I would happily quit drinking if it meant I never had to hear another Jiffy Bummet (sic) song again.
Need advice on writing an alcoholic character
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He does (or did, rest his soul) seem to polarize people. My husband waxes profane at the drop of a JB note. An Okalahoma friend who converted to Texan forty years ago thought JB was da bomb. Me, I don't care one way or the other.
To my mind, the most prominent feature of alcoholism, or any addiction really, is denial, and it takes many forms. Decide on how denial will be affecting their character development and goals, and it will illustrate the nature of struggle with addiction.
Not only denial, but deceit, lying, and recklessness are part of an alcoholics tool bag. Someone very close to me (the closest) put me through (hell) the experience of having to solve their problem which I did not achieve. Only by a near death experience (automobile accident) and the realization that they may never see their loved ones again put this person on a healthier path. Alcoholism is a deceptive and evil disease that the victim doesn't perceive or recognize the self control needed to overcome it.
mesa.lofi
New Member
There are plenty of books on the topic, and the theories of alcoholism range from biological to habitual to spiritual and beyond. There are also biographical and fictional accounts of alcoholism that you can pull from. One book that may be of interest is Adult Children of Alcoholics.
I would also suggest attending some AA or Al-Anon sessions as a guest. Most people are open to discussing their journey at these meetings. Depending on how far you want to go with this, recovery programs often need volunteers and/or are open to discussing these subjects. There will most likely be several organizations you can talk to locally, as addiction is a huge business nowadays.
I have worked in substance abuse and alcoholism for years, so feel free to message me if needed.
I would also suggest attending some AA or Al-Anon sessions as a guest. Most people are open to discussing their journey at these meetings. Depending on how far you want to go with this, recovery programs often need volunteers and/or are open to discussing these subjects. There will most likely be several organizations you can talk to locally, as addiction is a huge business nowadays.
I have worked in substance abuse and alcoholism for years, so feel free to message me if needed.
mesa.lofi
New Member
This, of course, depends on where each user is in their recovery and their readiness to change. Denial is often associated with early recovery efforts or avoidance. I think a more proper way to say it is that a prominent feature of untreated or unrecognized alcoholism/addiction is denial. However, denial is not always present.
EuchreJack
New Member
Absolutely. I'm currently dealing with an Coffee/Caffeine addiction. I get headaches when I don't consume caffeine, so I have to consume something with caffeine every day, whether I want to or not. Fortunately, I mostly enjoy caffeinated drinks, but the point is that I have no choice in the matter. It would take about 1-2 weeks to break this addiction. However, there are days when I need the stimulating substance to survive, so I am unlikely to break the habit in the foreseeable future.
I agree with everyone that each/every alcoholic is different. My husband's dad was an alcoholic, once he started he could not stop. He grew up without a father and I believe the other relatives (men) set the example that you drank alcohol. We'd commit him to sober up and then a couple of months would go by and he'd fall off the wagon. It did affect his health and not in good ways. I have other relatives that were alcoholics and each one embraced it differently, one would keep trying to get sober and one would do anything to hide it from you. I think you have to consider the person's persona and then add the drinking. He wouldn't have to be an alcoholic but on his way, coping with his grief by drinking.
For one, they'll be more irritable the more sober they are.
Two, acquiring alcohol and drinking it just is. It's as if they're not even consciously thinking about it.
I agree with above where there are different levels of shame.
Two, acquiring alcohol and drinking it just is. It's as if they're not even consciously thinking about it.
I agree with above where there are different levels of shame.
Certainly. The big difference is that it's a less destructive substance and a less destructive addiction. The fact that my addiction is caffeine and not alcohol or hard drugs is assuredly the only reason I've lived into my seventies.
Most people who consume caffeine daily (or theophylline, in tea, or theobromine, in chocolate—collectively, "xanthines") are dependent but don't realize it unless they try to quit cold turkey.
It becomes addiction when you lose control over your consumption, which escalates until something limits it, and when it has negative consequences in your life. (Most commonly sleep disorders, anxiety, poor concentration, or hypomania.) In early stages, you believe you could easily give it up if you had a reason.
I spent the middle 15 years of my life (1986-2000) NOT dependent on caffeine, with minor 1-4 day relapses it took 4-6 weeks to fully recover from, physically and cognitively.
The last time I quit, I tapered slowly down to an ounce of diet cola a day, then a tablespoon daily for a week. Two weeks after complete cessation, I found myself sitting in front of the television, remote in hand, trying to remember which buttons did what and how to navigate through Roku or something to the show I wanted. In a few more weeks, I would have been back to full acuity and I knew that, but it no longer felt worth it, and I couldn't fully recall why it had seemed so important to quit.
The earliest withdrawal symptoms are logeyness, sleepiness, depression, slowed reaction time, then killer headaches from rebound vasodilation — once in my 30s, I was on my knees beside the bed, trying to find a way to rest my head on it that was not excruciating, convinced I was imminently going to rupture a brain vessel and die. Somehow Excedrin plus ibu plus diet soda, all fetched by my wife as I was immobile beside the bed, brought me back from the brink. Later symptoms are comparative muscle weakness, fatigue, loss of physical stamina, and loss of peak neuromuscular (in my case pianistic) performance.
I have a fairly common (single-digit percentage) genetic impairment of CYP1A2, an enzyme that mediates detox of xanthines in the liver. But no one is immune to caffeine dependence or addiction. Because such dependence is so widely regarded as benign, it's all but impossible to find support to get and stay clean. Professionals laugh at the very idea.
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