The demons of alcohol - Page 5

violann · ‎03-10-2010

@deedledeedeedle wrote:
@Goodie2shoes, please accept my condolences upon the death of your family member. My heart goes out to you and her nine children. Hopefully they have some good memories of better times with their mom. Loving a relative who is alcoholic is horrendous. Time after time you've witnessed their life circling the drain and were powerless to help. Nobody sets out wanting to be an alcoholic or having a family member struggle with it.

I don't consifer myself superior because I am not an alcoholic and also try not to pass judgement on others because every human has their own cross to bear. We focus on drugs and alcohol because to some it seems to be solely self induced. I prefer to think that genetics and upbringing also factor into dependency needs. Someone here mentioned sweets (carbs) and I know today if I were told I could never have desserts or sweets again I would fail eliminating that from my diet.

dee

People who don't HAVE substance craving disorders can RARELY understand how seriously the problem can impact the sufferer.

Most of us have either HEARD or SAID "Just STOP (eating, drinking, smoking, gambling, etc etc etc,) AND YOU'LL BE FINE"........

But If we could, WE WOULD. This I will swear to you, NO ONE who dies of a substance addiction WANTS to be an addict. SOME of us can find the solution to the VERY complex problem, but it took me over 50 years to find a combination of behavioral management tools, psychological incentives, and community support to find a LONG TERM SYSTEM that allowed me to change my approach to my addiction and learn to manage it, one day at a time and often enough, one minute at a time.

Demons? Not the way I characterize it for myself, but IF IT HELPS, I couldn't object. For some, a way to describe the tumultuous battle of being controlled and broken by an internal cyclone.

Group 5 minus 1 · ‎03-11-2010

Carbs, sweets, I do not think one is necessarily the other. But,not sure.

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@violann How brave and proud you should be! That is no small feat. Congratulations on perservering and finding a way.

This just hit my family in a very big bad way over the weekend and we are in the midst of figuring it all out. I must have been meant to see this today. Best wishes to you in all you do and have accomplished. You give the rest of us an education and hope.

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@Goodie2shoes I am so sorry for the loss of your niece. I will say an extra prayer for her and her children. Virtual hugs to you.

brandiwine · ‎03-11-2010

I'm very sorry for your loss and your family's loss. I grew up with an alcoholic parent and had a sister hooked on alcohol and prescription drugs. After watching them I made a decision not to follow in their footsteps. Anytime I think I need a drink, I have water or iced tea. If I have surgery and need prescription pain meds I inform the Dr not to prescribe more than 10 pills. Alcohol does not have to control you, you can control it. I have no sympathy for the addict, but have tons for those who have to live with and deal with the mess they leave. For those who are enablers, you need help as well. You just make it easy for them. At some point addicts have to take responsibility for their own actions.

CalminHeart · ‎03-09-2010

@Trinity11 wrote:
@Goodie2shoes wrote:
@CalminHeart wrote: My sister is an alcoholic so I do understand your point of view. I have had to distance myself some because her lies and abuse (of me). It is a disease, just like diabetes or cancer, and hard to overcome. I pray every day that she'll take recovery seriously but it hasn't happened yet.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this and I fully understand. My sister who was my niece's mom was a alcoholic for most of her adult life. She was a constant drunk who was advised many times that she was killing herself, developed liver disease but the demon continued to control her life. She was 60 yrs old when she died. Love your sister at a distance as you mentioned and keep praying for her. As I noted Diabetes can be overcome because I am now considered a pre-diabetic because I changed my diet. No longer on medication and eating a healthy diet. Take care !
Actually, Type 1 diabetes CANNOT be overcome. I constantly read on these forums posts about it and just wanted to clear up the misinformation. Also, many Type 2 diabetics when diagnosed have limited pancreatic function and through no fault of their own, cannot "overcome" their illness.

I realize one can't overcome diabetes. But it can be controlled with diet and medication/insulin most of the time.

Alcoholism can't be overcome either. Alcoholism can be controlled when a person wants treatment and throws himself/herself into it and counseling.

My sister claims to want treatment. She's been through treatment many times but refuses to do everything asked of her in those programs. It takes more than just wanting treatment.

