Carver

Just thought some of you might find this interesting

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/neurons-make-you-want-more-booze-identified

Gottalife

Thanks Carver. It seems there may be forces in the old noodle that compel certain people to over indulge. I am not sure how a brain so affected could correct itself., which may be why willpower at best often provides only temporary relief.

The disappointing thing was that the scientist is working in the belief that stopping drinking will fix alcoholism. In my experience it usually brings it out.

freshstart57

Quitting drinking fixed my problem with alcohol 100%. It eliminated all of the hangovers, liver and gut issues, memory problems completely. Ending my alcohol consumption was essential in addressing my depression and anxiety issues. It added about $10,000 a year to my disposable income. Myrelationships with my friends and my family were restored. The self-confidence and self-esteem I gained in achieving this personal transformation has given me the understanding that I can achieve many other good things in my life as long as I believe in myself.

I am sorry that your experience was different, Mike. Even so, if others are seeing that their alcohol consumption is a problem, I suggest that they stop. For most of us, ending consumption of alcohol removes the alcohol problem. I recommend it.

biminiblue

I agree with Freshstart. The science has been available for quite some time explaining the physiological changes in the brain when alcohol is used excessively for a period of time.

Removing the alcohol allows brain and body to heal. The rest of the psychological and behavioral issues may have different causes and may need different approaches, but in my case removing alcohol solved the physical addiction and the sick body/brain.

ScottFromWI

It's probably only a matter of time before they figure out exactly what causes addiction and they will probably even find a "cure" for it down the road at the rate medical research and technology progresses. Even if they did make a magic pill that I could take and return to being a "normal" drinker I wouldn't do it though....too much damage has been done to me over my life to ever willingly drink again, even if it was just a little.

Retread1959

I read an article on this a few days ago. It never occurred to me that "curing" alcoholism would mean I could drink again. I figured a cure would be something that would keep me from ever wanting to drink again. Funny how we all see things a little differently!

JeffreyAK

I'm not sure how stopping drinking can do anything other than stopping alcoholism. In fact, beyond a point where it's impossible to moderate anymore, it's the only way. If we have residual issues to deal with after we quit, welcome to the human race, we all carry around some amount of baggage.

Retread1959

I think that, once we stop drinking, the amount of damage that needs to be dealt with will be revealed and that will be different for everyone. For me, I strongly believe that alcoholism is an outcome that stems from unhappiness at a much deeper level. Stopping the alcohol is going to do a lot for my physical and mental health, but it's not going to fix everything that's wrong with me. It will, however, help me to achieve more clarity about what those things are and how they can be fixed.

IOAA2

Hi.
With many years of recovery behind me and many thousands of meetings to enhance my experience with this disease I find a big difference between stopping drinking and staying stopped for so many. The staying stopped is the killer for so many after a period of sobriety.
This is obviously the result of so many different thinking processes we have like maybe I can have one, it wasn’t that bad, my mind was playing with me, I’m not as bad as, if only, I may be only a heavy drinker, maybe I’m not really an alcoholic and on and on.

For me I chose the softest easiest way for the long run and it works as others will IF we work it every day and keep a positive attitude that even when bumps on the path of sobriety are encounterd it’s part of life and I don’t have to drink over it. It’s that simple.

BE WELL

JeffreyAK

I think there's no question at all that alcoholism is a medical problem that is caused by drinking too much alcohol for too long, not by any deeper issues. Deeper issues may lead us to use and abuse alcohol as a crutch, but we shouldn't confuse the two. The deeper issues may make us unhappy, but alcoholism will keep us unhappy, ruin our lives, and then kill us. There's no substitute for abstinence, for those of us who have crossed that fuzzy line between abuse and addiction, even if it is a starting point on a longer journey.

freshstart57

For me, quitting drinking meant 'no alcohol'. Not just 'no alcohol' for a little while until I start drinking again. I find it baffling that quitting drinking somehow allows drinking again.

freshstart57

If there is a difference between quitting drinking and staying quit, I suggest there was never a quit in the first place. Maybe a quit unless I get tempted or upset or happy or lonely or...., but no quit. It seems that what was missing was an eyes-wide-open unconditional understanding of what it would mean to quit drinking unconditionally.

That list of thoughts that suggest drinking again is one of the best descriptions I have read here of the Alcoholic Voice. The AV. For me, learning how to recognize the AV and separate my wants from the AV have been instrumental in my sobriety. Once I made that commitment to myself to sobriety, those thoughts lost any power they had to influence my actions.

Well put, IOAA2.

ScottFromWI

That cure already exists...and you see it here on SR, in AA rooms, in Rehabs and Counseling offices every day. And the great thing is that anyone can achieve it if they truly want it.

Retread1959

Yep! That's exactly why I come here every day.

Soberwolf

What Scott said & IOAA2 said I agree with

Gottalife

It is a matter of perception I think. I have personally met thousands of people whose experience is the same as mine, yet none whose experience is like yours FS. I think the main reason for that is that, try as we might, not all alcoholics are able to do what you have managed to do, and many have died trying.

You are absolutely right that fundamental to recovery is stopping the alcohol intake, it is only a matter of finding an effective method to stay stopped. Of course this has been known for thousands of years.

BackToSquareOne

I think that anything science can come up with is a step in the right direction. No single method will help everyone but that's the way it is with most things. My problem always was it was easy to get motivated to stop when sick with a hangover or withdrawal but hard to keep the motivation going when I felt better. I think a lot of people go through that until they get around to wanting to quit more then they want to drink on a forever basis.

freshstart57

It is easy to find here at SR the stories of folks who have done as I have. If one associates only with those who have been unable to empower themselves, your understanding makes perfect sense. It is indeed a matter of perception.

dwtbd

I stopped drinking hundreds of times in the past , and went back to it. The last time I stopped I decided to quit, as in no more ,ever. One of, if not the biggest, thing that helped me to make that decision was to stop using my alcoholism as a 'reason' to drink. Even if I want to .