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What is alcoholism?

HighwayChild

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people abuse the word, and its like no I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not in denial about being an alcoholic I don't drink on nights I ahve classes I'm not drunk 24/7. yeah I've spent 3 days drunk before but those 3 days guess what i had to do? nothing!!!

:yes::D:hifive:
 

Chaotic Harmony

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Sounds like they have crossed that line into being dependent on it. Life doesn't seem as joyful without it. It has made them wreckless (well, they have made themselves wreckless, really). They know it's a problem but don't want to quit and make excuses. Sounds damaging and sounds like alcoholism, or at least on the verge of it. Maybe someone should talk to them, have an intervention, before it's too late. Might not help, but never know until you know.

I think my uncle would be the hardest to get through to. His mom was telling him that he's putting far too much alcohol into one drink and he gave her the "what do you know anyway" look. My aunt, however, I think she'd be easier to get through to since she actually tries to hide it and it makes me think she knows it's not right, but can't help herself...

Perhaps, I'll see if my mom will help me try and make her see that she can have fun without the alcohol....
 

Omission1234

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i have a drinking issue and most of my family are alcoholics of varying blood percentages no joke, a few of them are in aa now and they say alcoholism is when alcohol is having any type of negative affect on your life. its not dependent on blood alcohol levels or down in the dirt vomitting on alcohol or dt's. unfortunately its a physical dependency in many cases and these dependencies arent noticed till out of control. it depends on the person..
 

Santosha

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I think that many people seem to throw in heavy drinker and "a drunk" in with the alcoholism and I don't agree. I can explain, but I want to hear what some of you think about this.

I believe wiki correctly defines alcoholism

"Alcoholism is a disabling addictive disorder."
This is referring to alcohol consumption where you addictively disable yourself. Not where you've had a few too many drinks, partied hard on the weekend, etc.. this is someone who drinks till they cant function..walk, talk, think, and they do it continually.

It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing. Like other drug addictions, alcoholism is medically defined as a treatable disease.[1]
Compulsive, uncontrolled. Drinking alcohol because you compulsively believe you must have it.. not being able to stop drinking though you want to, or need to. Getting up every morning with terrible nasea, diahrrea, and still drinking. Noticing your skin has a yellow pigment and your organs hurt, and still drinking. Eventually getting a swollen mid section and still drinking. Losing your family and friends and job, and still drinking.

There are alot of people out there with "drinking problems". This is NOT an alcoholic. Needing a drink to loosen up is not alcoholism.. and getting blackout drunk just to do it occasionally is not alcoholism.

Spotting a true alcoholic is fairly easy, because they can't go far or long without atleast being buzzed. They often hide bottles of booze in their vehicles, home, or use mugs and claim its coffee or whatever while its got booze mixed in it.

They also have an unhealthy tint to them which can be hard to notice if they dress nice and wear makeup. Look closely though cause its there.

Alcoholism is a terrible terrible disease. Anyone that says otherwise or claims people still have a choice is dealing with someone with a drinking problem, and not a full blown alcoholic. A FBA is just as addicted as a heroin junkie or dope feen might be. A FBA can not go cold turkey if they wanted to.. because it gives them body tremors, can send them into shock, seizure, or be potentially fatal.

My mom is a full blown alcoholic. If my father wasn't insanely loyal she would be on the street begging for money for booze. I have personally put her into rehab twice, and gotten my family to put her into rehab another 2 times. Even a low end rehab facility runs ya about 10k if you dont "qualify for social programs". My mom has ripped off medical hookups, iv's and catheders to walk out of a hospital in the middle of the night to get to a liquor store. I have seen her have tremors so bad that I have picked her up a pint just to stop them. You can't force anyone to get help. In the USA the only way you can force help against someones will is if they committed a crime and are court ordered to jail.. or you can go thru the legal processes to deem someone insane and then commit them to a mental health facitlity. I've tried both and failed.

