“I am not just a moral failure, I am a failure on every level but one: I’m still breathing. And with that breath in mind, I’m going to TRY to go and do better.” Twenty-four years after reaching that conclusion I’m still trying. But however much I’ve failed since then I haven’t had a drink.
I started drinking alcohol years ago as a teenage, spent my whole life fighting alcohol addiction. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Got diagnosed with cptsd. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
Hey mates! Can you help with the source? I suffer severe anxiety, panic and depression and I usually take prescription medicine, but they don't always help. Where can I find those psilocybin mushrooms? I'm really interested in treating my mental health without Rxs. I live in Australia don't know much about these. I'm so glad they helped you. I can't wait to get them too. Really need a reliable source 🙏
YES very sure of Mr.medmushies. I have the same experience with anxiety, depression, BPD and addiction and Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.
Mushrooms are very medicinal. This is why anybody familiar with psilocybin and any other kind of fungi will tell you, "They are alive." They have a very ancient wisdom. To my experience, all mushrooms have always said, "Pay attention to your life. How you think, how you feel, and what will you do with the information that you always knew, but now are seeing in this point of view." This is why mushrooms are so respected in tribal cultures. This mental health treatment works for me too. Half micro doses do the trick for me. At least a few days at a time with lengthy time in between. Never addictive. Thank you for sharing this point!
Basically i read that as a biphasic sedative/stimulant there are people who genetically predisposed to experience a longer and stronger stimulant phase than others, theeeby increasing their potential addiction - and that this runs in families
That point about doctors treating you last is very true. I'm tired of all the American's saying "detox is a medical emergency go to hospital" because what that amounts to in the British NHS is: "go to A&E and hallucinate in the waiting room for 14 hours" i could do that at home. and miss the withering looks from former secondary school mean girls who ended up becoming nurses.
I was very lucky ! My Doctor was instrumental and supportive....along with my family...that was 25 years ago.Having said that...my brain will still tell me "I need a drink !?" 😂
My take is that if you put a highly addictive substance (alcohol) inside your body then you will get addicted. It can take time for some people, drinking ramps up slowly over the years until it's a daily part of life or it can happen quite quickly depending on the person (escaping pain and giving up on life and falling into addiction to numb feelings). I would argue the 'normal' person who has a glass of wine each night is addicted. Watch how irritable they get when the train home is late and prevents them from having their wine at the normal time.
My father and three of my brothers are alcoholics. I have seen the damage alcoholics do to family and relationships first hand, and it has left me scarred for life. The thing I hated the most was the lying and stealing they did to maintain their addiction to alcohol. The self centredness and lack of empathy towards others because their focus is purely on alcohol. Drink comes first, 2nd, and 3rd in their list of priorities. I've grown to detest alcoholics with every fiber of my being because I was raised by a man who simply didn't care if I lived or died as long as they had money in their pocket for a few pints. My mother was left short of money every week to buy food for us even though my father had a good job. She had to borrow and beg from the neighbor now and then. This is and other things are why people have no sympathy for alcoholics.
The self-centredness is really key here. I am the child of an alcoholic and always blamed my father for being self-centred. But I am also an alcoholic myself (in recovery) and find it difficult to limit my self-centredness. If there was a pill to rid me of self-centredness, I would take it. Is it a moral weakness? It’s certainly a character defect but it’s difficult to flush it out, even if one tries one’s outmost.
Perhaps the reason this is a difficult conversation is because drinking is a choice that may lead to a disease, alcoholism, while let's say a malignant brain tumor is not a choice and is a disease. In biblical scripture, the body is compared to a temple, and we are told not to defile it."'Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies " 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Pretty staight forward. As a person who struggles with alcohol addiction this cuts through to the bone. Iwant more than anything to have this monkey off my back and feel close to God once more. I will tell you the times I have stopped drinking it has seemed that Heaven itself was opened to me almost instantly. Thank you for your thoughtful commentary.
