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Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

nytimes.com

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Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#141

Post by tyingq »

giantg2 wrote: post #78
tyingq wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment illustrates a large part of the problem. If society believes addiction is mostly a willpower problem, then effective services to help address it won't exist.

Isn't the first step admitting you have a problem and wanting to fix it? There's not much one can do without patient consent (which I don't think is mentioned here). Even then, the most the hospital can really do is counsel and recommend inpatient treatment at a specialized facility. I really hope the 'pushed out the doors comment was a slight exaggeration. They should have at least talked about the treatment options…

It is. But that's making the assumption that step 1 is where most people fail. I suspect that's not the case.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#142

Post by giantg2 »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #139
giantg2 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about faith. It's about community and being part of one that at least gives a tiny crap about you (as opposed to the general population).

Lies. They don't exactly accept folks that are openly atheist and tell them their rules for life are crap. You have to act like the religion is correct, even if you don't believe it. A lot of them won't accept you if you are queer in any form. I'm bisexual, and refuse to act like half of me doesn't exist. Some of them won't accept you if you do not dress well enough, though I realize some are more lax. Some consider…

"A lot of them won't accept you..."

There are tons of religions out there. You have to find one that works for you. Atheist? Join an atheist group. There are options.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#143

Post by emerged »

psychlops wrote: post #130

I notice that "the pandemic" is quickly found as the root cause and no analysis at all is done to identify if the response to the pandemic is to be implicated as well. I'd wager that waking up one day and discovering that one's job is not essential might be stressful. Being forbidden from going to the beaches and parks might have contributed. The stress of learned helplessness from countless bureaucratic decisions la…

Well you clearly didn’t read the article because the entire thing is talking about all of the sorts of causes you listed.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#144

Post by gitfan86 »

subungual wrote: post #112
chockchocschoir wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. So I both drink and smoke because I enjoy it and life is too short to not do things you enjoy (applicable to all things in life), even if it shortens my life-span by some years give or take. What is the logical evidence proving that I actually don't enjoy it?

Not here to proselytize about your lifestyle choices, and I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of smoking and drinking myself over the years. That said, as someone who works daily with patients whose health has been destroyed by excessive drinking or pretty much any level of smoking, it's always been striking to me how surprised people tend to be by the results. A lot of people performing the calculus of "eh, what's…

The problem with the people you are talking about is that they didn't cut back as soon as they started to have minor medical problems. Having 4 drinks a day for a couple years in your 30s doesn't cause permanent liver damage that will kill you. But continuing to have 4 drinks a day AFTER being told that you are overweight and have elevated blood test results due to drinking can kill you.

This becomes even more important as you age. Someone who starts smoking heavily in their 60s is far more likely to get a blood clot than someone in their 20s

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#145

Post by tzs »

Maybe next time we get a pandemic that needs people to stay at home a lot we should issue everyone vouchers good for a free decent beginner's musical instrument and enough free lessons with an instructor over video chat to teach them enough of the basics to get them to where they can continue learning from books and YouTube without an instructor.

That might give people something to both distract them from the pandemic and take up time that might otherwise go to less healthy pursuits. When you are practicing 40 hours a day (69 hours a day if your instrument is bass) there isn't much time to drink.

On the other hand, I suppose it might also lead to an increase in murders and divorces due to how annoying it can be to be in a household with a beginning musician if there is no place they can practice out of earshot of the rest of the household, so it might not be a net win.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#146

Post by giantg2 »

tyingq wrote: post #141
giantg2 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the first step admitting you have a problem and wanting to fix it? There's not much one can do without patient consent (which I don't think is mentioned here). Even then, the most the hospital can really do is counsel and recommend inpatient treatment at a specialized facility. I really hope the 'pushed out the doors comment was a slight exaggeration. They should have at least talked about the treatment options…

It is. But that's making the assumption that step 1 is where most people fail. I suspect that's not the case.

Well, anyone with a problem fails that step for some period of time until they realize it. But sure, once in or trying to be in recovery, that occupies the rest of their life.

This whole thread is making assumptions as it wasn't mentioned if the person would consent to treatment.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#147

Post by hdesh »

tzs wrote: post #145

Maybe next time we get a pandemic that needs people to stay at home a lot we should issue everyone vouchers good for a free decent beginner's musical instrument and enough free lessons with an instructor over video chat to teach them enough of the basics to get them to where they can continue learning from books and YouTube without an instructor. That might give people something to both distract them from the pandemi…

Good point about music. I have used the pandemic as an opportunity to get back at playing the keyboard. I have put it right next to my desk, so if I have to take a break from work, I can play it.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#148

Post by servytor »

I discovered Kudzu[0] and alcoholism a while ago and hope it might help somebody here or their friend or loved one. Kudzu apparently is an amazing drug for helping people quit drinking. I hope if anybody here has trouble, or knows someone with trouble, they try introducing it to them if it makes sense to them. Here is a BBC article[1], but they only did 500mg instead of 2g. Apparently it works by helping you feel drunk faster, speeding up the time delay effect and thus making you not want to drink as much.

[0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4510012/

[1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35381041

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#149

Post by subungual »

gitfan86 wrote: post #144
subungual wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not here to proselytize about your lifestyle choices, and I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of smoking and drinking myself over the years. That said, as someone who works daily with patients whose health has been destroyed by excessive drinking or pretty much any level of smoking, it's always been striking to me how surprised people tend to be by the results. A lot of people performing the calculus of "eh, what's…

The problem with the people you are talking about is that they didn't cut back as soon as they started to have minor medical problems. Having 4 drinks a day for a couple years in your 30s doesn't cause permanent liver damage that will kill you. But continuing to have 4 drinks a day AFTER being told that you are overweight and have elevated blood test results due to drinking can kill you. This becomes even more import…

I fully understand what you're saying, but it's somewhat skew to the point I'm trying to make. The people I'm talking about are the ones who have already baked health effects of their habits into their calculus and claim to acknowledge them. For someone who has already bought into the idea that their smoking or drinking will shorten their lives, an elevated BP reading, finding themselves having trouble taking more than one flight of stairs, or even having some chest or leg pain when they're walking around are unlikely to be major wake-up calls. My point is that people may know the end result, but they generally don't have a sense of what the path to that result looks like and underestimate its effects.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#150

Post by clsec »

elliekelly wrote: post #137
dotancohen wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That service exists, though. The hospital specifically referred them to AA.

AA is a religious organization. Not everyone wants to be “saved”. Nor should they have to be in order to get treatment for alcoholism.

IMO it's a cult.

I spent a lot of my childhood at AA meetings with my alcoholic mother. I am also an alcoholic and struggled for years because the only answer I was ever offered was AA/NA. I tried it for myself a few times (usually to please others) but was always instantly turned off by it's cult like attributes. I eventually found help through a few different paths.

disclaimer: my half-sister's mother was in a cult (Alive Polarity Fellowship) for 20 years.

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