This study[1] purports that alcoholism doubled during the decade after the turn of the millenium. It also has a concrete criteria for what they consider alcoholism.
> Now this just seems like toxic thinking to me. Plenty of thoughtful, responsible people continually ask themselves whether they are experiencing various problems in life, and sometimes the answer really is "no."
To you it may seem like "toxic thinking", but to anyone with a problem who had the insight to ask themselves such a question, it can be a life changing moment.
If someone is at a point in their alcohol consumption career where they step back and have to ask, "Do I have a problem?", that insight usually stems from encountering a problem most people don't face.
The nature of alcoholism is to tell yourself everything is fine and normal, that there is no problem even though your life is falling apart.
To wish to portray as truly pivotal insight that an alcoholic would be lucky to have as "toxic thinking" is, IMO, minimizing the issues of drug abuse in our culture.
> Really? It doesn't matter?
When you're at the point where a substance controls your life, there's no saying when you might overdose or drink too much and plow your car into innocent people.
Finding someone who can direct you to help now is paramount.
> Your links at the end of your comment are only to AA and NA. Can you explain what aspects of these programs are preferable to you?
There are no months-long waitlists for AA or NA like there are for rehabs, detox clinics, therapists, psychiatrists and addiction specialists.
There is no pretense of requiring an in-network insurance provider that will cover the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars worth of treatment you might require.
As much as I disagree with some aspects of those programs, their existence is infinitely better than the alternative. Which, for most people with that problem, is the destruction of what is left of their life.
AA and other 12 step programs can be positive to some people but they can also be very harmful to others. AA teaches a lot of falsehoods. If AA was actually honest about what it was, I wouldn't dislike it so much.
Plus "just do anything" can lead you to the abusive profit seeking sketchy "rehab" industry, and that's probably going to leave you worse off. I think the worst offenders have been shut down recently though thanks to exposés.
Most people are able to reduce alcohol consumption to less harmful levels on their own. That's not saying you shouldn't seek help if you need it, just you may not need it. Everyone is different. If you wish to reduce your alcohol consumption don't assume you are "powerless" just because AA says you are.
>The 12 steps are so deeply ingrained in the United States that many people, including doctors and therapists, believe attending meetings, earning one’s sobriety chips, and never taking another sip of alcohol is the only way to get better. Hospitals, outpatient clinics, and rehab centers use the 12 steps as the basis for treatment. But although few people seem to realize it, there are alternatives, including prescription drugs and therapies that aim to help patients learn to drink in moderation. Unlike Alcoholics Anonymous, these methods are based on modern science and have been proved, in randomized, controlled studies, to work. For J.G., it took years of trying to “work the program,” pulling himself back onto the wagon only to fall off again, before he finally realized that Alcoholics Anonymous was not his only, or even his best, hope for recovery. But in a sense, he was lucky: many others never make that discovery at all.
>Whereas AA teaches that alcoholism is a progressive disease that follows an inevitable trajectory, data from a federally funded survey called the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions show that nearly one-fifth of those who have had alcohol dependence go on to drink at low-risk levels with no symptoms of abuse. And a recent survey of nearly 140,000 adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nine out of 10 heavy drinkers are not dependent on alcohol and, with the help of a medical professional’s brief intervention, can change unhealthy habits.
>AA truisms have so infiltrated our culture that many people believe heavy drinkers cannot recover before they “hit bottom.” Researchers I’ve talked with say that’s akin to offering antidepressants only to those who have attempted suicide, or prescribing insulin only after a patient has lapsed into a diabetic coma. “You might as well tell a guy who weighs 250 pounds and has untreated hypertension and cholesterol of 300, ‘Don’t exercise, keep eating fast food, and we’ll give you a triple bypass when you have a heart attack,’ ” Mark Willenbring, a psychiatrist in St. Paul and a former director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told me. He threw up his hands. “Absurd.”
>But many in AA and the rehab industry insist the 12 steps are the only answer and frown on using the prescription drugs that have been shown to help people reduce their drinking.
>People with alcohol problems also suffer from higher-than-normal rates of mental-health issues, and research has shown that treating depression and anxiety with medication can reduce drinking. But AA is not equipped to address these issues—it is a support group whose leaders lack professional training—and some meetings are more accepting than others of the idea that members may need therapy and/or medication in addition to the group’s help
> Now this just seems like toxic thinking to me. Plenty of thoughtful, responsible people continually ask themselves whether they are experiencing various problems in life, and sometimes the answer really is "no."
To you it may seem like "toxic thinking", but to anyone with a problem who had the insight to ask themselves such a question, it can be a life changing moment.
If someone is at a point in their alcohol consumption career where they step back and have to ask, "Do I have a problem?", that insight usually stems from encountering a problem most people don't face.
The nature of alcoholism is to tell yourself everything is fine and normal, that there is no problem even though your life is falling apart.
To wish to portray as truly pivotal insight that an alcoholic would be lucky to have as "toxic thinking" is, IMO, minimizing the issues of drug abuse in our culture.
> Really? It doesn't matter?
When you're at the point where a substance controls your life, there's no saying when you might overdose or drink too much and plow your car into innocent people.
Finding someone who can direct you to help now is paramount.
> Your links at the end of your comment are only to AA and NA. Can you explain what aspects of these programs are preferable to you?
There are no months-long waitlists for AA or NA like there are for rehabs, detox clinics, therapists, psychiatrists and addiction specialists.
There is no pretense of requiring an in-network insurance provider that will cover the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars worth of treatment you might require.
As much as I disagree with some aspects of those programs, their existence is infinitely better than the alternative. Which, for most people with that problem, is the destruction of what is left of their life.
[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/...