Alcoholism is thrown around VERY lightly.. and this comes back to a bigger than ever agenda to tell people how to live their lives. Why? Conspiracy theory you say? Look at how much revenue your local state brings in with alcohol tickets. DUI's, public intox, alcohol related domestic disturbance, etc. Look at how many people are court ordered to alcohol classes.. and the success rate of them. The only people that succeed in these programs are people that didnt REALLY have a problem in the first place.. they made a dumb decision and got caught. People like my mom? At first she showed up to the class drunk.. then she started drinking green tea on days she was urine tested.. and then she decided to just quit going.. and that was about a year ago. We never heard back from the justice dept. Ofcourse they got about 8k out of her because you have to pay for classes, tests, interlock devices on your vehicle, etc. Does the system care if you resolve your problem? NO! They care about the revenue they collect from you. Ask a judge if you can have your fine dropped and stay 6 months in jail instead, it won't happen. You have to pay your fine, if you don't they will jail you, once you get out you still have to pay the fine. I've never seen a judge order jail time over a fine. NEVER.
 

onemoretime

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Agree with the above. That being said, problem drinking is nothing to sniff at, either.
 

freeeekyyy

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If you're more than a moderate drinker, you're an alcoholic. I don't care whether the person is actually physically addicted to alcohol or not, it's damaging their health and they're using it for more than it should be used for.

Moderate drinking is good for you. Heavy drinking is not.


The definition of moderate drinking is between 2 and 4 drinks a day for a man and 1 to 2 drinks a day for a woman.
 

miss fortune

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according to the court mandated alcohol class, to chart whether drinking is moderate or not, one should follow the 1,2,3 guidelines... moderate apparently means 1 drink per hour, 2 drinks a day and no more than 3 drinks any given day at all :)

I suppose that my old habit of only drinking 2 days a week, but getting completely wasted then, does NOT follow the laws of moderate drinking :laugh:
 

freeeekyyy

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according to the court mandated alcohol class, to chart whether drinking is moderate or not, one should follow the 1,2,3 guidelines... moderate apparently means 1 drink per hour, 2 drinks a day and no more than 3 drinks any given day at all :)

I suppose that my old habit of only drinking 2 days a week, but getting completely wasted then, does NOT follow the laws of moderate drinking :laugh:

Nope. In fact, heavy drinking on the weekend is worse than heavy drinking every day. If it's a daily occurance, the body adjusts to it somewhat.
 

miss fortune

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not by MY definitions Ms Chickenz... I was quoting the "don't drink" contingent there! :laugh:
 

prplchknz

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wait what? i'm so lost and confused right now, and I'm not drunk.
 

miss fortune

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wait what? i'm so lost and confused right now, and I'm not drunk.

:rofl1: I was quoting the class that they make you take if they think that you have a drinking problem and want to make you quit drinking there... I was not quoting myself!

My grandfather was an alcoholic for years, so I've seen that up close and personally... if he wasn't at work, he had a drink in his hand, and the effects of his drinking severely affected family life for everyone. :(
 

freeeekyyy

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not by MY definitions Ms Chickenz... I was quoting the "don't drink" contingent there! :laugh:

People who say you should not drink at all are either clueless, or it's a response to having an alcoholic in their life at some point or another.


People who struggle with alcohol shouldn't drink. For everyone else, a few drinks a day is not only "not bad," it's good. Good for the heart and overall health.
 

miss fortune

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oh yes, I'm very aware of the positive effects that alcohol in moderation can have on one's health... I used to work in the alcohol industry :yes:
 

prplchknz

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:rofl1: I was quoting the class that they make you take if they think that you have a drinking problem and want to make you quit drinking there... I was not quoting myself!

My grandfather was an alcoholic for years, so I've seen that up close and personally... if he wasn't at work, he had a drink in his hand, and the effects of his drinking severely affected family life for everyone. :(
oh i was refering to freeeeeeeky who was all like if you get drunk even rarely you are obviously an alcoholic!!!! no i'm not arguing drinking a ton doesn't have adverse affect on your health, but I am arguing that getting wasted maybe once a month at most ≠alcoholism.
 
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