Robert Smith: Seven Years Sober

[pbmax]

I had no idea. Good for him.

robert smith @Robert26Smith
I am an alcoholic- I always have been and always will be. It's not my fault, but it's my problem. Today marks 7 years of sobriety but that can change if I believe for a second that I'm different from every other alcoholic. I'm grateful I know that today. One day at a time

[Tony Oday]

Not your fault? Holy shit I didn't know they force fed booze to people now!?

[Joemailman]

Not your fault? Holy shit I didn't know they force fed booze to people now!?

Whether he's right or not, Smith believes addiction is a disease he was born with because both of his parents had addiction problems:

https://www.twincities.com/2014/02/06/vikings-great-robert-smith-meets-alcoholism-head-on/


Smith, 41, said his entire life has been a fight with alcoholism. He cited the difficulty of growing up in Euclid, Ohio, with a father, Emmitt, and a mother, Emilie, who both battled addiction.

His father had problems with alcohol, heroin and cocaine and spent time in prison on drug charges. His mother battled difficulties with prescription drugs. Divorced before Smith was born, his parents continued living together for parts of Smith’s youth.

“I would say that I was born that way,” Smith said of being an alcoholic. “And the problem signs started as soon as I started drinking, even a couple of times. When both of your parents are addicts, there is a very good chance that you are, as well.”

[mraynrand]

Not your fault? Holy shit I didn't know they force fed booze to people now!?

So are you the only guy who's never been to a frat party?

[Zool]

Not your fault? Holy shit I didn't know they force fed booze to people now!?

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Questions_andamp_Answers_Is_addiction_hereditary

[Tony Oday]

So are you the only guy who's never been to a frat party? touche, or a rugby party.

Alcoholism is not a disease. Weakness sure, disease oh hell no. Cancer is a disease, alcoholism is weakness. Dealt with it for years with my dad's family and my mom's.

[mraynrand]

touche, or a rugby party.

Alcoholism is not a disease. Weakness sure, disease oh hell no. Cancer is a disease, alcoholism is weakness. Dealt with it for years with my dad's family and my mom's.

It's probably better to refer to it as a disorder, as it - and other addictions - are routinely treated by a physician/psychiatrist with both medical (medicine) and psychiatric therapies.

https://www.abpn.com/become-certified/taking-a-subspecialty-exam/addiction-psychiatry/

[pbmax]

touche, or a rugby party.

Alcoholism is not a disease. Weakness sure, disease oh hell no. Cancer is a disease, alcoholism is weakness. Dealt with it for years with my dad's family and my mom's.

You are a special kind of dumb for insisting on this position.

Alcoholism (Zool's link): By analyzing patterns of inheritance, researchers have learned that heredity accounts for about half of the risk that a person will develop an addiction. Addiction is a medical illness and develops in the same way as many other illnesses. A person with some underlying genetic vulnerability is exposed to an environment that brings on the illness. In the case of drug and alcohol addiction, common environmental factors are stress and, of course, availability of the addictive substances.

Cancer, specifically the BRCA 1 and 2 gene (Mayo Clinic): Positive (for genetic mutation) test result

A positive test result means that you have a mutation in one of the breast cancer genes, BRCA1 or BRCA2, and therefore a much higher risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer compared with someone who doesn't have the mutation. But a positive result doesn't mean that you'll ultimately develop cancer.


Its almost as if a disease can be a combination of environmental factors and genetics. Huh.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Not your fault? Holy shit I didn't know they force fed booze to people now!?

Man, you’re dumber than an impotent peacock on Antarctica.

Virtually every malady of the modern world is the fault of society, especially that of the incumbent establishment.

On a side note, anyone has any experience kicking porn addiction?

[Anti-Polar Bear]

touche, or a rugby party.

Alcoholism is not a disease. Weakness sure, disease oh hell no. Cancer is a disease, alcoholism is weakness. Dealt with it for years with my dad's family and my mom's.

O’Day is Irish, right? Well, Irishmen have evolved the ability to cope with alcohol much in the same manner Tibetans have evolved the ability to cope with low oxygen at high altitudes.

Just cos sea dwellers can’t breathe well on mountains don’t make them weak.

[Radagast]

Congratulations to Robert Smith for 7 years of sobriety.

(Who is Robert Smith?) :huh:

[Tony Oday]

O’Day is Irish, right? Well, Irishmen have evolved the ability to cope with alcohol much in the same manner Tibetans have evolved the ability to cope with low oxygen at high altitudes.

Just cos sea dwellers can’t breathe well on mountains don’t make them weak.

Last two comments have been your best :)

I'll give you a disorder but never a disease. You contract a disease, you dont contract alcoholism you just do not have self control.

[SudsMcBucky]

Man, you’re dumber than an impotent peacock on Antarctica.

Virtually every malady of the modern world is the fault of society, especially that of the incumbent establishment.

On a side note, anyone has any experience kicking porn addiction?

Some things aren't worth the fight.

[pbmax]

Congratulations to Robert Smith for 7 years of sobriety.

(Who is Robert Smith?) :huh:

Ohio State and Vikings running back. Also good receiver. Not going to dominate a game, but could help put one away.

[mraynrand]

You are a special kind of dumb for insisting on this position.

