Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

[Prest4time]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Wow, I dont post much anymore, but I want to share my thoughts.

I heard Paul Harvey say once that "Alcohol is the only disease we can purchase in a bottle." He is right.

How can you become an alcoholic if you never touch it? Even if you are "pre-disposed" to it, if you never touch it, are you an alcoholic?

My Father is an alcoholic. Both of his parents were, and my Mom said that her Mom was SO bad that she was afraid to have a sleepover when she was young for fear of what would happen after 7 p.m.

Bottom line, alcoholism is an addiction. There are many faces of addiction... some people eat out of control, some do pot, some do hard drugs, and some are addicted to exercise. But alcohol is mood/ mind altering, so unlike food, chocolate or ciggarette addictions, it makes us act different. And that is why I want the change.

I too am a health nut... dont even get me started. I even convinced myself that if a glass of red wine was good for you, then how much better are six??? Its a mental issue to begin with, and then its our choice as to whether it becomes a physical disease, which is, the end result.

[Accountable for Me]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

I believe that alcoholism is an addiction that causes diseases.

[Prest4time]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Spot on.... it causes diseases.

[Determinator]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Gumby, it is frustrating indeed...

disease + addiction = disdiction? hmmm. anyways with your knowledge of the endochrine system you will surely be helpful to us folks with tons of medical questions! you may have to charge a fee
sooooo in that vein...what do you think of the liver 'cleanser' type of products on the market such as milk thistle, artichoke extract etc?

[happydog]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

I dont like what alcohol does to me anymore, it was fun at the beginning. only last week with our neighbours talking about what is in alcohol. years ago they use to put anti-freeze or even petrol to get that high buzzs. Not sure how true this is, but still in parts of russia they still use anti-freeze in wine.
How True is That?

[beatle]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Gumby, I think you said it all, said it right, and most important make the point that whatever the hell we want to call it, we do have to take some responsibility if we don't like what it does/has done to us.

Ok, that said, my extremely firm opinion, which I of course presume to mean is the truth, is that alcohol addiction IS a disease. It fits the model, it is genetic and it is chemical. Like other diseases, however, it is also different from person to person.

I'm not saying it is an INCURABLE disease... then again, most diseases are curable. And usually, it takes a lot of effort on the part of the person afflicted with the disease to become well. So it is with alcoholism.

I also don't buy the excuse that since alcoholism is a disease, therefore, we are not responsible. And the worst thing you can do is (be forced to) admit your helplessness (ok, no name-calling here, but we all know about the "powerless" brainwashing running rampant among alcoholic reformer wannabes.).

Alcohol addiction IS a disease, it IS curable, we DO have responsiblity to help ourselves get well.

(if you want to try to change my mind on this, good luck. I've done my research and I am an opinionated ass to boot.)

[Accountable for Me]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Teardrop: Anti freeze and petrol in alcohol? Holy smokes. That is a scary thought - isn't it? I have NO idea if that is true or not, but lets say if they did wouldn't it kill someone very quickly? I know that animals are attracted to anti freeze and die when ingested. Scary thought nonetheless.

[trixietrack]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Accountable for Me;213572 wrote: I believe that alcoholism is an addiction that causes diseases.

I agree with you accountable. I also think that alcohol is really well marketed, and some of us are more susceptible than others to the advertising of booze which has been going on for quite a while.
the desire for drink is closely tied to our desire to eat to quench thirst and to have sex.
that is why it's so difficult to break away from alcohol addiction.
it's not just physiological

[happydog]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

my neigbour is from the philippiness, anyone that could not afford to buy alcohol would just put a little bit of anti freeze in there juice. i think in the end it would make them go mad in the head. it is scary.

[beatle]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

tkeene, basically we agree and disagree fundamentally.

Yes, we need to take responsibility for our decisions and actions. Here we agree.

Alcohol addiciton (my preference, as a term, to alcoholism) IS a disease. I never heard that about the AMA retracting it, but I don't care, I don't have much respect for that organisation anyway. The point is that I have researched it enough to be convinced that it IS a disease, which is all a matter of rhetoric since in the end we agree that we have to take responsibility anyway.

And, yes it IS genetic, but that doesn't mean we have to blame it on anyone. Do we whine about being nearsighted, or having dyslexia (both genetic)? So, why not just say it how it is. It IS a disease, we are NOT at fault, we CAN help ourselves to overcome it. (And we DON'T need to succumb to a higher power to do it).

p.s. higher powers are fine by me, just not when they are shoved down the throat.

[MyOwnWoman]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Disease: 1. a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

I don't think alcohol addiction fits into that definition.

As for accepting that it's in our genes, etc - I think such information is helpful. It is good to further understanding, especially on a topic that is viewed rather negatively in society. I understand that I inherited such genes from my family. I understand that repeated use of alcohol caused a dependence to alcohol. And I use that understanding not to throw my hands up and say, hey, it's not my fault! I use it to roll my sleeves up and get to work to overcome an addiction... that is not my fault, but is most certainly my responsibility.

[Cinders]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Well said, MWO!!!

Cindi

[beatle]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

MyOwnWomen,

alcohol addiction DOES fit into the definition you gave (wherever you got it from)...

still it doesn't matter what you want to think, we all agree it is our responsbility to do something about it, right?

So, although we will all obviously can not come to agreement on this issue, we can at least agree to agree on responsibility. ok?

p.s. I'm always right, so don't bother to refute. haha

[MyOwnWoman]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Dearest beatle, please note that I didn't not say "addiction is not a disease". I said I don't think it is. I state my opinions as opinions, not as facts.
Frankly, as somewhat said above, who the hell cares? We still have to deal with it regardless of what category of medical disorders we believe it to be in.
(you are so stubborn!! maybe you need some of that whipping therapy mentioned in the other thread!!!)

[beatle]

Wealth of knowledge...still not enough?

Dearest MyOwnWoman,

You should stop thinking. I will do the thinking here.

AND, as you will notice, I am quite well aware of that fact that I am an opinionated ass. Nonetheless, I am right.

Most importantly, we all agree on the most important aspect here...
so-- bring on the whips!