Re: The \"disease\" of alcoholism.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Without invoking the judgmental term "addiction," it's literally impossible to distinguish the choice to consume large quantities of alcohol with the choice to have intercourse with members of the same sex, to have no sex at all, to live as a hippie in a commune, to work 80 hours a week, to own 100 cats, to trek across Antarctica, or a million other lifestyle choices that we consider unusual, but not insane.
[/ QUOTE ]
Mmmhmmm. How many of these activities can result in seizures if you stop them?
You DO realize that 'addiction' is not just a judgemental term, and that some substances result in withdrawal symptoms, while others do not, right?
[/ QUOTE ]
Thats more 'physical dependence' than addiction. Physical dependance is usually a part of an addiction, but you can be addicted without it. The definition of an addiction is the continued use of a substance in the face of adverse consequences. What this means is that I can drink 12 beers every single night, and as long as I show up for work every morning, have good personal relationships, and don't have any adverse health effects, I'm not an alcoholic. But if my boss tells me he's getting tired of me being groggy in the morning and I keep drinking anyway, I am an addict.
[/ QUOTE ]
Be that as it may, I had no trouble distinguishing alcoholism from 'hippieism'...
As someone above said, we are indeed talking semantics. But to equate alcoholism and chastity is a bit of a stretch no matter how you define things.
|