There are many reasons I never sought treatment for my excessive drinking. But basically, it comes down to one thing: I never saw myself as an alcoholic. I didn’t fit the profile or my image of what an alcoholic looks like. Below are ten common myths about alcoholics that helped me justify my continual drinking: [...]
Because alcoholism and drug abuse are often seen to be genetic, a movement is taking place to classify these illnesses as official disabilities. This may seem like an innocuous idea, but the ramifications are extensive. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) currently recognizes alcoholism as a disability. As such, employers may not refuse to hire [...]
As a manager, when I hire someone, the first thing I tell them is that if they have something important to tell me or something I need to remember, that they need to “write it down”. I jokingly tell them how I “fried my brains in the 80’s”. This is not far from the truth. [...]
Uncle Jack used to drink. A lot. I can never remember ever seeing him without a drink in his hand. In the daytime he would drink beer. Maybe he would have a glass of wine with dinner. After that, he hit the hard stuff. He would stick with Jack Daniels, or any kind of whiskey [...]
After I quit drinking, it took me a couple of years before I would try a non-alcoholic beer. My AA friends were adamant about not drinking non-alcoholic beers. The “slippery slope” argument applied. Even a sip of N-A beer would lead me back to Bud. I was surprised how good my first O’Doul’s tasted. Not [...]
In my family, several members have died “from alcoholism”. Of course you can’t die from an addiction – you die from a disease caused by the addiction. These people died from cirrhosis of the liver or alcoholic hepatitis. Either way, alcohol killed them. Alcohol does a real number on the liver. By keeping the body [...]
We often think of alcoholism as only affecting the alcoholic. Alcoholism, however, is often referred to as “the family disease” because of its effects on everyone around the alcoholic. If a parent is an alcoholic, it affects the children and the spouse. Children who grow up in alcoholic households suffer from personality issues and disorders [...]
When I was in college, our drinking habits did not have a name. We simply “partied”. Apparently, we were binge drinkers. Once known as “heavy episodic drinking”, the modern definition of “binge drinking” is consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in one session. Some definitions reduce that number to four drinks for females. The type [...]
If you are an alcoholic, you may at one time or another, asked your higher power or even yourself, “Why Me?” Why was I chosen to suffer this affliction? Why do I have a lack of control when others can drink at will with no problem? During most of the 19th and 20th century, alcoholism [...]
One of my favorite Jerry Seinfeld episodes involves a discussion between Jerry and Elaine. Elaine asks, “So you’re saying that 95% of our population is undatable?” “Undatable!” Jerry exclaims. “Then how are all these people getting together?” she asks. “Alcohol,” is his answer. There is a certain amount of truth to this statement. Social drinking [...]
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