fishisms

Mods, I would like to BUMP this thread back to the top, as it has apparently made an impact and one person even requested it be made a sticky. Feel free to reword my original title or post as long as you still include the link. If there is any doubt, watch the provided link. I think this is very beneficial to this forum and others seem to agree

fantail

I think these two things are related... I grew up in the eighties and nineties when heroin chic and disaffected drug movies were really big, and they had a big impression on me. I think in some ways I wanted to be an addict (way before I ever used any drugs or drank, when I thought of addiction as some kind of glamorous way to rebel and express my existential thoughts).

Anyway later when I started drugs and drinking I was over that image on a conscious level, but I think subconsciously even when things started to get bad I still thought that my addiction would be dramatic and important and deep somehow. Not sad and washed up like the grown alcoholics I knew. I thought I was a movie drunk until it became drastically, pathetically apparent that I was not. One day I woke up and realized that there was nothing "beautiful disaster" about me... just sad and puffy and commonplace.

Long winded way of saying... I wish that seeing things like this would have put me off before I got started... but I don't think I ever would have imagined how unpoetic my life could get.

fishisms

Every man, woman and child needs to see this. It is disturbing but it is very educational. It belongs in this forum. Please sticky it.

Dee74

We have definite rules on what a sticky can be....but you can bump it as many times as you like if you feel it's important

D

fishisms

And what are those rules? No seriously what are they?

fishisms

My crystal ball tells me that Dee74 will not give me an adequate answer, which will basically tell me "go take your crap somewhere else" when you yourself never even bothered to sit through the whole video.

Vandermast

My heart goes out to the family and all of us here trying so very hard to stay sober

Dee74

OK, I'm not sure where the attitude is coming from.
I'm not here 24/7, and I usually deal with stuff like this by PM...but I'll answer here so everyone else understands.

I/we prefer to keep a lean sticky forum...if we put too many up there, the exercise of having important posts that people can quickly refer to becomes meaningless.

The second point is we have over 100, 000 members.
I don't doubt that everyone of them has a favorite or inspirational recovery video.

If I put one up, others will want to know quite rightly, why theirs can't be there too.

The third factor is while I/we don't disallow youtube links, they are often not entirely legal copies, and they do disappear frequently.

I hope that answers your questions adequately.

If you have any other concerns, please PM me.
The forums are for recovery, not admin.

D

Steavewarner

I watched it now. oh my god!!!!!! it is so scary as well as very sad...

bigsombrero

Fish a lot of us don't like this video. There was a man who needed help but was basically filmed committing a slow suicide. IMO treating this guy's life like a TV show didn't do anything to save him. I feel the same way about shows like "Intervention". I don't think us hardcore addicts who have been down that wormhole feel comfortable with the whole situation of filming someone as he drinks himself to death.

RaiseAnchor

I felt this same way too when I drank. I always thought the life of a writer like, Bukowski for example, would be fun and interesting. Yeah, I like his books and poetry still. Turns out being sober and ambitious is a lot more rewarding and garners a lot more respect from other's and from oneself.

laurie6781

I originally watched this when it aired on Nat Geo and was riveted then, and still am.

Now, being an 'old fart', lol with a long time sober, I have to see that I have seen this happening over and over. We had a gal, not to long ago, maybe January. No bed was available in our medical detox, so one of the ladies (it was her turn) took her into her home, and we gave her round the clock support, and what the Dr suggested to give her in alcohol every hour. As soon as the bed became available we took her to our detox.

She made it through detox, only had one seizure and no heart stoppages (not like my detox) and on into a rehab program, in this case, not Salvation Army but a pretty darn good one, that does some 'pro bono' while they work on getting Medicaid for the individual.

She was 25 days in rehab plus the 7 days of detox so was 32 days sober, when right after their breakfast when they were going to their first group meeting of the day, she had a massive heart attack and died. She was to celebrate in 3 days her 36th birthday. My age when I found recovery (3 weeks shy of my 36th birthday) so in many ways I felt closer to this young lady than some of the others that we have carried the message to over the years.

We didn't find out that it was a massive heart attack to a very damaged heart until about 3 weeks later when we got the medical examiners report.

Even though it didn't help her in the end, Dee and I and a few others on here who have had a very BAD detox and very BAD results from said detox always STRONGLY SUGGEST that one does not try this at home, as detoxing can be and is DEADLY.

The sooner one attempts to get off the toxic substances the better and the hopefully the less damage that will be done to their bodies. And yes the body can heal, at least for a while, then as one stays sober and get near retirement age, one can start to have some really bad health issues, I have seen this many times, including myself, that are a direct result or partial result from practicing their addiction so long ago.

So for all of you newer and maybe younger folks that have found your way to SR thinking you may have a problem, or trying to stop. Don't give up!!! Keep trying to find what helps you to abstain. The sooner you can quit, the better the chances are of you having less health issues as your life goes on.

Thank you (((((fishisms))))) for originally starting this thread and now for bumping it!!

Love and hugs,

redneckrecovery

I just watched this. I plan on showing my kids this too.

It was so sad to watch and I wish he could have made it. I really needed that to end in a fairy tale.

Sasha4

Dee74 is fantastic and an integral part of sober recovery.
He has been here for a long time, helping us all.
Everything is done fairly and with the best possible intentions.
Dee is highly respected here.
Your video, is very informative, but we have seen it before, but I do thank you for posting it.

NapsteR1

hmm, I can see why it's devisive, I can completely see the "docu-drama - oh look at the guy killing himself, should be good for ratings" point of view and that makes me uncomfortable.

on the other hand I've been screaming and kicking walls when for some reason getting my pint on time didn't work out and it's a reality slap in the face to see this end game put so starkly infront of me.



very level response Dee, admirable.

sobergirl77

Wow, thanks for posting. I can totally identify with his terror, the DT's, and so much more. More eerie is that he has the same first name as me.

Zee

Whoo-ee... I wish I didn't watch that, but glad I did at the same time if that makes sense (?) brings back scary memories for me.

slimjim30

I've never seen anyone that addicted to alcohol before! I wouldn't have thought it possible.

Pretty gross. Glad I never got anywhere near that bad.

Mountainmanbob

john44

Yeah, me too. Tough, grizzled old Philly boy and I cried like a baby.