[tom899]

I am an alcoholic myself, sober for five months now after a long-term therapy. I am sceptical about taking meds for this desease. The change of life and coping with stress is the best way to avoid getting in relapse of use. The therapists said meds might be a help, but are not the solution. Its a trap for the dependant who might think now hes cured and does not find himself changing his life and solving problems which have caused the desease. I was working in IT and have now time to change, i will be working in a less stressful job and will undergo further treatment of depression and narcicisstic personalty disorder i suffer. In the long run, alcoholism can be avoided by selling it only in special stores, people need more knowledge about it and society itself must be more aware how dangerous alcohol is. I live in bavaria,germany. I can purchase hard liqour around the clock and in amounts with no limit. Its cheap and i have no problem with the people around me. The drinking culture makes it possible to be offerd a beer to almost every occasion. Sure the openly and public drinking in broad daylight is some kind of awkward, but people dont take it too serious. We have no laws exept driving cars or being drunk at the workplace. But well, meds can help a bit to get someone stable enough be treatabel for a long term therapy, but a cure, they are not. The nucleus accumbens has stored the associative information that drinking can help with insomnia, depression and makes live a bit easier. To get rid of this is a long and hard way, the most is done by undergo treatment, self help groups and finding new hobbies or something replacing the habits that led before to the addiction.

[blenderdt]

Multiple studies have shown that alcohol sits in the top two of most destructive harddrugs for both the user and the user's surrounding. And still we can buy it everywhere.

Like you say: the drinking culture must change.

[alar44]

> the drinking culture must change.

Why? Because a small fraction of people can't handle alcohol? If you don't want to drink, don't. But don't tell me how to live.

[zbentley]

You are very lucky to have never experienced addiction.

That's an assumption. If you have, and still believe the above, then your ethics may be obscuring your compassion or pragmatism.

[blenderdt]

You are missing the point.

Most people think slapping a line of coke on a kids birthday is not done, but drinking alcohol is. But alcohol is 3 times as destructive as coke.

And I also think the minority of people can't handle alcohol but most people can hide this.

[alar44]

You're missing the point. A kids birthday isn't a fun place to do coke. Coke goes with sex, dancing, mingling with strangers.

[cjaybo]

I don't think evidence supports the idea that selling alcohol in special stores will avoid alcoholism. Hard drug users go to much more trouble than visiting a special store, and their numbers remain significant despite a variety of efforts to make access to hard drugs prohibited.

[unixhero]

Yes it does show precisely that. Norway and Sweden has this arrangement. Richer alcoholics plan and hoard alcohol in their house and poorer alcoholics are severely limited by the firm opening hours and marketing-ban on alcohol and tobacco.

Interestingingly in Norway and Sweden the alcohol stores are also nationalised, run by the government.

[alex_suzuki]

I have multiple family members that are struggling or have recovered/have been sober for an extended amount of time.

In Central Europe and other places drinking is incredibly ingrained into social mechanics, making it very hard to quit or stay sober.

Personally I still like to drink on occasion, but seeing the amount of damage alcholics do to themselves and the people around them has really opened my eyes.

Even worse, some people see recovered alcoholics as „weak“ (because they „can’t handle their drinks“)… nothing could be farther from the truth.

Even though I’m a libertarian at heart, I really wish the government would restrict alcohol sales so you don’t have to face shelves full of booze when you shop for groceries.

[mr_beans]

Congratulations and huge kudos for seeking treatment for NPD. Most folks with NPD never would.