Addiction

[Griff]

Interesting articles on the Reason website about addiction.

I was reading
George Washington: Boozehound
Prodigious alcohol consumption by Washington and his fellow founding fathers has been whitewashed from American history.


when I followed a link to this.

Government Says You Can’t Overcome Addiction, Contrary to What Government Research Shows

But what they tell us doesn’t happen to be true. People recover from addiction all the time. How do I know? Government research conducted by the NIDA and its sister agency (with which it is soon to be combined) the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) tells us that. In the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a massive national study involving face-to-face interviews with over 43,000 Americans in 2001-2002 about their lifetime drinking and drug use, the NIAAA revealed that, “twenty years after the onset of alcohol dependence, three-fourths of individuals are in full recovery; more than half of those who have fully recovered drink at low-risk levels without symptoms of alcohol dependence.” That’s not all. "About 75 percent of persons who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol (rehab) programs and Alcoholics Anonymous. Only 13 percent of people with alcohol dependence ever receive specialty alcohol treatment.” Wow. As the director of the research project at NIAAA, Mark Willenbring, notes, “These and other recent findings turn on its head much of what we thought we knew about alcoholism. As is so often true in medicine, researchers have studied the patients seen in hospitals and clinics most intensively. This can greatly skew understanding of a disorder,” especially in the case of alcoholism and addiction.

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publicatio...29-2/74-78.htm

Anyway, there seem to be a lot of folks in a lot of different places on this whole thing but knowledge is power unless used for self-delusion. I'm not one for tracking time but I think my last drink was over 6 years ago. Alcohol had its claws into me pretty good but my quitting was as represented in the article, my decision done independent of outside influences. Some folks go back and retrain themselves to drink reasonably, but I don't think I want that at this point. I still feel like I shouldn't put the key in the ignition. I have some talented functional alkies in my family, but I'd never trade my life-style for theirs.

[glatt]

Sounds like you have a good perspective. I wonder about the people in that study who have supposedly gone from having addiction problems to being more in control. Maybe their addiction problems weren't all that severe. I've got two people in my family who identify themselves as alcoholics and have stopped drinking, but they never seemed like alcoholics to me in the first place.

[lumberjim]

Might be that whatever the underlying motive to escape reality is gone, and with it the substance addiction.

[Aliantha]

I would be inclined to go along with this particular article, simply because I know I personally go through phases in my life where I abuse alcohol or even food to satisfy myself either emotionally or physically. Usually I am able to recognise these phases for what they are, and it's topical for me right now because I've been drinking a bottle of wine every night (sometimes more) for the last month or so, which would be considered alcohol abuse. Yesterday I decided enough was enough so didn't drink anything at all, and I had all the hallmarks of detox including sweats during the night, inability to actually sleep properly, bad dreams, restless legs etc. I woke up this morning feeling very irritable and just generally unwell. Anyway, probably a good thing I have decided to give the booze a miss for a while. It doesn't mean I don't want to have a drink, or that I wont have a couple on the weekend even, but it means I do at times let it get the better of me. For whatever reason, I am lucky enough to be able to recognise that and turn it around as suggested happens in most cases in the article above.

So yeah, I don't think people would call me an alcoholic in the sense of the understanding society currently has of alcoholism, but I do definitely believe I have issues which I self manage on a continual basis.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by glatt

Sounds like you have a good perspective. I wonder about the people in that study who have supposedly gone from having addiction problems to being more in control. Maybe their addiction problems weren't all that severe. I've got two people in my family who identify themselves as alcoholics and have stopped drinking, but they never seemed like alcoholics to me in the first place.

How people perceive their own problems is pretty subjective. I don't think I can really tell from the outside. I have a sister who seems fine but always has a drink in her hand. She doesn't seem to go off the rails like I did but her social drinking seems continuous. I'm very careful not to make a thing about it because I'd be imposing my patterns on her. One guy I used to vacation with initially questioned whether or not I really had a problem but I think he figured out that the constant buzz on vacation was a different thing than regular life and he probably didn't know that I was keeping it going after everyone else crashed for the night.

Originally Posted by lumberjim

Might be that whatever the underlying motive to escape reality is gone, and with it the substance addiction.

I'm actually placing some hope in this (goodbye Catholicism), but I'm still monitoring my head for want vs need. Of course, having a stressful job lets me monitor this almost continuously.

Originally Posted by Aliantha

I would be inclined to go along with this particular article, simply because I know I personally go through phases in my life where I abuse alcohol or even food to satisfy myself either emotionally or physically. Usually I am able to recognise these phases for what they are, and it's topical for me right now because I've been drinking a bottle of wine every night (sometimes more) for the last month or so, which would be considered alcohol abuse. Yesterday I decided enough was enough so didn't drink anything at all, and I had all the hallmarks of detox including sweats during the night, inability to actually sleep properly, bad dreams, restless legs etc. I woke up this morning feeling very irritable and just generally unwell. Anyway, probably a good thing I have decided to give the booze a miss for a while. It doesn't mean I don't want to have a drink, or that I wont have a couple on the weekend even, but it means I do at times let it get the better of me. For whatever reason, I am lucky enough to be able to recognise that and turn it around as suggested happens in most cases in the article above.

So yeah, I don't think people would call me an alcoholic in the sense of the understanding society currently has of alcoholism, but I do definitely believe I have issues which I self manage on a continual basis.

I used to take Lent off to prove I didn't have a problem. I came to believe I had two problems. Only you and those closest to you really have an idea where you're at, just be sure you're being truthful with all involved.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

Might be that whatever the underlying motive to escape reality is gone, and with it the substance addiction.

Yes.
If the use was escape, changing the landscape may be enough to want to stay and enjoy in moderation.
But if the game remains the same, I don't think attempted moderation has a snowball's chance in hell.

[footfootfoot]

Yep. "I don't drink to excess, I drink to forget."

[nowhereman]

I don't drink alone, I turn on the TV ... I'm more likely to eat when I'm stressed, and at 260, I don't need to eat that much.

[Undertoad]

If you're 6'7" that's not bad.

"I am the perfect weight for my height, which varies." -- Cellar cookie

[nowhereman]

Sadly, I'm too short for my weight ...