Touchy Subject

[alaskanpiper]

Well said, and that applies to nearly all medical protocols for chronic disease IMO...yet the "medical establishment" persists, for the most part, in pushing a one size fits all approach. Some doctors are much better than others in this regard, but the standard is geared to a cookie-cutter approach under the pharmaceutical cartel.

Yes it is. It’s a shame. A gentleman named Robert Whittaker has written a couple good books on the subject. “Mad in America.” And “Anatomy of an Epidemic.”

That being said this is also exacerbated by many patient’s desire for a quick and easy fix (a myth/mirage in many instances). Many don’t understand that getting to a sustainable place will require much more work on the patient’s part than the therapists/doctors.

 

[bnichols23]

I'm an alcoholic and an AA, and despite several ongoing disputes, find it a great method to attain long-term sobriety by virtue of the group and God.

They say AA is no bastion of mental health. New members are often torn up, and members of years aberrant. Incest and poverty are said to be the precursors of the underlying traumas.

It takes years of arduous work to change that which brought on the use of alcohol to temporarily turn off inner pain, and meanwhile there is the steady degradation of body and mind, and I don't believe it takes long for one's inner process to center in the limbic brain.

Once one crosses the line into addiction the only purpose in drinking is to get drunk, and to get drunk everyday. The urge to drink has become insatiable.

But if you really want sobriety, it's available.

If I can be of assistance in this matter, please contact me.

Agreed. AA has its down side for some people, & most coming into it are almost by definition on their last rung, with part of one shaky hand. Just another example of how therapy has to be individualized. Another part of the problem is that a lot of drug therapy is cut-&-try to see what may work.

I drank like two very large & thirsty fish for decades for a number of reasons until I finally made the firm decision to quit. AA helped me a lot, & I eventually got to the point where maintaining sobriety became second nature. I've been clean for 29 years now, one day at a time. Makes me a lucky one.

 

[davek]

I have to disagree with you because benzo's are a different animal. Big pharma regulates drugs and under normal circustances regular people cannot mix up most pharma-drugs. I CAN grow tobacco, hemp, or produce alcohol relatively easily. YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW what is in those drugs - as you weren't even disclosed to the embarrassing fact of the E.D. you experienced. Further, I don't know where you are, and I don't know your status, BUT I know that nanny USA makes victims of people and I feel like you were one of them. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of those terms programmed on 'willing idiots': I had many members of my family who were this way. Those drugs killed my uncle and screwed up other members of my family, leaving a disgusting stench of ugly. I don't mean any ill will but if someone cannot leave their house without being on substances it's a sign of a worse underlying problem. I'm no saint.

Everybody's correct. All drugs have cost benefit ratios and all drugs can be rated on a scale for certain costs or benefits.
Let's pick on pot... marijuana is low on the addiction scale, however it can certainly be addicting. We've all known potheads. The benefits on the pain relief scale are pretty high.

Cost benefit ratio.

Benzos *can* be life saving for some. The benefit scale on anxiety relief is high and can enable some to lead a normal life who cannot otherwise. However the addiction scale is right up there as well, with a very pertinent aspect of that being how long it takes for one to truly shake them and begin to feel normal.

So, short term use is recommended, but there is also a fact that we lose sight of in our post-Puritan society...

It is sometimes medically considered a "lesser of evils" for someone to be addicted to something. For instance, if someone is over 60 years old and in severe pain, what is the damn problem with letting them live out their life addicted but more comfortable?

 

[bigbeard]

The pandemic hasn't affected my level of drinking, which is currently quite minimal. Lockdown hasn't negatively affected me personally.

Circumstances 3 or 4 years ago, however, did contribute to my drinking getting out of hand.

Everyone is Different
The important thing to recognize is that everybody's tolerance, dependency level, triggers and story is different.

Some people can drink a lot regularly with minimal effect. Others cannot.

Some people have triggers. Others have a constant "hunger".

Some are able to stop/slow on their own. Others need support from peers or the medical community.

Some people that are heavy drinkers can cut back but continue to have casual drinks. Others can't touch a drop, lest they lose control and lose their progress.

What To Do About It
If you want to make a change, there are some basic steps:

• Determine what contributes to or triggers the drinking
• Determine what things you can change and what you cannot
• Change what you can
• Find a way to accept what you cannot, as best as you can
• Find supports, be it friends, groups, counselors or doctors

My Own Story

My Grandpa, my step-dad and a very close friend are all recovering alcoholics. I have huge respect for them. They can't touch a drop or it will be a months-long bender with huge fallout for everyone around them.

My heavier drinking was largely to cope with feelings from bad circumstances. I didn't hit the point of dependency so I was able to go back to being a casual (once or twice per month at most) drinker with no temptation of going heavy.

