How crippling is alcohol?

[MediterraneanSun]

When I was at age 16 I started drinking (with friends) because I accidentaly discovered that it was a pleasant experience and a way to communicate with others in a non-routine sense. For three years (16, 17, 18) I drank at parties, at the end of school on special occations, in (greek) taverns, always with friends who drank too. I drank like 1 liter of wine at max (I am a tall guy regular weight). All was good way back then, at the surface, but underneath I was building a failure, and alcohol played a significant role in it.

About when I was 18, some mild failings at school happened, and this was exactly at the time of going into the adult world. A combination of things killed my spirit and I wasn't willing (or able) to understand that I was becoming a bitter burnout and better myself. Drinking at parties etc etc quickly gave it's place to drinking alone, or getting really drunk while others were just drinking one or two glasses. I felt and expressed the "need" to drink all day, but as I wasn't a moron I understood that It wasn't possible so I got into binge drinking. I would be sober for let's say 5 days, and drink heavily at friday night, and saturday night. However, these "sober" days narrowed more and more and the binge days widened. During the most extreme drinking "era" I would binge drink for 4 days or even 5 and be sober for 3, 4, at max. The darkness was about to cover the light, it was 50/50% metaphorically and literally. I was starting to experience some withdrawl symptoms, NOT hangover, but withdrawal after days of binge drinking. Annoying things like irritation, that damned and disturbing insomnia, an ugly feeling (that I have never read in any article or site about alcohol withdrawal) like muscle soreness combined with some strange mild burning sensation in the body, ugly smell and taste. Looking back at that period I just don't know what to think.

It all started changing when a series of events happened, I started valuing "being the voice of reality" and not being a hippie, I started changing from an extreme communist to a more traditional type, generally I underwent a change of values. In addition to that I had a small accident caused by alcohol that left me a tiny scar, it wasn't so painful or scary but it was COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS AND RIDICULOUS, I just fell running like an idiot, drunk. I thought: "What the fuck am I doing, what is the purpose of all this?" And the purpose was nothing, I was just a death worshipper who was acutally afraid to look his life in the eyes and say "I am not afraid, I am marching forward, I am going to get what I desire long term and create" like I did after all this. However, the void must be filled with something, and I wasn't able to quit and go sober immediately. Nevertheless, I stopped the binge drinking, I reduced the times I would drink at all, and discovered activities that fill the void (for example writting metal music or physical excercise).

What lesson I got from all this? There are MANY MANY fake people out there, that don't admit that they drink for a reason, most drink to suppress their fears and their inability to talk to girls or general incomfortability. When you admit it "I drink because I am a fucking coward" then you will gradually (not instantly) start to change this and challenge yourself in healthy activities. In a more ridiculous and lowest-common-denominator fashion, some drank (and smoked) just because it was "in" or wild whatever (those actually quit, not even actively, because they weren't ever in the game). Finally, there are many self-assured "wise men, intellectuals whatever" who never drank or smoked etc, some will say that were always wiser than you that indulged in these activities (that might be true at 1% but in nearly all cases it is fake), the reason they play this role is because they need to feel mature-since-birth and wiser than you to congratulate themselves that they have won over you in the power game. What a coincidence that almost all these people never had a normal sexual relationship (I am not kidding, this is not far-fetched).

Years later, I look at the bottles of alcohol with a cynical eye. I think it is all a fake shit, and actually orange juice has a nicer taste than most drinks, so just to drink for the booze is to escape reality. I just move on.

[Tachäl Dhäl]

I treat alcohol as a drink, not a drug.  Social or alone, it's just not something I find worth thinking much about either way.  I never liked the idea of sucking smoke into my lungs (accompanied by nicotine, THC, or anything else).  Pretty simple really.  Somebody will probably get me with pot brownies or other delicious baked goods one of these days... (I'm 27).

[My AIDS, Your Arse]

It could be the difference between masturbating once, and dehydrating yourself with an eight-hour masturbathon.

Masturbathon is now one of my favorite words. Hah.

Perhaps, with the way society is going, this wont be an unfeasible public event.

In accordance with prophecy...
10th Annual San Francisco Masturbate-a-thon

[Nightspirit]

Let me start off by saying that drunks piss me off. With that being said, if you've ever been to a bar in the morning (which I have on the occasion of a friend's funeral), there's living proof behind those doors as to why over consumption of alcohol (whether it be in large quantities or small but frequent) will fuckin' kill you. Alcoholics are usually a variant of two: those that drink often and moderately, because bank accounts aren't unlimited, and those that drink heavily on more infrequent occasions.

