re: Sorry to post on Christmas night

quote:

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It doesn't sound like you're much of an alcoholic. My idea of that is people who can't stop,

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Your idea of alcoholism is mistaken. I thought the same once. Truth is, I was a functional alcoholic. I could drink the better part of a fith throughout the morning and no one would be the wiser to it if they couldn't get near enough to smell my breath. I felt sober, no buzz. But if I didn't drink I got jittery and irritable and couldn't concentrate on work. The booze had a strong hold on me. I would even awaken in the middle of the night and sneak downstairs to the kitchen for a shot or big gulp so that I could sleep the rest of the night. Not all alcoholics are crazy, maniacal drunks. there are lots of us that you would never suspect. Winston Churchill was an alcoholic.

It's an addiction that changes the brain's chemistry to the point that the individual is taking a huge life and death risk if he ever touches it again. I won't call it a disease, though. Self-inflicted addictions are not diseases. They are the results of our stupid, mindless actions and we must accept responsibility for being fools in the first place.

I'm fortunate for the time being. I despise the taste, the aroma, and even the mention of alcohol these days. Occasionally it calls out to be, but when I smell that foul aroma from the neck of the bottle my stomach turns.

For some, who have never crossed that threshold, alcohol consumption in moderation is fine. For those of us who have found ourselves floating in that sea of booze, however, we can never return to it. It's a love that we must write off our list.