Ten Myths About Being an Alcoholic
Its_me_jen
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Salina, Ks
Posts: 8,547
Ten Myths About Being an Alcoholic
I've noticed recently many people posting about their possible abuse of alcohol or alcoholism seem compelled to mention the amount of alcohol they drink. I've always understood that being an alcoholic doesn't really have a thing to do with the amount a person drinks but more about the negative effects it has on one's life. For example, just because a person has a beer or two or three or four every night after work does not mean they are an alcoholic. On the other side of the coin, just because a person does not drink every single day or live on the streets does not mean they are not an alcoholic.
Anyway, it prompted me to look some things up on the net and I found this article I thought was worth sharing.
Peace.
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Anyway, it prompted me to look some things up on the net and I found this article I thought was worth sharing.
Peace.
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TEN MYTHS ABOUT BEING AN ALCOHOLIC
Breaking down the fiction to get to the facts
Most people believe things about alcoholism that are not true. These myths can keep people from recognizing alcoholism when it shows up among family members, friends and at work.
Myth #1: “He can’t be an alcoholic. He’s too nice.”
Fact: Many alcoholics are nice, much of the time. Alcoholism is a physical, emotional, and spiritual disease. In early stages of the disease, personality may not seem to be affected all the time.
Myth #2: “She’s not an alcoholic, she only drinks wine.”
Fact: Alcohol is alcohol. The issue is not so much what a person drinks as when, where and why.
Myth #3: “ Alcoholics are skid row bums.”
Fact: Only about three percent of alcoholics are skid row types. Most people with the disease hold jobs, have families and are respected in the community.
Myth #4: “How can he be an alcoholic? He only drinks after work.”
Fact: Many alcoholics schedule their drinking for after work and weekends.
Myth #5: “She’s not always drunk. How can she be an alcoholic?”
Fact: Few alcoholics are “always drunk.” What counts is what occurs when they do drink.
Myth #6: “He hardly ever misses work. That doesn’t sound like an alcoholic to me.”
Fact: Many alcoholics rarely miss work, especially in early stages of the disease. But they may feel terrible when they show up- and the quality and quantity of their work may go downhill.
Myth #7: “Women aren’t alcoholics.”
Fact: Alcoholism is an equal-opportunity disease. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender.
Myth #8: “She’s too young to be an alcoholic.”
Fact: Alcoholism does not respect age. Even children can be alcoholics.
Myth #9: “I’ve never seen him with a drink.”
Fact: Alcoholics often manage to keep their drinking habits secret from co-workers and employees.
Myth #10: “He can’t be an alcoholic. He has such a nice family.”
Fact: Many alcoholics have “nice families.” The family often is able to take care of- and to cover up for- the alcoholic for a long time.
Source
Breaking down the fiction to get to the facts
Most people believe things about alcoholism that are not true. These myths can keep people from recognizing alcoholism when it shows up among family members, friends and at work.
Myth #1: “He can’t be an alcoholic. He’s too nice.”
Fact: Many alcoholics are nice, much of the time. Alcoholism is a physical, emotional, and spiritual disease. In early stages of the disease, personality may not seem to be affected all the time.
Myth #2: “She’s not an alcoholic, she only drinks wine.”
Fact: Alcohol is alcohol. The issue is not so much what a person drinks as when, where and why.
Myth #3: “ Alcoholics are skid row bums.”
Fact: Only about three percent of alcoholics are skid row types. Most people with the disease hold jobs, have families and are respected in the community.
Myth #4: “How can he be an alcoholic? He only drinks after work.”
Fact: Many alcoholics schedule their drinking for after work and weekends.
Myth #5: “She’s not always drunk. How can she be an alcoholic?”
Fact: Few alcoholics are “always drunk.” What counts is what occurs when they do drink.
Myth #6: “He hardly ever misses work. That doesn’t sound like an alcoholic to me.”
Fact: Many alcoholics rarely miss work, especially in early stages of the disease. But they may feel terrible when they show up- and the quality and quantity of their work may go downhill.
Myth #7: “Women aren’t alcoholics.”
Fact: Alcoholism is an equal-opportunity disease. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender.
Myth #8: “She’s too young to be an alcoholic.”
Fact: Alcoholism does not respect age. Even children can be alcoholics.
Myth #9: “I’ve never seen him with a drink.”
Fact: Alcoholics often manage to keep their drinking habits secret from co-workers and employees.
Myth #10: “He can’t be an alcoholic. He has such a nice family.”
Fact: Many alcoholics have “nice families.” The family often is able to take care of- and to cover up for- the alcoholic for a long time.
Source
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 174
All very good points!
I would like to add that alcoholism is progressive - and sometimes the only way for someone to see that progression is to reflect on their usage. When I started drinking 2 drinks would do me in for the night. At the end, I was polishing off a fifth a night, every night, 24/7/365. I still held down a job, never drank in public and never drank during the day, much less in the morning (even on weekends). A friend I have known for a decade (we worked together and go out on the town every other weekend) was shocked when I ended up in the ER with elevated liver levels and acute pancreatitis, and was held there for a week. She never knew I drank.
Us alkies can be sneaky bastids. Especially we party-for-one home drinkers.