I knew two clergy members who got sober through Alcoholics Anonymous, and were both sober for more than 40 years when they passed away. Each of them said on many occasions that they found more spirituality, more honesty, more decency, more understanding, more compassion, and more God in an AA meeting, than they EVER found in their own churches. If you TRULY want to "have this monkey off my back", then start living in the solution, instead of the problem. "Self will", will get you NOWHERE Marie. I sincerely wish you all the best! Mark 5/8/1994
I think there certainly needs to be compassionate and love aimed at people and their struggles, but we have control over our bodies. Haven’t there been studies done that prove there is no part of our brain that actually causes our bodies to do things? Like meaning that, despite all of the difficulties of addiction, our brain is never forcing us to put the substance into our bodies. We can think we want it so badly, but it doesn’t happen until our body puts it into action.
I don't drink any alcohol or take any other drugs, but some close family members struggle a lot with alcohol. I am not enabling them and I have learned to keep an emotional distance while still showing love and not removing myself completely from their lives, if that makes sense. Channels like yours have helped me to be more understanding and sympathetic towards those struggling with alcohol and to not be angry with them. And to be honest, it could have easily happen to myself, if it wasn't for some lucky coincidences that separated me from my hometown and my "friends" at that time. I drank an awful lot during my teenage years and had blackouts every weekend. I am very aware that if I wouldn't have been able to leave my hometown and if I would have continued to drink the way I was, I'd be in serious trouble right now. Pure luck I believe. Greetings from Austria :)
Thank you for you comment, and for your empathy. Addiction can be a very selfish condition, and that can make those experiencing it very difficult to love. Some understanding goes along way, until the addict can free themselves and be a human again.
One of the first questions asked when seeking medical treatment, whether routine or for something acute is, "Are you allergic to any medications". That question is probably asked ten thousand times a day around the world...and for good reason. People are allergic to all kinds of things, some natural, and some man made. Alcohol is no different. The body of a chronic drinker processes alcohol differently. Hence, alcoholism. My very first encounter with alcohol didn't go well, and it consisted of half a beer. I had a severe negative reaction to it physically. Years later, I finally understood why. Because I have the allergy. So it has nothing to do with a lack of morality, or education, or location, or religion, or race. Alcohol doesn't discriminate.
Hm. Do demons like it when we are sad and feel worthless? I think they do. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
The paremedic who came out to me was visibly hostile and pushed down on my chest so hard to bring me round i still have the fading bruise 4 weeks later. my mother witness3d this he did it with his two fists.
Depending on what you consider to be a moral weakness, yes (I do), but then so are olher poor decisions like eating sugar or too much, not sleeping adequately, being lazy with your mind and I take special issue with that one. One thinks it's ok to be mediocre, to have and to latch onto a thin and super weak brain, cause no one sees it! I only have to look after my eyebrows and buttocks, Of course, biology alongside history explains a lot more than we can care for, I think Sapolsky is God for that matter, but since we don't have a super computer to calculate the precise outcome of our lives, I wouldn't advise losing faith on the absurd, if that makes sense, we have to take responsibility, I know it can be softned sometimes, but you'll ultimately have to, specilally with yourself, if you don't want to end up in dementia or something.
No way ! Diamonds are only formed under intense stress and pressure. To become something brilliant and well honed sometimes requires diabolical experiences to gain full understanding. To truly understand suffering, one must suffer. Clarity and awareness is a burden that comes with a price. Its not weakness, its like punching yourself rather than punching the world. that is not to say it should be pursued as a learning experience, but there are some many positives and so much you can learn about yourself and human nature through addiction. we all have this unfillable void , and insatiable thirst for more and more - some its power, some its intoxication - but the urge to fill the void remains. some don't ever know the void exists and spend their life in some demonic curse as they scramble from one quick fix to another - be it package holidays, crack cocaine, crap meaningelss TV shows with no end and absolutely demoralising story lines. I love listening to you and want good things for you. keep on keeping on squire !!
