Alcoholism

[Skyline]

I had a span of a few years of heavy solitary drinking back in the day (about 2002-2004ish), not the best use of my time, then again that was coupled with...I dunno. Not so much a will to die, but rather an indifference to living. Prescription and OTC pills added to the mix as well, mostly sedatives. Hid it pretty well, would spend a lot of time holed up at home anyways so nothing out of the ordinary there. Alcohol was a thing that made me smile when I wasn't really capable of doing so myself, even though everything still sucked. It's hard to explain. Looking back, there's an ever-growing list of things I could have been doing instead which would have put me in a better situation in the present day (mostly to do with not dropping out of college), but all I can do at this point is use that as a personal definition for what "rock bottom" is. My father had a drug/alcohol problem as well, sometimes I think we were both trying to kill each other because we saw each other trying to kill ourselves.

I was seeing a therapist for most of last year for some different reasons, and he kept referring to me as suffering from alcoholism. This was a case of miscommunication however, or a lack of understanding on his part, since I was as detailed as possible with the guy about when I do have a few. It's been primarily a social activity since moving to Reno back in 2005. Friends get together, enjoy each other's company, partake in the Vodka, have some laughs, nothing too extreme. He took it as though I was using it as an anti-depressant, or a crutch for social situations. That observation was dead wrong in my opinion, but it did put a little perspective on it, and I've cut back a bit since then.

Currently, nothing is really gained or lost when I drink, besides the cash needed to buy the stuff. No more drinking Bacardi 151 out of the bottle.
I do see how people can't seem to get out of that mindset though, that they need to drink or fulfill their addiction(s) to cope with life. A lot of times, a change of environment works wonders, gets away from all of the enabling factors. For others this isn't enough, and that struggle for resilience when they do get their lives in order is no joke.

...I want to change that.

The best thing to do is keep that as front-and-center in your mind (and in your daily routine) as possible. It's really easy to stick to a level of comfort, and revert back to it. Whether it be spending hour upon hour doing pointless internet things, or watching YouTube videos non-stop, or gaming, or what have you. Having that motivation figuratively screaming at the top of it's lungs all the time is definitely a motivator. Plus, there's a level of satisfaction and elation that goes beyond description when you achieve those goals you set before yourself. Venturing outside one's comfort zone, especially when dealing with addiction, is both the greatest and most terrifying action one could undertake...it's all about one's fears.

[Mero]

Yeah, it's no disease. "Oh no, this disease is making me drink a bottle of vodka!"

[Skykid]

I'm drunk right now. O shirt wrong thread (spell check edit on)

[Vyxx]

Yeah, it's no disease. "Oh no, this disease is making me drink a bottle of vodka!"

I don't want to start a full blown argument but addiction definitely is a mental disease, and every person handles it differently. It's not as easy to stop as people think. If it was so easy why would the vast majority of addicts continue to ruin their health and lives??

[Acid King]

I never reached what could be called alcoholism. I used to drink about four beers a day, depending on the day, but never anything serious. Now I'm just broke so I don't drink much at all. "True" alcoholism, by that I mean serious physical dependence, is pretty dangerous since the withdrawal effects can be ruinous, not to mention the physical toll of heavy alcohol consumption. Alleged hard drugs like crack, meth, and heroin pale in comparison to alcohol in the overall destruction of ones body.

I don't want to start a full blown argument but addiction definitely is a mental disease, and every person handles it differently. It's not as easy to stop as people think. If it was so easy why would the vast majority of addicts continue to ruin their health and lives??

Just because someone can't stop doing something doesn't necessarily mean there's a biological cause. Has anyone ever willed themselves free of cancer or any other illness we traditionally refer to as a disease? Really, that's the issue. Saying it is a disease connotes that there is some sort of biological defect that causes a person's behavior. While it's likely biology plays a part in it, can it be denied that it is largely behavioral? That people can and do manage to stop without medical intervention? That book actually sounds a lot like Thomas Szasz's criticism of mental health professionals and their reference to conditions like depression and anxiety as "mental illness". The disease concepts of mental health and addiction are largely taken as gospel now, but he has some salient points about how we think about ourselves and how we have medicalized our behavior.

