@Imadickens wrote:
News anchor Elizebeth Vargas has written a tell all memoir about her battle with alcoholism! She says its so overwhelming she couldn't even stop for her children, for who she would die! I think she is doing an interview tonight on ABC with Dianne Sawyer.
She said she wanted to be the one to tell her stories, not have them leaked. Anxiety is a major trigger for female alcoholics! I know it's what caused my father's!
He never had a drink until at 30, he was on a plane on a business trip, and encountered such bad turbulence that the stewardesses were hysterical. When it stopped he told the stewardess to bring him the stiffest drink they had. That was the beginning of his problem! He had to fly for business and by then I was born.
He had a family to support. It was mid 50's and the memories of The Depression had not dimmed much. A job was like gold! You did what you had to do. He was the part of the age group who were big drinkers and partners, Bon vivants, so he was never found out! At one point, it was hard to hide it, but he kept going.
Now, it's considered a real disease and does not have as much of a stigma. I wish anyone suffering from this disease luck and urge them to get help ASAP! I can attest to the toll it takes on those who love them!
@Imadickens
I have been a recovering alcoholic since the late 1970's. I had many a tough discussion with a good frien of mine, also an alcoholic, if this was/is a disease. In my opinion it was not, and is not. As one that has gone, and will be going through recovering the rest of my life, it is not a disease.
Now my 2 heart attacks? Those ARE a Cardiovascular disease. Something I worked much of my adult life to avoid. Getting all the Major Risk Factors, I could possibly get, on the best terms. I could not/can not change my age/my gender, or my genetics. That I consider a disease, as I do cancer.
My alcoholism? That was a choice I MADE at that time and I am paying and will be paying the price FOR MY CHOICE for the rest of my life. I too have read most of the literature about alcoholism being a disease, I as an recovering alcoholic, do not agree with it being the same as my Cardiovascular Disease.
ETA. Wanted to add that my alcoholic dad(?) left my mother to raise 4 of their kids by herself. Thus, that means I also had/have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism.
While I did all humanly possible to avoid my genetic predisposition for Heart Disease, I could not avoid it. Had I put that same amount of effort into avoiding my genetic predisposition for alcoholism, since it WAS MY CHOICE, I may not be in the position in which I found/find myself as a recovering alcoholic.
hckynut(john)
hckynut(john)
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