You'd like the novel The Power and the Glory. Its a novel by Graham Greene about an alcoholic priest during a time in Mexico when the religion was outlawed. The majority of the novel is him toying with whether he is a good person as he turned to the bottle and lives on the run, despite him doing the right thing as much as he can all along the way
Great video. It is a very strange thing with this morale question because: "Drinking" is not seen as bad by society in general, but "Alcoholism" is seen as bad. That's a paradoxon. At least where i come from in Switzerland, we have a very strong drinking culture and with 18 years of age, you get conscripted by the army. Drinking is the standard there, if you don't drink, you are the outcast and they'll bully you. People will encourage you to drink but then, at the same time, they'll blame you once you get addicted. When i was a soldier, they were like "Wow, look at this giant, he can drink anyone under the table", they cheered for me and it was a great feeling. But later, i was blamed for it, when i couldn't stop it anymore.
I really love your videos, but this seems like a cope to justify the horrible things that alcoholics do. you are not making amends by posting this to your loved ones, you are trying to rid yourself of guilt that you have instead of the things you may have done under the influence of alcohol. this comes across as very self-serving. Following the death of my wife, i used alcohol as a coping mechanism for years, and spent the first three years of my sobriety trying to do this exact same thing, u ntil I had no one left. looking back, I wish I focused on facing the damage that I had caused instead of trying to pin it on external factors. You have probably scarred your loved ones for life. Trust me. and the alcohol didn't do that on its own. It's one of the most difficult things to face in sobriety, but if you want to keep up yours, you have to.
Maybe I was unclear somewhere: a lot of my personal sobriety is directly based on taking personal responsibility. That *is* my cope. Like you, it's taken a while to get to that point, and there's probably still some remnant deflection and gaslighting in my strategies, but my point here, which I was trying to make very very subtly so as not to be unnecessarily disruptive, is that alcoholism is not a moral weakness, but that doesn't mean you don't have control over it. Quite the opposite: I'm implying that while some elements of alcoholism are out of our control, we still ultimately have some responsibility to control it.
Very interesting topic. I think, at least in western Society, that unless you have been brought up in a very specific manner where you view alcohol at something to be absolutely avoided, the chances that you will drink some alcohol are virtually 100%. So, initially, there’s very little choice involved. But, there is some. Then, once you have started down that road, environmental and genetic factors come into play that will determine how fast you progress down that slippery slope. So in a sense, it can be viewed as neither a moral failing nor a disease in the classical sense. That leads me to conclude that perhaps we shouldn’t waste time trying to classify it as one or the other. Maybe it’s neither. Maybe it’s its own thing. And, maybe, that’s OK. I’m in recovery now and that’s enough for me.
The word disease is a funny one in this instance, I agree. The classification isn’t what matters. What does matter is knowing that if you are indeed a drunk, your brain has changed as a result of the drinking, and so has your body’s response to alcohol. That is a permanent fact, and it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that you’ve ruined it forever, but we truly have. It gets REAL obvious when one tries to dip their toe back in the pool. You can fool yourself pretty easily by pulling it off short term, but the sad reality is that once you’re fucked, you’re fucked. Sounds kinda disease-like to me🤷♀️
As a long time recovering alcoholic, I don't say that I have a "disease". What I DO say is, "I have a FATAL CONDITION". In my own case, I believe my brain and body were already wired for addiction long before I ever drank. I had other behaviors that were very similar. Many of us come out of the womb with the "More is better" gene. To your point about being "phucked", absolutely! There is no putting the genie back into the bottle. The good news, correction, great news is that we DO RECOVER, IF we are willing to live differently. Not "think" differently, but actually live differently. That's why we say "Bring the body, and the mind will follow". 😉
I've been alcohol free for 25 years now...I never met anyone who said "When I grow up I want to be an alcoholic"...It is a progressive deadly illness...one that can be put in total remission.I really appreciate the videos you post...they will have an impact on many people.
