fotographia

Just how common is alcoholism?

I found this list of people who are apparently alcoholics.
Risk Factor: Alcoholism

Some did get sober, and others did not.

I'm not that big into celebrities but I did read about how swimmer Michael Phelps had a 2nd DUI, and was twice over the legal limit for driving in his state. Does this indicate Alcoholism?

iggy24

I don't think 1 or even 2 DUIs indicates an alcohol problem in the traditional sense. It just means the guy drank too many drinks right in front of someone who called the cops on him..then drove away. The fact he's Michael Phelps doesn't help him at all. He should know better than to go to a bar and tie one on there.. Even a guy like him has people trying to mess with his life

another great swimmer Ian Thorpe or the "Thorpedo" from Australia admitted to drinking whole bottles of vodka the night before regular competitions...he said michael was really stupid to get his DUI. I don't know how Thorpe did it...but he wasn't the first elite athlete to have such a lifestyle...and hes retired rather early

SoberLeigh

Sorry to read about Michael Phelps. I have had the pleasure of watching him swim; he is truly a swimming legend. I hope that is where his "legend" remains.

When I saw him at meets, he was always very nice to the younger swimmers who looked up to him; no hint of arrogance in his demeanor. I hope he will be okay.

thisisme

Anyone who drinks is alcoholic. There are many stages but it's one slippery slope. A pitcher plant.

Aellyce

I think that alcoholism is more common than it'll ever be in stats and in the news, given that most people who suffer from it never seek help and are not celebrities. It's a sad reality.

fotographia

OK, so even if they just drink socially or normally having a glass of wine or a beer with a meal every so often would that be alcoholism?

Or what if someone did drink a lot in their youth, or drank more than just 1-2 drinks, had a sort of black out not total memory loss of a night but just not remembering how they got home from a bar or party after drinking, and they do not drink to get drunk anymore or drink very frequently? Would that be alcoholism?

fotographia

OK thanks.

Just what are the stats? Or what percentage of the human population do alcoholics make up?

I have heard that most people who have alcohol and/or drug addiction, or substance abuse problems get sober on their own without going to detox/treatment, or even AA/NA.

I do know that alcohol and drug abuse/addiction are both way more common than people want to admit.

doggonecarl

Stats, percentages, recovery rates, relapse rates...all interesting to a point. Till it comes to actual recovery. Then there is only one alcoholic/one recovery statistic I'm concerned about...Doggonecarl's.

Aellyce

You can read about these questions in the US on this website:
Publications | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism | Alcohol Facts and Statistics

And other drugs here:
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Or die "on their own" as active addicts, unfortunately.

ScottFromWI

Stats may be interesting, but they are really kind of irrelevant when it comes down to really facing the truth about addiction. If you want sobriety enough, there is a 100% chance that you can have it if you do the work.

FeenixxRising

I believe that statement is false and not backed up by any scientific evidence. Millions of people are able to drink their entire lives without developing an addiction.

zjw

i know people who partied hard when they where younger drank puked had a grand old time. as they got older they simply grew out of it. there was never some issue putting it down. There was never even something other then having a good time making them do it in the first place. these same people can still drink few times a year its just a non issue for them.

I dont understand it at all.

But I also think there are many others who drink who are on the slippery slope and are not like the people i mentioned above. They just have not recognized there problem yet etc..

Wastinglife

I was looking at that list and oddly they had Winston CHurchill's father and his son listed but not Winston CHurchhill himself who was a notorious alcoholic. He spent World War II essentially drunk on brandy haha.

Dee74

It's a key note of both Allen Carr and Jason Vale's books.

That used to be the historical orthodoxy but it's not so widely accepted anymore, for example:

Alcohol Abuser

Churchill is actually a great example of why the answer to the OPs question is so hard to get.

If there's no singular universal definition of 'alcoholic' how can you get stats about alcoholics?

D

nigey1

I remember reading that Churchill may actually have used alcohol to effect a common touch persona, more of a prop. Don't know if there is any truth to it.

I have also known people that seem like moderate drinkers or grew out of it and settle down, then they develop a bad alcohol addiction later in life, for various reasons.

I actually agree that if you drink then you are A CHANCE to become an alcoholic. Just my 2 cents.

zjw

makes you wonder tho. I know some people who always have beer in the fridge they will average a couple a night. On the surface it appears to not be causing any issues at all. could they stop? maybe but why? its causing them no issues.

I know other people who eat whatever they want and stay slim. There dietary choices are deplorable but its not casuing them any issues so why change there habits?

I know people from both camps who after years of this seemingly harmless behavior are now showing signs of it taking its toll on there health. Now its become a problem. Does it make the first guy an alcoholic? Does the second guy have a serious eating disorder? Do they get off the hook because the one never got a DUI or ruined his life obviously and promplty from booze? Does the second guy get a pass because he didnt baloon up to 500lbs and show very clear obvious signs of an eating disorder? Or was it just as bad as the rest of us drunks they just managed to lets say moderate or skate by unharmed longer then we did?

Now both have had to put down the couple beers a night and the other has had to start eating healthy. Its a difficult road but a year later there doing ok now etc...

nigey1

Yeh ZJW I hear you. I have just seen so many people come unstuck with alcohol and yet they too had no issues for years and years.

I think if you are drinking you are a chance, however slim, that a big alcoholic train you didn't see coming will smash into you. Doesn't mean it will happen and hopefully it wont, but a past tendency towards moderate drinking does not guarantee the same future IMO. Life is full of random events and nasty surprises that can swing that moderation pendulum out of whack.

I also don't think that alcoholism is solely a DNA thing. I believe you can drink yourself into alcoholism without it being programned into your genes.

As long as you drink, even without apparent issues, you are still at risk IMO.

iggy24

i don't know about these "almost alcoholic" types we are talking about but i chose to drink like I did. In that sense using the substance at a moderate rate initially really had little or nothing to do with abusing it. later on. So the substance itself is not the catalyst for me....the decision to get loaded again and again which was influenced by what i saw as options in my life at the time..For me drinking like a fish was an unhealthy but rational decision. I knew what i was doing

Boleo

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-50-years.html

anattaboy

The willful drinking of my late teens became less willful as time passed. By 29 I was out of control. I did a 3 day detox and stayed sober 8 yrs in AA. Picked up in '97 and didn't stop till '10. Lotsa loss, alcohol my no. 1 food group. If alcoholism were a timeline graph it would look similar to this....\.....
I had a 7 month relapse ending this past June and am thoroughly convinced my physiology is permanently altered and I can never drink responsibly. The progression is talked about a lot. I've lived a good bit of that timeline and don't recommend it.