Alcoholism

[Makaro]

I was wondering about your opinions regarding alcoholism. Namely, do you think it is a moral weakness or a sin to get drunk habitually? Or do you think it is a disease that needs to be treated, very much like cancer?



As someone who spent quite a lot of time near a family member who happened to be an alcoholic, I am inclined to feel that it is a mixture of both. Although alcoholics feel a compulsion to drink, whether to numb their pain or out of chemical dependence, it is ultimately their choice whether or not they want to free themselves.

If you are a former alcoholic, I'm not trying to make generalizations. I only have my own experience to draw off of.

 

[flicka]

Well chemical dependency itself is not a choice is must be treated as a sickness since it manifests itself physically. The initial draw towards alcohol or other substances might be a sign of something but I don't understand what you mean by "moral weakness" since that would depend entirely on what your personal morals are. Some start to drink for social reasons, for fun reasons, never expecting to become addicted. Others go for it to get numb. If that makes them weak then so be it, we are all weak. If we weren't then we would be perfect and we all know THAT'S not possible

 

[RavenPoe]

I wouldn't call it moral weakness, but I do think alcoholism, as with any dependancy, can be part of a person lacking something in their development, and trying to fill the void.

Studies have also been done showing alcoholism having some difference in the chemicals of the brain, and I have a friend who is being treated for alcoholism right now and she is on an anti-addictive medication to help.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

It's not the alcoholic's fault for being physiologically dependent on the substance, but it is his fault if he presents a danger to others (and possibly to himself) when drinking.

 

[Garnet2727]

Hi I'm Garnet and I'm an alcoholic...

It's a realization I came to just recently. I've been sober since my last binge drinking episode on September 10.

Speaking only for myself, I do view my alcoholism as a weakness. I view my behavior of drinking until I passed out as morally wrong. I can't justify it or excuse it. I made choices to drink to excess knowing that it was harmful to myself and to my loved ones.

All I can do now is continue in my struggle for sobriety and try not to kick the stuffings out of myself for behavior that I truly hope is a thing of the past. I've acknowledged the wrongfulness of my actions and apologized to those whom I've harmed. Now, I must prove to myself and others by my actions that I mean it. More than the slogan, "One day at a time," my thoughts center on, "Actions speak louder than words."

 

[Garnet2727]

What? Did I kill the thread?

 

[quatona]

I was wondering about your opinions regarding alcoholism. Namely, do you think it is a moral weakness or a sin to get drunk habitually? Or do you think it is a disease that needs to be treated, very much like cancer?
As someone who spent quite a lot of time near a family member who happened to be an alcoholic, I am inclined to feel that it is a mixture of both. Although alcoholics feel a compulsion to drink, whether to numb their pain or out of chemical dependence, it is ultimately their choice whether or not they want to free themselves.

If you are a former alcoholic, I'm not trying to make generalizations. I only have my own experience to draw off of.

I wouldn´t know how to determine that someone has a choice in something. What I observe is that with changing conditions the desires of persons may change. IOW I doubt that there is such a thing as "choice".

 

[quatona]

It's not the alcoholic's fault for being physiologically dependent on the substance, but it is his fault if he presents a danger to others (and possibly to himself) when drinking.

I do not understand this reasoning.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

I do not understand this reasoning.

The alcoholic is responsible for his actions when drinking. The alcoholic is not responsible for having the brain chemistry that makes him prone to developing alcohol dependency.

 

[quatona]

The alcoholic is responsible for his actions when drinking. The alcoholic is not responsible for having the brain chemistry that makes him prone to developing alcohol dependency.

Telling from experience, I would say that my selfcontrol decreases significantly with the amount of alcohol I have drunk. If we assume that an alcoholic cannot help drinking, I do not really see where "responsibility" would kick in.

 

[Verv]

I have recently come to terms with the fact that I am an alcoholic. I determined this because I could not stop refusing alcoholic beverages, even when I was told not to drink or knew I was going to get sick if I drank anymore. I also was turning it into a competition with others and I felt as if it was the only way that I could have fun. Well, I do not know why I am using the past tense being that this problem is far from resolved...

Alcoholism is a moral weakness, not a disease, and should be treated as a moral weakness. Anything that is determined by you putting the glass to your own mouth is a moral issue. Certainly one becomes convinced in one's mind that they have to drink, but at the end of the day it really is our own personal decision.

 

[Ahazmat]

A physical disease. The science is in. Some people do not process alcohol properly and they become addicted to it. It is not a moral problem after that point, rather it is a disease.
I am not an alcoholic.

 

[RavenPoe]

It is a challenge they must overcome. I support all the alcoholics here to one day at a time resolve to not succumb to the stuff again, and hope you all succeed.

For ones who do not succeed, they should still be accountable for their actions, for regardless of what control they had at the time it was committed, the pain done to others by their actions is not lessened. I do also recall my ex who was an alcoholic going through a phase where he needed to acknowledge and apologize to people he's harmed. Probably one of the 12 steps?

 

[Ahazmat]

It is a challenge they must overcome. I support all the alcoholics here to one day at a time resolve to not succumb to the stuff again, and hope you all succeed.

For ones who do not succeed, they should still be accountable for their actions, for regardless of what control they had at the time it was committed, the pain done to others by their actions is not lessened. I do also recall my ex who was an alcoholic going through a phase where he needed to acknowledge and apologize to people he's harmed. Probably one of the 12 steps?

Some have a moral issue. Many have a physical disease. It is a type of brain disorder.

 

[nvxplorer]

Some have a moral issue. Many have a physical disease. It is a type of brain disorder.

Would you please explain the bolded sentence, in light of your comment in another thread: Maybe the concept of Mental Illness is a scam by some frauds.

 

[Mling]

Research does suggest that it is a physical disease.

HOWEVER

My father is an alcoholic, and both of his parents were, also. He saw what drinking did to them, and still chose to drink, without monitoring himself.
A disease doesn't make him lie about how much he has had to drink.
A disease doesn't make him drink, deliberately, in order to take advantage of the drunkenness (he recently put my sister in a car with somebody my mother specifically said she did not want us meeting. I have never seen him admit that he was drunk before, but this one time, to rile my mother, he decided to drink until he couldn't drive my sister home, and then ask his friend to give her a ride.)
When handed his liquor store receipts, a disease does not make him claim that they are simply "wrong" and refuse to look at them.
Even if his drinking "makes" him hurt people, he is sober when we address what he says and does, and he simply denies the hurt he causes and pours another drink.