There is also a discussion to be had about blame. The gluttony, or overweight issues, blame the modern food manufacturers for making food with too much fat and sugar in it. You can then argue, well don't eat that sort of food. The only problem is this argument does not translate to alcohol in a sensible way. If you have appendicitis, you need a doctor with a scalpel to cure it. If you are an alcoholic, ultimately you 'cure' yourself by not drinking. Cure is a poor word but it's all I've got. That does not work either. I have no idea, I'm rambling. However it's interesting and I will watch again and have a think, thanks.
That wasn't rambling, that was an excellent point about food. And I know what you mean about the word 'cure', in this context it's all we've got. Thanks for the comment as always.
As always, you've made amazingly eloquent points. But, I believe a large part of the idea of "alcoholism as moral failure" can be traced to something much simpler. Unlike other drugs, alcohol is used by a substantial proportion of the population, usually in moderation. Simply put, I think an average person feels, I can enjoy a drink or two....why must these swine(myself included) drink these epic amounts, to the point where lives are destroyed? Could be wrong, but think that's a key component.
Anyone who thinks its a choice has never witnessed horrific withdrawal for days , and then a day later back on the bottle , it’s not called addiction for nothing, it’s truly a terrible undignified disease and ultimately death , I would wish on nobody , completely misunderstood, my hope is that people will look back in years to come and think just how Stone Age are thinking was now, many people end to weak to fight it alone and die , not everyone gets help in time , so they are mentally and physically receptive enough to survive this disease sadly , that’s the reality, when stupid kicks in as you said , and your brain is being held hostage, no one’s story are life is same , alcoholic’s can be born with more privilege than others alcoholics , social economic factors are massive in outcomes and prospects for survival rates also. Try to go well everyone.
I think about that too, about how populations in the future will look a us like we're so crazy for willingly putting this substance in our bodies. Reminds of how we think of Elizabethan women putting arsenic on their face, and Chinese emperors drinking lead for immortality.
4:56 its considered a moral weakness because addiction affects you on a spiritual level, which means that people see the state the addict is in and assume one of the symptoms is the actual cause .
0:40 "Alcoholism is the only medical condition you can have where people will be mad at you for having it." Really? What about obesity, diabetes, lung cancer? What about people with autism and a whole host of other mental illnesses. No, people are selfish, we tend to measure the world by our own standards. We rely on our bias and assume our narrow view of the world holds everything worth knowing.
I was drinking on off for about 20 years binge drinking but it got bad the last few month were I drank every day 75cl of vodka every day for about 4 weeks I feel better now still feel a bit up and down but the other week I thought I was about to die was like the flu times 10, I always come hear to hear what its like with aclchol without the BS which u put it across very unique channel keep up.the great work and thanks for the advice and knowledge u give
It is obvious you are a deep thinker and a well-read man, Stuart. I need to re-watch this edition a couple of times to truly understand all the concepts and themes through the lens of alcoholism. Definitely food for thought, which is always good. Thank you for this, Stuart.
We're also influenced on a daily basis to keep drinking. Shouldn't advertisers bear some responsibility as well? Also, people who are predisposed toward alcoholism - which is not a small percentage of the population - have a fundamentally different experience with drinking to begin with. It might seem like a choice to those who remember getting hammered a few times in college, and never got big into drinking.
Well, I think its regarded as a moral failing because its and act. Unlike, say, cancer, its something I actively do to myself rather than something that happened to me without my direct action. I could stop it, and I know I could, I had long periods of sobriety before which gets us to the "choice" part. Well, yes. However, that is overly simplistic as so few of our choices are ironclad decisions by our conscious mind. It takes a while to get your subconscious, your triggers, to cooperate and there are, for most of us, relapses along the way to sobriety. The disease part is true too as far as there are clearly measurable neurological and physical traits, even genetic ones, associated with it.
Great topic. Great Mitch Hedberg reference too. Another great comedian taken too early by addiction. As far as it being a Moral problem... screw morals and screw people who look down on anyone. Thats really all I got. Not very eloquent but it's how I feel and it has actually served me quite well in getting sober.
