Alcoholism

[Slacker]

[Slacker]

[daveyt]

i like beer.

 

*edit for clarity

Edited March 6, 2007 by daveyt

[Fridge]

Some of you here should try living in Scotland...

As a country we have one of the worst relationships with alchohol in the world. It's interesting to read other peoples stories about this, and I think what strikes me as most fascinating is that depending on where you live, there seems to be a different definition of the word "alchoholic"

 

What some people have described above would be considered perfectly normal behaviour in some cities in Scotland as drinking is tied in so heavily to the way of life. When I look back myself, I suppose by the standards of this thread I could have been defined as an alchoholic though I never would have regarded myself as one.

 

Nowadays, I can take it or leave it to be honest. I still enjoy the odd blowout, but it doesn't really bother me. Many members of my family have died prematurely due to alchohol related illness, but again, that just seems to be normal over here.

 

Horses for courses and all that....

[Dread Pirate Robert]

Sorry about the ranting. Some of my comments were out of line. Apologies to all.

 

Carry on

 

Christ, how embarrassing to go on an obnoxious drunken tirade in a thread on alcoholism.

 

Edited March 6, 2007 by Drunk Pirate Robert

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (SlackABob @ Mar 6 2007, 12:23 AM)

QUOTE (Drunk Pirate Robert @ Mar 5 2007, 11:58 PM) QUOTE (SlackABob @ Mar 5 2007, 11:46 PM) I've read each and every post and i admire you all for your courage on such a sensitive topic. Oh please. Some kind of "courage", posting semi-anonymously on an internet forum.   Frankly, as the one who started it, I hate this thread. It is far too full of self righteous patting oneself on the back type of self superiority.   I happen to think that sentiment is full of shit.   The guy who posted ( i think it was tangdog, without looking) that an "alcoholic" is "someone who drinks more than you do" was right on.   Just so much self serving propagandistic crap.   This thread is full of one sob story after another. Guess what folks, life is f***ing hard. PLENTY of people have sob stories equal too, or surpassing, your own, whether or not alcohol is involved. Get a grip on reality already. It's my experience that most alcoholics will have that reaction to people relating their stories of recovery. You are obviously afraid that you are an alcoholic or are on the way to becoming one and are jealous of those of us who have recovered. Get help, man. Quickly. Stop hiding inside a bottle.

[owlswing]

QUOTE (SlackABob @ Mar 5 2007, 11:46 PM)

I've read each and every post and i admire you all for your courage on such a sensitive topic. Since i was a teenage my only way of life was the bar. I'd work , go to school and meet my friend at the bar. When i was in my late 30's something became very clear to me. Alcoholism! What is it to be an alcoholic? I think i have a problem? What should i do?.. A friend of mind suggested a AA meeting which at first i was reluctant to go to. I had to do something, my body was giving me a message i couldn't ignore.. So i went to the meeting and another, then i knew i had a problem. I checked in to rehab for 28 days and it did change my life in ways that to this day i can deal with. I do drink now, but nothing like in the past, and when i say the past, I mean everyday. In the past 6 yrs i dropped 25 pounds, went from a size 36 to a 32.. I'm lucky i haven't cause any damage to my liver as i get blood work every 3 months..I know all of this can change in a day and i try to avoid that life..I moved away from my favorite place where i grow, where i have  friends and family, only to avoid seeing the places where everybody knows my name.. Yes i can still knock them off, but i prefer the party atmosphere more these days ..  I hope i made some sense, because this is never an easy topic for me

SlackA - What you did took a lot of Courage no matter what some people may think. Moving on and away from people, places and things is hard. It takes a strong person to listen to a message from their body - most try and ignore it, afraid to face what they need to change.

 

You have made perfect sense in a very hard topic. So many people don't understand it is not a cop out of life to blame alcohol is it a realization that this is what is wrong and it needs changing.

 

Most of us do know there are people out there with harder stories, harder lives, worst rock bottoms, it doesn't make us self absorbed it makes each and every one of us that has alcohol effect us lives either personally or due to another realize no matter how bad things were they could have been worse.

