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Alcoholism FAQ

Old 10-05-2009, 09:57 PM
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Alcoholism FAQ

I found this looking through some literature. This particular website is listed from the state university of New York. Just some interesting information I came accross.


Facts And Fiction
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Old 10-05-2009, 11:03 PM
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I found this to be the most interesting.

Myth
People who abstain from alcohol are "alcohol-free."
Fact
Every person produces alcohol normally in the body 24 hours each and every day from birth until death. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies.
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Old 10-05-2009, 11:28 PM
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I think the author is an alcoholic. Perhaps his 'research' is a way of maintaining his own denial (?)

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Old 10-05-2009, 11:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Overman View Post
I think the author is an alcoholic. Perhaps his 'research' is a way of maintaining his own denial (?)

Im not the author of the article, just posted it. And it is from a respected source being the State University of New York. If it was incorrect information, it would not be allowed to be posted from SUNY, as per official SUNY policy. Try allowing for mind expanding information instead of discounting.
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:26 AM
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THANK YOU !! (intresting).

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Old 10-06-2009, 11:40 AM
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I used to try to hang on to all kinds of information that made me feel as though my 'problems' with alcohol were more normal, not as bad, or clinically disproven. I would have latched on to the maybe half of the "myths" on here and their explanations that downplay alcohol problems, and completely ignored the 'myths' that expounded on them. That's how my sick mind used to work.

All I know is how alcohol effected my life, and how my consumption of alcohol almost killed me.. so I don't consume it.

Interesting read anyways.
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Old 10-06-2009, 11:55 AM
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most things can be 'backed up' by research and literature.

I hang on to what's true for me, and apply it to my life.

Wonder what the motivation of that entire site is really.. seems to be awfully defensive of alcohol and the problems it apparently doesn't cause..

Interesting indeed!
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:03 PM
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I've read similar things, and yes, "latched on." I think the difference is more in the reader than the material. Is the reader an alcoholic or not. I understand that red wine contains antioxidants and that a drink or two a day can be helpful in cardiovascular health... for the non-alcoholic. None of that applies to me. I'm an alcoholic.
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:11 PM
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This topic periodically comes up around here.

What I have come to terms with is that while I can not discount the literature/myth/what ever it is considered, I can stick to what I feel and know to be true for me. For me to drink alcohol is to destroy my life. When I drink my life becomes unmanageable. When I don't drink and I practice and apply the steps and principles of AA in my life then my life gets better. I don't care if bread turns into alcohol in my body or if orange juice has an alcohol content. What I have found is that orange juice does not cause the obsession with alcohol that orange juice and vodka will. Since there are different types of alcohol I have to believe that the alcohol discussed in the article is not the type I am allergic to or that causes my obsessions.
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:14 PM
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I found the statement that more lives would be lost to coronary disease if there was not alcohol a bit extreme and reaching.

I did find this interesting...
Only time can sober up a person...not black coffee, cold showers, exercise, or any other common "cures." Alcohol leaves the body of virtually everyone at a constant rate of about .015 percent of blood alcohol content (BAC) per hour. Thus, a person with a BAC of .015 would be completely sober in an hour while a person with a BAC of ten times that (.15) would require 10 hours to become completely sober. This is true regardless of sex, age, weight, and similar factors.
I have always wondered about this....
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Old 10-07-2009, 09:46 AM
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I think we're doing ourselves a disservice by assuming that the author must be an alcoholic in denial just because what he has to say might rub us the wrong way. I also think its problematic to discount the evidence presented by assuming that anything can be "proven" by manipulation of facts and figures.

If I had to guess, I would say that the author's motivation was the truth. I'd say that given the significantly low percentage of people that actually recover from addiction, we still have a lot to learn about its nature. We'll never gain an adequate level of insight if we cling to false pretenses even if they bolster our cause.

Personally, I found nothing in that report that made me want to pick up. I don't even think that it would have provided me any good reason to avoid recovery when I was actively using. The thing about alcohol always being present in my body, I find that fascinating. It makes me wonder if the physiology of an alcoholic is somehow defective in his/her production the normally-occurring/natural alcohol found in the body. Perhaps this provides one more piece of the puzzle as to why I'm seemingly hardwired to crave it.

Another thing of note in the study was the argument that alcohol advertising does not correlate to higher levels of alcohol consumption. I actually wrote a paper for a graduate level bioethics class on the regulation of vice. In my research I actually came across some evidence to the contrary. That part of the paper was actually focused on the advertising of unhealthy food to children but the authors evidence on the SUNY site challenges my assumption. Long story short, if the author's evidence is valid and if those of us who are concerned with combating alcoholism at a societal level are devoting our efforts to regulating alcohol advertising, then we would be diverting valuable resources away from real problems.