[Mischief Maker]

This thread reminds me of that old Bill Hicks joke about going to AA meetings and rolling his eyes at all the alcoholics' stories compared to his acid trips:

"I just love the taste of beer..."

"Fuck you, I met aliens!"

[Raytrace]

I have not really drunk frequently in about 6 years, since my 30th birthday. Only time I drink now is at weddings or the like (and I really don't go to them often). At a wedding (well definitely an Irish wedding anyway), ye just kinda have to as the day is SO long and it does soften the boring bits, I also smoke like a CHIMNEY at weddings, which I don't normally really do, though I am pretty much addicted to Nicorette Inhalers (! ).

I also only really drink Guinness nowadays, and it has to be pretty good Guinness, so that narrows down the times I'll drink. Another good thing is Guinness makes you feel so full (and is relatively weak) that by the time you're getting REALLY drunk you feel pretty full and tired, I think maybe the iron has something to do with it too (like after you eat a big steak or something).

[brentsg]

Drinking Guinness isn't an addiction. That's simply good taste.

[Drachenherz]

Drinking Guinness isn't an addiction. That's simply good taste.

http://texasaskempoker.com/wp-content/u ... G4U23.jpeg

I *hate* guiness. Seriously, how can you even down this s**t?

[idchappy]

My mum's been on the sauce for years, terrible thing to see when your growing up, your mum pished 4 days a week, occasionally more.
Anyway, she's on the wagon for the 3rd time now(must be a really bumpy wagon ) so I wish her and everyone else the best in their efforts

[Raytrace]

Drinking Guinness isn't an addiction. That's simply good taste.

http://texasaskempoker.com/wp-content/u ... G4U23.jpeg

I *hate* guiness. Seriously, how can you even down this s**t?

I have never truly liked the taste of lagers, even if some like Staropramen I do find nice, but with most of them if I was honest to myself, I would still prefer coke from a bottle with a slice of lemon taste wise, and am really just drinking them for the drug. Guinness on the other hand, I genuinely love the texture and taste of (when it is good), bad Guinness is really a yuck thing though, only even vaguely palatable if already extremely drunk.

specifically on the topic of 'down this shit?' - if you mean down as in drink fast, surely Guinness is easier than most as it is less fizzy?

[opt2not]

Drinking Guinness isn't an addiction. That's simply good taste.

http://texasaskempoker.com/wp-content/u ... G4U23.jpeg

I *hate* guiness. Seriously, how can you even down this s**t?

Guinness is a great beer. It's my default if there isn't anything good on tap.
But the Guiness we get here in North America, isn't the same as the European Guinness. It's thinner, and doesn't have the full flavour of Guinness you'd get in Europe.
Guiness here is like drinking Guiness-light...it's catered to the beer drinking crowds of North America, where plain-jane tasting beers like Bud and Coors do better in sales. But it's still a great beer.

I like to drink a lot of different types of beer, and I can't say there are many I don't agree with, except for the mass-produced general beers. Your average american will opt for a Bud, or Coors over most, which is a damn shame 'cause there's more to beer than just mass-produced shite that makes you piss ever couple of minutes 'cause it passes right through you like water! Not like a good ol' Guinness, a beer that sticks to your bones!

[Raytrace]

Guinness is a great beer. It's my default if there isn't anything good on tap.
But the Guiness we get here in North America, isn't the same as the European Guinness. It's thinner, and doesn't have the full flavour of Guinness you'd get in Europe.
Guiness here is like drinking Guiness-light...it's catered to the beer drinking crowds of North America, where plain-jane tasting beers like Bud and Coors do better in sales. But it's still a great beer.