The problem is alcohol itself, but we will blame anything else to keep drinking. In order for the rest of the community to keep drinking, say it's the individual's fault. Nevermind that we freely encourage others to imbibe one of the most addictive substances on earth, while understanding that at least 10 per cent of the population will develop a problem.
I have personally experienced the judgemental attitude of doctors and nurses both at home and at the hospital and it really is true. Despite being medically trained a lot of them remain ignorant about alcohol use disorder and perceive those struggling with it to be a waste of their time. A doctor once got called out to me and she made it perfectly clear what she thought of me, even hiding her doctor's bag because she must have thought I was going to raid it for drugs or something. She made me feel like I was the worst type of person.
Unfortunately, that contributes to keeping people away from treatment. I was on the end of something similar. I was never told what I was being treated for, for example. It's so counterproductive.
I believe that Dr. Hedberg's greatest contribution to modern day civilization was his breakthrough discovery that an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs.
I know that I have been kicked out of emergency rooms. They rarely admit an alcoholic to both hospitals near me. I have never even had a CIWA (Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment) administered. They pretty much look down on us. They view us - in my opinion - that we can be seen as useless bodies taking up a hospital bed, or, seeking medication. They always send a social worker in to tell you that you need to go to rehab. It's unfortunate. However, if you have pancreatitis... Interesting psychosocial and philosophical breakdown, Batman.
It's such a waste. If more resources were put into treating alcoholics and getting people sober, think of the longer term health costs that would be avoided, and the amount of talent and productivity that we'd all get back. Thanks for the comment Shades, and happy Independence Day for yesterday.
@@Phumos I am not saying they turn everyone away from being admitted. You have to present horribly. If I had gone on a run for over a month on 80-proof liquor, then they might admit me if they thought I might be a risk for DT. I don't like liquor and I can't drink heavily for more than a week because my brain and receptors are kindled. I've had friends that have been admitted for those reasons. I have been discharged from the ER with Librium, but that only happened a few times. I got admitted once because of high heart rate. Other than that, they considered my cases mild.
@@_BatCountry I didn't really answer the question. It's a chicken or egg situation considering the disease model. The person who might have a genetic predisposition who never drinks will not become alcoholic. However, the disease model is based on when the mid-brain - the area where sex drive or hunger originates takes over and disconnects from the rational processing pre-frontal cortex. This only starts after repeated ethanol exposure. One example would be my latest of two relapses. I never intended to drink, but the next thing I know, I am in a detox wondering what happened. I seemed to be powerless.
I've experienced medical staff's negative opinion of me. Firstly I must be clear I'm utterly grateful that i've been admitted and treated in hospital 4 times. On 2 of these occasions I was a cardiac risk due to withdrawal DTs. Yes they saved my life. But a nurse during one episode was definitely unhappy looking after me - i was NOT imagining it - and on another a junior Dr made me feel like the devil incarnate, glaring and scowling at me every time he walked past my bed, laughing and smiling with other patients before and after me. It was very pointed behaviour. That was my last alcohol related hospital admission 15 mnths ago and it will never happen again. I can't go through DTs again & feel i have streteched my reliance on my local hospital to save me past its limit. Enough is enough.
I admire your attitude, and congratulations on your sober time. It sucks that some of us have to go through such awful experiences before we start to get better, but it's the getting better that matters most.
The alcohol companies have no moral problem selling a dangerous drug. The rot gut wine or the horrifically cheap vodka still make them a profit; yet they know it’s going to the worst of the alcoholics or the teenagers looking to get wasted. Tax the living hell out of it and impose a mandatory one year sentence for first time DUI. All ads or product labels should have a clear alcohol/ drug warning that any amount is dangerous and becomes addictive with increasing consumption…..
I'm still conflicted over that. I'm not sure we should ban all alcohol just because people like me can't handle it. Mark Twain said, "censorship is telling a man he can't have steak because a baby can't chew it." I'm the baby here, so does that mean no one else should enjoy a steak? I dunno, my opinion changes day to day on it. Thanks for the comment!