Alcoholism (Zool's link): By analyzing patterns of inheritance, researchers have learned that heredity accounts for about half of the risk that a person will develop an addiction. Addiction is a medical illness and develops in the same way as many other illnesses. A person with some underlying genetic vulnerability is exposed to an environment that brings on the illness. In the case of drug and alcohol addiction, common environmental factors are stress and, of course, availability of the addictive substances.

Cancer, specifically the BRCA 1 and 2 gene (Mayo Clinic): Positive (for genetic mutation) test result

A positive test result means that you have a mutation in one of the breast cancer genes, BRCA1 or BRCA2, and therefore a much higher risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer compared with someone who doesn't have the mutation. But a positive result doesn't mean that you'll ultimately develop cancer.


Its almost as if a disease can be a combination of environmental factors and genetics. Huh.

PB, cancers result from genetic changes; you can be predisposed to a cancer, but you need a 'second hit' (either in the second allele of a gene which has one defective allele or in a second locus (gene) that will initiate cancerous growth.

While your genetics can make you more susceptible to addictive behavior, I don't know of any studies that show genetics cause addiction. When you put behavior in the equation, everything changes. I feel sorry for the poor characters who are more susceptible. It would perhaps be helpful if susceptibility could be more accurately measured for people so they know not to go down that path at all.

[pbmax]

PB, cancers result from genetic changes; you can be predisposed to a cancer, but you need a 'second hit' (either in the second allele of a gene which has one defective allele or in a second locus (gene) that will initiate cancerous growth.

While your genetics can make you more susceptible to addictive behavior, I don't know of any studies that show genetics cause addiction. When you put behavior in the equation, everything changes. I feel sorry for the poor characters who are more susceptible. It would perhaps be helpful if susceptibility could be more accurately measured for people so they know not to go down that path at all.

Not saying genetics cause addiction, just that is can indicate an increased risk.

Don't environmental factors sometimes cause those changes in genes for cancers? If I remember correctly, breastfeeding (or not) can help inure some women against developing cancer. I know someone who has an inflammatory disease that is mitigated by another genetic factor.

If the availability of alcohol produces a reward stimulus in a person and that pathway activates the predisposition to alcoholism, I am not sure there is much of a distinction here.

Agree that knowing predisposition of risk would help. But even if you think the delineation between developing alcoholism and cancer has a bright line, I very much doubt its explained by weakness.

[texaspackerbacker]

x

[mraynrand]

Not saying genetics cause addiction, just that is can indicate an increased risk.

Don't environmental factors sometimes cause those changes in genes for cancers? If I remember correctly, breastfeeding (or not) can help inure some women against developing cancer. I know someone who has an inflammatory disease that is mitigated by another genetic factor.

If the availability of alcohol produces a reward stimulus in a person and that pathway activates the predisposition to alcoholism, I am not sure there is much of a distinction here.

Agree that knowing predisposition of risk would help. But even if you think the delineation between developing alcoholism and cancer has a bright line, I very much doubt its explained by weakness.

I'm not sure, but I don't know if anyone becomes an alcoholic from one drink.

Sure, there are 'environmental' ways to trigger pathways that protect against various cancers.

I draw a distinction between the physiology of cellular cancer and behavior. The way you describe it is more tilted to the viewpoint that becoming an alcoholic is out of the hands of the victim. I know it's possible for people to slip into alcoholism without really knowing it, but typically people know and have chances to turn it around on the downward spiral. Smoking cigarettes is also addictive and cancer causing. Do you think people are just as helpless in that case? Or any other addiction, like blog posting?

[pbmax]

I'm not sure, but I don't know if anyone becomes an alcoholic from one drink.

Sure, there are 'environmental' ways to trigger pathways that protect against various cancers.

I draw a distinction between the physiology of cellular cancer and behavior. The way you describe it is more tilted to the viewpoint that becoming an alcoholic is out of the hands of the victim. I know it's possible for people to slip into alcoholism without really knowing it, but typically people know and have chances to turn it around on the downward spiral. Smoking cigarettes is also addictive and cancer causing. Do you think people are just as helpless in that case? Or any other addiction, like blog posting?

I can't imagine the low number of people who have only had one drink ever. I have teetotaling relatives who have had more than that. Another relative who does not drink except when at a social business gathering (thought the social climate made it problematic to say no).

I suspect the number who have never had a drink is higher. But let's say one drink could trigger alcoholism, how would you even identify it? Alcoholism is almost always diagnosed by behavior but could one exposure tell you anything? You have to have two groups to study, the affected and the unaffected and observe and hypothesize how they came to different results. That means more than one drink I suspect.

A better test would be to find some common norm, high school or college age, and observe the incidence of alcoholism from that point forward. At that point, measuring low levels of usage (one drink in past year or similar) probably tells you something useful.

A behavior has to be prevalent enough to identify and study before it becomes meaningful in a predictive sense I would think.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Some things aren't worth the fight.

Trust me, you do not want to be conquered by porn. Addiction fucks up a person mentally, physically, socially and even in cyberspace.

The last part, I’m waiting for the rebirth of my smart brain cells. Need ‘em to response to Tex and 31’s debunkable posts in FYI.

[texaspackerbacker]

I don't know, APB. I'm into porn too, although maybe not as much as you hahahahaha, and it really doesn't mess with all those things. I think you're just using it as an excuse.

[smuggler]

He always struck me as a very intelligent guy. I'm not surprised he's been able to stay sober 7 years.