I like to drink a lot of different types of beer, and I can't say there are many I don't agree with, except for the mass-produced general beers. Your average american will opt for a Bud, or Coors over most, which is a damn shame 'cause there's more to beer than just mass-produced shite that makes you piss ever couple of minutes 'cause it passes right through you like water! Not like a good ol' Guinness, a beer that sticks to your bones!

good man :p

I have to say though there is of course even within Europe there are vast fluctuations in Guinness quality and of course yes, I'm going to say it's better here (Ireland)

It's not an urban legend or myth, it just doesn't travel that well. That's probably why the 'Foreign Export' bottles are like 7.5% - to preserve them.
I've had decent ish pints of it on draft elsewhere, but never REALLY good.

I quite liked the Scottish stout 'Gillespie's' when I had it from a small bottle once (like a short fat shaped bottle).

[DEL]

System11 wrote;

Lately we've been subjected to government nannying adverts telling us to give drinking a night off a few days every week.

1) Fuck off, you're not my mother - if I want to die from drink that's not the states problem, heaven knows it would bring the jobless total down and free up houses.

2) Who drinks every single night each week? People really do that? If they do, are they going to give a rats ass about a condescending TV advert made with taxpayers money?

Yes and they've been attacking alcohol for quite a while now. They've basically god rid of all the pubs in the UK, by taxing them to death. The controlled Media has also been attacking small businesses such as off licences.

They taxed video cabinets in newsagents and video stores in the early 90s to get rid of them and they were successful.

Now they are also doing a nasty job on the natural product called Sugar. Demonizing it and before you know it you have sugar boxes on the shelves which aren't sugar at all. Nope -> Aspartame cubes

[Mischief Maker]

Lately we've been subjected to government nannying adverts telling us to give drinking a night off a few days every week.

1) Fuck off, you're not my mother - if I want to die from drink that's not the states problem, heaven knows it would bring the jobless total down and free up houses.

2) Who drinks every single night each week? People really do that? If they do, are they going to give a rats ass about a condescending TV advert made with taxpayers money?

I worked in a prosecutor's office for a while and can tell you that as scary as crack and meth are individually, they're not the drug fueling the vast majority of crime going through those offices. Human misery aside, the enormous tax cost of arresting, prosecuting, and jailing these drunks is great enough that if those nannyverts make a fraction of a dent in the booze-fueled crime rate they'd pay for themselves.

[R79]

Two points: 1) the taste, 2) and the pleasant relaxed feeling

@the German guy: yes, day to day life in the UK is really only tolerable with a tipple I'm afraid. See also the frightfully inhibited women we seem to have an exclusive market on

Now where's my bottle opener...

[Drachenherz]

Hehe, I dunno whether to like the direction this thread has taken or not.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Can you still get disability benefit for being an alcy? I'm sure it was like 80 quid a month when I lived in the UK.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Can you still get disability benefit for being an alcy?

Maybe if you can prove it's not your fault? Like, in your teens you couldn't possibly have been wise enough to know it was too early to start.
Why am I certain almost everybody who got into trouble because of drinking started early? I started in the age of 15 (by "started" I mean drinking to get as drunk as I could).

[jonny5]

Can you still get disability benefit for being an alcy?

Maybe if you can prove it's not your fault? Like, in your teens you couldn't possibly have been wise enough to know it was too early to start.
Why am I certain almost everybody who got into trouble because of drinking started early? I started in the age of 15 (by "started" I mean drinking to get as drunk as I could).

I'd almost want to say it's the reverse(obviously it varies). Most of the people I know who were partying, drinking and doing drugs in high school got tired of it in their early 20's and moved on and it became a social thing, in moderation.

The people I have seen really fuck things up with alcohol and drugs were the ones who didn't touch it in high school, and then got into it heavy later on and fucked up everything, university/work/relationships,etc.

I think by getting in on it younger, by the time you're of an age where you need to keep your shit together you are over it.

Again, this is just what I have seen; there are exceptions, but overall this is my experience.

