Why is being an alcholic looked down on?

just curious.Andrew_is_basic

1. The type of people who drink it on a daily basis are idiots.
2. They're one of the main causes of accidents on the road.
3. All of the above...

It's only relatively recently that alcoholism has come to be viewed (correctly) as a disease. Alcoholics have historically been looked down on because it was seen as a matter of willpower, and lack of willpower was equated with weakness. This is now known to be an oversimplification of a difficult physical problem, usually genetic in origin.

Re MichaeltheCM's post: hmmmm in some cultures it isnt but for some reason it is in Western culture. who knows !, a Dr. Milar (Milan?) in his book Under the Influence points out that Jews and Italians have a low rate of alcholism, Northern Europeans have a pretty high rate, and Native Americans an extremely high rate. The first group has had alcohol in their culture for thousands of years, the second for about 1500 years, and Native Americans for a few hundred. As I understand it, Eastern Asians can become rather violently ill from drinking too much.

I would seriously recommend Milar's book to all, but especially to those who have a propensity to overachieve!

[QUOTE="LIKETOPLAYGAMES"]

Again, I must ask you to research this disorder further in order to get a clear understanding of the condition. Forget the stereotype you have in your head, every alcoholic is not Barney on the simpsons. I have never wrecked a car, never been fired, never have been arrested "well for that at least" and have never asked for money to be bailed out. However I cannot go an entire day without alcohol,My body has extremely adverse effects e.g.tremors, etc.You must understand that an alcoholic could be your school principle, a church leader, or any other position you find respectable. Alcoholism does not mean flaming drunken spells and passing out and puking, it merely means addiction, again I must say, I am a very responsible person, a nice person, a caring person, and If you saw me or met me you would have no idea of the constant torment that this addiction holds on my life. I understand that this forum is child/teenage based and understand your complaints of me comparing it to cancer, but I hold firm in my statement. Neither condition is curable, only treatable, and believe me I know you will say "just stop drinking" you cant, it's a progressive disease and the alcoholic will stop at NOTHING in order to consume alcohol, it is not controllable by yourself, and is treatable with positive results only about 10 to 20 per cent of the time. Please do not argue your points if you know nothing about the disease of addiction. I do URGE you to further research this condition though, argue with me all you want but learn something interesting and new and check wikipedia or any other trusted source about this. I'm sure you may change your minds on the issue, or at least get a better understanding. *POURS FROSTY ONE FROM KEG*

Fortier

You compared alchoholism and cancer and haven't withdrawn the statement...I don't seriously think you can believe they compare. Alchoholism can be defeated through willpower, regardless of the adverse physical effects from withdrawl. That's the price you pay for letting it go that far. Cancer cannot be overcome through such means.

Regardles of you saying otherwise...you can stop drinking through sheer willpower, and its not something that is out of your control. Any addiction you create, you can destroy. Look at former niccotine addictsand cocaine junkies. Cocaine creates a stronger physical dependence in your body for it than alchohol does. If people can overcome that, there is absolutely no reason alchoholism can't be overcome in the same fashion.

I can't agree with that. Alcoholism cannot be beaten through willpower alone. There have been studies done that show that the drug changes certain chemicals and aspects in the brain that affect behavior; basically the drug hijacks the brain to a certain extent. Have you ever seen an extreme alcoholic drinking themselves to death as they are crying, screaming, pleading? It is not so simple as willpower. This is why the relapse rate is so high, and recovery programs are in place. Sure, a spark of determination must be there, but many times intervention is needed to uncover it and allow it ot grow out of the drug's grasp. Addiction used to be seen as a moral failing, yet after more studies it's been shown that there is much, muchmore to it than the common sense conclusion of "just stop".

Speaking as someone who is a cancer survivor, while it's true that it cannot be beaten through willpower alone, ultimately it is the most important and vital component of treatment and recovery. To get through chemo and radiation takes tremendous willpower. It is not pleasant, and I'd recommend taking every measure to avoid it.

[QUOTE="LIKETOPLAYGAMES"]

I have never wrecked a car, never been fired, never have been arrested "well for that at least" and have never asked for money to be bailed out.

MrGeezer

Well then I don't have a problem with you, do I?

I drink way too ****ing much too, but I still manage to hold a job, pay my bills, and do the things that I have to do. If I want to have a dozen drinks after work, and it doesn't **** things up, what business is it of yours?

On the other hand, if you walk up to me stinking of liquor and start bugging me for ****ing money, I'm gonna tell you to **** the **** right off. I don't care if you've got a disease. That's not the point. The point is that you won't stop ****ing bothering me.

But yeah, I tend to look down on the OBVIOUS alcoholics, because they are the ones most likely to **** things up for me. As you said, lots of alcoholics hide their alcoholism and manage to function more or less normally without seeming to be alcoholics. And yeah, in those cases, I DON'T know that they're alcoholics. Which means that they're cool with me, because they're hiding their alcoholism well enough so as to not **** up my groove.

But if you're an alcoholic, and I can tell that you're an alcoholic, I'm gonna look down on you. If you can't even avoid being an OBVIOUS alcoholic (which is EASY compared to not being an alcoholic), then I'm gonna assume that you're gonna **** things up for me. Looking like you're not gonna **** things up is a hell of a lot easier than actually not ****ing things up. And if you can't even do the easy part, I'm gonna assume that you can't do the difficult part either.

That is a good point, I do hear you there but now your talking different degrees of alcoholism and throw the whole homeless thing in and were in another ballgame. That "type" of Drunk is frowned upon, (by me also) but I just wanted to prove a point earlier. However I enjoyed your story, I live in a small city so that is all to common. I'm gonna go puke and pass out now. Peace !

Because they're pretty jive, sometimes.

Most are on the floor the vast majority of the time anyway