What's the thing with alcohol?

[Wildstar]

Good question......Australian is known for its love affair with alcohol...the drug of choice for those who do not believe that they are drug addicts. Any drug that takes away good sense and leads to violence or poor decision making, is not an asset in life IMO. Perhaps the fact that you feel good before you kill yourself has something to do with it...? I don’t get it either....

One only has to be the only person NOT drunk at a gathering to understand why everyone must drink......they have no idea how stupid they look and act because they are all doing it and won’t remember it tomorrow.

Monday at the workplace is a sad scene with those trying to function after a weekend that will largely be a blur....

Cab drivers having to clean up vomit out of their vehicles several times a night...... eeeeww...

Alcohol abuse is the world’s most common drug problem and such is the level of abuse and dependence that they can never ban the stuff that causes so much trouble for so many people.....not to mention the drain on the health system trying to cope with the aftermath of weekend binges. Drugs and alcohol...what a recipe for disaster....and every ER in the world is under threat because of it. Who knew that being a paramedic or an ER doc would need police protection?

Alcohol is the scourge of the world, not because there is anything wrong with the product, but because people can not control how much they drink and the impact it can have on them physically, mentally, and in their relationships.

Good thread.....needs talking about.

Alcohol is not to blame, the human craving for “happiness” is. Likewise, self medicating through use of alcohol and other drugs…

 

[Deeje]

I knew a couple who were drinking buddies and their alcoholism was shared with the result that more money was spent on alcohol than food. They were both undernourished......the wife was told by doctors to stop her drinking because her liver was very enlarged and she was running out of doctors in our town to go to.....they all told her the same thing and offered to help, but she was not listening. She died of liver failure at the age of 36......leaving behind a young daughter. It was so tragic to see the denial and the dependence, but it shocked the husband so deeply that he then took steps to end his own alcohol dependence. At least it had one good effect.

 

[Quagmire]

Eight new threads (including this one) are one way or another about alcohol. That says to me there must be a keen fascination with the stuff. Having only once in my life been drunk, over 30 years ago and only rarely sipping at a glass of the loopy juice i just do not see the fascination of alcohol.

Would anyone like to enlighten me?

I don't know, but it's kind of mean since one of our members is going into rehab today.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Culture has a lot to answer for, in my opinion. When I was a youth it was more about loosening the tongue amongst friends, so being more convivial (appropriate word often used to disguise our bad habits), than getting drunk. Not sure what might wean so many off the aim of getting drunk when so many others have a similar aim (but different) with recreational drugs. The few times I did get drunk, I was lucky not to have had an accident or anything similar. I once thumbed a lift home and offered to drive (accepted) when I realised I was more sober than them. They had possibly nicked the car anyway but fortunately nothing came of it.

 

[Martin]

I was raised as a Roman Catholic, and had priests as a role model....

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

when I was in my late teens and early twenties I occasionally drank too much and got reasonably plastered, but never enjoyed the experience.
In my middle years I occasionally had wine with my meals and even at parties rarely drank enough to be the slightest tipsy. For the past thirty years or so I have hardly ever had alcohol much at all. Just the occasional drink with a meal or at a Rugby match.

I had a look in my drinks cupboard the other day, every thing untouched for the last 25 years. and some really good spirits in there and a few excellent reinforced wines like sherry and port, so they would all still be good to go. A couple or so bottles of wine that might be iffy and some bottled special brews that would be well past their prime. and probably mostly vinegar now.

My last drink was at or just after Christmas, I can't actually remember?

 

[ChristineM]

I don't know, but it's kind of mean since one of our members is going into rehab today.

He knows he has problems and is doing his best to put them behind him. Good on him

 

[ChristineM]

Nope. It would be a long journey best done in person.
Suffice to say one of the things I miss the most is a small bar where you can talk, a couple of friends, and some really good quality beer.

*Sighs*

You talk to your beer... Or did i read that wrong?

 

[ChristineM]

I once knew someone who went to bed drunk, woke up drunk, and started drinking again. Sadly he passed away from doing such things at a young age of 49.

I knew 2 people like that, my grandfather who never had anything to drink if it didn't contain alcohol, kidney failure took him in his mid 50s. And a school friend who not only abused alcohol but drugs too. He wound up with hepatitis and leukemia.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

You talk to your beer... Or did i read that wrong?

I still talk to my beer. I can do that during lockdown.
It's just the friends around the bar table I can't talk to right now.