Drinking to oblivion- BBC
Drinking to oblivion- BBC
Hi everyone!
Watched a UK documentary with Louis Theroux last night called 'drinking to oblivion.'
Really sad, powerful stuff. The most difficult one to watch was the poor, bright young man in his early 30s (Joe) who was initially doing well then relapsed hard.
For those of you in the UK its on BBC iplayer- worth a watch.
Watched a UK documentary with Louis Theroux last night called 'drinking to oblivion.'
Really sad, powerful stuff. The most difficult one to watch was the poor, bright young man in his early 30s (Joe) who was initially doing well then relapsed hard.
For those of you in the UK its on BBC iplayer- worth a watch.
The young man was sober again at the end and said something that struck a chord with me: 'It's not something that anyone ever likely thinks about, but now I feel safe.'
Totally get that. It's like now I don't have to worry about drinking any more and what it's going to do to me a huge weight has been lifted.
Totally get that. It's like now I don't have to worry about drinking any more and what it's going to do to me a huge weight has been lifted.
yeah, if you can handle the little screen it's on you tube now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YOa65-olQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7fh2y2aDMc
^ subtitled for those who have trouble with accents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YOa65-olQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7fh2y2aDMc
^ subtitled for those who have trouble with accents
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Finished watching it. Depressing, yet educational, and furthermore, if I did not put a stop to my own behavior, there was nothing preventing me from being like any one of those folks.
On side note, the English folks are so kind and articulate, its kind of fascinating. Particularly being born and raised here in the Midwest US.
On side note, the English folks are so kind and articulate, its kind of fascinating. Particularly being born and raised here in the Midwest US.
Thanks to our American friends for praising English folks for being kind and articulate. I'm afraid the programme also shows that we can be unkind and talk nonsense when we are drunk! Worth noting of course that only one of the main characters is English - the others are French and South African.
I found the programme sad and moving but it was also helpful to watch it with my wife so that we could discuss her response to my drinking problem in the light of the show. One thing that's missing from the programme is any mention of a response to alcoholism other than medical treatment - no talk of support networks like this SR or AA - although I understand that talking about AA on TV is difficult.
But when the South African man sobered up by getting a whole drawer full of medicine from his doctor I felt a bit worried. He said it was to treat his psychiatric problems and I'm not medically qualified, so maybe he's right. But to me, it doesn't look like a good long term solution to replace heavy drinking with a dependence on mind altering drugs. For me, using an AA programme, getting a sponsor and working with a counsellor have helped me address depression and anxiety and stop drinking without needing to replace the bottle with pills. I'm not saying medicine never helps but when he pulled open his bedside table drawer to reveal dozens of packets of pills I felt dismayed.
I found the programme sad and moving but it was also helpful to watch it with my wife so that we could discuss her response to my drinking problem in the light of the show. One thing that's missing from the programme is any mention of a response to alcoholism other than medical treatment - no talk of support networks like this SR or AA - although I understand that talking about AA on TV is difficult.
But when the South African man sobered up by getting a whole drawer full of medicine from his doctor I felt a bit worried. He said it was to treat his psychiatric problems and I'm not medically qualified, so maybe he's right. But to me, it doesn't look like a good long term solution to replace heavy drinking with a dependence on mind altering drugs. For me, using an AA programme, getting a sponsor and working with a counsellor have helped me address depression and anxiety and stop drinking without needing to replace the bottle with pills. I'm not saying medicine never helps but when he pulled open his bedside table drawer to reveal dozens of packets of pills I felt dismayed.
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