Often (but not always), substance use and dependency that goes beyond casual and recreational comes as a form of self-medication. Resolve the underlying issues, sometimes the drinking resolves itself (as it did for me).

If you would like specifics of my story, I will happily provide them.

PS
Check out what happened to Portugal when they decriminalized all drug use and replaced prisons with counselling. It may not be perfect but, wow... I think it should make countries around the world sit up and take note.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Often (but not always), substance use and dependency that goes beyond casual and recreational comes as a form of self-medication. Resolve the underlying issues, sometimes the drinking resolves itself (as it did for me).

so did the drinking act as the medicine for you?

 

[bigbeard]

so did the drinking act as the medicine for you?

I would say yes.

For me personally, it acted as a metaphorical medicine for a time. But... it could have easily turned into another huge problem. I've seen what that is like for people I care about. It's not pretty.

Regarding my own experiences, I submit the following huge caveats:

First, I use the term "medicine" metaphorically. In fact, alcohol is a toxin, not a medicine.

Second, there are two kinds of (metaphorical or literal) medicines:

• Those that threat the illness
• Those that temporarily lessen the symptoms (analgesic)

Alcohol falls into the latter category.

Third, any substance we put into our bodies has side effects. Alcohol, like most (all?) recreational drugs and proper medications, has side effects that compound over time.

At a certain point, they can leave the user worse off than they were originally. It no longer helps lessen the original symptoms and comes with a bunch of new symptoms, including dependency.

It's important to understand and respect these substances, lest our lives get swept away.

 

[Pipelady20]

You're not alone in this. I'm smoking more, and constantly fighting not to eat a bunch of sugar.

 

[gatorhazard]

I typically only drink on the weekends. My usual ritual is Friday night after work week is over, dinner with family has been had, I will hang out in backyard. I’ll decompress with some whiskey, usually Scotch so, whisky,and smoke some cigars or now my pipe. I have a pretty high tolerance so often times I will take a break.

Right now I am on a break until our vacation in late June. No alcohol for me. Smoking my pipes though and enjoying that. If you can sometimes you just gotta take a break. I do other things though that help. Like make and enjoy a nice little pot of good tea with my pipe. I really like Earl Grey Creme tea.

 

[mikethompson]

Makes me a lucky one.

And we are lucky to have you Bill.

Lots of good stories in here for anyone that is struggling.

 

[anotherbob]

For my part I always felt that alcohol improved things very transiently, initially, and then gradually worsened just about everything (literally everything) in the long term.

If I'm to be obsessive about anything then let it be pipes and tobacco.

I love when I run into someone I haven't seen in 10 years or so and when I say I don't really drink anymore they always assume something happened. Well they're right. I got to a point where feeling off not even full hang over just off took more fun out of my life then the tiny bit drinking added the night before. So it felt more like paying good money to have less fun and enjoyment in my life. They usually assumed it was something more dramatic.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I love when I run into someone I haven't seen in 10 years or so and when I say I don't really drink anymore they always assume something happened. Well they're right. I got to a point where feeling off not even full hang over just off took more fun out of my life then the tiny bit drinking added the night before. So it felt more like paying good money to have less fun and enjoyment in my life. They usually assumed it was something more dramatic.

This is my exact experience. Hell, sometimes when I'm around old friends, I still try. I always have that same feeling, "why did I do that"?

 

[anotherbob]

Agreed. AA has its down side for some people, & most coming into it are almost by definition on their last rung, with part of one shaky hand. Just another example of how therapy has to be individualized. Another part of the problem is that a lot of drug therapy is cut-&-try to see what may work.

I drank like two very large & thirsty fish for decades for a number of reasons until I finally made the firm decision to quit. AA helped me a lot, & I eventually got to the point where maintaining sobriety became second nature. I've been clean for 29 years now, one day at a time. Makes me a lucky one.

I think AA is great, I think that thinking it is the only way is terrible. From what I've noticed in a very non scientific way (could be totally wrong about it) was that people who really realized they had a serious problem AA helps a lot. Either people who have a family history so that couple months of heavy drinking reminded them too much of Uncle before he passed and Dad after work or the my life was about to be ruined. People who know it just would be better to either not drink or drink less seem to not get so much help trying AA. Though I wish they still advocated the use of L.S.D. because it actually works really well with helping people treat addictions (and no not recreational use, but use to enhance therapy).

 

[anotherbob]

This is my exact experience. Hell, sometimes when I'm around old friends, I still try. I always have that same feeling, "why did I do that"?

It makes me think about how much I used to drink. I actually sometimes wonder what would have been different if I spent my time doing something else. I don't imagine anything dramatic, but there are at least a couple times I do think it would have been amazing to have better recall of an experience.