A nation of alcoholics
 

"A nation of alcoholics!" is how a friend described England to me last night. I must say, even though I don't want to judge, just express my opinion, I do agree in many, many ways.

I can remember completing a form from AA years ago to help the individual decide whether or not he/she may be alcoholic. Most of the questions on that questionnaire would be answered by everyone as normal these days. Drinking has spiralled out of control in most towns & cities. Drinking at home; would have been considered a sure fire way of alcoholism. Now nearly everyone drinks at home most nights. One supermarket check out lady told me "the women are the worst, they buy bottles & bottles of wine. Garages that sell wine & booze, and they wholeheartedly advertise the fact of cheap booze sold 24hrs!!!!!

Nearly every lifestyle programme you see shows everyone drinking wine day and night all day long. One programme about people setting up new lives in Spain and France shows them drinking wine all day long. How on earth do they think straight let alone run a bar!!!

Friends who tell me they take wine to the beach on their holidays!!! It escapes me how they function drinking all day then go out of an evening.

My drinking was enough for me! I don't want that life ever again. Move on. I love my sobriety.

Just a few ramblings xx

I think that exists in just about every nation unfortunately, but I also personally feel that it's nothing new. We hear about it a lot more often these days with all the media we are bombarded with, but there were plenty of drunks back before twitter or even the internet existed. Moving on from it all is key though, very glad to hear you've done that!

it can also be a matter of what we take note of. I read recently in a book the idea of going to an orchestra concert and trying to just focus on the violin players the whole time. yeah theres a ton else going on but one just pay an awful lot of attention tot he violin players only.

I could drive down the road and notice every place that sells booze and not really notice much else despite the fact there mighta been a zillion other things to see.

i sat at thanksgiving dinner for example a couple years ago and was basicly consumed with a fixation on the wine at the table and who was drinkign it and how much was left etc... who knows what i missed out on becuase I was busy obsessing over the wine.

Personally I think there has been a definite increase in alcoholism over about the last 20 years. Life is far more complicated than it was at one time and there are more negative stressors. Employment issues, astronomical divorce rates, uncountable cases of abuse and neglect, poverty, etc. Alcohol can provide a cheap an easy escape from all of those. The media plays a roll as well in glamorizing alcoholism in tv and film. Don't get me wrong. Alcoholism has always been around, as Scott pointed out. But I definitely feel we've seen a surge in the last 20 years or so.

It's not just the UK. It's been normalized in the U.S., too, particularly in women.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...=.05ed0aad0658

i've said it a zillion times man was created to live and thrive in a society and under circumstances like what we face these days. maybe i'm wrong maybe its all relative and 3000 years ago offered man just as many horrible daily difficulties? I dunno. But it does seem some of us or many of us can only handle so much before we hit a breaking point and turn to something bad to give us some relief.

The only way i've found to combat this is to try and keep my life as simple as I possibly can and eat well and excercise for my relief. This is what works for me. that being said. I think i can only handle so much i'm ok with it i just have to repsect my boundaries.

The sad part is tho for me before i new it i was caught up in a life i couldnt manage or handle and was turning to booze ease my stresses.

simply reading the news each day and seeing the horrors of this world can really do you in as well. so I try to limit that too. sometimes i feel like i'm walking through life with the blinders on but sometimes I almost have too or i'll drive myself nuts with what i see out there.

Here in the US we seem to have a "shooter culture" among young people.

It's the norm, not the exception.

When I was a young man, around 40 years ago, the only people who drank shots were the heavy, heavy drinkers like me.

Now I see people doing them all the time at the club where I go for dinner quite a bit.

It's very pervasive.

And doing shooters is like free-basing alcohol.

People do shooters to get drunk.

This type of behavior has been quite common in this part of the US for as long as I can remember. Especially in college towns both at bars and parties, but also among adults. The "boilermaker" ( a small glass of beer and a shot of whiskey ) was a common drink for many adults dating way back to the past century.

