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If said friend wasn't genetically predisposed to alcoholism, it would explain why they would be able to quit drinking to excess with relative ease.

deleted 10y ago
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coldtea 10y ago
This goes against Occam's razor, needing 2 different mechanisms, one for people that manage to quit drinking (even after 5 decades of alcoholism) and one (genetic) for others that died alcoholics.
- jnbiche 10y ago
  Well, specialists have long hypothesized that there is a huge difference between "heavy drinkers" (usually in their teens/20s and who quit) and "alcoholics". Heavy drinkers usually overimbibe as part of their social circle (fraternities, etc.) whereas budding alcoholics are the ones drinking alone at home in their teens/20s.
  - labrador 10y ago
    There is definitely a certain class of heavy drinker that isn't a real alcoholic. Some people just like the effect, but get tired of it.
    - pmoriarty 10y ago
      While it's sometimes nice to have a label, I'm not sure how productive it is if people disagree about its definition. I think it's more productive to ask if alcohol is having a serious negative effect on your life or others. If so, you've got a serious problem. If you've tried to deal with the problem on your own and failed, then you need help.
- 55555 10y ago
  I suspect that in the case of "what underlies alcoholism" a simpler explanation is likely to be less complete than a less simple one. There are probably dozens of different reasons people get hooked or are able to quit.
- labrador 10y ago
  One reason I don't go to AA is that these days it is full of people who aren't real alcoholics. I can tell by listening to their stories. I imagine the same dichotomy for depressives. There's people who get really sad and filled with grief, usually about some event, and then there's real depressives who get devastated and blanked out for no apparent reason. They don't feel anything.

deleted 10y ago

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coldtea 10y ago

This goes against Occam's razor, needing 2 different mechanisms, one for people that manage to quit drinking (even after 5 decades of alcoholism) and one (genetic) for others that died alcoholics.

jnbiche 10y ago
Well, specialists have long hypothesized that there is a huge difference between "heavy drinkers" (usually in their teens/20s and who quit) and "alcoholics". Heavy drinkers usually overimbibe as part of their social circle (fraternities, etc.) whereas budding alcoholics are the ones drinking alone at home in their teens/20s.
- labrador 10y ago
  There is definitely a certain class of heavy drinker that isn't a real alcoholic. Some people just like the effect, but get tired of it.
  - pmoriarty 10y ago
    While it's sometimes nice to have a label, I'm not sure how productive it is if people disagree about its definition. I think it's more productive to ask if alcohol is having a serious negative effect on your life or others. If so, you've got a serious problem. If you've tried to deal with the problem on your own and failed, then you need help.
55555 10y ago
I suspect that in the case of "what underlies alcoholism" a simpler explanation is likely to be less complete than a less simple one. There are probably dozens of different reasons people get hooked or are able to quit.
labrador 10y ago
One reason I don't go to AA is that these days it is full of people who aren't real alcoholics. I can tell by listening to their stories. I imagine the same dichotomy for depressives. There's people who get really sad and filled with grief, usually about some event, and then there's real depressives who get devastated and blanked out for no apparent reason. They don't feel anything.