quote:

Originally posted by dusty3030:
Demon has probably always been there, he just hid it / had his hand on it.
I would say there are mental issues / depression at play.
That time of life is stressful for a person, many people have trouble at that point in their lives. Kids leaving the nest. Marriage stresses. You have hit about where you are going in a career and start getting passed over because you are considered a "short timer" etc etc. Combination of stresses might have been more than he could bear right now and he fell in the bottle.

This. I suspect the demon has always been there and that something (job, marriage, health, aging, etc.) triggered it.

Alcohol addiction is a genetic metabolic brain chemistry disorder which affects the pleasure/reward system in our heads. In 1955 the AMA declared alcoholism a disease. It is a disease that tells you that you don't have a disease.

All substance addictions for various people (alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, opiates, and weed) for some small percentage of the population mess with your neurochemistry for chemicals like dopamine, endorphin and norepinephrine.

Your friend needs help before he kills someone or himself.

There are many avenues for this help, assuming he is willing to try to stop, or is facing enough consequences that he will consider changing his life.

FOB

Not everything is a medical condition. He probably had some issue that got him drinking, he initially enjoyed it and got hooked. It's as simple as that.

Try to get him to go to AA, and see if he'll let that help him. But ultimately it's up to him.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Not everything is a medical condition. He probably had some issue that got him drinking, he initially enjoyed it and got hooked. It's as simple as that.

Try to get him to go to AA, and see if he'll let that help him. But ultimately it's up to him.

Why do you take a position counter to the AMA?

And AA is not a program of promotion; but one of attraction.

I am an alcoholic and I just passed 3 years sober...

Alcoholism/addiction tends to be a progressive disease and, as with any disease, left unchecked it will get worse with time.

I can tell you from my own experience I did a masterful job hiding it from those around me until it reached a point where it could not longer be hidden. I went from drinking to "have fun with friends" to drinking alone to cope with the train wreck that, ironically, alcohol was causing in my life.

Addition is perhaps the one disease that tells you the answer is to do more of what is ultimately killing you.

Please try and get your friend some help....AA or otherwise before it is too late.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

port actresses

Never heard of such unless we have a typo.

Typo. Corrected. Should be "porn actresses."

Depression. It's there and something in his life has him down.
Family, friends(or lack of), job or a combination of all.
Ignored, underappreciated, taken advantage of can do it too. Trust me.

quote:

A man with seemingly everything

I believe that this right there could be the problem. Maintaining facade when all isn't as it seems is stressful...

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:
I am an alcoholic and I just passed 3 years sober...

Alcoholism/addiction tends to be a progressive disease and, as with any disease, left unchecked it will get worse with time.

I can tell you from my own experience I did a masterful job hiding it from those around me until it reached a point where it could not longer be hidden. I went from drinking to "have fun with friends" to drinking alone to cope with the train wreck that, ironically, alcohol was causing in my life.

Addition is perhaps the one disease that tells you the answer is to do more of what is ultimately killing you.

Please try and get your friend some help....AA or otherwise before it is too late.

Great job on 3 years!!
I was in the same boat. I actually got off on hiding my problem in plain sight right under everyone's noses. Thought I was clever but I was really in a lot of trouble.
While I have zero urge to ever drink again I still know I'm only a sip away from losing it all.

My prayers are with your friend. Alcoholism is a living nightmare and he will need help.

quote:

Some would say he abused alcohol and recreational drugs a bit as a young man

Functioning alcoholics can hide their addiction for decades, hold down successful careers, etc. It sounds like he could have had this problem all along.



.

Because when something becomes a "medical condition" the medical industry figures out how to make money charging to treat it. Note how the medical industry is pushing to have gun violence defined as a medical condition.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Why do you take a position counter to the AMA?

A lot of people have been walked into AA meetings.