 

So many in this thread have discussed very hard realities and how they got a grip of it. I for one know that I am a real person that has had these issues in my life and the reality of it is they made me the person I am today. So I am not boo-hooing wishing it away NO! I am very happy with my life and no matter what got me here I accept that. If I choose to share it with others what harm is done to anyone?

 

So, I for one am very happy this thread was started no matter what the circumstances were...Although it saddened me to read some of the stories here. For a few moments out of my day it made the world seem a little smaller. To know your not alone, can't be decribed in words, but you get it if your there.

 

If all the people here can go on each and everyday with their responsibilites knowing this has been a part of their lives I applaud them. I also pray for those that can not face the reality of a very real problem and move on with out hurting those that have.

Edited March 6, 2007 by owlswing

[Slacker]

QUOTE (Drunk Pirate Robert @ Feb 16 2007, 11:56 PM)

For a change of pace in this forum, a really serious topic: what is "alcoholism"?  Do you know, or have you known in the past, anybody personally you would describe as an "alcoholic"?  If so, what about them makes you describe them as an "alcoholic"?  What is the difference between being an "alcoholic" and somebody who likes to drink lots of alcohol?  Is there a difference?

QUOTE

A thousand years have come and gone But time has passed me by

 

 

[Dread Pirate Robert]

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ Mar 6 2007, 07:35 AM)

It's my experience that most alcoholics will have that reaction to people relating their stories of recovery.

 

An example of poor logical reasoning on your part, Jack (insofar as you were strongly insinuating that since I had "this sort of reaction", that therefore I must be an alcoholic)

 

Even if proposition 1) -- that "most alcoholics" have this sort of reaction -- is true, it does NOT logically follow that ALL or MOST people who have this sort of reaction are therefore alcoholics.

 

QUOTE

You are obviously afraid that you are an alcoholic or are on the way to becoming one and are jealous of those of us who have recovered.

 

Oh please. Why in the name of god would I be jealous of people who have had such problems with alcohol that it almost destroyed their lives, and who can't even enjoy the side of life that the good god Dionysus offers to humankind anymore? Answer -- I am most definitely NOT so "jealous". "Sympathy" would be much more along the lines of my feelings towards "recovering alcoholics", not "jealously."

 

QUOTE

Get help, man. Quickly. Stop hiding inside a bottle.

 

Two things: 1) I am not you, and you don't know me. Don't transfer your own problems with alcohol onto me. 2) Don't even try to pretend that you give a shit about me and are offering me this "advice" out of any genuine concern for me. I know very well that you don't like me at all. You have not liked me almost since the day I first joined this forum, since you consider me -- at best -- a fool who advocates traitorous political positions for America. I grate against your every political instinct. Since you can't match me, generally speaking, in argument on the political forum, you fall back on trying to attack my character by insinuating every chance you get that I am an "alcoholic". Give it a rest Jack.

 

At least that is how it appears to me. If you were really, genuinely "concerned" about me in an AA sort of way, you would be sending me PMs on this subject instead of trying to use it as a weapon publicly. The very fact that you have never once sent me a single PM expressing "concern" and offering "help" in a polite, discreet sort of way, but instead just use it as a weapon in public, speaks volumes about your true motivations.

Edited March 10, 2007 by Drunk Pirate Robert

[Riv]

QUOTE (Dread Pirate Robert @ Mar 10 2007, 03:37 AM)

Even if proposition 1) -- that "most alcoholics" have this sort of reaction -- is true, it does NOT logically follow that ALL or MOST people who have this sort of reaction are therefore alcoholics.

I think I saw this on the SAT

[-D-RocK-]

I have a drinking problem. Everytime I go to take a drink, I miss the lips and the drink spills all over the front of me shirt!

 

[Necromancer]

What the hell happened here? It kinda looked like a scene out of a bar, where one drunk starts a conversation and then gets all pissy that he gets left out of the engaging conversation, so he starts shit with the others.

 

Even though I normally don't agree with a lot (if not all) of what you say in politics, I've always admired your way of expressing your point logically and with pretty decent decorum DPR. What the hell happened here? Lot of it's been deleted, but from quotes I think I gathered most of it.

 

Too bad, it seemed like a good thread for people. I was thinking about sharing some experiences i've had with my family, but don't think so now. I'm glad CeeJ told me to read it all before I posted.