How do you want your waking comatose?
Option A: is living every day like a self-pitying zombie waiting for something "special" to happen and it never comes. You allow opportunity to pass you by easily because "OH NO!!!!" -- success requires work, but alcohol doesn't. I think the psychological effects here are more debilitating than the actual physical damage. People muscle through medical conditions all the time devoid of complaint, but tack on a brooding weight that you willfully place on your shoulders that feels so damn good but you know it's killing your brain function, personality, character and everyday mood.

Option B: is the hobby of most Americans, the weekend warrior status of bro-mance and sausage fests. I'm completely repulsed by these folks. Working 9-5, five days a week is reinforced by THIS activity? You spent all week lucidly dreaming about the bars and women you'll meet there, so real you can almost grasp it before reality sets in. You make plans, map out your adventure, and stick as rigidly as chance, opportunity, metabolism and finances will allow. At the end of the night, who wins? When you don't drink often, but drink heavily for hours in a single night's time period, you have the personality of an Orc: rabid manhood, reduced to the simplest of physical pleasure seeking behavior. Stupid jokes, stories of woe, bad pickup lines, disposable conversation etc... any woman attracted to THAT is not very serious about living her life.

At the height of my drinking career I've avoided these futures like a plague upon mankind. Rather, I use alcohol as I personally define it's merit: as a tool, and like medicine, never too much. If I go out with a woman, my boss, my parents, my family or new friends and we're at a bar and grill, or just a bar, I'll drink because the community and setting dictates to temporarily unlearn my adulthood to properly pass people-words between "not-so-bad" people who have the drink on the mind (at the moment). I can't even do this if I tried, so alcohol will help me here. Alcohol is a good tool to build personal relations, and it's no surprise to me considering that I've found that child-like initiated relationships are bonded on stronger terms than the adult ones (not all but most).

I don't find a lot of uses in alcohol, but when I do use it I'm definitely sure it's not for some frivolous purpose.

[scourge]

It would probably be more productive to merge this type of topic under a big tent useless pursuits thread which would also include movies, TV, dope, video games, charity, rock music and whoring.

[Cargést]

movies... video games

I'm gonna watch Star Wars and play Terranigma.  Might as well pursue "useless" things which have artistic merit.

I've also just noticed that the shitipedia synopsis of Terranigma manages to completely misunderstand the most important aspects of the game.  It's far deeper and far less dualistic than it's made out to be.  One of the prime concerns towards the end is whether Immortality is a viable goal for any species, and, as with most "good" art, the question is effectively left unanswered - on the one hand, Beruga is attempting to create a virus which will give humans an artificial Immortality at the expense of many other lifeforms; on the other, Kumari and his devotees, as well as many of the protagonist's allies/acquaintances, are already reincarnated throughout the game, which is a form of Immortality.  The protagonist doesn't die over what must be thousands of years, and it is suggested that he can't die unless he's actually killed by something.

Also, I might add that the Dark Side isn't "destroyed" at the end of the game - it's quite clearly stated by Light Gaia that it's simply been resealed, as it was after the first battle between Light Gaia and Dark Gaia (who are never referred to as "God" and "the Devil" in the game).

Actually, for anyone who has the free time (and inclination), I seriously recommend downloading a SNES emulator and getting "Illusion of Gaia" and "Terranigma", both made by Quintet - brilliant stories, crap enough graphics that they don't distract from the actual content, and a fair amount of philosophical value, even if it's all been said before (the guys at Quintet were mad about "balance", and they constantly bring Hindu/Buddhist themes and ideas into the Soul Blazer series).  Definitely a better way to spend your time than watching Comedy Central or playing Sudoku for hours on end.

[Arctic Sun]

Let me start off by saying that drunks piss me off. With that being said, if you've ever been to a bar in the morning (which I have on the occasion of a friend's funeral), there's living proof behind those doors as to why over consumption of alcohol (whether it be in large quantities or small but frequent) will fuckin' kill you. Alcoholics are usually a variant of two: those that drink often and moderately, because bank accounts aren't unlimited, and those that drink heavily on more infrequent occasions.

How do you want your waking comatose?
Option A: is living every day like a self-pitying zombie waiting for something "special" to happen and it never comes. You allow opportunity to pass you by easily because "OH NO!!!!" -- success requires work, but alcohol doesn't. I think the psychological effects here are more debilitating than the actual physical damage. People muscle through medical conditions all the time devoid of complaint, but tack on a brooding weight that you willfully place on your shoulders that feels so damn good but you know it's killing your brain function, personality, character and everyday mood.

