself from any temptation (lifestyle change).
I'll agree that a lifestyle change is usually needed.
When you quit anything that has a chemical reaction with your body, you're going to get a physical side-effect. Quitting coffee (which I haven't been able to do, since I love the taste too much to quit) gives me splitting headaches, and the shakes. My blood father's DTs when he was in the ICU last year were evidently something to behold.
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