Churchill was more than a bit merry. That's why he's got such an odd slurred voice in his speeches... he was constantly pissed. Just think how good he'd have been if he hadn't been drunk!

'A.A. literature describes a difference between an "alcoholic" and a "problem drinker", claiming that unlike a ‘problem drinker’ who may drink alcohol but retains the ability to stop or moderate his or her drinking, an alcoholic has an incurable disease rendering them unable to moderate their consumption of alcohol. A.A. states that only the individual themselves can determine whether they are an alcoholic'

source

An alcoholic NEEDS to drink. They feel they can't face life without alcohol giving them the "strength" to face it. They NEED drink to face the world, they need a drink to get them through the day. Gradually, they need more drink because they become immune to its effects. Drink becomes what holds them up & they may want to stop but don't have the strength to do so because they feel that without their crutch they will collapse.
They often drink in hidden ways - a bottle in the kitchen cupboard, vodka in the breakfast orange juice; I knew someone who had wine bottles buried in the garden - he used to sit in the garden in the evening, out of sight of his wife. In a drying-out clinic he had vodka in his shampoo bottle.
The more hidden the drinking becomes, the more of a problem the person has. If the person does not want to stop then nothing and noone can make them. They will go to crazy lengths to get drink. and even if they know they are destroying their lives they will be unable to stop.

Often goes hand in hand with mental illness of some kind, and it is an illness in itself - a totally compulsive addiction.

The AA view of Alcoholism has been discredited by much current research.

G

The CAGE questionnaire is in fairly general use to detect alcohol problems:

http://www.mentalneurologicalprimary...stionnaire.pdf

G

Would he have taken the job in the first place if he could,nt drink ??..... mm

This is one of the most difficult questions to answer, either for professionals or the average person in the street.

Many many people who have a drinking problem mistakenly believe they are alcoholics, because the system is designed to tell them that. Fortuantely that attitude is changing, and many are now recognised as having alcohol dependency instead. Sounds the same? It's not.

People with alcohol dependency use it to bring relief from difficult personal circumstances as they often lack coping skills or any support network. Generally they cope with most facets of daily life on a surface level. A change in circumstances or attitude will generally result in less alcohol being consumed and less often. Cravings can and do occur but they can be denied. Generally when they do drink, they drink to get "pleasantly intoxicated" though sometimes to get drunk. They are generally more sociable and less withdrawn than the alcoholic. Their consumption in any drinking session tends to remain at a particular intake level. They drink coffee and eat toast and cereal for breakfast. They might have the occaisional "sickie" from work.

Alcoholics on the other hand (while they may have once been alcohol dependent) tend to drink daily and not necessarily to get pissed (though they often do) but to feel "normal". Life revolves around drinking. As their higher alcohol intake continues, it takes more and more to reach saiety ( point of satisfaction). They then reach a point where they begin to lose their tolerance and often end up drinking from smaller glassess and taking longer to consume it than before. They tend to lose interest in eating and many aspects of living. They develop delusional thinking, talk to themselves, develop "the shakes".They favour a beer, wine or spirits for breakfast.

This now recognised distinction between the two groups led to the formation of RR (rational recovery) groups, which works on the premise that most who abuse alcohol can drink sensibly again. A total change in philosophy to AA, who advocate lifelong abstinence for anyone who has ever transgressed social mores or medical models for safe drinking. Incidentally, current PC thinking from the medical quarter consider more than 4 drinks at a time (3 small bottles of regular strength beer) is "binge" drinking and may indicate a problem! In my opinion, that is just ridiculous.

The "real person" version you asked to hear about is subjective and personal, so therefore varies from person to person and because of this is an extremely unreliable means to draw any conclusion from.

"an alcoholic has an incurable disease rendering them unable to moderate their consumption of alcohol."


I would have said that it's fairly accurate actually. My uncle can't moderate his drinking. He's nearly died twice. His last GUI bleed (stomach bleed) couldn't be stopped so they were transfusing him with blood whilst it was pouring out elsewhere. He ended up with MRSA from all his hospital stays, but it entered his spine and he's had to have the dead tissue around his spinal cord removed and vertebrae fused. The whites of his eyes are yellow and he is a dead man walking.

This 'thing' grips and controls him. He knows if he gets drunk again he'll probably die, but he can't help himself. I feel mostly sorry for my Aunt (his wife) who never truly knew what she was taking on when she married him, even though she thought she did. It was her second marriage and meant to be better than her first, but really it's just out of the frying pan into the fire.

I question the validity of such a limited questionaire. At the very best it may indicate that there might be a problem but lacks depth, scope or accuracy beyond that.

Not true.

Some of the most successful treatment programmes for drinking problems involve 'Controlled Drinking'.

G

You may question it but it is in widespread use especially in Mental health services.

G

It's true in my uncle's situation, Grayling, which was the example I was using to illustrate my point.

He's been through every 'treatment programme' that there is including controlled drinking and he's still killing himself. It's very sad.

The outcomes for all approaches to problem drinking are very poor.

The AA model is is very poor as well.

G

A truly sad situation but if your aunt can get him into therapy (not alcohol rehab. He knows his situation and has no doubt "heard it all before") things might improve. Nobody gets to this point without having deep seated issues that have never been dealt with. He needs to discuss this with a clinical psychologist(who does therapy) in my opinion. A qualified psychotherapist might also be of help here. CBT (Cognitive behaviour therapy; what Grayling does) could also be quite useful. It works on identifying thoughts (which come before behaviours) and changing them and thereby changing behaviour.

I have no doubt that you are correct. That health authorities ( or anyone else) uses it though, has nothing to do with whether it is an effective tool or not.