AA Is Not The Only Way

I ask because I’ve heard that alot of cops are alcoholics and was wondering if anyone had an approxiamate percentage of cops who were alcoholic and/or drunk on the job.

In what state, country, or geographic area?

And really, no matter where you’re asking about it’s probably not going to be possible to tell. The very nature of the disease makes it one of those things most people don’t talk about or, if they do, they do so under confidential surroundings.

As you can tell by the answers you have so far, you’re not going to get an answer here. The FBI has an article on the subject (it’s ten years old) and you can read it in the January 1999 Law Enforcement Bulletin here:

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/1999/jan99leb.pdf

Even it talks about "estimates" and "abuse" rather than actual alcoholism, so I’m sticking with the idea that you’re not going to get a definitive answer to this question.

Laney is an alcoholic who has lost everything she had dreamed for. She has already been to the Emergency Room numerous times and once to the ICU. Her body is heavily damaged from years of abuse. Desparate for attention from her divorced husband whom she still has feeling for, her days are full of binge drinking for hours at a time. Laney’s family is upset that it has gotten this far. Laney has also openly mentioned suicidal thoughts as well pushing the family for an intervention as soon as possible. Can Laney get help before it’s too late?

*I am stating that I have no intentions of selling these videos. I don’t make any money off of them, nor do I have intentions to do so. I post them simply for viewing. All video content belongs to the distributor.*

Duration : 0:7:54

Read more…

Technorati Tags: a&e, addict, addiction, alcohol, and, ic, if, intervention, laney, tv

I am watching an intervention episode and the guy hides his booze all over the house. That seems to be common for alcoholics but not for other types of addicts. Why?

hahaha good quesiton. they hide it cuz they are hiding it from themselves. they think as long as it’s not in the usual place that it’s a step closer to quitting. also they can keep it a secret from those that are judgmental, as they are probably paranoid thanks to their own craziness. so ya they just put it in strange places haha.

There are some cultures and countries that drink a lot more than Irish.
Some of them include:
Native Americans.
Korean
German.
Why do the Irish get the title of alcoholics?

just great. you are complaining about a stereotype of the irish by bashing other ethnicities and races with the same stereotype? way to go.

I just got accepted to a grad program to study the temperamental, family, and environmental factors in children that lead to alcoholism in adolescents. I assume this means my clinical experiences will have a heavy emphasis on alcohol dependency.

I was just wondering what it’s like to work with alcoholics. What are they like as clients? Is it difficult/challenging? Rewarding?
Do they ever get violent or get in rages when they’re going through dry spells?

I am a recovered alcoholic and I want to tell you that of all the things I did when I quit drinking, the most helpful BY FAR was working with a good therapist.

AA helped–a little bit–by giving me a place to meet people who understood (for lack of a better term) the alcoholic experience. AA was not helpful as a way to true emotional health, however, as at bottom it is truly a cult. One must think and act the "AA way"…and all sorts of bizarre abuses go on there…it’s like being in kindergarten perpetually because people are convinced you’ll drink again if you go to the first grade.

What I realized in my own therapy is that my drinking was a coping mechanism that started in my childhood, when I was being raised by a mother who had asperger’s disorder and a dad who drank a lot. It was useful then, in a strange way, but I became addicted and spent the next 25 years destroying myself. I was left with a small spark of humanity when I quit, though, and my therapist worked with me for 7 years to help me understand myself; I was able to build on that little spark and today I am 10 years sober, healthy and very happy.

My suggestion to you is that you not give up on your goal, even though it is true, as others have said, that alcoholics are difficult to work with….we really really are. But we are so in need of help and understanding, and AA is so limiting….please keep going and please do not get tied into the whole "12 step is the only way" mentality.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!

And I say that because without Labor Day Weekend, this probably wouldn’t have been made. It was half-finished by the time school started so I really had no hope that this would ever be done. And I KNOW I said that Happiness is a Warm Gun was my last video for a while, but THIS one is actually the last video (for a while)!

PLEASE READ THE NOT-SO-DESCRIPTIVE DESCRIPTION:

The story is set about 15-20 years ago since the Joker’s age is supposed to be around his late 30s, early 40s (despite the fact that Heath Ledger was in his 20s when he shot the film). I just kind of took the story that the Joker told Rachel about how he got his scars and ran with it — so here it is!

