so how is it...

[me145]

so how is it...

thanks for all your replies guys. i totally believe it is that our brains are different than non alcoholics who have the "switch" to stop drinking when theyve had enough. of course the disease is progressive i also believe. it gets worse. i didnt have a problem drinking a few coors lights in the very beginning when i began to drink. anyway, i too wish someday that alcoholism wouldnt be looked down upon, but people would have sympathy for us because it is a PHYSICAL thing in the brain. its so horrible that people who havent been educated about alcoholism believe it is a lack of willpower, that we are dumb losers.

[caseaday]

so how is it...

me145...the education problem, in my opinion, is that the perception alcoholism has been deeply rooted in culture based on AA. It was the first formal program that framed up alcohol as a disease, a weekness, etc. It is very old fashion thinking based on absolutely no research. I also believe that is the reason that little to no intense modern research has been conducted to provide a "cure" for it.

Popular culture suggests that if you are an alcoholic it is YOUR own fault. You deal with it! However, if you smoke a ton and get cancer everyone has sympathy, if you eat too much and have a heart attack everyone supports you, etc. When I decided I was drinking too much I did a ton of research and found that there is very little information on the condition and even fewer suggestions on how to rid yourself of AL. Too bad...I would venture to guess that if science focused on a solution it would most likely change the lives of millions of people!

[Muddle]

so how is it...

I agree about the "switch" in the brain for addictive behavior. My mother didn't have that "switch" when it came to food. She could eat whole pies, cakes, bags of cookies, pizzas . . . She'd go on a diet every few months, but if she ate even one gram of food not on the diet, it would be the binge again. Turned out AL was the same way for her, but she drank after I was asleep, and I was totally unaware until I was much older. I knew her behavior wasn't normal, but didn't know it was AL. She was even that way about collecting things. She liked these very expensive little (I think David Winter?) cottages and couldn't stop. Ended up with 20+ of them. It's like that "switch" just didn't exist for her.

I seem to be missing the "switch" in my brain for AL, but I'm fine with food, hate to gamble, and don't collect stuff. However, even if there is some sort of brain chemistry behind it, it's not an excuse because ultimately I have to take responsibility for my own actions. But it's ok to recognize I can't do it alone.