Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I want to address this part of your post. The Temperance Movement is what caused so many religious people to eschew alcohol. When it became a part of religious "doctrine" I don't know. I do not think that religions frown on alcohol consumption because of a desire to keep things grim, or of a fear of having fun.
Historically, alcohol was a big social problem in the 1800s onward. It was the norm for working class men to drink their paychecks up, literally, leaving their families to starve. The Temperance Movement was a social effort to stop these abuses, by getting people to sign pledges to abstain. Of course this ultimately led to Prohibition, which as everyone knows, did not fix anything. And there are lessons in the failure of the Great Experiment, which the modern drug war should look to.
I also was raised not to drink alcohol, and even today I seldom do. I actually don't feel I need it, except to cook with. When I do drink wine, I feel mainly thirsty. And I seem to talk too much. It isn't my natural state. But I don't condemn others who drink. And you will note that I only gave some links, in my original post. I can't speak to this with authority at all.
For me, eating high carbohydrate foods alone and in secret, would be similar to your drinking alone. We are indulging ourselves too much, and we are doing it alone because why? Maybe to compensate, maybe to feel indulgent, maybe because we were raised too strictly. I don't know. But unbridled excess does not lead to anything good. And I suspect that is what is bothering you. If you feel guilty, then pay attention. You can ease up, and you might be happier. There is nothing wrong with controlling your intake of alcohol; there is certainly everything right with me curtailing my intake of ice cream! I do feel better when I am under control.
I don't know if any of this helps you. I sympathize with you as find your footing here. Good luck to you.
All true.
Anti-drinking laws were enacted for fear of immigrants over indulging in alcohol. Immigrants from Southern Europe, Eastern, Europe, German and Scandinavian Europe were not taught that drinking was essentially wrong. They were taught that it was good! Good with dinner. Real wine wine with communion. Drinking was normal and accepted.
How did the WASP aristocracy deal with this? They promoted abstinence and eventually, Prohibition.
Did they stop drinking? NO.
They started private clubs - known as "Country Clubs" were the laws of the land did not apply to them.
So the upper middle class and above could drink. The new immigrants were relegated to moonshine and bathtub gin. Often causing death.
If AA works for some people (2% is what I have read) - fine. Good.
However, as others on this thread have suggested - it is cult like.
I can mention food. I like to stay thin. So, sometimes I over indulge. And then, I watch it. I may have a fasting day. Or a week when I eat light.
It is doubtful that anyone who has taken a liking to drinking will ever stop.
AA creates a false choice and indeed tells almost everyone who enjoys a drink that they are chocoholics.
Unless AA has somehow negatively affected your lives, why do you care so much that they've helped so many?
Because the reality is AA and the American perspective of it had likely done more harm than good. People with mental health issues need professional help.
Because the reality is AA and the American perspective of it had likely done more harm than good. People with mental health issues need professional help.
Where is this "reality"? This sounds ludicrous. Alcoholism is a mental health issue. It is 'cured' by stopping drink. AA is proven to do that. How much is debatable, but that it does have a very good success rate relatively speaking, using many different matrixs, is not.
Where is this "reality"? This sounds ludicrous. Alcoholism is a mental health issue. It is 'cured' by stopping drink. AA is proven to do that. How much is debatable, but that it does have a very good success rate relatively speaking, using many different matrixs, is not.
I have already cited the fact that its success rate is pretty terrible.
Substance dependency and mental health disorders are two distinctly separate things that often come together.
I have already cited the fact that its success rate is pretty terrible.
Substance dependency and mental health disorders are two distinctly separate things that often come together.
Its not a "Fact". You can find stats on the internet that will bolster any opinion. For or against. A lot of "antis" are pushed by for-profit rehabs. There are ads for them on TV. Those are not credible. The only reason I am pro-AA, is I spent a LOT of time in mental facilities and rehabs for a period in the 90's trying to beat booze. The mental facilities were a joke. Their focus was on trying to find a scapegoat(Parents) for peoples ills. The rehabs on the other hand, were more realistic in their approach. ITs a "you" issue, do you want to clean up? Nobody can do it but you" No coddling, no dopey psychiatrists telling you its not your fault and pushing drugs. AA was a huge part of the real fix. Not all of it, but a big part. And again, the information "anti" people have posted here is not even close to anything I experienced sticking with the program for years. No cultists, no religious zealots, no weirdos. Just normal people with a desire to make themselves better. I know people who dont even drink who could use the program. ITs that good.
