Alcoholism – A Disease?

Alcoholism like some other diseases is self inflicted.

Some people die and can do anything about it.

Nobody forces you to drink too much.

Accurate to an extent but a rather naive and cynical comment.

Alcoholism like some other diseases is self inflicted.

Some people die and cannot do anything about it.

Nobody forces you to drink too much.

You'll learn one day mate. Not as cut and dry as you may think.

You want to judge somebody? Try walking in their shoes first. Easy to spout ideals if yo haven't seen it first hand

You want to judge somebody? Try walking in their shoes first. Easy to spout ideals if yo haven't seen it first hand

Exactly.

You want to judge somebody? Try walking in their shoes first. Easy to spout ideals if yo haven't seen it first hand

I have seen it.

My neighbour for years was an alcoholic. Her children were taken from her and all.

Obviously, some cases are different but some people have a choice.

Your neighbour? Get back to me when it's family you righteous pr**k

Your neighbour? Get back to me when it's family you righteous pr**k

Very harsh!

Very unnecessary!

Now before I start on the more sensitive issues of this topic let me just say that I am sick to death with celebrities who have had addictions in the past calling them Diseases.  Russell Brand, Charlie Sheen, Amy Winehouse, Diano Ross, Stephen King etc are all people I really respect.  But then they come out with this tripe and say that their ADDICTION is a disease.

Personally, I think saying something about a lifestyle which is dangerous and blaming it on an illness is a smack in the face to ever Cancer sufferer out there, from the children too weak to lift their own head to the elderly chap who has had a ‘good innings’ but leaves this world with zero dignity and a shadow of the man that he used to be.

When Charlie Sheens Dad comes out and says ‘Charlie is battling a cancer like illness’ (although acting in the best interests of his son) he loses respect from me.  I seriously doubt that people with such a terrible, life threatening illness don’t go down to the Offy every morning and buy 2 litres of M.S.

I used to smoke 35 cigs a day.  A horrible habit.  But when I found out my then girlfriend was pregnant I stopped the moment I found out.  I still have the packet with 5 left in it.  Stopping smoking was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and I’ve never got over it.  I loved smoking and at this moment there is nothing stopping me from going to the shop and buying a packet, but I won’t.  That is a part of my previous lifestyle which I don’t have anymore… I can turn my back on past ‘addictions’ – unlike a terminally ill human being.

Am I the only person that this infuriates?

And my comments were based on the first post!!!!

Alcoholism like some other diseases is self inflicted.

Some people die and cannot do anything about it.

Nobody forces you to drink too much.

Like junkies who get hepatitis?
Sex Workers with Aids
Maybe you mean like smokers who get cancer?
Or fatties who get heart trouble?
Where do you draw the line?


Alcoholism has many causes, social, economical, it's even been shown to be heredical to an extent.  Quite often it's a symptom of another disease, quite often a mental health issue.  Asking these people who are addicts to just stop, would be like asking you to stop breathing.  It isn't possible.  I've seen it take the high & the low, a University professor who was a family friend of mine lost his wife lost himself in the bottle for years and a man who has never worked in his life who can't function until he's has a couple of cans of Tenants Super.  And that's without discussing what I've seen in my own family.

Very harsh!

Very unnecessary!

Can you not see that your all encompassing statement about alcoholism being a self inflicted entity is entirely repulsive to the majority of the more enlightened amongst us? If you are that far down that ill informed path there is really no recourse, you have a duty to re-evaluate your standing and come to a more balanced judgement.

Can you not see that your all encompassing statement about alcoholism being a self inflicted entity is entirely repulsive to the majority of the more enlightened amongst us? If you are that far down that ill informed path there is really no recourse, you have a duty to re-evaluate your standing and come to a more balanced judgement.

As I said before, I was responding to the first comment on the topic!

I did mention it can be a disease but some alcoholics use this term as an excuse for a crazy lifestyle.

Far too many celebrities get away with this!

There are times when I wish for the neg button back

Ha ha. ...I hear you racer. .... somewhere between imbecile and imbecile. 

Addiction is a disease and its most likely the biggest epidemic in the world, whether that be addicted to drugs, addicted to alcohol addicted to caffeine and so on.

To all these people that are saying it is their own fault and they can simply say no.

Heres a thought for you, what about all the people in the world that are addicted to prescription drugs, prescribed by their doctors ?, is it their fault they are addicted or the fault of the medical/general practitioner that prescribed them ?

The medical profession seems to put across the message that alcaholism is the fault of the individual, and if that individual cannot fight off that adiction then that is their own fault.

What we should be doing is getting to the cause of the problem. I find it hard to believe people would willingly, literally drink themselves to death unless there were serious underpinning issues.

Instead of looking to point blame, or medically label a person, we as a society should be looking at the initial causes.

I would say 99% of the people who are alcahol dependent, are so for a reason.

I say a lot of the celebrities with addictions such as alcohol or drug abuse have little excuses and due to extravagant lifestyles and so much money, they try new things.

