ThatWasTheOldMe

I don't know if I buy that I'm "sick" or have a "disease" or even a disorder.
I think I'm just a selfish ******* that overindulges and suffers the consequences.

daisy1

If that was the case I think many many more of the population would be alcoholics! One thing I've noticed in my groups and on here is we all seem to be sensitive and emotional types, and most of us are pretty nice people. We are definitely suffering from something though.

DaisyBelle7

It’s an addiction, and addiction is classified as a disease by most medical associations. There are also genetic components.

ThatWasTheOldMe

Yeah, but I bet EVERY medical association classifies something like diabetes as a disease.

Why the holdouts?

DaisyBelle7

My guess would be stigma and/or health insurance willingness or not to cover treatment. I have an addictive personality, and this is just one of the many addictions I’ve battled. One thing I’ve learned on this journey is that I need to forgive myself for the behavior I exhibited when I was partaking in my addictions. I don’t know that it matters, to me anyway, whether it’s recognized as a disease by anyone else.

Steely

What do you think would happen if you stopped being an indulgent, selfish, ******** TWTOM?

Surrendered19

Alcoholism is definitely a thing. Call it anything you want but some of us are powerless over alcohol. In my book, that is a serious, definite, concrete tangible thing.

Particularly in a world free flowing with alcohol.

ciowa

Well I overindulge in things from time to time, like eating, tv, the internet etc. But this over indulgence only happens every now and then. With alcohol, the word overindulgence is an understatement. For me it means out of control drinking where I don't want to stop and will continue on for days with little sleep, no food, no water and a total abandonment of my responsibilities. This is a bit different from say, eating 2 extra slices of pizza or watching a couple of extra episodes of a netflix series at 10pm.

ThatWasTheOldMe

I think my honest answer to this question isn't all that sunny.

Steely

I find I am becoming less of an indulgent, selfish, ********, now that I've stopped drinking TWTOM.

I so want for this to continue.

ThatWasTheOldMe

I agree with people about overindulgence being an understatement.
I'm the same way. I neglect everything to drink - to the point that I don't bathe until like day 2-3 of detox. I barely eat when I'm drinking and I don't at all for the first 1-2 days of detox. This is why when I'm detoxing, I always come down with some sort of metabolic acidosis, which makes it even harder to eat.

D122y

Booze causes irreversible brain damage.

That means if I relapse I will damage my brain irreversibly more.

So, if I have 90% good brain left, if I relapse I will have 89% and so on.

My buddies Dad supposedly only had like 50% functional brain after a scan.

My physical issues are officially gone. I can run longer than most people, I can lift more weight as well. I got two compliments today from nice coworkers. They said I look great.

One knew me as a rabid drinker. The other didn't. The one that didn't know me as a drinker really gave me a great vibe. It was like he loved me.

The other said before I walked slumped over and slow. Now i walk tall.

Mentally, I am doing great. I find myself much more interactive.

Before, i easily was triggered into fight or flight.

Those days are gone for me. The problem is, they are not gone from people that I attacked.

They have forgiven me, but they will never forget.

I am blessed to have forgiving folks in my life.

I will not blame them for not forgetting.

That is on me.

I made this bed.

Relapse will destroy me.

Booze is as serious as a heart attack.

Thanks.

Dee74

Hey Chris

I don't know what exactly it is, but I do know how to treat it and nullify it.
I think thats the main thing?

D

bradly22

That's just it... It's not a disease, but rather a "disease".

HeadEast

I really didn't care what it was. I had a problem I needed to fix using any and every resource available to me.

AwkwardKitty

Does it matter?
You know its causing you problems, you know you dont want to do it anymore.

FWIW I think we live in a culture that has a drink problem. What the hell is a normal drinker? What's normal about drinking literal poison?
Stand outside any bar at 3am and watch all those normal weekend drinkers and their behaviour. Far from normal in my eyes.

Steely

It brings me undone every single time.

Everything becomes neglected for me too TWTOM. No shower, no eat, no joy. Self neglect really. Feel like a neglected child.

I don't want to neglect myself any longer. Finally realised I deserve better and am worthwhile. I want to continue this journey it's beginning to look interesting.

lessgravity

Although I guess it can be an interesting academic exercise, calling it a disease in the end doesn't excuse us from choosing to continue to drink and denying it as a disease shouldn't make us beat ourselves up for the issues it's caused our lives.

At the end of the day permanent sobriety is the answer, however it is we get there. And to me going back and forth with these kind of questions can stand in the way of that.

sugarbear1

does it even matter if it has a name?

I suffer from it, so I don't drink, but alcohol was my Solution, not my Problem. Living without numbing myself was the problem (and my brain)…….

We can learn to live soberly. Gotta want it more than we want to indulge. Simple, not easy.

Wastinglife

It is considered a disorder in the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists. Alcohol Use Disorder.