Alcoholism

[IGBT]

..the failure occurs with the desire to intoxicate. if you desire to intoxicate, you have a problem.

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..the failure occurs with the desire to intoxicate. if you desire to intoxicate, you have a problem.

But isn't that kind of the point? I'm not talking about getting shitfaced, but intoxicated. The point of drinking coffee or pop in the morning is to get a caffeine buzz right (usually)?

 

[Loreena]

Originally posted by: mundane

Originally posted by: Loreena

Originally posted by: oiprocs
What's alocholism?

You need to run a chkdsk on your volumes as something is corruppt.

Or for the Linux folks, don't forget to unmount before you fsck

AW-K!

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

Are you serious? Jeebus H Christ....

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i refuse to believe any substance is stronger than the human mind or will

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: illusion88
I haven't had a month of sobriety since I was 18. I'm 23 now. Danm. That's a long time.

Thinking about it, I am pretty much the same except for would probably put it at 16 or 17.

I was pretty much the same through high school, 4 years in the Navy, 4 years of college, and single life up until I got married. During all that time I never once had anything I could describe as a craving for alcohol or an undeniable need to drink.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

I don't have a problem with alcohol. Alcohol has a problem with me though.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: fleabag

Originally posted by: rudeguy
Alcoholism affects people from all different walks of life. It doesn't care if you are rich or poor, black or white, male or female.

It isn't a sign of weakness to not be able to control your drinking. Many people have tried to fight it with will power and knowledge and failed miserably. Alcoholism is a physical and mental condition that has no cure. There is a physical defect that causes alcoholics to not be able to process alcohol like a normal person. Basically once you put alcohol into your body, it triggers a reaction that makes your body crave more. The only thing you can do is to not put any alcohol into your body at all. The problem is the mental defect, an obsession if you will. An alcoholic will obsess about drinking any time he is not drinking. He will also obsess about not having enough to drink. That ties back into the physical defect.

There should be no shame in admitting your problem, yet shame is the most common emotion that alcoholics feel. They don't want to admit they have a problem and even after they do admit it, they never want to get the help they need. Imagining life without alcohol to them is like imagining life without sex of any kind. Its not something that seems possible.

If any of you do think you have a problem with alcohol, I would like to offer a couple of litmus tests. Knowing these early on can help you from hitting rock bottom.

1. Try drinking only 2 drinks. That means 2 12 ounce beers or 2 mixed drinks with one shot of alcohol. Try it a few times. An alcoholic cannot stop himself at just 2 or 3.

2. Try not drinking for a year. Yes, a whole year. If my first test hit home at all, I doubt you will be able to make it anything like a year. A couple of weeks of white knuckling it is probably all you can manage.

So what to do if you are alcoholic? Many of you know my personal experience with that. AA helped me. Some (very few) people find what they need in rehab. Others might like non-faith based programs that are offered. Anything is better than doing nothing. Just seek help.

I posted this to help clear up some of the common myths about alcoholism. What you drink or how often you drink doesn't really matter. Its how drinking affects your life that does matter. If anyone ever wants to talk about drinking or just wants someone to listen, I am here. I won't try to push my way of thinking on you, but I will help in any way I can.

Here are some very well written words on alcoholism. I hope this helps someone out there.

You know what's really strange? When you say "try not drinking for a year", I'm starting to wonder if I could handle that. I don't drink at all but the idea that I'm not allowed to do something would totally get me wound up and somehow force me to go do the very thing I'm not suppose to do for an entire year. strange...

I think that's part of the "test". I know that I couldn't have imagined not drinking for a week, let alone a year. Please note that I didn't say that either of those would make you alcoholic. Just that maybe you had a problem.

Alcoholism is a unique disease because it can only be self diagnosed. I am also not here to tell anyone they are an alcoholic. Only to share my experience and knowledge.

To those that say its not best to listen to someone who has had a drinking problem; why wouldn't you listen to someone who has fought the beast and won? I am truly happy for anyone who can beat alcoholism on their own. You are a better man than I. But to those that cannot do it, please just seek help. If someone takes anything away from this thread, please let it be that you don't have to be ashamed of your condition. Please don't be afraid to ask for help.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What is alochol anyway?