I think the bottom line is that drinking and drugs have always been, and most likely always will be, part of our culture. Sometimes more, sometimes less..but it's always going to be there.

And MOST importantly, we have to accept that no one is going to ever change that culture. We as individuals need to recognize and deal with our addictions ourselves...because temptation and societal factors beyond our control will always exist.

I've thought about this in the past. How do people moderately drink all day every day and lead successful lives. I came to two conclusions, in order to drink all day every day I think some drugs may be involved, or two, everything on TV (in America) is fake.

Some individuals have a naturally high tolerance to alcohol and a naturally low susceptibility to addiction. Those are the ones who can drink copiously and often without ever seeming to suffer any consequences (although they're at greater risk for health problems as they get older).

The people who find themselves on this site obviously don't fit that description. It's why we're here. But I think sometimes we can forget that we're not representative of the entire population.

I think you hit the nail on the head, Andante. For a long time, I was a moderate-to-heavy drinker who pretty much had things under control...Until I didn't.

But that was just me. I think there are more people than we think that can go on that way for a long time without becoming addicted. Eventually, it either takes a toll on them *physically* and/or they just quit (or dial it way down). But I realized I wasn't one of those people, and that if I had kept up my shenanigans, I would have died, and that I needed help to stop.

As we all know, alcohol is different from, say, heroin in that a lot of people can use alcohol in moderation, even heavily, and not become addicted. Not to say it's a healthy lifestyle, but it can be done (by some). There are a lot of older alcoholics and heavy drinkers. But not many (if any) older heroin addicts. Heroin is viciously addictive and very few people can keep that up and live very long like some people can with alcohol. There are of course, exceptions to every rule, but I just don't see a lot of older folks shooting up around here, though I see a lot of them at the liquor store.

After getting sober one of the first things I noticed was how many people didn't drink like me. That most people could have a few drinks and enjoy themselves.

Went to a business function last month. Maybe 100 people there having a good time with the free drinks. Didn't see anyone out of control. I rarely see co-workers coming to work with a hangover. Family and relatives the same thing. They have a few drinks and that's it.

Nothing wrong with taking a six-pack to the beach or whatnot. The problem for me was a six-pack was just the beginning.

Drinking culture is pretty rampant here in the States as well. In fact, I live in (but am not native to) what is known as the hardest drinking state of them all (WI).

Our country's pop culture seemed to be emphasizing alcohol use for a while but I think it's moved on more to drugs like weed and molly. Either way, I'm not a fan.

ABW1

I think drinking has becone more widespread and pervasive, particularly among women. There are your alcoholics, but also lots that may not be alcoholic but nonetheless have a very unhealthy relationship with it and feel they need it to unwind, have a good time etc.
that said, since quitting I have more and more noticed how many people dont drink. I never seemed to notice them before. I guess i was too busy drinking with the drinkers.

I live in New Orleans - a place deeply associated with alcohol & "otherness." People come here on vacation because it is a place that public drunkeness is par for the course. Debauch. The "freedom" to misbehave.

It does challenge me to identify as an alcoholic in a culture where most "normal" people actually drink more than I ever have.

I always have to return to how alcohol impacts me. My losses & costs.

But yes. Alcohol use is accelerating, and the acceptable standards of drunken behavior are decaying.

Here, people invite you over for "day-drinking." It is a verb & an event. It is new for me to live in a place where massive & public alcohol use/abuse is part of cultural identity!

A strong recovery community here though! Very amazing & committed people!

I think it has changed a bit with the feeling that only alcoholics drink hard liquor, and only shady people and drunks go to bars from back in the day, but much has changed with all the fancy bars and clubs, designer drinks, and what not to make it appear more acceptable, even classy.

Yes, the drinking culture is here and will always be here. That said, there's plenty of folks that never drink or drink only on occasion. In fact, that number is probably much larger than you realize.