dcg

From 1974.

Callas

Very good, thanks.

FreshStartOk

Wierd I was watching that yesterday.

FreshStartOk

He is talking a load of rubbish mind. An alcoholic improves his concentration with a drink? Maybe after one beer.

WeThinkNot

Thanks for sharing this! Dick Van Dyke touched on pretty much every topic related to alcoholism, even talking about how it takes time for your brain to heal in recovery. I had to chuckle at the Watergate reference.

babycat

Thank you for this!!

dcg

I don't think so. Lots of the physiological issues he was talking about have been studied since. You can look up recent stuff by Jordan Peterson talking about an alcoholic's heart rate response to shots of liquor compared to a non-alcoholic's response, as well as other things in the vid.

From my own personal experience, absolutely my concentration improved with drinking. I always attributed it to ADHD and the booze slowing my mind down, but it certainly did increase my focus, albeit at a great expense. I also get a similar effect from weed, too. Hyperfocus, but I can't use that either.

babycat

I would agree with this. I have a friend who is still VERY much struggling in her alcoholism and one of the biggest challenges she faces is that she says she has no motivation to do anything until she has alcohol in her system. She cannot concentrate on anything. Granted, she is not getting totally sloshed but it still keeps her drinking around the clock.

suki44883

Thank you for sharing this. I have seen it before, but it has been years. The Dick Van Dyke Show is my all-time favorite sitcom ever! I love how open and honest he is about his alcoholism.

DriGuy

He was spot on as far as far as my experience. As for alcohol and concentration, I have heard and actually known one severe alcoholic who had to have alcohol to function, and I think the term for this is maintenance drinking, and it only applies to advanced alcoholics. I don't think it's so much that concentration improves for them, as it is that without it, their concentration is shot. This isn't something I know. It's just something I have wondered about.