Emily Carey is walking the streets at night, trying to avoid a run in with the mob that she’s involved with, when she runs into none other than the future Joker. He’s warm towards her at first, quite taken with her, and convinces her to join him. The two bond and learn more and more about each other, including the Joker’s past with his alcoholic father, and her old family troubles as well. While she’s gone, he thinks about how close he’s growing to her, struggling whether he really should trust her or not since he’d had such a disappointing life. Eventually, he gives up his fight with himself to be with her while she keeps quiet about how involved she is with the mafia. However, she crumbles when the mob turns on her and asks him for help, even though she knows he’s unable to save her from the trouble she’s in. Caught and defenseless, they cut up her face and let her go with the humiliation she’s forced to live with. Emily can’t stand how awful she looks, and even though the Joker’s trying to be supportive, he can’t convince her to believe that scars don’t matter…so he does the UNTHINKABLE and mutilates himself (to her horror). Ultimately, she leaves him and the Joker is born from the ashes of despair.

Clips Used:
The Dark Knight
V for Vendetta
10 Things I Hate About You
Sweeney Todd

Song:
Nothing Else Matters by Apocalyptica (edited)

Reasons for Natalie Portman, of all people:
Must I list all of them? She’s a natural beauty, sort of like Maggie Gyllenhaal, so that’s why I would think that the Joker might be interested in Rachel. Natalie is also a very convincing and emotional actress in almost every film that she’s in (especially in V for Vendetta). Sorry if you’re disappointed by my choice, but I like her in my portrayal of his wife.

Inaccuracies:
OH WAIT — THEY’RE MARRIED??
I know there’s no “marriage” scene, because even though the Joker did admit he had a wife, part of me doesn’t like that idea. I think I would have preferred them to have just fallen in love in their youth while they dated and THEN their relationship fell apart. But all the same, he does safe wife in my video so I’m sorry I forgot to include a scene of their wedding.

Wewt – that’s a lot of text…
ENJOY.

Duration : 0:2:35

Read more…

Technorati Tags: aaron, bale, batman, christian, dark, dawes, dent, eckhart, harvey, heath, joker, knight, ledger, rachel, The

Should alcoholics compete equally for such a scarce resource with those whose liver disease are not a result of their lifestyle choice?

What’s your opinion on the issue?

This question hit close to home for me since I have primary biliary disease and was given a liver transplant. I waited on the list for 18 months along with many waiting inactive alcoholics.

If the alcoholic proves that he/she is no longer drinking and has made a serious life change committed to never drink, then I believe he/she should be able to get a transplant. Most transplant centers require at least 6 months of proven sobriety plus random bloodwork testing for alcohol. If the bloodwork turns up positive for alcohol prior to transplant, they will be tossed off the list and it would be nearly impossible to get listed again. I think it’s about the best we can do on this issue, and I agree with the way it is done in trying to be fair to everyone.

My boyfriend is the person im going to marry in life, i love him so much, but he has a bad drinking problem. I was wondering if anyone knew any good online support groups for spouses of alcoholics?

www.12stepforums.net. You should really go to face to face meeting for alanon and he should go to the reg. AA meetings. If he won’t go then it would greatly benefit you to understand this disease by going to alanon. Also there are lots of good books at the library on alanon. Hope this helps, you are very smart to want to help him, it will make a big difference in your life together.

Cristine and Kelly: Cristine, a wife and mother with an abusive and dark past, is an alcoholic who drinks about 18 beers a day. Just three years ago, Cristine was top saleswoman at her Los Angeles-based newspaper; now, since her return to work after having her first child, the alcohol has damaged her career so much that she has yet to collect any advertising commission from ad sales. Her husband is a stay-at-home dad, but their “home” is Cristine’s mother’s living room floor due to Cristine’s continuing business problems. Now Cristine’s health is failing–she often works 4 hours or less a day due to stomach problems caused by her drinking–and the family feels an intervention is the only thing that can save her from herself, but Cristine wants no part of rehab after a disastrous stint two years ago. Kelly is an anorexic real estate agent and club DJ in Florida who weighs only 93 pounds and who often consumes less than 5% of her body’s caloric needs for the day. She has a 6-year-old daughter who is sadly following in her mother’s footsteps, imitating Kelly’s disdain of food by refusing to eat her breakfast and leaving her lunch tray full of food. Kelly’s boyfriend wants to come live with her in Florida but knows he cannot save Kelly by himself and needs outside help to break Kelly out of this destructive downward spiral. Everyone who loves Kelly is not only trying to save her, but also her daughter. Can Tara Fields and Jeff VanVonderen get through to two addicts who don’t believe they have any problems?

Duration : 0:10:1

Read more…

Technorati Tags: ADD, Click, suggested, tags, To

I am writing a group proposal for my Intro to Group Therapy class and I was a little confused as to which kind of group would best help adult children of alcoholics.

Doesn’t the group "Adult Children of Alcoholics" already exist as part of AA?