What is alcoholism?
 

It helps to learn about addiction (alcoholism/drug addiction are the same thing) in order to make the decisions we have to make.

HBO did a terrific series about addiction. I've never seen alcoholism explained better than it is in this interview.

HBO: Addiction: The Film: Supplemental Film: An Interview with Nora D. Volkow, M.D.

Agreed. The biggest changes in learning how to cope with the chaos in my life, was when I started learning about the honest brutal reality of addiction.

We sometimes forget that a lot of what we know now, was information that was not available to us 10, 20 ... or more years ago. There were a lot of misconceptions of what alcoholism was and how to deal with it. I can still remember my mother and other wives I knew, being blamed for their husband's drinking - "if she would only stop nagging, he probably wouldn't drink" . Nothing like kicking someone that is already struggling with total turmoil.
It never occurred to these "outsiders" that maybe why these women were so distressed to begin with was because of the drinking.

We have come a long way in understanding this baffling disorder ... and we have a long way to go. The more knowledge we have, the more power we have to make better choices. One good thing is that family members of alcoholics are now less likely to get the blame for something that is out of their control. Maybe someday we will get better support and understanding from others ... just like we do here!!

What I found fascinating in the interview was that after using drugs or alcohol the brain changes. (We become pickled?, lol) When I got sober there was only AA. But now there is medication that cuts down on craving and they find cognitive therapy is a big help in recovery.

Oh yea the chaos. Didn't pay taxes for years so of course the IRS showed up immediately. I lost so much and came in with 0 self esteem, lots of shame. But if you keep coming it's possible to build a good life ... with lots of bumps in the road, so many new lessons to learn...

One addendum to that kind of exposure is the work of Dr. Amen.....think of all the people you know. How many have 'perfect' brains? I don't. My ABF, brother, and 2 of my sons don't. My daughter? maybe. So it becomes a metaphysical question of compensating for a known disorder... flashing lights give me seizures, but I still go to the county fair. I don't drive home, though.

I told my ABF a long time ago that I thought that there IS a moral decision for alcoholics. If you know you're an alcoholic, the moral decision is that moment just before you pick up that drink. After that, the disease takes over, in any of its various insidious forms.

- Sylvie

"What is alcoholism?"

I thought is was a 10 letter English Standard word that results in:

What the Fracking He!L happened to my life? Where did that 100 thousand dollars go? Who is this person living in my house, who I hardly know, can not understand, don't trust, have almost nothing in common with, and can never be pleased by ANYTHING I do.