Old 09-30-2011, 05:24 PM
  # 401 (permalink)  
FT
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Originally Posted by freethinking View Post
If, by some chance, I met someone who drank daily from 10am until 8pm and had gotten into some sort of trouble from drinking (financial, DUIs, etc) and they had no desire to quit - yes, I would still consider this person to be an alcoholic despite the fact that they did not want to quit.

I'm a little confused by your 2nd paragraph here....to be abstinent means to have abstained (from anything), period....however what we were discussing was use of the term "sober".
It seems that the term "sober" does not have its roots relative to alcohol consumption, but rather a somber mood, or facing cold, hard reality. As when someone becomes sober from abstinence from substances.

If I am to understand TU, the term "sober" doesn't have much if any meaning within AVRT? Abstinent is the preferred term is my take on this. I get that because, to me, to be sober would imply a comparative state in that the person being so categorized is or was at least some of the time "not sober". While not a dictionary definition, to me sobriety or the state of being "sober" is definitely a comparative term.

Substitute the word "addicted" for the words "an alcoholic" in your above paragraph and it takes on different meaning, if I am to understand the term correctly as used by AVRT. While the person would certainly seem to fit the definition of "alcoholic" or "substance abuser", they may not be "addicted" at all, if they never have an issue with being without alcohol between their binges. Some people do drink when the can get alcohol, and leave it when they can't get it or can't afford it. They don't take unusual measures despite the consequences to the their "fix". To me, these definitions have shades of gray depending on who you are asking, what you are trying to explain, or within what paradigm it is being defined within.

Ay, more synapse pain.

FT
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