Thanks for the link. I tried to watch it a few minutes ago but it wouldn't load. I did see that other people have it up as well, so i plan on watching it later today.
Staying sober.
- Thread starter Yeoman Randi
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Thanks for the link. I tried to watch it a few minutes ago but it wouldn't load. I did see that other people have it up as well, so i plan on watching it later today.
Thankfully, never had much of an addictive personality. Can drink what i want, but never really became an issue or crutch. Had a smoke on occasion (usually just when drinking, keeps the bugs away, you know), but never an urge to smoke a pack or anything. Gamble on occasion, but no obsession there. Lucked out that way, i guess.
Just wanted to quote something from one of the books for my addiction studies class here:
It seems that there are things which can predispose us to certain addictions, whether genetic or environmental. Also the agent-based model focuses on the drug itself providing an addiction. At least in the case of alcoholics, it is likely that there is not simply an "alcoholic gene" but several genetic factors which together can heavily predispose someone to alcoholism.
These don't add up to an "addictive personality" however, especially not across several different subjects (drugs to gambling). I think things like coping skills, genetic makeup, and varying environmental factors probably play into each addiction in a different way.
Sorry for the long post. I'm certainly no authority on the subject but I am trying to educate myself more on this particular topic.
I'm not an alcoholic, but i think my dad's borderline and that really scares me what with all the pills he has to take for his enlarged heart.
I've read that among inheritable traits are how the liver processes alcohol. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts ethanol to acetylaldehyde (which is toxic). A defective form of ADH can either slow the metabolism of ethanol or accelerate it (a form common among Japanese. Those possessing it have an ADH that acts eight times faster than normal). The rapid form of ADH causes a temporary build up of acetylaldehyde, which causes flushing and sweating and such. The slow form probably means you stay drunk for less money.
An abnormal form of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) delays the oxidation of acetaldehyde in the liver, allowing aldehydes to build up, resulting in flushing and an almost instant hangover. This is unpleasant so most people with this defect don't drink much.
If the overly active Japanese form of ADH was found in combination with a fast-acting mutant form of ALDH, the result would be someone who could drink all they want but would sober up eight times faster than normal. By synthesizing the mutant ALDH and combining it with the Japanese ADH and ethanol, one could create a drink called "synthehol" that would allow military, police, or medical personnel to enjoy a drink and still be able to rapidly return to duty, and with a much lower incidence of alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
An abnormal form of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) delays the oxidation of acetaldehyde in the liver, allowing aldehydes to build up, resulting in flushing and an almost instant hangover. This is unpleasant so most people with this defect don't drink much.
If the overly active Japanese form of ADH was found in combination with a fast-acting mutant form of ALDH, the result would be someone who could drink all they want but would sober up eight times faster than normal. By synthesizing the mutant ALDH and combining it with the Japanese ADH and ethanol, one could create a drink called "synthehol" that would allow military, police, or medical personnel to enjoy a drink and still be able to rapidly return to duty, and with a much lower incidence of alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
That's important. Thanks. Of the considerable number of addicts I've worked and dealt with I'd say only a few of them had anything like "addictive personalities," and without therapy or programs of some kind those few tended to transfer their obsessive consumption to whatever made them feel good - including credit cards, gambling, porn etc.
Addiction is not a matter of "personality type" - it would be more accurate to say that certain personalities will embrace substance abuse as readily as they will any other obsessive practice that gives them relief.
Which leaves all the other addicts.
I'm exactly the same way, except replace "gambling" with "drinking contest."Thankfully, never had much of an addictive personality. Can drink what i want, but never really became an issue or crutch. Had a smoke on occasion (usually just when drinking, keeps the bugs away, you know
I am pretty lucky in that arena too. This last weekend I was in Vegas with friends. I did a lot of drinking, smoking, etc. in excess over the weekend. Now that I am home and back to work, I can easily step away and stay sober as a dog.
My addictive qualities only come out in my competitiveness where I will just not quit (to my own detriment) sometimes when I am involved in contests (like gambling).
Addiction is honestly something I can't wrap my head around because it's just something that doesn't happen to me.
