Re: i guess maybe i came on a bit strong...

hey drofinnah,I can understand why you would like to be able to do something about alcoholism,it is a terrible disease and it affects more people than the figures indicate because they can only show the numbers that require treatment by doctors,hospitals,AA,Al-Anon and psychiatric community addiction teams.there are a lot more alcoholics out there not in the numbers because they don`t admit it,they conceal it,they are on their own,they are happy with that life.there is also a lot of reformed alcoholics not in the official "success" figures because they did not go through the accepted programmes,they did it alone by themselves.likewise there is also the failure figures,a lot who go it alone do not suceed,BUT a lot who go through AA etc also fail,you will probably say it is because they were not fully committed,I disagree,I know friends and patients who were committed,but dropped out of the AA programme because of its attitude,they felt they were being preached to,being talked down to,and they demanded things be done their way or forget it!they were also made to feel that AA had to be a permanent part of their lives or they would go back on the booze,one very well educated man I dealt with said and I quote "Its like a cult, they get you in,convince you that you cant get on without them,just like brainwashing".this man came into our unit volunterally,went cold turkey,went through hell and came out the other side,all we did was provide food and the knowledge we were there if he wanted us,that was 6yrs ago and he is still dry,I guess what I am saying is different horses for different courses,what works for one may not work for another,there are no hard and fast rules on this issue,everyone has to do what feels right for them and hopefully suceed,but alcoholism is like every other disease and unfortunately none have a 100% success rate,no matter how much we want to believe they do.all we can do,must do,is provide support via this forum,to those who want to give up booze,are finding it hard to stay off it,have failed,have failed and want to try again,we do this by reading posts,answering posts,giving support through our own experiences,and just by letting them know they are not alone,someone is always on line.we can let them know AA is there,we can tell them the alternatives available,but we must respect everyones views,experiences etc,none of us are any better than the rest,we are after all alcoholics,whether we still do or dont drink anymore.life is important it`s to precious to waste bickering with one another on here.lets just support each other and remember a newbie to the forum could be reading what is being said to one another,we don`t want to think we are a waste of time because we just get at one another,we want them to know we help each other and can help them to...Don`t we???
my father and my brother both died of alcohol abuse,so I can appreciate the sense of loss it causes,as well as what it feels like to be a sufferer
take care all. Tweet