I don't get alcoholism. How bored are you that getting smashed is a better idea than playing video games or something equally unproductive but less taxing? Is it a depression thing to make doing absolutely nothing more bearable?
Serious inquiry. I hardly drink.
Sometimes getting a buzz on while doing a task makes it more enjoyable. It isnt hard for 3 drinks to turn into 7+, and before you know it, drunk. I dont think there are too many people who just sit in a chair and get smashed.
There's a difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency. I would say that a majority of people who binge drink/get drunk on a semi regular basis partake in the former category. People here talk about alcoholism but it's in a tongue in cheek manner because I don't think anyone here is seriously an alcoholic. If they are, they should probably get help.
I had a period of my life where drinking every night turned into taking a few shots in the morning to get through dealing with being stuck in a bad job. Before I knew it, I was getting withdrawals by the afternoon and started carrying some booze with me at all times to juice up when the withdrawals started making me jumpy and irritable. Trying to cut back gradually wasnt very effective because it just prolonged the time in which I was experiencing withdrawals. It turned into a trap, where I needed to have alcohol in the bloodstream to function properly at my job and to not be an irritable pain in the ass. Not to mention I also felt like shit. So one day when I got a really bad stomach bug I decided to take some days off of work (plus the weekend), and ride out the withdrawals. The worst times were the first 2 or 3 days, and after that it took another 3 or 4 to start feeling normal. To be honest it wasnt quite as bad as I was expecting it to be, but ill be damned if I ever get into that rut again. I now mostly limit my drinking to weekends and occasionally a night during the week.
I mainly drink out of boredom but other times it helps as a social lubricant. I mean, I could play video games, but those are also enjoyable (sometimes moreso) with alcohol so I don't really know if that comparison works. Combining one mindless activity with another and it's still a mindless activity. It also helps to turn off my brain (lol hurr durr guys here comes a joke from someone) as it's constantly going. It's probably the reason I've had sleep issues for years (that or some undiagnosed issue. I should probably do a sleep study at some point).
Alcohol depresses the CNS via GABA receptors, which are part of neuronal pathways involved with sleep. A lot of alcohol users have trouble with sleep for this reason.
Alcoholism is the point where someone needs alcohol to function (at least how I understand it). I can function without it. But then there's the whole 'functioning alcoholic' thing that I don't really get. I don't drink every day either. I think with alcoholics it's a constant thing.
What dont you get about 'functioning alcoholics'? It is just someone that needs a bit of alcohol in their system pretty much all the time, but they dont get wasted when they need to go about their lives. It is similar to that guy at work who almost always has a coffee in his hand or at his desk. They are still able to go about their lives, albeit at a more limited capacity.
I ponder this a lot. There's a line in The West Wing about drinking/alcoholism that I can relate to at times. It's a five minute conversation but it's the part about 1 drink vs. 10 drinks:
It kind of boils down to using alcohol like a drug vs just using it as a social activity. He also sort of alludes to the idea that if he has one drink, he will inevitably spiral back into a full blown alcoholic. While both concepts are interrelated, I do not think that someone who likes to get drunk is necessarily doomed to be alcohol dependent. Some people have no willpower when it comes to temptation, and it is people like this who need to realize that they have to abstain entirely.
My confusion is more centered around drinking to a regrettable point, where you're feeling terrible the next day or even during. I've been there myself in the past, but it was 100% social lubricant and hoping that by getting drunker I'd reach that jolliness people associate with it. Never worked out that way and now I hardly drink. I might have a beer by myself while engaging in activities but I literally never have drank so much alone that I pay for it later.
Ill admit that sometimes it isnt fun, but occasionally you will have one of those parties where you just have some good inebriated fun. I also like getting a little more than a few drinks in at a concert, smoke some pot, and mosh away (and no im not that staggering asshole who just gets in the way). I also think you are conflating the idea of getting "drunk" with being utterly smashed to basically blackout levels. I like getting drunk, but getting wasted is always just the result of having a few too many by accident. I dont think anybody wants to get sick, throw up, or be hungover the next day, though I have met people who find enjoyment in getting blackout drunk (I dont understand that either).
Alcohol is just like any drug really. Some people enjoy it, some abuse it, and some dont really enjoy it at all.
