It is believed that the genetic aspects of addiction are related to the way peoples’ brains handle neurotransmitters.
For example, a person with genetically low levels of dopamine (the “pleasure chemical”) might discover that a certain drug raises the level and makes him feel better — without, of course, knowing exactly what happened.
If that person continues to use the drug to overcome the deficiency in dopamine production, there will come a time when the brain no longer produces it at anything like a sufficient level without the presence of the drug. At that point, ceasing drug use is no longer an option as far as that individual is concerned. They now need the drug to function normally. This can happen to people who start off with normal dopamine levels, as well, but they are rather less likely to seek the relief to begin with.
This is only one example. There are hundreds of neurotransmitters, and all of their functions are set genetically — at least initially. The dopamine issue is a common one, but not by any means the only one.
I get a notice from Google Calendar in my Gmail every morning. Most of the time, it tells me that I have no events scheduled for the day, apart from the odd subscription or Internet charge coming due. What a relief that is: “You have no events scheduled today!”
I like certain events; don’t get me wrong. I love having dinner with the kids and their families, excursions to the marsh to look at birds and critters with my honey, granddaughters’ birthday parties, visits to family in North Florida, the occasional movie, a new gadget to play with. Stuff like that. But it seems to me that one of the rewards for growing older is a reduction in Events Scheduled Today, things like “talk to bankruptcy lawyer,” “look for job,” “visit pawnshop,” “buy beer,” “contemplate suicide, “go to rehab….”
This life is better. There are things that need to be done, the routine stuff. Chores, shopping, clean the cat box, sign up for Medicare. We still work. Even though we’ll be collecting Social Security soon, we’ll continue to work. Our checkered past pretty much precluded nest eggs and 401-K’s, and that’s OK. Given the current state of affairs, there’s no telling whether any of those things would have survived in much of a state anyway. The retirement resources we’ll have are the ones we can scare up on a week to week basis, combined with those that we were unable to screw up back in “the day.” And that’s OK, too.
I regret the cost to other people, but it took all of that to shape who I am today, so I can’t regret it for myself. I like who I am, and I don’t mind being a slow old grasshopper. Seems to me that it’s better than being a twisted up, burned-out ant. But of course if I were in a different situation I might view that differently too. Who knows? Do burned-out, twisted ants recognize their condition? I’ll never know. And, of course, being a burned-out grasshopper was no fun at all.
But I know this: apart from work, which is mostly just boring, I get up every morning looking forward to the day. I look forward to the little events that Google doesn’t predict. I look forward to sitting at the computer and exploring the world, and to banging out these little bits of — what? Philosophy? Wisdom? Utter hogwash? Drivel? Who cares? It’s all part of the small stuff, and today it’s all small stuff, mostly. I’m cool with my status as a human, being. Human Doing is no longer part of my job description.
The King and the King of Pop had a good deal more in common than musical innovation.
Elvis, son of an unsuccessful Mississippi sharecropper, came from hard times and rose above them. He reinvented popular music by successfully combining the three main aspects of American music tradition: mountain or “country” music, popular ballads, and soul. Not only did he do that, he helped facilitate the frame of mind that led to the civil rights reforms of the ’60’s and ’70’s, by bridging a cultural gap that had — except for jazz — remained largely untouched. He did that on his own, actively resisted by the musical Old Guard and much of conventional society as well. If music expresses the humanity of man, then Elvis Presley combined the streams of our musical perception and made us that much closer to being a human race, rather than races.
Michael essentially created a musical genre of his own, combining soul, disco and his own vision into performances that literally changed the face of popular music for a generation. We’ll never know if Jackson would have had the same influence had his chance not come at the same time as the birth of music videos and extravaganzas on the stage, but this is not meant to imply that he was just a showman. He, like Elvis, was a product of a traumatic childhood, and that is reflected in the nuances of his songwriting, his production values, and — most certainly — in the latter half of his professional career. His humanity, its image distorted but not beyond recognition, came through in his work.
Perhaps the forces that shape musical royalty — even celebrity in general — are fated to become the means of their downfall, as well as their muse. Continue Reading »
Booze Linked To 1 In 25 Deaths Worldwide – CBS News
Alcohol consumption is linked to one in every 25 deaths worldwide, according to a study that concludes the effects of drinking are as harmful as smoking.In a series of articles published in The Lancet, alcohol is linked to behavioral deaths, like violent injuries, as well as medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer and liver disorders like cirrhosis.
by Bill
Life is full of suffering. We suffer because we want things. Sometimes they’re things we have that we don’t want to give up, and sometimes they’re things we don’t have, may never have, and want anyway. But the worst kind of want is for things that we know we’ll never have. Read the rest of this entry »
Seventy-five years ago today, a proctologist in Akron, Ohio, took his last drink of booze. As a result of his having gotten sober with the help of another drunk, a businessman from New York, Alcoholics Anonymous was born. More here.