Yes, they have to agree to go, they have to decide to stay, and they have to, literally, get with the program. But they can be encouraged to go.

quote:

And AA is not a program of promotion; but one of attraction.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Because when something becomes a "medical condition" the medical industry figures out how to make money charging to treat it. Note how the medical industry is pushing to have gun violence defined as a medical condition.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Why do you take a position counter to the AMA?

A lot of people have been walked into AA meetings.

Yes, they have to agree to go, they have to decide to stay, and they have to, literally, get with the program. But they can be encouraged to go.

quote:

And AA is not a program of promotion; but one of attraction.

My dad was a functioning alcoholic. He drank 1/3 of a 1.75L bottle of Vodka every night. No amount of encouragement from family or anything else is going to make an alcoholic stop drinking. Until they decide on their own, it's not going to happen.

It is quite possible that he has had somewhat of a drinking problem for a while but has been able to keep it under control. My sister is getting divorced right now, she has 2 young kids 3 and 7. Her husband would drink often and pretty good amounts but not everynight. Sometimes 3 nights a week, sometimes 5. Somehow 2-3 years ago, it morphed into a full blown alcoholic shortly after the little one was born. He was drinking a 750 ML bottle of cheap vodka a day, he hid it for a while before she figured it out. She found empty bottles hidden all over the house, outside in the tiki bar, storage locker outside. Sometimes people can drink often and they're not an alcoholic until the one day they are an alcoholic. I don't know what the answer is, but until the guy admits he needs help, dragging him to AA isn't going to fix anything. It's very sad.

I’ve been sober 27 years. Depression and marital issues are the first thing to look at. Alcoholics like myself use the drink to escape. He needs to get into a program that will deal with his drinking and what’s truly bothering him. God bless.

Thanks, to everyone. I appreciate you candor and honesty. I wish I could help, but it appears this is a situation where he can only help himself.

My wife is in the health care industry, and believes she has read that there are rare instances where certain unrelated issues can cause extreme susceptibility to alcoholism. Virus, trauma, disease, medication interactions, etc. Never heard of such a thing, and I think she is reaching, but I understand why given the apparent sudden onset.

brain tumor ?

I've seen it, and they drank themselves to death in less than three years. Just a slow suicide.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Not everything is a medical condition. He probably had some issue that got him drinking, he initially enjoyed it and got hooked. It's as simple as that.

Try to get him to go to AA, and see if he'll let that help him. But ultimately it's up to him.

Why do you take a position counter to the AMA?

And AA is not a program of promotion; but one of attraction.

AMA is a political orginazation, not a medical one. Why should i listen to anything they say? The idea that AA is a program of attraction ,not promotion is a wicked joke. Ask anyone required to attend as a condition of probation or parole. Thankfully the courts have recognized AA is a religion and mandating attendence violates the 1st Ammendment. Diognastic Stastical Manial -5th edition Psychiatric Disorders, is where it is found. Alcohol Use Disorder. Not all psych disorders are diseases , and most certianly AUD is not a disease. AA is a religious death cult. In 1963 Bill Wilson, High Priest of the AA religion, told a gathering of Catholic clergy that AA has never called alcoholism a disease. In 1969 while testifying before congress in support of the Hughes ammendment he claimed alcoholism was a disease. Curious isn't it. However the original 1939 books subtitle was "stories of over 100 men that were cured of their disease of alcoholism" (if Lois W's secretary can be belived it was more like 70 and many of those died drunk)). Anyway, why did Bill W call it a curable disease in 1939, a uncurable spititual malady but it wasn't a disease in 1963, then a disease again in 1969 ? Why all the lies ? What was Bill W trying to cover up with these lies? Bill W was narcistic. misogynistic, antisemitic , delusional, a sexual predator, a cheater in both business and marriage, and he lied about everything. AA lies too. Bill W was never a stock broker, unemployed or otherwise. He never held a Brokers license, never held a seat on any exchange, never brokered any stocks, had any clients ect. It is all just Bill W and AA lies.