Posts by briskbison47

Larry Diaz4 said:great news 👋
the true American is waking up inside you ☕

Wake up.. 👋

Larry Diaz4 said:It's a miracle we actually made it here. Now, where did that blonde girl go? 🍿

Staying celibate is going great. Nothing happening until June, so who cares...
New year, new guy to chase..

So, here we are...

Carl Brown152 said:Someone drinking all day long—probably not. Some people just act like jerks and happen to be drunk while doing it... it's not always the booze that's the problem, right?

The deeper an alcoholic sinks into addiction, the more similar their behavior becomes. That’s just the nature of alcoholism. It’s actually quite easy to tell what stage someone is in just by the specific phrases they use when they're wasted.
But fine, if you want to look at it that way, go ahead. A "drunk" is someone who has completely lost their inhibitions, not just some guy having a little something with lunch.

Carl Brown152 said:Look, I have empathy—it just depends on the person, you know? Like, how they act and if they're actually hurting anyone else.

🤷😁 To be real, I don't care about the technical definition of addiction or anything. For me, it’s all about how someone behaves—and how that affects their own life.

Do you honestly think an alcoholic is even aware of how they're acting?

mellowskipper said:I’m not judging either, per se, but I wouldn’t say I’m feeling particularly empathetic about it.

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I’ve never had much patience for alcoholics. One of the biggest side effects of addiction is that loss of impulse control, which usually leads to violence, and that's just not something I can stand.
It's especially grating when they play the perfect citizen in public, only to go home and terrorize their families with their delusions.
Honestly, I couldn't care less how they ended up as addicts. It's just pathetic.

mellowskipper said:Exactly. I actually had someone tell me—this person was literally on a waiting list for a liver transplant—that their liver issues were supposedly just from eating too much greasy fast food, and not from years and years of heavy drinking. It's a bit much, I suppose.

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The only way I'd see that guy on a transplant list is if he were already dead. ☕

Donna Martin said:The practical way to define any kind of addiction isn't really about how many ounces of alcohol someone gulps down in a sitting, but rather whether their entire demeanor and emotional state would absolutely crater if they couldn't get their hands on a drink for, say, ten days straight. If just the thought of being without it sends you into a spiral of pure anxiety and dread, then yeah, you’re looking at an addiction, plain and simple. If a person can't even navigate their daily life without it, that's the bottom line... We aren't going to measure addiction by the ounce, nor are we going to base it on some subjective feeling or the unsolicited opinions of every old lady on the block (and that includes my own 😁)

I wouldn't go that far. Alcoholism sneaks up on you incredibly slowly—so slowly, in fact, that the drinker doesn't even realize it's happening. They'll end up calling anyone who tries to point out the truth "crazy." By the time someone actually starts questioning the habit, they're usually already too deep in...
It's a slow-moving addiction that manifests in all sorts of ways, often masked by cultural norms that excuse getting wasted under the guise of tradition. You know the drill: a glass of wine with dinner for "heart health," or a shot of whiskey for "medicinal purposes," blah blah blah...

Carl Brown152 said:So, what’s your definition then? Is it someone who actually stops to wonder if they have a problem? Or is it about hitting some specific limit? Does it have to mess up your life first? Just curious...

With alcoholism, if you're even sitting there questioning where the limit is, you've already passed it. But hey, feel free to debate with yourself whether your habits are "normal" or not. It's your life and your addiction.

Carl Brown152 said:I don't know—I wouldn't really agree with that. There’s just way too much to consider, right? Plus, everyone seems to have their own definition of what alcoholism actually is... I mean, some people act like basically everything counts.

It’s always the guy drinking the most who gets labeled the alcoholic. It reminds me of this one guy I knew—a total regular at the local pub—who tried to convince me he wasn't an alcoholic just because he drinks water alongside his whiskey.
Alcoholism is a tough pill to swallow.

Carl Brown152 said:But honestly? I've second-guessed myself about a million different things at some point—so I wouldn't say it's all just black and white.

That logic definitely applies to alcoholism.

Emily Barrett9 said:I've actually been following them for a little while now... 👍

The thing is, I can go days, weeks, or even a whole month without touching a drop, but my real issue is that I tend to drink all by myself, mostly just because I'm bored or maybe it's just become one of those mindless habits, and once I actually get started, I just don't know how to pull the brakes, so almost every single time I end up drinking until I'm completely wasted...

Look, Emily Barrett9, trust me on this: anyone who isn't a drinker isn't going to be sitting there wondering if they're an alcoholic. That’s just my two cents, anyway...

redpilot37 said:Whatever we choose to accept... whatever decisions we make or how we live our lives... we're all just learning about responsibility one way or another.

And the foundation of any kind of responsibility is the truth. Don't forget that.

redpilot37 said:I don't think we need to change. You can't really change your core character anyway. We should just accept who we are and live like that...
unknown...taking responsibility once a decision is made, no matter what follows, is what actually makes us strong.