Love4cats · ‎03-09-2010

@Goodie2shoes wrote:
Today was a sad day for my family. I lost a niece to the demons of alcohol. She was only about 40 yrs old with 9 children of which the oldest is only 24. She had been in rehab several times but walked away and went back to her best friend the booze bottle. I'm writing this to say that this was not necessary and she had so much to live for. I guess I'm just needing to express my feelings and this is my way of doing it. She was the second child of one of my sisters (I have 3 of 4 left) and her mom which is the sister who died in 2017 was also a alcoholic and also died from the same demon. One would think my niece would have pushed hard to get away from the demon knowing how it took her mom but that was not the case. We all have something we are dealing with in this world and sometimes you think you will never be free of it but keep pressing forward and never let it take complete control of your precious life. God Bless

I am so sorry for your loss. Any addiction is so difficult for the person and all who know and love them. Many in my family have struggled with addiction's with many substance's. I have struggled with alcohol since I was a teen. I have alway's suffered from depression and terrible anxiety and think that is one of reason's reason I used it. Of course alcohol only make's those worse. I have given it up for year's at a time through out my whole life, sometime's for as long as 10 year's, but ended up going back to it. On January of 2015 I stop drinking and so far so good, have not gone back to it. I have a nephew that is drinking terribly right now and my heart break's for him because I know the struggle and I can encourage him to stop but I can't do it for him. Some people just can't fight the addiction and it end's up taking their life. It is so sad for the person and those around them.

Katcat1 · ‎07-21-2011

@Goodie2shoes So sorry for your loss. It sounds like she did not want to fight it and gave in. It's very sad but true if someone in your family is an alcoholic one or all of their children may be. My ex-husband hid his drinking from me very well until the disease progressed. It does destroy families. You have to be strong and want to be well to fight any addiction. I hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving.

kindness is strength

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@chrystaltree wrote:
Demons of alvohol??? Are writing this from 1821? My sympathy to you and your family but your niece had a disease. Demons and moral failures had nothing to do with it. Alcoholism is a disease like heart disease or pulmonary disease any other disease. While some people have the support and treatment needed to overcome the addiction to alcohol; some are not as fortunate. The ones like your niece. Rather than throwing God Bless around like it's confetti. You should have conversation with God about your lack of empathy and your lack of sympathy and compassion for your niece's struggle.

@chrystaltree

As one that is both, a Recovering Alcoholic and a patient that will always suffer from CAD. There is no "regeneration" of the Heart Muscle of mine that has died. No matter what I do, part of my heart no longer functions.

Cause? Maternal Genetic Predisposition to CAD, thus in spite of eliminating every possible cause. Some things like Gender/Age that cannot be changed. In spite of all my efforts, it has hit me twice. Why? It is a Disease!

After I realized alcohol was controlling my life after my mother died in 1969, I have considered myself an alcoholic, which I was/am.. It took decades before I decided to do something to change this Fraternal Predisposition to Alcoholism.

Now a Recovering Alcoholic for close to 25 years? Why? Because I have an Addiction, not a Disease! With this I had/ have an option, and I did what was/is necessary to change my life.

Easy? Like there is Food all around in every day life. And those being Morbidly Obese have a choice. There is Booze all around in every day life. Each individual has the same choices to make if their choice is just to live, or a choice is to live a more normal type of life.

There are no doctors/no programs/no medications that can do this for anyone. The only one that controls their life or their possible death? That would be yhe One With The Addiction.To think/wish or pray for it to be otherwise? It is not going to happen.

I will never be able to shed my Predisposition to CAD, because as the last letter in its description indicates, it is a Disease.

As for always considering myself being an alcoholic? 1 Big difference! It is an Addiction, over which I CAN CONTROL. During this time and in the future I will consider myself a Recovering Alcoholic, knowing the I Control this Addiction, something that is Physically and Mentally Impossible with CAD.

hckynut

hckynut(john)

chiclets · ‎07-01-2012

Alcoholism is not a disease.

Alcoholism is an addiction.

Alcoholism is caused by an individual choice. A person can drink or not drink. It is a habit.

A person can drink, smoke, or do drugs which may lead to an addiction. This addiction may cause the individual's own body to progress into diseases of their own making within their body. Thus alcoholism is an addiction.

@Goodie2shoes...condolences to you and your family.