In the wake of Amy Winehouse...
A jug fills drop by drop
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 6,784
Originally Posted by Panther 
Taking Charge - I think you have good intentions,
Anyway....
I no longer have addicts in my family nor in my circle of friends.
And I am not an addict either.
I am no longer interested in researching or understanding alcoholism. To me... all dis-ease relates to our bodies, minds and souls.
All the best Panther, if you have read so much about alcoholism you have probably been deeply affected by it or continue to be affected.
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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I wanted to bump this post up again because I just read this from the Huffington Post (a publication I tend to not read):
Rabbi Shais Taub: Was the World Powerless to Stop Amy Winehouse?
If you don't feel like you have the energy to read the entire article (by a Rabbi who works with Jewish addicts), read these two quotes and I suspect you'll want to read the whole story:
and about codependency:
I'm not sure if the column was more depressing or empowering, but it was... powerful.
Rabbi Shais Taub: Was the World Powerless to Stop Amy Winehouse?
If you don't feel like you have the energy to read the entire article (by a Rabbi who works with Jewish addicts), read these two quotes and I suspect you'll want to read the whole story:
There is no fact more real to me than the idea that no human power can stand up against the power of addiction. Sometimes I think of it as a giant black hole that can devour the light of a thousand suns and remain just as unfathomably black as if no sun had ever shone at all. It is an insatiable vortex that mercilessly consumes every iota of strength that human power can muster. We throw love at it. We throw loyalty at it. We scream at it. We bargain with it. We fight it. And when we just can't fight it anymore, we swear to ignore it, to never let it hurt us again, that is, until it pulls us back in.
The insanity of active "codependence" is just as gruesome a spectacle to behold as the addict's own downward spiral. To watch a life wasted trying to stop the unstoppable is something that can just tear your heart out.
A jug fills drop by drop
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 6,784
Thanks lillamy
When a young person, or even a not-so-young person, dies from this disease, I try to tell the family, "You know that you could not have stopped this. There is nothing more you could have done or not done. This was beyond us." And when I say it, I mean it. Because I know how puny and worthless our efforts are when trying to fight this disease. I know that what is needed is a Higher Power.
When a young person, or even a not-so-young person, dies from this disease, I try to tell the family, "You know that you could not have stopped this. There is nothing more you could have done or not done. This was beyond us." And when I say it, I mean it. Because I know how puny and worthless our efforts are when trying to fight this disease. I know that what is needed is a Higher Power.
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Originally Posted by Panther
Taking Charge - I think you have good intentions, however the view you mentioned above is not supported by scientific research. That view (or should I say myth) has been around for thousands of years and will continue to be around as long as people refuse to believe the research that has been done.
It has also been found in the last decade that the neurological damage is isolated to the thiamine production and the GABA(b) receptors and this damage is 100% reversible over time. The fact that this damage reverses suggests that addiction is physical dependency caused by alcohol abuse, not a pre-existing condition. There is no proof whatsoever that alcoholism is genetic, there may be certain physical predispositions, research is still ongoing, but nothing that is yet known.
Originally Posted by Panther
The book Under the Influence by Dr. Milam provides evidence of study after study that supports the theory that alcoholism is a physiological disease and not based on will power or the environment.
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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My opinion--which is just that--is that there is some genetic component. There may be some gene that turns on a tendency toward alcoholism, or drug-addiction. However, choice and free-will is still a large part of this. My dad is an alcoholic and my mom is a drug addict. My mom doesn't seem to have a tendency toward alcoholism, neither does my RABF. They both dislike alcohol. However, they were became addicted to pills and other drugs.
My dad and his oldest brother are alcoholics, but the other kids don't seem to be. When it comes to me, I know I have a tendency to be "addicted' to alcoholics/drug addicts. Is that genetics? I probably have a tendency toward addiction, but a lot of it is learned behavior. I was "taught," growing up that I was responsible for others.
In terms of Amy Winehouse, I was sad to see her die. I wasn't surprised in any way, but it was sad to see her downward spiral. I know a lot of addicts/alcoholics who were wonderful, talented people, but instead they died.
In terms of learned behavior, I think I learned to find other ways to deal with emotions rather than just face them. I learned that others are responsible for how we feel. That's why I'm on this forum, is to try to unlearn some of these behaviors.
In terms of diabetes in comparison to alcoholism, it is interesting because these two things do not go well together. I have known two people in my life who have died of the combination of both. Diabetics really need to stay away from alcohol--but, that's another topic.
My dad and his oldest brother are alcoholics, but the other kids don't seem to be. When it comes to me, I know I have a tendency to be "addicted' to alcoholics/drug addicts. Is that genetics? I probably have a tendency toward addiction, but a lot of it is learned behavior. I was "taught," growing up that I was responsible for others.
In terms of Amy Winehouse, I was sad to see her die. I wasn't surprised in any way, but it was sad to see her downward spiral. I know a lot of addicts/alcoholics who were wonderful, talented people, but instead they died.
In terms of learned behavior, I think I learned to find other ways to deal with emotions rather than just face them. I learned that others are responsible for how we feel. That's why I'm on this forum, is to try to unlearn some of these behaviors.
In terms of diabetes in comparison to alcoholism, it is interesting because these two things do not go well together. I have known two people in my life who have died of the combination of both. Diabetics really need to stay away from alcohol--but, that's another topic.
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