Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
it's the same disease: addiction. it's the drug of choice that differs; sometimes the behavior of choice:
-alcohol
-crack/cocaine
-heroin/opiates
-gambling
-sex
-marijuana
-pills
these are all addictions. look at AA. it's been adapted/modified to assist not only alcoholics, but narcotic addicts, sex addicts, gambling addicts, and food addicts. the twelve steps may differ from program to program, but the basis is the same.
i walked into an NA meeting once and walked right back out. i've stuck around for AA meetings. i've considered finding a home meeting. but alcohol has never been my first drug of choice.... until all my other drugs were taken away, that is.
why the different stigmas associated with alcoholics and other drug addicts? we've all heard the term 'functioning alcoholic'; most of us probably know one. how many of us really have seen 'functioning heroin addicts' in action? 'functioning meth addicts'? they exist, but the stigma is different. if you're a crack or heroin user, you're a junkie; you're in the gutter. if you're a cocaine user, you party too much and are high strung, possibly maintaining a job but not a full on junkie. if you're an alcoholic, you can run the gamut of in the streets to professional who puts on a great face.
so why do i identify more with alcoholics? is it because i grew up surrounded by alcoholics in denial and i'm familiar with the patterns? is it because it's my most recent addiction? is it because alcoholics are less judgmental than other addicts? or is it the 'clientele', so to speak. most alcoholics in recovery seem more mature, they seem more ready to take recovery seriously. they seem more interested in WORKING THEIR RECOVERY? is that it?
does that mean alcoholics and addicts of other drugs are NOT the same? should alcoholism be treated differently than other addictions? addictive behavior is addictive behavior: what is the difference that makes one addict pick crack, one pick meth, one pick alcohol?
-alcohol
-crack/cocaine
-heroin/opiates
-gambling
-sex
-marijuana
-pills
these are all addictions. look at AA. it's been adapted/modified to assist not only alcoholics, but narcotic addicts, sex addicts, gambling addicts, and food addicts. the twelve steps may differ from program to program, but the basis is the same.
i walked into an NA meeting once and walked right back out. i've stuck around for AA meetings. i've considered finding a home meeting. but alcohol has never been my first drug of choice.... until all my other drugs were taken away, that is.
why the different stigmas associated with alcoholics and other drug addicts? we've all heard the term 'functioning alcoholic'; most of us probably know one. how many of us really have seen 'functioning heroin addicts' in action? 'functioning meth addicts'? they exist, but the stigma is different. if you're a crack or heroin user, you're a junkie; you're in the gutter. if you're a cocaine user, you party too much and are high strung, possibly maintaining a job but not a full on junkie. if you're an alcoholic, you can run the gamut of in the streets to professional who puts on a great face.
so why do i identify more with alcoholics? is it because i grew up surrounded by alcoholics in denial and i'm familiar with the patterns? is it because it's my most recent addiction? is it because alcoholics are less judgmental than other addicts? or is it the 'clientele', so to speak. most alcoholics in recovery seem more mature, they seem more ready to take recovery seriously. they seem more interested in WORKING THEIR RECOVERY? is that it?
does that mean alcoholics and addicts of other drugs are NOT the same? should alcoholism be treated differently than other addictions? addictive behavior is addictive behavior: what is the difference that makes one addict pick crack, one pick meth, one pick alcohol?
alcoholics and addicts are separated in so many ways. even in state funded agencies in new york - alcohol and substance abuse. alcoholism and chemical dependency. alcoholics and addicts. alcoholics are only addicted to one substance (if they are only alcoholics) and that is alcohol. but substance abusers or addicts can be addicted to host of other chemicals/behaviors.
i've often wondered why i felt more 'at home' with alcoholics. why i identified more with them even when i wasn't considering myself an alcoholic. addiction is addiction is addiction, whether it's alcohol or heroin or sex. the behavior is the problem; someone mentioned coping (i'm sorry, i have a poor memory for things like that). for many, many addicts, that's what it is - the inability to cope with stressors in one's environment. the addictive behavior is a coping mechanism.
substances as coping make sense, right? i mean, you're putting a substance into your body that alters how you feel. most go right to the happy parts of the brain, the reward center, reinforcing the idea that using this substance again would be good. even the behaviors - gambling, sex, eating - they affect the same section of the brain. yes, ingesting alcohol or smoking crack affect the brain/body in additional ways, but that reward and pleasure center of the brain is affected either way.
also, i didn't mention tobacco; i'm not sure why. perhaps because there are not really any anonymous groups to tackle this addiction? or maybe because tobacco use is still not treated like an addiction the same as other substances? i'm not sure. i didn't mention caffeine either. ;)
As for functional or not, to me it's the level of deciept.
