vonclod
Rock Crawler
give your dad the support he needs and remember in your own case you are in charge
good luck to your dad and yourself"thumbsup"
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Alcoholism: Disease or Not?
- Thread starter Duuuuuuuude
- Start date
good luck to your dad and yourself"thumbsup"
demonoid369
RCC Addict
Damn I wish my dad would have the will power like alot of you guys have, even after failing rehab twice and numerous doctors warning that any more alcohol WILL kill him, and even me and my brother threatened to stop seeing him. He still drinks, he's got hepatitis A through Z and he looked horrible. Havent seen him for two years, hell I don't even know if he's alive
boogiecash
Pebble Pounder
im lucky i made it and thanks for the support. i did here someone say something about people not dying from drug withdraws. got a question for ya
ever heard of the greatful dead and a man by the name of Jerry Garcia? he died in the Betty Ford clinic from withdraws from heroin. alcohol isn't the only addiction that kills but is one of the worst. i've been unfortunate enough to see alcoholism and drug addiction first hand and they are both a slippery slope not worth trying to go down face first "thumbsup"
ever heard of the greatful dead and a man by the name of Jerry Garcia? he died in the Betty Ford clinic from withdraws from heroin. alcohol isn't the only addiction that kills but is one of the worst. i've been unfortunate enough to see alcoholism and drug addiction first hand and they are both a slippery slope not worth trying to go down face first "thumbsup"
johnnyh66
Scale Detail Engineering
ok, I'm keeping this real short because I don't want to mess it up. I've asked that she write me an email when she has time... and I'll post it.
A quick summary:
Part 1.
In today's medical world, Addiction is classified as a disease because medical treatment is administered as if it were a disease. Prescription drugs, therapy and programs are all based around a set of goals.
Part 2.
Money. Health insurance companies, Medicaid, Medicare... government services and agencies.
Agencies treat addicts and then must be able to bill for their services.
In order to bill, it has to be classified as a medical condition, or disease.
Basically, they needed to put it under an umbrella.
Sorry this is so simple and doesn't really explain much... we had about 3 mins to talk about it while in the car this morning.
She said a lot more but I was unable to retain it because I kept going back to the original question, Is Alcoholism a Disease?
She started to get into the physical and mental changes that take place in the brain throughout a period of addiction. Brain Immaging shows a drastic difference in brain function, behavior and physiological response between addicts, mentally ill people, casual users and non users... I had to stop her here, it was to much for me to process in our short trip.... sorry.
She suggested if you really want to learn about addiction, watch HBO's series Addiction.
http://www.hbo.com/addiction/
Nora D. Volkow, M.D., head of The National Institute on Drug Abuse, is interviewed and speaks on the subject throughout the films.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/welcome/volkowpage.html
vonclod
Rock Crawler
call it a disease and there is money to be made creating an infastructure to treat and cure the disease..not that i,mat all against people seeking and getting help..if calling it a disease makes that happen
There, I streamlined it for you. "thumbsup"
johnnyh66
Scale Detail Engineering
yup, round and round we go where we stop nobody knows!
And I agree, if it gets people the help they need, then play the game and get it done...as fawked up as that is.
But really my issue is that by calling it a disease it releases the user from any responsibility for their actions. Personally, I'd find it rather depressing to be told that it was out of my control and will be something I'll have to struggle with for the rest of my life because its just the way I am. Screw that. If I'm broken I wanna fix whatever it is and get back on track.
That, and the whole "call it a disease to make money and to make it socially acceptable" thing that is based on fraudulent and completely biased research done for personal gain is a bit of an irritation as well.
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I agree with the effects of calling it a disease and saying it's something you have to live with all your life. Kind of like the saying you hear in AA circles "always and alcoholic". Really, I was once an addict but am no longer. I have friends who were alcoholic that now drink socially because they actually dealt with the root of their issues and got past needing the alcohol as a crutch.
So basically in the end a profit can be made from it being classified as a disease so there you go.
I am glad I don't have to live my life with my addiction hanging over my head like there's nothing that can be done except to hope with constant help (money spent) I can hold it back.
skid
Rock Crawler
Valid points, I think there's some things you can't permanently fix, but you can make changes for the better. Calling it disease and using it as an excuse is not right. A person has to still be responsible for some things. State of mind is a huge influence.
There is no profit in the cure, only in the ongoing treatment.
In the past 3 years I've had a few customers, a relative, and a friend battle cancer. Out of that handful, I've known 4 of them fairly well. Out of those 4, I could tell whether they would live or die. My predictions were based soley on their personalities.
The two that I knew would beat it were both ornery, stubborn, and full of what old timers call "piss and vinegar". The other two were pretty much the exact opposite.
One was my step dad-in-law. He was a tough old bugger. Unfortunately I was wrong in my prediction, though it was his 3rd go round with the big C (colon, then lung, and finally spinal cancer) and he got to the point where he was unwilling to deal with the pain any longer and let go. The first two times he came out like a champ. He also had a stroke somewhere in there and lost mobility on his left side, which he overcame.
The other survivor had a similar demeanor, and even though his treatments reduced him to nothing more than a bag of bones, I had no doubt he would pull through. Which he did, and he's doing fine.
The other two, the opposites, were dead within a few short months of diagnosis. They were making arrangements for their passing before they even started chemo.
So yes, state of mind is absolutely an influence.
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