Right, responsibility. And honestly, even if you consider yourself incredibly weak, you can learn from it if you actually have the willpower to stop moping after you've completely screwed up.

redpilot37 said:Yeah, maybe it’s better to just focus on the positives. Like, hey, you were an attractive kid... When I talk this openly about past trauma, I feel like I'm just fishing for sympathy... but whatever, I want to be strong. Still, it's a reality you can't just run away from. There's power in us—we can either deal with it or just remain unknown. But honestly, the reality is that it left its mark.

It’s easy to lean on excuses. There really is only one path toward true strength, and that’s taking responsibility. It’s about training yourself so that your word actually carries weight—meaning if you say you're going to do something, you actually do it, and you always tell the truth because you never intentionally lie.
There isn't some magic potion that’s going to transform you overnight, and there’s no sudden "eureka" moment. It’s just the steady work of building integrity, which is what ultimately leads to genuine self-respect and confidence.

redpilot37 said:What about yours?
He lost it on my mom a few times... and on me. He actually flipped a chair on me when I was a teenager because I swiped a few bucks from his pocket while he was napping—didn't want to wake him up. He felt bad about it later, obviously... but whatever. Between that and the trauma I went through with my boyfriend's dad... then there was that accident where a yacht smashed our little boat while I was out at sea with my guy, forcing me to jump into the water. Add in the bullying from the kids on my block, and they basically turned me into an emotional wreck. Now I'm in my late 30s and I can't even make a simple decision without second-guessing myself a thousand times over.
I’m too much of a pushover, too. I can't say no, so people around here just take advantage of me.

Ugh, don't even get me started on the absolute mess that was my household growing up.
The only thing that ever worked in my favor was being a pretty kid, which got me plenty of attention from girls, but I didn't really start building actual friendships or meaningful relationships until much more recently.

redpilot37 said:That's where most people trip up. Those whose livers are failing... they eat maybe one sandwich a day or barely eat at all. I know because an old friend died that way. He just collapsed one morning after drinking since dawn. His only food was that one sandwich.

My dad is an alcoholic, but not the type who hits the bars. He's the type who sits on a bench outside the apartment building with his buddies. Now that my mom has dementia, he's cut back and regulated himself a bit. He refuses to let himself go the way she did. He used to pass out on the sidewalk outside and wouldn't even be able to make it up the stairs to the apartment because he was drinking so hard.

Otherwise, he eats healthy, cooks, and rides his bike. He stays very active.

Functional alcoholics...
I hope you haven't been dealing with those sudden outbursts of rage or that total lack of impulse control you typically see in addicts.
My old man was a total alcoholic, but honestly? He ate like a king and had enough charm to win over anyone in the room.

redpilot37 said:Honestly, I hate slapping labels on people. A woman just wants to unwind, and if that’s how she does it, who cares? It isn't an issue unless she's getting behind the wheel drunk. Or maybe her liver is struggling... just a thought. My anti-seizure meds—probably—did more damage to my liver than anything else. If I’d actually been drinking, I might have fared better. My old man used to drink a liter of wine a day for fifty years and had better liver results than I did at my last checkup. So, think about it.

To each their own.div>

I once knew a smoker who practiced free diving.
Your dad was an addict.
Look, I know this might sound a bit intense, but being an addict doesn't automatically mean someone is non-functional or unable to adapt to life. And nobody needs a liter of wine a day unless they’re an alcoholic.
Addictions, especially alcoholism, are strange in one specific way: there are always much worse cases. When you see your father functioning perfectly fine, it’s hard to accept he’s an alcoholic, whereas when you see some drunk stumbling down the street, it's obvious.

When I was a kid working in diners, I saw enough to stay etched in my memory for life. Two alcoholics would come in—eyes bloodshot and yellowed, livers shot, smelling purely of whiskey. One would just order the whiskey and head straight to the restroom, while the other looked me dead in the eye and said, "Kid, give me the whiskey along with a glass of water so I can dilute this; I'm not as wasted as this guy, I don't want the Reaper coming for me too early."

Neither of them lived to see the fall.

There is such a thing as a functional addict. When people like that finally break free from the chains of addiction, everyone looks at them in total confusion because they didn't even realize there was a problem—they just notice that the person is better, happier, more sincere, and more stable.

Patrick Patel4 said:Honestly, I’d much rather just stay in and deal with 600mg of Q-Pina, 40mg of Normabela, and 5mg of Lorsilana than bother putting on shoes to go out and socialize. Or, frankly, just hitting a line of Morphine. So, hey, you be the judge. I should probably mention that my social circle isn't exactly huge to begin with, but even then, staying put feels way more comfortable than the whole ordeal of actually leaving the house.

Yeah, except unlike the stuff mixed with booze, you actually have to swallow all that crap. Honestly, if I could, I’d kick you right in the ass because you clearly have zero patience and just end up Trapp-ing everything in sight.

redpilot37 said:Maybe get your liver checked...

Look, you aren't necessarily an alcoholic, you just drink constantly. Seriously though, go get your liver checked.🤣🤣🤣🤣