View Full Version : the drinking thing
i am off to the big anniversary party! my parents got here thursday night and yesterday my dad handed over keys to the car he is giving me. it is really awesome. we had dinner out one night and they grilled at my place last night, great for how much i work the last week of school.
i am also noticing the level of drinking of course. i am noticing my dad appear drink more often (my mom drives but still has her glass of wine). My daughter seems to be doing okay (who went to rehab) but i found out that a child who comes to my summer camps may be losing her mom to alcoholism. Dad died suddenly a year ago of a heart attack the week before summer camp started, and the child was so close to him. we have been watching her this year and i talk to her day school teacher who told me mom fell in the bathroom and is now in the hospital and not looking good. i have the uncle's contact information to get her set up for camp (and am eternally grateful for grant funding, i can just make this happen).
just sadness, and glad i am in a spiritual tradition that avoids intoxicants. But wondering about how today looks for me and my daughter and the alcohol.
Alcohol can be damaging for some people, for sure. For others, it can be restorative. I rarely drink alcohol and I haven't smoked marijuana for decades, but I'm planning on indulging in both in the near future.
Wishing both you and your daughter a happy and peaceful anniversary party.
As a psychoanalyst I never saw a violent, abusive couple or family where the partners weren't alcoholics--and almost never thought they were. Alcoholism doesn't lend itself to self-knowledge, nor does it allow one to pick and choose which inhibitions will be lowered--they all are. I don't know anyone who doesn't need a few inhibitions to be able to live constructively with themselves or others.
we did just fine, but i am aware of the alcohol use. my daughter and her bf have been living with roommates that are immature to say the least. the other woman there works at the same place my daughter did, (mine quit when she needed to go to the hospital and now can go back, even with a raise) and while T was in the treatment center she told everyone why. So they tried to talk to them about that and about constant swearing and it didn't go well at all. My daughter really needs a calmer environment to heal in. So it sounds like they have some options to get out of the lease and a place to go, and the cat will have to go to a family member, but it is going to be better. Meanwhile they are sleeping on the floor of my tiny apartment for a few nights.
it is nice to have her around, sober is very nice.
As a psychoanalyst I never saw a violent, abusive couple or family where the partners weren't alcoholics--and almost never thought they were. Alcoholism doesn't lend itself to self-knowledge, nor does it allow one to pick and choose which inhibitions will be lowered--they all are. I don't know anyone who doesn't need a few inhibitions to be able to live constructively with themselves or others.
This is an incredibly interesting observation. I am teetotal. 36 years old and never been drunk, not even close. No more than a couple sips of wine in mass when I was a little kid. I just saw too many people in my family and my old neighborhood ravaged by alcohol -- liver damage, cognitive problems, weight problems, criminal and behavior problems. I just couldn't take the chance. I know some folks drink a little on the weekend or after work and have no problems.
But something I often wonder is how society would change if someone with a magic wand turned all the alcohol into distilled water. No one could drink. No one could be pacified or distracted or sedated by alcohol...
Just a thought...
ToomuchStuff
7-7-15, 4:45pm
Alcohol going poof would have some major negative side effects. It has been both a medicine and a solvent for quite some time. Why no one could drink I wouldn't want to see the other consequences that are not associated with the withdraw so many would go through.
I am not a drinker and I LONG ago stopped as even casual and became a designated driver after seeing so much that I would rather not get into. Alcohol to me is only part of the issue, as it tends to be used as a coping mechanism and other substances that have addicting properties can also be used. So we need better coping mechanisms for one. Then you also have to look at the legality/taxation thing, as the marijuana crowd has been doing for some time.
I remember some show, that years ago, gave alcohol credit for starting science. It was figured that some ancient man, first accidentally drank something fermented, then went on to figure out how to recreate it.
Toomuchstuff:
Interesting points. Thanks for the response.
Prohibition didn't work the last time we tried it--for alcohol, marijuana or anything else. Even birds get high on fermented berries when the time is ripe. Or overripe...
I'm happy to report the geezer brandy tasting and ganja sampling was a rousing success, with no old people harmed in the process. There was, however, some giggling. :D
Prohibition doesn't work. Neither does a magic wand. haha
It was just a thought -- something to think about.
Prohibition doesn't work. Neither does a magic wand. haha
....
Haha--good point.
Prohibition doesn't work. Neither does a magic wand.
The Hitachi Magic Wand? It works.
The Hitachi Magic Wand? It works.
Probably even better accompanied by a glass of wine. :devil:
I'd really rather not imagine a world without a wide variety of diversions and amusements, but I suppose you could put together a case for making methamphetamines disappear.
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