[spoot]

The people I have seen really fuck things up with alcohol and drugs were the ones who didn't touch it in high school, and then got into it heavy later on and fucked up everything, university/work/relationships,etc.

Yep, that's me. I started after joining the work force in IT.....20 years ago.

[Randorama]

It's 3.21 am in the morning, I am drinking Petrus while reading some philosophy book (ok, a book by Peter Gadenfors) and listening to Philip Glass.

I have a porn ready on display, in case my wife wakes up and wonders what I am up to. I must save face, I daresay.

Although I was a relatively heavy drinker in my BA days (...10 years ago, as you may remember), I almost stopped altogether when I moved to post-graduate education.
I do drink a little liquor, but only liquor, and on the week-ends, hence the "almost". Never felt any urge to drink, but I do enjoy a drink with friends, too. It is just that I grew to enjoy the feeling of the rare poisoning that liquor brings, when I read particularly dense texts. I dislike doing this when my wife is around, I know that she does not like me when I get all serious and meditative.


She also can't stand the smell of the liquors I like, dang.

[drauch]

Two points: 1) the taste, 2) and the pleasant relaxed feeling

@the German guy: yes, day to day life in the UK is really only tolerable with a tipple I'm afraid. See also the frightfully inhibited women we seem to have an exclusive market on

Now where's my bottle opener...

Nice...what is that, there? An Iron GrenadierV1, Destro V1, Alley Viper v1, Baroness V1, and...can't remember that other dude. A Viper, right?

[BIL]

Was recalling the names of all those myself. Far right is an Annihilator, iirc. I picked up a lot of early extended vocabulary from those classic 80s/90s Joe figures' codenames and clip+keep dossiers... Iron Grenadier being another I had to ask my Dad about. Those things hold so many memories of being five or so without a care in the world besides what Joe to get from the general store with my pocket money that weekend.

Some rad designs too. Both Heat Viper types are still pretty interesting to look at now.

[drauch]

Those things hold so many memories of being five or so without a care in the world besides what Joe to get from the general store with my pocket money that weekend.

Ugh. I pretty much say that verbatim quite often to people. So very true. I really love the Heat Viper as well. I used to make custom Joes in early 2000s. I made a pretty gnarly Heat Viper if I recall.

Sorry to derail! This is childhood at hand!

[GaijinPunch]

I spent 12,000 yen on 2 bottles of whiskey in Duty Free -- one of which I've drank (to myself). Would I do it again, sure? They retail for 20,000+.

[Skykid]

I have a love hate relationship with any state-altering substances (some just hate) because I loathe being even partly incapacitated the following day and having my productivity cut short. Sometimes I'm desperate to do some work, but realise after finding my way to the computer that I'm just too hungover to muster up anything of value.

I only drink maybe once every two weeks - when I was in the UK even less, maybe once a month/6 weeks. But when I do go out for drinks I like to go the whole way. 3 pints and closing time usually leaves me feeling like the night held some unfinished business, and the next day's fuzziness probably wasn't worth it. So I'm a very light binger, lol. If drinks are on the cards, I'm usually up for keeping it up until I'm either blitzed, the sun is rising, or both. Then the hangover reminds me why I'm going to have a nice long leave of absence.

I also sleep incredibly poorly even with a little alcohol. Even if it feels like I got enough hours, I'm still dead tired, and I hate that. Most times I only sleep about four hours and then wake up and struggle to go back.

So yeah, I'm pretty far from alcoholic. The UK, as CIT noted, is completely drink focussed, there's very little else anyone seems to be able to do to fill their free time. I really don't like that part of the culture.

[brentsg]

By reading your post it sounds like you're a low-functioning non-alcoholic.

[R79]

And remember folks:



Cheers.

[Skykid]

By reading your post it sounds like you're a low-functioning non-alcoholic.

Really? Shit. I'll have to check the definition. I don't really drink often, just when I do I usually like to make a night of it (that's the concise version of the nonsense above. )