 

And here I thought this sub-forum was beginning to have merit on more than just getting good advice on cigars.

[liquidcrystalcompass]

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Mar 20 2007, 12:12 PM)

What the hell happened here? It kinda looked like a scene out of a bar, where one drunk starts a conversation and then gets all pissy that he gets left out of the engaging conversation, so he starts shit with the others. Even though I normally don't agree with a lot (if not all) of what you say in politics, I've always admired your way of expressing your point logically and with pretty decent decorum DPR. What the hell happened here? Lot of it's been deleted, but from quotes I think I gathered most of it. Too bad, it seemed like a good thread for people. I was thinking about sharing some experiences i've had with my family, but don't think so now. I'm glad CeeJ told me to read it all before I posted. And here I thought this sub-forum was beginning to have merit on more than just getting good advice on cigars.

The quality of the posts seem to drop off during the late night hours

[Dr.Gomez]

[Dread Pirate Robert]

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Mar 20 2007, 12:12 PM)

What the hell happened here?

I think I already answered your question, when I posted:

 

QUOTE

Christ, how embarrassing to go on an obnoxious drunken tirade in a thread on alcoholism.

 

 

 

By all means, feel free to carry on the discussion. I am glad to see that it IS continuing, thanks to Dr. Gomez.

 

Btw . . . for whatever it is worth, Mr. famous fictional naval commander (jack aubrey) and I have had an interesting and enlightening exchange of pm's over this matter.

 

As far as I am concerned, the "situation" has been resolved. So please stop bringing up quotes of mine that I deleted and tried to take back (no thanks to the quoting system here )

 

For whatever it is worth, the very first of my posts which has been "edited into nothingness" was a long post about some rather serious family problems of my own when I was a child and growing up, none of which had anything to do with alcohol drinking by anybody, the point of which was to (rather angrily, voicing some pent up feelings of my own) illustrate that people with "alcoholic" family members had nothing to say which could not be matched by other horrific family stories. I was quite drunk (again, ironic in a thread about alcoholism) and feeling rather irritated that people seemed to be blaming horrific family problems on alcohol, and so was retorting that they hadn't seen anything really compared to what I had experienced (like a father who held a gun to his son's (me ) head and threatened to kill him, all without any alcohol being involved at all, among other sordid stuff)

 

I was wrong. It was completely, totally wrong of me to try to deride the pain that others might have experienced in their lives, or to deride the undeniable fact that alcohol abuse might have played a key role in their own situations.

 

For that, I again apologize.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2007 by Dread Pirate Robert

[CeeJ]

[Weakly Criminal]

[double bass chick]

Do you have it or does it have you??

[Weakly Criminal]

Ummm, I'm not dreaming, if that's what you mean.

 

Better drunk on wine than drunk on power.

[Dread Pirate Robert]

QUOTE (Weakly Criminal @ Apr 3 2007, 09:41 PM)

Like most of my beliefs, it comes from The Bible. (and no, I don't believe in Santa too!)

Let's go off on a tangent here:

 

I find it curious that you would make this statement.

 

More than just about anybody else on this forum, your views tend to coincide with mine, yet I do not rate any of my beliefs as being based on the Bible.

 

Just an interesting observation, one that I have noted before: namely that how in my own beliefs I often seem more "Christian" than any of my "Christian" neighbors or acquaintances, while at the same time I do not describe myself as a "Christian".

 

I happen to believe that a lot of what Jesus taught is just plain old good common sense/insight into human nature, and I respect it for that reason, without getting into the mythical realm of being the son of God who ascended into heaven and all that. Other people claim to believe in the mythology, without following what Jesus actually said in there daily lives.

 

 

Go figure.

 

 

I don't believe anything at all "because it comes from the Bible". That to me is just . . . well . . . silly. That said, I happen to believe a lot of what Jesus said because of my own independent thoughts/reflections/experiences in this life of mine, which confirms what he had to say.

Edited April 21, 2007 by Dread Pirate Robert

[Weakly Criminal]

[Dr.Gomez]

[mortkort]

QUOTE (-D-RocK- @ Mar 11 2007, 04:35 PM)

I have a drinking problem. Everytime I go to take a drink, I miss the lips and the drink spills all over the front of me shirt!