I am OCD and love certain forms of repetition. It makes me feel safe and secure. So once I make a habit, I have a very hard time letting it go. Because of this I make a point to keep clear of things that I could become addicted to because I know what it will take to break the habit, mentally and physically. (I just focus the OCD on healthy things now like cleaning and brushing my teeth.)
As for my own addictions, I smoked for fifteen years and quit almost six years ago. It was tough because I loved them and a part of me still does. Over the years it has gotten easier but I would be a liar if I said I didn't still think about smoking all the time. I even dream that I am smoking. I have also had issues with marijuana, pain killers and a few psychotropics I would rather not mention. All of them I loved. All of them I struggled to overcome. But I know that I am stronger than they are and will not give up keeping clean. Not giving in has now become this emotional and mental thing that I find enormously satisfying. Actually it makes me unusually confident at times. Sort of like a... I am awesome because I kicked your ass... kind of thing.
Stopping smoking was the hardest habit - addiction - I ever dealt with. I was a three-pack-a-day guy when I stopped in 1999. At current prices, I'd be holding up liquor stores in order to afford that.
^ You and me both. In 1991, I was paying $0.96 a pack. Now it is almost $6. With my previous "pack and 1/2" a day habit, I would be forced to take drastic measures for a smoke. 
If i had any question about your being awesome I don't anymore!!! What a great post. Thank you!!
I'm not on the sauce anymore, but I do loves me some coffee. I am a total coffee freak. It's gotten so I have had to limit myself - I only go to Starbucks on my days off from work. Of course I justify that because when I'm *at* work, I get free coffee in the break room.
Not to hijack the thread, but I'd be curious to know how many people with drinking/drug problems have managed to scale back without going cold turkey.
You usually hear that people MUST stop everything. It wasn't like that for me though, I had a pretty serious drinking problem and managed to cut it back. I am able to have a few drinks a week without snapping back into ALCOHOLIC NIGHTMARE DESTRUCTION phase. Same with smoking, I went from two packs a day to 2-3 cigs a day.
I've been able to maintain both for about 6 years and never have the compulsion to go back to my more decadent ways.
You usually hear that people MUST stop everything. It wasn't like that for me though, I had a pretty serious drinking problem and managed to cut it back. I am able to have a few drinks a week without snapping back into ALCOHOLIC NIGHTMARE DESTRUCTION phase. Same with smoking, I went from two packs a day to 2-3 cigs a day.
I've been able to maintain both for about 6 years and never have the compulsion to go back to my more decadent ways.
Not by any means an expert on this stuff, so maybe someone else can come along and add more info. The thing is with addiction, it really is different for different individuals. But also a more accurate term may be "dependence." There are different levels of abuse for something like say, alcohol. Someone may abuse alcohol without simultaneously being dependent on it. Alcohol abuse frequently progresses into alcohol dependence, or alcoholism. We cannot simply think of people as alcoholics or non-alcoholics. There is a certain progression that people typically follow, though everyone will not go through the same stages in the same order.
There is actually a graph that represents some of this. I don't know if any of this helps, but you may find it interesting, at the very least.
Lots of people drink abusively in their youth and then become "normal social drinkers."
I think I'm just one of those people who doesn't do 'addiction'. Either my body doesn't become dependent as easily as others, or my mind is just too dismissive of habits for me to ever feel addicted. I'll drink with friends every day for a week then not drink for a month, smoke half a pack one night then go a week without.
If I do have any addiction, it is most certainly food. My restraint when it comes to a pizza or a plate of bacon on the table is practically nil. I'll manage months at a time of eating healthy, but one bad day and an opportunity to binge and it can set back my dieting for a long time. Lately, I try just to eat well but not go overboard on the constraining diet. It seems to work better for me, even if I'm heavier(and squishier) now than I'd like.
If I do have any addiction, it is most certainly food. My restraint when it comes to a pizza or a plate of bacon on the table is practically nil. I'll manage months at a time of eating healthy, but one bad day and an opportunity to binge and it can set back my dieting for a long time. Lately, I try just to eat well but not go overboard on the constraining diet. It seems to work better for me, even if I'm heavier(and squishier) now than I'd like.