If you can not drink booze and not go through withdrawal you are not an addict. The end
Addiction has been abused to extend into the realm of mental illness, addiction is a condition developed via dependance on a substance.
Asking doesnt make you an addict. Not going 6 months without a drink does not make you an addict. A physical dependance on a substance makes you an addict.
AA has done alot of damage to alcohol addiction treatment and mentality in this country.
......Road apples! You can easily be an alcoholic and not be physically addicted to alcohol. In my peak drinking years, I could (and often did) go through a fifth of Tanqueray a night. If not gin, then I'd drink a fifth of 100 proof schnapps and a six pack of something....every night for months at a time. I'd have blackouts, get into fights and ended up in the drunk tank more than once. BUT - when I had to, I could go without booze with little or no adverse physical effects save for some sleepless nights. Being an alcoholic isn't necessarily about how much you drink but how it affects you when you do drink.
We can sit here all day and argue over the semantics of just what makes an alcoholic and the definitions of addiction, abuse and dependencey but the bottom line is only answerable by oneself. If you feel that alcohol is having adverse effects on your life ie. relationship problems, money problems, DWIs, fights or you're becoming physically dependant on the drink, then you should probably give it up for a while.
Personally. I don't see the OP as having a problem but only he can answer that question.
The disturbing thing I see lately is all the AA bashing. If it weren't for AA, I probably wouldn't have quit when I did. I do not follow the christian god and I wasn't brainwashed by AA into doing anything I didn't want to do. What AA did for me was to show me that there are other people out there who feel as I do, it also gave me a place to go and something to do in the first few months after I quit drinking. It was something that filled the void. It gave me people to talk to and through discussions about alcohol and it's abuses, it gave me insight that enabled me to change my perspective...............and sometimes that's all it takes to change your life - altering your perspective.
It's not fair to trash the whole AA program because of a few closed minded but well intentioned zealots. Like they say - take what you need and leave the rest. I did and it worked not only to keep me from drinking, I gained a whole new attitude on life.
......Road apples! You can easily be an alcoholic and not be physically addicted to alcohol. In my peak drinking years, I could (and often did) go through a fifth of Tanqueray a night. If not gin, then I'd drink a fifth of 100 proof schnapps and a six pack of something....every night for months at a time. I'd have blackouts, get into fights and ended up in the drunk tank more than once. BUT - when I had to, I could go without booze with little or no adverse physical effects save for some sleepless nights. Being an alcoholic isn't necessarily about how much you drink but how it affects you when you do drink.
We can sit here all day and argue over the semantics of just what makes an alcoholic and the definitions of addiction, abuse and dependencey but the bottom line is only answerable by oneself. If you feel that alcohol is having adverse effects on your life ie. relationship problems, money problems, DWIs, fights or you're becoming physically dependant on the drink, then you should probably give it up for a while.
Personally. I don't see the OP as having a problem but only he can answer that question.
The disturbing thing I see lately is all the AA bashing. If it weren't for AA, I probably wouldn't have quit when I did. I do not follow the christian god and I wasn't brainwashed by AA into doing anything I didn't want to do. What AA did for me was to show me that there are other people out there who feel as I do, it also gave me a place to go and something to do in the first few months after I quit drinking. It was something that filled the void. It gave me people to talk to and through discussions about alcohol and it's abuses, it gave me insight that enabled me to change my perspective...............and sometimes that's all it takes to change your life - altering your perspective.
It's not fair to trash the whole AA program because of a few closed minded but well intentioned zealots. Like they say - take what you need and leave the rest. I did and it worked not only to keep me from drinking, I gained a whole new attitude on life.
What do you think the inability to sleep due to the lack of booze is exactly?
It is doubtful that anyone who has taken a liking to drinking will ever stop.
This just isn't true....A lot of people easily stop drinking. They stop because they tire of the lifestyle. They stop because they want to improve their health. They stop because their spouses don't drink. Lots of situations prompt people to stop drinking.
People who like chocolate don't stop eating that. No one needs chocolate. But when people say they can "never eat chocolate again" - problems seem to arise.
People probably shouldn't say "I'll never eat chocolate again". A better approach would be, "I'm not going to eat chocolate for awhile." and see how it goes.
And just like non-alcoholics who are able to stop drinking, people give up chocolate too.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