Alcoholics who are normal, everyday people is a different scenario.. The majority may have used alcohol as an escape route from their tough lives in cases like a family bereavement they can't come to terms with, unable to pay bills or an actual addiction where one drink is just not enough.

Instead of looking to point blame, or medically label a person, we as a society should be looking at the initial causes.

I would say 99% of the people who are alcahol dependent, are so for a reason.

It is no coincidence that communities that are subject to social depravation and poverty have the highest rates of alcoholism, the more affluent areas are relatively unaffected which in itself tells a story.

Just a quick note to the naive and uninformed: there is a very distinct difference between Alcoholism and alcohol abuse. ...clue: one is recognised as a disease - the other isn't.

and (in case you hadn't realised) not everyone who abuses alcohol or drinks heavily goes on to develop Alcoholism.

 

Alcoholics who are normal, everyday people is a different scenario.. The majority may have used alcohol as an escape route from their tough lives in cases like a family bereavement they can't come to terms with, unable to pay bills or an actual addiction where one drink is just not enough.

Mate, with all due respect; you really are talking out of your arse.

Please take a bit of time out and read up on Alcoholism - you seem to be either very confused or unaware of what alcoholism actually is.

I hope this will help:

 Understanding that Alcoholism is a Disease, Not a Choice

Alcoholism is very different from other drinking problems or alcohol abuse. It's a disease which completely takes over a person's life. It's not something the alcoholic chooses, and stopping is not a case of saying no. It's compulsive and progressive disease, and until the alcoholic admits the problem and quits drinking, it's unstoppable. The condition affects their physical and mental health, and causes problems at home, at work and with friends.

The term alcoholic is often used inaccurately, but the difference between someone who enjoys a few drinks and even sometimes a few too many, and the alcoholic, is clearly defined. It is not essentially just the person who had a heavy night and overdid things. It's a constant and overwhelming addiction.

Also known as Alcohol Dependence Syndrome, alcoholism is classified in four ways; cravings, no control, physical reliance and capacity.

http://www.alcoholissues.co.uk/understanding-alcoholism-disease-choice.html

It is no coincidence that communities that are subject to social depravation and poverty have the highest rates of alcoholism, the more affluent areas are relatively unaffected which in itself tells a story.

And quite often in more affluent areas, the choice of social drug is different.  In my years managing an off-license though, the number of people I saw who would could probably be counted as alcohol dependent was rather large and it included a lot of middle-class women, finishing work and picking up a couple bottles of wine and popping in on saturdays and picking up a little something before heading out for the night.  I'd have to say 70% of our customers were regulars and of those, half were in on a daily basis.

Very harsh!

Very unnecessary!

You gave me a positive so you could call me an imbecile. Nice one. I love getting positives.
I waited until you PM'd me to complain and gave you a neg instead...

I'm sorry, but alcohol doesn't always take it's toll in a devastating manner at all. Most people use alcohol moderately their whole life and never run into any problems because of it. Heroin use can be extremely devastating, not to mention that overdoses do regularly happen. I run into heroin junkies daily here in Amsterdam, and you can't look much worse than they do. If heroin would be used by as many people that use alcohol then society would be fu**ed.

Missed this reply to an earlier post, of course Dex both can have desperate consequences. I was trying to make the point that although the booze is more socially acceptable than heroin if abused it can be as destructive if not more so because of that fact - it is more readily acceptable.
Amsterdam is not really an accurate example for guaging any comparitives on this particular subject for obvious reasons.
It's all about moderation and it's possibly the case that there are far more moderate heroin users than moderate drinkers, simply because people are encouraged to get totally wrecked.
Believe me mate I have seen more untold misery to individuals and families through alcohol than I ever experienced with heroin users and I've known and know a few.

Missed this reply to an earlier post, of course Dex both can have desperate consequences. I was trying to make the point that although the booze is more socially acceptable than heroin if abused it can be as destructive if not more so because of that fact - it is more readily acceptable.
Amsterdam is not really an accurate example for guaging any comparitives on this particular subject for obvious reasons.
It's all about moderation and it's possibly the case that there are far more moderate heroin users than moderate drinkers, simply because people are encouraged to get totally wrecked.
Believe me mate I have seen more untold misery to individuals and families through alcohol than I ever experienced with heroin users and I've known and know a few.

Yeah, but initially you said that alcohol will take it's toll in a much more devastating manner than heroin. Which isn't true, heroin is much worse substance than alcohol. It's because of government policy towards alcohol that alcohol has a worse effect on society than heroin does, not because of the substance itself. I could make a case that nicotine takes it's toll in more devastating manner than crack cocaine simply because it currently does have a worse effect on society because it's that readily available, but what's the point.

And why isn't Amsterdam an accurate example? I've said it before, our heroin use ratings are much lower than in the U.K. Amsterdam isn't any different from any big European city. Most people abusing drugs here are tourists, not locals. In fact, it's the tourists that are continuously jeopardising our current drug policy, and are also the reason why magic mushrooms aren't allowed to be sold anymore for instance.

Ha ha. Sorry PG I gave you credit for a pos I shouldn't have. I'll get back out of this topic. Can of worms I'm not opening on a public forum