It would be interesting to know how many people owe their lives and the sanity of family members to that happy coincidence, via the rooms of AA and its sister orgrnization Alanon. We will, of course, never know. We can surmise that the figure in in the millions, but there is no real way to tell.
There’s a bunch, though. I know a few myself. Happy Birthday, AA.
And thanks, from the bottom of my heart.
Just got word that my granddaughter Cadi, age 19, died last night of alcohol and chronic depression. The details don’t matter.
Another one down.
Hair tests for alcohol consumption actually test for ethyl glucuronide, a metabolite of ethyl alcohol. It is always present in hair when alcohol has been used, and is never present otherwise, hence it is a positive test for consumption of alcohol.
The length of time it can be read in the hair is, theoretically, at least, dependent on the length of the hair. Hair grows at roughly 1/2 inch per month, so hair 12 inches long could be tested back for two years. It is probable that damage to the hair from chemicals such as bleaches and dyeing agents could affect the accuracy of the testing in longer hair, but in shorter hair the test is accurate to acceptable levels for legal use.
ETG testing is normally used to (a) determine if alcohol has been used recently; or (b) establish a pattern of continuous alcohol use for the purpose of diagnosing alcoholism. Short of shaving your entire body, there is no way to avoid the results.
Poor Birth Outcomes Increased By Lower Legal Drinking Age, Study Finds
“Our findings suggest that a lower drinking age increases risky sexual behavior among young people, and that leads to more unplanned pregnancies that result in premature birth and low birth weight,” said study author Angela Fertig, assistant professor in the UGA College of Public Health. “The take-home message is that when it’s easier for young people to get alcohol, birth outcomes are worse.”
A Person’s High Or Low Response To Alcohol Says Much About Their Risk For Alcoholism
“If a person needs more alcohol to get a certain effect, that person tends to drink more each time they imbibe,” explained Marc A. Schuckit, director of the Alcohol Research Center, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and corresponding author for the study.“Other studies we have published have shown that these individuals also choose heavy drinking peers, which helps them believe that what they drink and what they expect to happen in a drinking evening are ‘normal,’” he said. “This low LR, which is perhaps a low sensitivity to alcohol, is genetically influenced.”
The Dangers Of ‘Extreme’ College Drinking And A Sensation-Seeking Disposition
Drinking on college campuses in the United States is a pervasive problem, leading to numerous problems. One study estimated that more than 500,000 college students suffered alcohol-related injuries in 2001. This study examined the “dose-response” effect of quantities and frequencies, finding that heavy drinkers with a sensation-seeking disposition had the greatest risk of alcohol-related injuries.
Dan was kind enough to comment on the Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome article I wrote some time ago. You can read the article here. I so liked the way he expressed himself on the issue of store-front detox docs, that I asked if I could use his comment:
I succumbed to the Madison-Avenue hyperbole spewed by a storefront Suboxone-peddling physician. This doc assured me that my years of opiate abuse/dependency would dissipate in a mere two weeks with this wonder drug. Granted, while on Suboxone I felt wonderfully well; afterwards, however, my spirits crumbled as I began to feel worse than I had during the peak of cold-turkey withdrawal. Of course, he dutifully advised me that I was experiencing PAWS – and for an additional $800 in cash I could enjoy another two to four weeks of Subox. I gallantly and charmingly declined.
My relapse was all but inevitable. Eights months later (after a literal drive-by intervention) I entered a medical detox facility and then was assigned to an intensive outpatient program three times per week, three hours per day for 24 sessions – attached thereafter to a one-year aftercare program. This process has been life-changing for me. And right now we are “working” on the skills and strategies to understand and soberly cope with PAWS. Who woulda thunk? The group’s facilitator is an LADC who focuses a huge amount of therapy time on helping her clients understand PAWS and its propensity for leading to relapse. Not only does she make us dig deeply to uncover our original motives for “using,” she guides us and prompts us to do the work necessary to cope during recovery.
There is hope out there. To all who now suffer, understand the pain – instead of trying to cover it. In so doing, you improve greatly the chances that your tomorrows will be improvements upon your “today.” Indeed, this, too, shall pass.
My Most Positive Thoughts to All –
Dan
Children who grow up with a parent with a drinking problem have been shown to suffer from depression, anxiety, acting out, and academic and social difficulties.
Some of these problems begin as early as age 2 however, the few prevention programs that exist for children of alcoholic parents are typically aimed at students in middle school or older.
Andrea Hussong, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, hopes to change that.
White House Czar Calls for End to “War on Drugs”
http://www.truthout.org/051409S?n
Gary Fields, The Wall Street Journal: “The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the US is fighting ‘a war on drugs,’ a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.”
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Dr. Bob and Bill W. -
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