Dr. Neill Neill
People addicted to alcohol drink compulsively and often claim to have an addictive personality. It is a convenient myth.
I heard of a dentist who approached his dental work with compulsive attention to detail. His crowns had to fit perfectly. He was fanatical about bite adjustment and his workspace cleanliness was impeccable—all things I like to see in a dentist, because I do not like pain… or recalls.
Unfortunately, when his compulsive cleanliness extended to his front office and the waiting room, he could not keep his staff. His marriages didn’t last, because he imposed his compulsive orderliness on his family.
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Dr. Neill Neill
A reader left a question on the article "Can you become Allergic to Alcohol?" Her question was
What is alcoholic neuropathy? Have heard the term and interested in understanding.
She went on to add the comment,
It is just amazing when you read the comments from other people, and it is like they are just describing the events of your own life.
Alcoholic Neuropathy: Symptoms
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Filed under Blog, Symptoms of Alcoholism by Dr. Neill Neill
My oldest daughter, Monique, died suddenly in December. It has been a difficult time, especially on top of the death of a son earlier in the year.
As a parent I can’t help but ponder the "why" question.
I wrote an article, Grieving the Death of a Child. The article is about grieving, not about alcohol use and abuse, although the latter may have been involved.
Neill
Dr. Neill Neill
It is the beginning of the holiday season. While a time of joy for many, it can also be a dangerous time for alcoholics. Learn how to avoid alcohol abuse over the holidays…
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Dr. Neill Neill
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that many people have suffered from at one time or another. If untreated, PTSD can lead people to indulging in addictive behaviors. For example, someone who was once a casual drinker may now have increased his alcohol consumption.
We hear all the time about soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Exposed to the horror of actual or threatened death or serious injury, they re-experience the trauma through not being able to stop thinking about it, flashbacks, nightmares or intense body reactions to certain situations. They report feeling numb, not interested in anything, depressed and having no sense of future. Symptoms may include difficulty sleeping, irritability and always being on guard. Many military and ex-military self-medicate with alcohol or other drugs and become addicted.
More on A Primer on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD - and Self-Medication with Alcohol
Tags: addictive, alcohol, alcohol consumption, anxiety, depression, functioning alcoholics, post traumatic stress, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, trauma, veterans
Jackie asked me how many drinks could her husband have in a day before she should worry. She says he drinks three or four beers in the evening on work nights and a lot more on weekends when he doesn’t have to go to work the next day. She thinks he may be a functioning alcoholic.
Kevin worries that his wife’s three or four glasses of wine in the evening could be the beginning of alcoholism. Alcoholism runs in her family.
Both Jackie and Kevin were quite surprised to find their partners’ consumption was well above what are considered low-risk drinking levels…
More on How Much Alcohol Is Too Much? The Facts Might Surprise You
Dr. Neill Neill
Part Three of the Functioning Alcoholic
There is a third critical factor to bear in mind when questioning the functioning of a so-called "functioning alcoholic." The first factor to consider was whether the alcoholic is functioning generally in life, or just in one aspect of life, like his job. The second factor was whether the alcoholic in achieving his potential and pursuing his dreams, not just getting by.
The third factor has to with how long the "functioning," at whatever level, can last in the presence of alcoholism.
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Dr. Neill Neill
Part Two of The Functioning Alcoholic
In The Functioning Alcoholic: Part One I argued that doing one’s job is not one’s only function in life. For the alcoholic to consider himself to be "functioning" he has to function in various areas of life, not just on the job.
Abandoned Dreams and Underachievement
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Dr. Neill Neill
At this time of year in many communities there are volunteer programs to get people home safely if they’ve been drinking and shouldn’t drive. Their existence is a reminder that Christmas parties, family gatherings, New Year’s Eve parties and other celebrations push up the alcohol consumption during the holiday season.
A few of all the people celebrating will already be full-blown alcoholics: they may drink a bit more than their normal level, but generally will blend in with everyone else. After all, they hold jobs, serve on volunteer committees, have families and have friends. These are the so-called "functioning alcoholics."
So what’s wrong with being an alcoholic if you can function normally?
Part One is the first of three discussions of the issue.
More on The Functioning Alcoholic, Part One
Dr. Neill Neill
Daniel emailed me to ask for my thoughts on the question "Can you have an alcohol allergy?" He recalled that I had mentioned I was allergic to alcohol in a talk I gave to a group of alumni of the Sunshine Coast Health Centre in June.
I was a functioning alcoholic when I was younger. But in my mid thirties I began having unexplained physical illness symptoms that eventually got me to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
During the prior year I had been hospitalized for a duodenal ulcer and later for a gall bladder attack, neither of which actually existed. I periodically got a sharp pain that ran from my left chest over my shoulder and down my left arm, so they checked me for heart problems. My heart was and is strong. I had periodic severe lower abdominal pain suggesting a hernia; I may have had a phantom hernia, but not a real one. My morning weight varied as much as 7 lbs with no change in activity, diet or alcohol consumption.
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