 

[jemcam]

Rudeguy, remember it's attraction not promotion. These discussions never end well.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: jemcam
Rudeguy, remember it's attraction not promotion. These discussions never end well.

Agreed.

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: clamum

Originally posted by: IGBT
..the failure occurs with the desire to intoxicate. if you desire to intoxicate, you have a problem.

But isn't that kind of the point? I'm not talking about getting shitfaced, but intoxicated. The point of drinking coffee or pop in the morning is to get a caffeine buzz right (usually)?

Some people actually enjoy the taste of good beer or a nice scotch. It would make sense that those people might not be concerned with intoxication.

This is why I mentioned developing bad drinking habits. My only reason for drinking in the past was to get buzzed or drunk so that continued.

Now, even though I do enjoy the taste of beer and scotch or wiskey, I still find myself overdoing it.

PS

I'm drinking a Venti drip from Starbucks right now

 

[Old Hippie]

I know what you're talking about.

I quit all partying for @ 2 yrs. but then resumed @ 3yrs ago.

I'm not as bad as I used to be. It doesn't bother me to have a drink or two and get up and leave.

But if I drink fairly heavily for 2 or 3 days, I get up wanting a drink and knowing that I'm going to drink today.

Add in all the other party materials I use and it becomes a bigger problem.

It just always seems like I'm looking over the edge.....but as I get older, I'm backing further away.

 

[SandEagle]

33 and never had a drink in my life... no alcohol, no wine... don't even know what it smells like. am i tempted? never was... i am hooked on pepsi though

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: rrahman1
33 and never had a drink in my life... no alcohol, no wine... don't even know what it smells like. am i tempted? never was... i am hooked on pepsi though

very strange

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
Does anyone dislike the taste of hard alcohol? Honestly I've never developed a huge taste for it. I can drink a G&T or Vodka Tonic but really I would much rather just have a beer.

I've only tried alcohol once, and that was a little wine about a year ago. It was so horrible that I don't think I would ever consider it again. I don't see how people drink that stuff.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

When he posted it here, it became everyone's business.

AA is an organization of the self-deluded. The "Big Book", A has been utterly watered down (find and read a first edition), and B. has always been one man's fantasy about how he Came To Believe he no longer needed to drink; it's filled with gibberish, circular logic, and paradox about how relying on god is independence.

If AA works for someone, it has nothing to do with the 12 steps. It is simply that when you put many people in the same room with the same challenge, some of them are bound to form relationships for which the desire to maintain outweighs the desire to drink (which would end the relationship).

Even in AA, only a very low percentage will ever never drink again.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

When he posted it here, it became everyone's business.

AA is an organization of the self-deluded. The "Big Book", A has been utterly watered down (find and read a first edition), and B. has always been one man's fantasy about how he Came To Believe he no longer needed to drink; it's filled with gibberish, circular logic, and paradox about how relying on god is independence.

If AA works for someone, it has nothing to do with the 12 steps. It is simply that when you put many people in the same room with the same challenge, some of them are bound to form relationships for which the desire to maintain outweighs the desire to drink (which would end the relationship).

Even in AA, only a very low percentage will ever never drink again.

see my reply to GodlessAstronomer.

 

[Oyeve]

I take a large swig of either rum or whiskey at least once a night right after I get home. Does that classify me as an alchoholic? I cant play rockband without a swig.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

When he posted it here, it became everyone's business.

AA is an organization of the self-deluded. The "Big Book", A has been utterly watered down (find and read a first edition), and B. has always been one man's fantasy about how he Came To Believe he no longer needed to drink; it's filled with gibberish, circular logic, and paradox about how relying on god is independence.

If AA works for someone, it has nothing to do with the 12 steps. It is simply that when you put many people in the same room with the same challenge, some of them are bound to form relationships for which the desire to maintain outweighs the desire to drink (which would end the relationship).

