[OT] Alcoholism. Willing to share your problem?

[mkelly]

With the penalties and consequences for drunk driving nowdays? You bet. If someone gets behind the wheel and ignores what may happen legally (not to mention otherwise), then yes- he/she has a problem.

Here in Minnesota, a first DUI will run you somewhere about $1000 in fines, $3000 in legal fees and a year's suspension of your license (you can get a limited permit to drive back and forth to work after 30 to 60 days).

ew

Thank you, ew. Yes, mkelly - if someone gets behind the wheel drunk - with the potential to damage property, injure or even kill people? There is NO leap of logic there...that person has a drinking problem. They are putting their drinking before the welfare of others, and that, my friend, is fucked up.

Sorry, but I'm going to disagree with you both. I'm not saying that driving drunk is not a fucked up thing to do. But, in my opinion, a lapse in judgement does not make you have a drinking problem. I feel you (Sphinx) made a generalisation about the driver based on one act (at least from what information you've given us).

[longjohns]

it took me 24 years of drinking and using to admit it, and I've not had a drink or drug in almost 18 years.

damn dude you are hella old

[aisling]

Spent my 20's completely sober and attending AA. It saved my life. After 11 years of dealing with a bunch of cranky sober people who seemed to go nowhere in their lives and justified everything that went wrong by saying, "at least I didn't drink today", I re entered the world of chemical recreation and never looked back. I'll always be an addict. (so many drugs, so little time! )

Never been happier and enjoy getting high from everything I can find; Love, Music, Sex, art, adventure and, yes, chemicals of all shapes and sizes.

Live On!


YMMV.

T-

Wow what a similar coincidence, I went that route as well. Then in my late 30's I realized that I was not getting the milage out of my high that I wanted. It just became mundane and profane, all the playfulness, inspiration, and spontaneity had been lost (silly to smoke up nice like then drink 3 cups of joe only to realize that I need to smoke up again and then drink more joe...). SO I gave it up again.

No judgment, but true that ymmv, mine was an american gas guzzler, I did not get good milage.

[friend_kami]

im pretty sure i am an alcoholic which scares the shit out of me coming from a family of alcoholic abuse.
i mean, im out drinking every weekend, sometimes even on mondays, or tuesdays or whatever.

especially in the summer. trying hard not to become one, but im halfway there already i think.
its expensive, you feel like shit after drinking and spending all that money and you didnt even have fun while doing it. its quite pointless actually.

yet you do it. wierd indeed.

[andydes]

Yeah, I need to start cutting down on my drinking too. Don't think I'd class myself as full blown alcoholic though. I'll have 1 or 2 beers/glasses of wine on week nights and considerably more on fridays and saturdays. On the other hand, I don't really get that drunk. Certainly don't loose control, get agressive, stagger around in a stupur, have blank spots in memory or anything like that. If I go to a club or a party, I'll be out pretty damn late and just keep myself on a constant merry level without getting twatted. I'm sure it's not doing my body or wallet much good though.

[LoopStationZebra]

More pics, please.

[ewistrand]

Be careful what you say, you will get EW and Sphinx after you.

Say what? All we were doing was pointing out to you that what you said wasn't true...

As far as AA/NA goes, it's not for everybody; true. However, it's a big help for the first couple years or so, just because of the support you get.

I very rarely attend AA/NA anymore myself; I go whenever one of my friends is getting a medallion or if they're just starting and need the support to walk through the door without freaking out.

ew

Your behavior is inconsistent.

Rave (your non alchy moderator)

How so? We're all individuals; what works for one person might not work for another. I have enough constant reminders in my life as to why I don't drink anymore.

ew

[DrXparaMental]

I am an Alcoholic. Straight up. I have not drank Alcohol for 15-16 years now. I quit smoking pot a few years after I quit drinking. Heavy pot toking never had the potential negative ramifications that alcohol did for me, but it was bullshit for me nonetheless that did more harm than good. Besides, that shit's expensive these days!!

Alcoholism is subject to genetic predisposition. No question. It works this way:

You drink and as a result your life is worse for it. That's because Alcoholism is simply the condition of drinking beyond control or will. End of story. Everyday you wake up either drinking or claiming once again that you are done. Only to repeat the same insanity over and over again. It's the specific brain chemistry of the alcoholic that entices this condition. If you are drinking to primarily get smashed or inebriated, you are most likely an alcoholic. That's the most common symptom of alcoholism. A person without the alcohol trait gets a headache or feels queasy after a few drinks. That's because alcohol is a poison by nature and when your liver starts being unable to keep up, your brain sends a signal to alert you to the fact. If your brain has the alcoholism prone chemistry, it takes MUCH longer for these physiological triggers to fire.

Certainly not all people born with this trait become full blown alcoholics. That's because there is a specific "line" that one crosses that there is ZERO, as in absolutely (no pun intended) NONE, return from. From this point on, the brain of the alcoholic is changed by a chemical build up to that of a progressive alcoholic nature. This chemical is called Tetrahydroisoquinoline, or THIQ for short. This exact same chemical by-product is found in the brain of opiate addicts as well.

My advice to you is this. If you feel as though alcohol has a detracting and unhealthy effect on your life, stop drinking and don't look back.

Alcoholism is progressive whether you are drinking or not. If I were to start drinking today, my brain would react like I never stopped.

Good Luck (not that luck has a thing to do with it)

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[keithtalent]

First of all, I totally think the guy who started this thread did the right thing by looking for help, regardless of where he started. However, I'm not going to go into my AA meeting this week and ask how to get the best bass sounds out of Operator. Similarly, I don't think he'll get the greatest advice here. In my experience, none of this "you're not an alcoholic unless ..." stuff is very helpful for people who really have a disease, as helpful as everyone is trying to be (and by the way, I think its cool that most people here are genuinely trying to be helpful). The best idea would be to talk to an expert (as many people have said), and for me this means contacting another alcoholic. Finding a phone number is pretty easy. It's free and it works. Good luck man.

[Big V]

The end of a good soccer day!!! Hooray!!! Hooray!!!

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