I don't discount the notion that we all need to find what is true for us. I KNOW that I simply cannot use drugs or alcohol. Too much trial and error has proven that too me. However, there's some difficult questions about the nature of addiction that still eat at me. For example, why can I be an avid cigarette smoker and not relapse on other substances? As I've been told, the common assumption is that "a drug is a drug is a drug." Why then would marijuana use be anymore likely to lead me back to alcohol (my DOC) anymore than tobacco or coffee? Another example would be food addiction. If a food addict can learn to regulate their eating habbits why can an alcoholic not do the same?

Frankly questions like these used to REALLY bother me. When I was in rehab, I was told that such questions were my "disease talking" and was never given anything close to an honest answer. IMO, its not the questions that lead to temptation its the lack of answers or even the willingness to confront the issues. Perhaps the answers would be unsettling or even dangerous to hear but the truth is often that way. However, if you told me that there was no essential difference between food addiction and substance abuse, I'm still not going back out. I enjoy my sober life far more than even the days when I might have been considered a recreational or sober drinker. Food consumption is a necessity. Alcohol consumption is a want. So even if someone could prove that a return to moderate drinking was within my ability, alcohol has done too much damage to me to make me want it again. If there is an essential difference, understanding it would remove a huge stumbling block.

The more I understand the nature of this beast, the more I understand myself. Self-knowledge is not always the most pleasant business but I would rather know myself. If I achieve sobriety through dillusion, then I'm building my recovery on unstable ground.
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Old 10-07-2009, 11:37 AM
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I got kind of curious about the alcohol consumption and advertising claim. I found this post on an excellent blog. Lots of other good stuff on there if you're interested in the regulation of vice.

Vice Squad

It links to an article, which supposedly counters the claim made on the FAQ site. Unfortunately, I don't have access to academic journals here at home. You can read the abstract though.
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Old 10-07-2009, 11:38 AM
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Lives would be lost if people stop drinking? I smell a bull's sh!t...

Many of the assertions put forth are debatable, but this one is outright ludicrous.


This "article" was written from a very limited view point.
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Old 10-07-2009, 12:25 PM
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Let's get really bottom line ....
if alcohol is causeing you problems
abstinance is the key.


I did not require articles or studies or blogs
to ponder.......I did need action.

Hope everyone is enjoying another day sober
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Old 10-07-2009, 12:40 PM
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Originally Posted by CarolD View Post
Let's get really bottom line ....
if alcohol is causeing you problems
abstinance is the key.


I did not require articles or studies or blogs
to ponder.......I did need action.

Hope everyone is enjoying another day sober
study, contemplation, research, debate, discussion (possibly on a blog or even....a message board) sounds like action to me
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Old 10-07-2009, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by meo348241 View Post
study, contemplation, research, debate, discussion (possibly on a blog or even....a message board) sounds like action to me
doesn't sound like action to me, might hopefully lead to some sort of action...

like this one the best:


Myth
Alcohol is the cause of alcoholism.
Fact
As a governmental alcohol agency has explained, "Alcohol no more causes alcoholism than sugar causes diabetes." The agency points out that if alcohol caused alcoholism then all drinkers would be alcoholics. 22 In fact, a belief common among members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is that people are born alcoholic and are not caused to be alcoholic by alcohol or anything in their experience. They argue that many people are born and die alcoholic without ever having had a sip of alcohol. Of course, a person can't be a drinking or practicing alcoholic without alcohol.
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Old 10-07-2009, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by yeahgr8 View Post
doesn't sound like action to me, might hopefully lead to some sort of action
Could you give me a working definition of action then?

Seeking to understand the nature of addiction and how it specifically relates to me, how is this not action? Civilized debate, searching inside one's self and in others for insight, trying to understand the role addiction plays in society and how society has impacted my own addiction, this seems to me to be a very proactive approach to my condition. Its not the extent of my action but its just as important to me as not drinking or eating healthy and exercising or seeing a therapist.
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Old 10-07-2009, 02:34 PM
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Old 10-07-2009, 02:44 PM
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Well I leave the house quite a bit to do all of the things I've mentioned thus far. I mean its pretty obvious that my therapist wouldn't be coming over to my house. Even if he did....

If your point is that one must be involved in AA or some alternative program to recovery, I find that to be a bit short-sighted. I'm doing pretty well right now doing my own thing. If its some sort of prejudice against academic/intellectual pursuits, I'm not really sure what to say to you. If such things aren't self-improvement I don't know what is.
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Old 10-07-2009, 02:50 PM
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I'm sorry you feel like what I'm doing is a waste of time. Its not something I'm going through, its who I am. I hope AA or whatever program you're working does the trick. Why you suspect that I'm doing anything problematic is beyond me. I'm in a good spot buddy. I hope you are too.
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