I would like to add that alcoholism is progressive - and sometimes the only way for someone to see that progression is to reflect on their usage. When I started drinking 2 drinks would do me in for the night. At the end, I was polishing off a fifth a night, every night, 24/7/365. I still held down a job, never drank in public and never drank during the day, much less in the morning (even on weekends). A friend I have known for a decade (we worked together and go out on the town every other weekend) was shocked when I ended up in the ER with elevated liver levels and acute pancreatitis, and was held there for a week. She never knew I drank.
Us alkies can be sneaky bastids. Especially we party-for-one home drinkers.
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by MickeyAnMeisce 
Could the idea that alcoholics are alike except in their consumption of alcoholic?
I work with Alzheimer's patients. The same is true with them. In the advanced stages, it's like seeing the same person over and over again, but in a different skin.
former walking pharmacy
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Watertown, CT
Posts: 146
Originally Posted by BackToSquareOne
Another myth is that all alcoholics are in denial. I always knew I had a problem, just had to reach the point that I was ready to throw in the towel.
12-Step Recovered Alkie
Join Date: May 2010
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Posts: 5,797
Originally Posted by BackToSquareOne
Another myth is that all alcoholics are in denial. I always knew I had a problem
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
I knew I was an alcoholic many years before I was interested in quitting The last 5 years were dark and cold.
Externally nothing was apparently wrong.. Inside I was saturating my soul and brain.
Not until the mental depression directly caused by alcohol hit...did I began my journey of recovery....
Externally nothing was apparently wrong.. Inside I was saturating my soul and brain.
Not until the mental depression directly caused by alcohol hit...did I began my journey of recovery....
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 411
I always like to point out that I am an attractive, 30-something professional woman with an advanced degree from a prestigious university, a great job, and a lovely home. I only drank wine and beer (after I pulled the typical alcoholic trick of switching away from hard liquor so that I could better "control" my drinking). I never went out and acted "crazy" at a bar, I was always very wary of others noticing my drinking, so I'd just have a few -- with the knowledge that later I'd go home and drink like I wanted (I live alone). Every single person, including my closest friends, was shocked when I told them I had decided to get sober because I was an alcoholic, I hid it so well.
But there is no doubt in my mind that I am an alcoholic. I was obsessed with getting my two bottles of wine every night (which gradually increased from one glass at bedtime over the course of a decade), and could not stop on my own, even though I tried repeatedly. Even after I started in AA, I relapsed MANY times before I was able to stay sober for a significant length of time. With the clearer vision of sobriety, I now see how much I ordered my life around my drinking and how it warped my whole worldview.
Thank you for posting that list. Alcoholics are among you, whether you know it or not!
GG
But there is no doubt in my mind that I am an alcoholic. I was obsessed with getting my two bottles of wine every night (which gradually increased from one glass at bedtime over the course of a decade), and could not stop on my own, even though I tried repeatedly. Even after I started in AA, I relapsed MANY times before I was able to stay sober for a significant length of time. With the clearer vision of sobriety, I now see how much I ordered my life around my drinking and how it warped my whole worldview.
Thank you for posting that list. Alcoholics are among you, whether you know it or not!
GG
Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Surrey, UK
Posts: 99
Myth #5: “She’s not always drunk. How can she be an alcoholic?”
Fact: Few alcoholics are “always drunk.” What counts is what occurs when they do drink."
... and what occurs in the hours or days leading up to drinking. If anything, for me, the drinking was the relief and release from the interminable wait; to get through the day and to interact with those I had to and to do what I had to do just to get to that moment when the first drink touched my lips and extinguished all the tension and obsession that had held me hostage since the morning's hangover. Wash, rinse, repeat. That isn't normal. It's alcoholic and it was horrible.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 174
Originally Posted by Hudstar
Myth #5: “She’s not always drunk. How can she be an alcoholic?”
Fact: Few alcoholics are “always drunk.” What counts is what occurs when they do drink."
... and what occurs in the hours or days leading up to drinking. If anything, for me, the drinking was the relief and release from the interminable wait; to get through the day and to interact with those I had to and to do what I had to do just to get to that moment when the first drink touched my lips and extinguished all the tension and obsession that had held me hostage since the morning's hangover. Wash, rinse, repeat. That isn't normal. It's alcoholic and it was horrible.
Thank you
Gone In
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 223
Originally Posted by Hudstar
... and what occurs in the hours or days leading up to drinking. If anything, for me, the drinking was the relief and release from the interminable wait; to get through the day and to interact with those I had to and to do what I had to do just to get to that moment when the first drink touched my lips and extinguished all the tension and obsession that had held me hostage since the morning's hangover. Wash, rinse, repeat. That isn't normal. It's alcoholic and it was horrible.
And even when I got sober some of the pre-occuopation with alcohol continued for a while; even as the obsession and compulsion to drink faded, I was pre-occupied with alcohol in avoiding it for a time.
It was like setting down a bag of rocks to finally be free of all the guilt and shame, the pre-occupation and obsession and compulsion surrounding alcohol and me.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 64
Very good list! As an alcoholic who's a few months shy of his 21st birthday, myth #8 is one I've heard time and time again. You're completely right, alcoholism does not discriminate based on age (or anything for that matter). I can tell you firsthand that it doesn't.
1000 Post Club
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 2,284
The myth about drinking only after work IMO is real. I believe if a person can hold down a job they are not an alcoholic. Maybe they are a problem drinker? I know if I could keep a job and drink, then I would never stop drinking.
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