14th Jan 2008
The alcoholic is not responsible for becoming an alcoholic!
Alcohol is one of the most insidious drugs on earth. It builds the addiction without us even knowing it. Every glass of alcoholic beverage, be it a beer with the friends, or a cup of champagne at a festive occasion, modifies the nervous cells step by step, bit by bit, gradually increasing the appetite for the next glass.
From the first beer which most of the people do not like because of the taste and all the way to important daily quantities of alcohol, we cannot see the appetite increasing. And one day, when in the end we are forced to admit it, we are already ill of alcoholism, and by ourselves and without important help we are unable to stop drinking.
One thing, most campaigns against alcohol abuse fail to tell people:
It does not matter how long you have stopped from drinking. It does not matter if between two beers, for instance there have been months passing. The demand for alcohol by the nervous cells does not diminish in time!
If you take your next glass after three, or six, or twelve months, it will add to the existing appetite for alcohol. The physical demand counter does not reset like in nicotine for instance.
This is why, without proper knowledge and strong education since childhood about how alcohol really works and builds addiction, you cannot be held responsible for the fact that at some point you cannot quit. That point in time is - in most cases - too late to stop drinking without proper help.
This is why, only by developing and maintaining a strong and permanent desire to give up drinking alcohol, alongside with other medical and psychological methods - and not only by ourselves - but with help from others and from specialists, we are able to abstain and regain control over our lives.
Admitting that we might have an alcohol related problem is the first step to recovery. Because alcohol acts so undetected on us, it is good that from time to time we ask ourselves if we have not already developed addiction to it. It’s best to stay alert! Alcohol has tricked many great people into abuse, destroying many lives. Be curious and sincere to ask yourself! Try this self-administered test on alcohol addiction.
A "must read" book to get you started on understanding the complexity of alcoholism, how alcohol really acts on its victims and how you can help yourself or your beloved ones to quit drinking.
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