Even in AA, only a very low percentage will ever never drink again.

see my reply to GodlessAstronomer.

This was my reply to THAT reply. Tool.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

When he posted it here, it became everyone's business.

AA is an organization of the self-deluded. The "Big Book", A has been utterly watered down (find and read a first edition), and B. has always been one man's fantasy about how he Came To Believe he no longer needed to drink; it's filled with gibberish, circular logic, and paradox about how relying on god is independence.

If AA works for someone, it has nothing to do with the 12 steps. It is simply that when you put many people in the same room with the same challenge, some of them are bound to form relationships for which the desire to maintain outweighs the desire to drink (which would end the relationship).

Even in AA, only a very low percentage will ever never drink again.

see my reply to GodlessAstronomer.

This was my reply to THAT reply. Tool.

You fell for his trick, now you're trapped in a recursion loop.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
You say it's not a sign of weakness that you can't control your drinking. I would contend that your reliance on a "higher power", the need to consult a being that exists entirely in your crippled mind is a sign of weakness. A mental weakness that manifests itself in both your reliance on a fairy tale to get you from day to day, and your tendency to overindulge in alcohol. Flame me if you will, but this is my opinion.

if it saves his life, it's a good thing, and also none of your business.

When he posted it here, it became everyone's business.

AA is an organization of the self-deluded. The "Big Book", A has been utterly watered down (find and read a first edition), and B. has always been one man's fantasy about how he Came To Believe he no longer needed to drink; it's filled with gibberish, circular logic, and paradox about how relying on god is independence.

If AA works for someone, it has nothing to do with the 12 steps. It is simply that when you put many people in the same room with the same challenge, some of them are bound to form relationships for which the desire to maintain outweighs the desire to drink (which would end the relationship).

Even in AA, only a very low percentage will ever never drink again.

see my reply to GodlessAstronomer.

This was my reply to THAT reply. Tool.

You fell for his trick, now you're trapped in a recursion loop.

Does this mane I'm doomed to forever nesting quotes in nested quotes in nested quotes in nested quotes in nested quotes in nested quotes in nested quotes...

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
This was my reply to THAT reply. Tool.

woah, ad-hominem attack on aisle three!

even if AA has only helped 1% of the people that enrolled, no one could question its usefulness to society. HOW it helps alcoholics is beside the point. if your life became a cesspool of despair and addiction, and someone convinced you to believe in something that completely turned your life around, would you really care what that something was? maybe we should ask the family members of alcoholics if they care. Perhaps they would throw away all the progress their loved one has made simply because of metaphors that are used to help their loved one along. it doesn't matter how it works, the fact of the matter is that it works, and if you have nothing better to do than sit there and insult the how & why for no apparent reason, then we know who the tool is.

edit: i spelled hominem wrong

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
This was my reply to THAT reply. Tool.

woah, ad-hominem attack on aisle three!

even if AA has only helped 1% of the people that enrolled, no one could question its usefulness to society. HOW it helps alcoholics is beside the point. if your life became a cesspool of despair and addiction, and someone convinced you to believe in something that completely turned your life around, would you really care what that something was? maybe we should ask the family members of alcoholics if they care. Perhaps they would throw away all the progress their loved one has made simply because of metaphors that are used to help their loved one along. it doesn't matter how it works, the fact of the matter is that it works, and if you have nothing better to do than sit there and insult the how & why for no apparent reason, then we know who the tool is.

edit: i spelled hominem wrong

My position is that it does not work. My position is that if you take 1000 alkies and stick 500 of them in AA, and 500 of them in a night club, you will have the same recover rate. There is no statistical link between AA long-term sobriety, ZERO.

I exaggerate! There is nothing to suggest that AA is more helpful than other methods of recovery. AA just happens to produce more zealots (despite their motto of attraction rather than promotion), and just plain batshit crazy lunatics, than the other less religiousish methods.

IMO that last thing the planet needs is more people walking around who believe in fairy stories and other voodoo BS. From a personal perspective I would choose lobotomy over religion for myself or anyone. AA is a religion. Fuck AA.