I was a functioning alcoholic and bulimic. But if those closest knew what I was doing? Yikes. So was I functional or the *most* dysfunctional?
My sister was a functional junkie for 10 yrs before the wheels came off her dysfunction spectacularly and she almost lost two limbs.
Does it matter what we are labelled? I don't think so as we are all as sick as our secrets and as well as we allow ourselves to become.
On a recent holiday I spain at an english speaking AA meeting I was surprised how many men and women when asked to introduce themselves identified as alcoholic addict. orthe other way around. Maybe 60% or so Strangley or maybe not I felt very comfortable and at home with this group both in the sharing and post meeting coffee chat I have only ever been of tbe alcoholic variety
Rough ride, but I'm grateful to have had them placed in my path. The GA guy came to AA meetings too, and that's where he related to people more and continued on. I didn't know he was an alcoholic in rehab, and neither did he. No judgement on anyone who comes to AA with a desire to stop drinking. More shall be revealed, as it was for my mate.
-need for more of the substance due to increased tolerance
-experiencing withdrawal symptoms or using to avoid withdrawal symptoms
-using more or for a longer period than originally intended
-attempts in the past to control or stop using
-impact on social, vocational, educational, or personal activities
-spending a lot of time obtaining, using, or recovering from using
-continued use despite experiencing recurrent problems (legal or otherwise)
a diagnosis of addiction is made after only four of these criteria being met. even in AA, admitting that we are powerless over alcohol and that it is what controls our lives - that's the same as any other drug. my point here being that alcoholics and addicts are treated the same from a treatment standpoint.
i can appreciate the idea of alcoholics feeling more comfortable in a group of people with the same addiction, same as gamblers in GA and heroin users in NA. i would think that makes sense for most addicts. i guess i've always wondered why i feel different. i introduce myself as an addict and alcoholic when i go to AA because i know that everyone there is an alcoholic, and i feel obligated to identify myself as one so they know i'm not there just for fun or whatever. i now recognize that alcohol turned into my substance of choice. switching addictions is a real thing. there is a lot of research to support that.
coogee, what you say - that none of you were 'the same' in the GA group - i think that's the key. terminal uniqueness is discussed in AA. each addict thinks their story is the ONLY one like that, i'm SO SPECIAL and my case is SO DIFFERENT from anyone else's. yes, my story of addiction is much different than anyone else's here, but we're all addicts. when you take away all the crap surrounding it, we're all addicts. i think that's why AA and other 12 step programs work so well - they strip away all of that crap. we all have to discuss it and acknowledge it and work through it, but we're all addicts. that's what we all have in common, that's the common denominator that unites us all. there is nothing all that unique about my addiction.
I began AA in Oct '92 wiith 8 other people who got to AA with a needle in their arms. All but 1 relapsed on their drug of choice.
Addicts have to control how much they use so they don't OD. Alcoholics lose control after the first drink.
Past that, yep not a debate I choose to have anymore goes round in circles :)
Booze is the thing I relate to most. Glad I found a bunch of folks where I can talk about that
P
One size doesnt fit all. Cookie cutting promotes misinformation.
I was responsible for running a saloon I owned. My responsibility wasnt just to make money; and protect my liquor license, but it was also to protect my customers. Therefore, I was able to control what I drank while tending bar. In other words, I would drink, but not to excess where I wouldnt get drunk.
BTW, the mere fact that I had to control my drinking is a major symptom of alcoholism. Almost invariably those that are not alcoholic have no need to control their drinking, due to the fact that drinking or not drinking isnt an issue with non-alcoholics. Only alcoholics make an issue of drinking or not drinking.
Marijuana addicts dont OD.
Here is an article that talks specifically about alcohol:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/news/20120111/study-sheds-more-light-on-why-some-get-alcoholism
To be fair, there are differences in the effects on the brain based on the addictive substance, even though the basics are the same. (For ex., cocaine has a different profile in how it changes neurophysiological systems than depressants.)
The big difference that I see between alcohol addiction and illegal drug addiction (or abuse of prescribed drugs) is that drinking is not only legal, it plays a huge role in our society. Drugs like heroin are are NOT socially acceptable. Marijuana is in a different place -- it has proven helpful to people in chronic pain or undergoing chemo, and I think that is making it more acceptable in general.
The science is not up for debate -- but the effects on society and how to best treat different addictions sure are.