Option B: is the hobby of most Americans, the weekend warrior status of bro-mance and sausage fests. I'm completely repulsed by these folks. Working 9-5, five days a week is reinforced by THIS activity? You spent all week lucidly dreaming about the bars and women you'll meet there, so real you can almost grasp it before reality sets in. You make plans, map out your adventure, and stick as rigidly as chance, opportunity, metabolism and finances will allow. At the end of the night, who wins? When you don't drink often, but drink heavily for hours in a single night's time period, you have the personality of an Orc: rabid manhood, reduced to the simplest of physical pleasure seeking behavior. Stupid jokes, stories of woe, bad pickup lines, disposable conversation etc... any woman attracted to THAT is not very serious about living her life.

At the height of my drinking career I've avoided these futures like a plague upon mankind. Rather, I use alcohol as I personally define it's merit: as a tool, and like medicine, never too much. If I go out with a woman, my boss, my parents, my family or new friends and we're at a bar and grill, or just a bar, I'll drink because the community and setting dictates to temporarily unlearn my adulthood to properly pass people-words between "not-so-bad" people who have the drink on the mind (at the moment). I can't even do this if I tried, so alcohol will help me here. Alcohol is a good tool to build personal relations, and it's no surprise to me considering that I've found that child-like initiated relationships are bonded on stronger terms than the adult ones (not all but most).

I don't find a lot of uses in alcohol, but when I do use it I'm definitely sure it's not for some frivolous purpose.

Yeah, drink in moderation and to what you're capable of within reason.  That's obvious.  But don't type a long-winded and worthless account explaining why, because nobody cares about the boring ins and outs you've had with drunkards.

Some people can get away with and flourish with alcohol, and some can't.  Simple as that.

[Antihuman]

I treat alcohol as a drink, not a drug.  Social or alone, it's just not something I find worth thinking much about either way.

Alcohol is by definition a drug-- alcoholic beverages are often called drinks, but it should be noted that they are not the type of drink one must consume to live (water is really the only one that fits that definition).  You can call it a drink, but the fact remains that alcohol numbs your mind ("takes the edge off"), and many alcoholic beverages contains large amounts of sugar.  I exclude it from my diet almost entirely for both of these reasons.

Social drinking drags one closer to the LCD-- that's really its only purpose.

[Nightspirit]

But don't type a long-winded and worthless account explaining why, because nobody cares about the boring ins and outs you've had with drunkards.

I don't think four paragraphs is long winded but that's just me. As for the content of my post, I think that an investigation upon the "type" of drunkard with paragraphs two and three answered through yes, experiences, but also a applicable illustration of these people in response to the OP's topic starting question of:

However, how much does this hold them back?

Plus, of the two common self-abusive, metal-damaging alcoholics that I've listed, I think it's important to note that "option B" rarely considers him/ herself an abusive alcoholic, so I think that if anything, that example alone has some merit.

[Forza Romana]

It is true that some can function just fine with alcohol consumption and some can not. If you take a cultural approach to the drinking process, I always have a glass a wine with dinner and maybe then an amaro after I am done. An amaro is a bitter sweet liqueur to help with digestion, as most of them, as far as the true Italian kind go, are made with herbs that have health properties.

But getting carried away is unhealthy so I always am in control of having too much...

[Christ Died of AIDS]

I side with the opinion that the crippling effect of the alcohol depends on the individual.  I work with a master carpenter who has been a full blown alcoholic for 20+ years and he's one of the best I've ever seen. Some people manage to defy the odds and keep their wit, charm, and in this case, skills. Even if they lose everything else. If alcohol didn't get him, something else would have.

[Emperor_of_Algol]

As a teetotaller myself, I cannot offer a first-hand account of  whether alcohol is crippling or not. However, I've known a fair share of drinkers and alcoholics (vastly different groups), and from what I've seen, most people would do better just to leave alcohol alone. I've never actually seen alcohol improve anyone's ability to do anything, even socializing skills (I believe this is mostly a placebo effect, though of course have no "scientific" evidence to back this up). However, I do realise that many people would disagree with me on this point: alcohol is deeply entrenched in the culture of many people, and many would argue it improves, as mentioned above, ability to socialize and have intelligent conversation, and many other things beside.

[Cargést]

It certainly doesn't improve ability to have an intelligent conversation, it simply dulls the mind enough that you're not hung up about talking to people.

[Glenn Beck]

It handicaps inhibition, or in other words: "Makes you looser". I'd say a few beers help improve it but anything after that makes you just act freaky.