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If alcohol is no big deal, go without it for a month

Carrie Miller

by Carrie Miller

01 Feb 05:38am

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Filed under: Addiction, Alcohol, Binge Drinking, Febfast

31 comments

It was around 11 in the morning and Aunty Mavis came to the door. It had been raining: her wig was askew and her badly drawn on eyebrows were running down into her eyes. As usual, she had a bottle of Stone’s Green Ginger wine in a string bag.

It was just before lunchtime and my sisters and I were sitting around the Formica table in my grandparents’ kitchen shelling peas onto newspaper, preparing for a baked dinner. She came in and was drinking with Nanna who was peeling potatoes in the sink. Grandad was out the back, drunk, listening to the races.

Aunty Mavis was very animated at first, then she went very quiet. She stumbled over to the sink and threw up. Nanna yelled out to Grandad “Your sister’s thrown up on the spuds”.

Grandad yelled back, “Just bloody wash ‘em”.

Welcome to working class Australia in the 1970s. In that time and place it wasn’t out of the ordinary for adults to be pissed while taking care of kids. And in some sections of our community - not just working class Australia - it still isn’t.

Why I’m telling you this childhood anecdote is not to put you off your food but to emphasise the fact that while stories about pissed people and their antics can be funny, there is also a serious side to drinking that still isn’t that cool to talk about.

Let me say straight up that while it’s true that alcohol has negatively affected my life and the lives of some people close to me, I’m no wowser. I’ve probably spilt more than you’ve drunk. When I was teenager I thought if you weren’t doing shots off a stripper’s arse you should go back to the suburbs and leave partying to professionals like me.

But as life goes on you can easily go from the life of the party to the person that no-one wants at their parties and that shift can creep up on you in a way that you may not even notice. Especially if you’re in denial, and immersed in a culture that justifies this denial.

I can hear the howls of protest from libertarians who see drinking as a matter of personal choice and personal responsibility. Well, it’s not the personal choice nor personal responsibility of children to be abused and neglected; it’s not the personal choice nor responsibility of people who are driving home whether to be wiped out by a drunk driver; it’s not the personal choice or responsibility of the bloke in the pub to be glassed or to die from a king hit that cracks his head on the pavement.

What the personal choice argument also fails to recognise is a fundamental point about drinking alcohol: that pouring a neurotoxin in your body that directly effects that part of the brain responsible for making good choices takes away that capacity.

In other words, people who drink excessively have no choice over their choices.

The initiative FebFast - an annual education, awareness and fundraising campaign which encourages people to have a booze-free February - will have a lot of ‘cool’ people rolling their eyes. But if alcohol’s no big deal, then it should be no big deal to go without it for a month.

Hell, why not try three months - the recognised period of an addiction cycle - and see how comfortable you feel.

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31 comments

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    • Michelle Parker says:

      07:18am | 01/02/10

      Have an ex who is an alcoholic but refused to admit it, “I’m not rolling around in my own vomit, so no problem”!
      Dependance is silent and creeps up on all of us - hence, why I am embracing FebFast.  A few years ago I did a 6 month abstinence so this month or so should be a breeze…..really….it will…...  grin

      Reply

    • Liz says:

      07:21am | 01/02/10

      Why not try forever? Why not try responsibility and taking the consequences of actions like an adult?

      Reply

    • Gerard Oosterman says:

      07:34am | 01/02/10

      And if you can’t give alcohol a miss even for one day, and you start getting hallucinations and seeing crawling insects everywhere, you start losing everything in your life and end up in hospitals numerous times, chances are you will end up in a jail before you get help through detoxes or rehabilitation units.

      I know there are those 1800 numbers that are supposed to give advise to alcoholics but they are underfunded, understaffed and often give a recorded message. By that time the bottle is back on the table again.

      To do something that works, to decrease alcohol consumption we need to target the advertising of alcohol in the same way we managed to do with cigarettes,

      It always cost money and that means we have to think of paying more taxation. Raise tax on alcohol. Double it, go on do it!
      http://oosterman.wordpress.com/

      Reply

    • Amanda G says:

      08:37am | 09/02/10

      Rather a simple solution for a complex problem. Maybe you don’t understand the nature of alcoholism? A compulsion to drink no matter what. Raising the tax on alcohol will only serve to increase the suffering of alcoholics powerless over the drug. Maybe it might make the ‘problem drinker’ drink less who knows? Alcoholism is a serious illness. It cannot equate to nicotine addiction. A monetary solution to a complex mental illness is not the answer and it annoys me that people tend to push this point.

    • Ben says:

      05:38pm | 26/02/10

      The problem with using the description of Alcoholism as an illness that the “sufferers” have no control over always tends to be an effort to deflect responsibility.  At some stage, there was a choice involved to jump on the wagon and so I don’t think it is comparable to other illnesses that people did not have a choice about.

      In terms of having a simple monetary solution to a complex problem - complex solutions by their nature are unlikely to work, so wouldn’t something that is simple and partially effective be better than no solution at all?

      It annoys me when people throw stones at suggestions that are intended to help with some bollocks about how it might increase the suffering of people who have made very poor decisions.  Without providing a better suggestion or anything constructuve.  My own suggestions would be far more radical and far less likely to ease the “suffering” of the “powerless” victims as you would brand them.

    • Virgo says:

      07:56am | 01/02/10

      It would be easy for me to go without alcohol, I would only have to give up the obligatory Christmas drink once a year( a shandy ).. I tried getting drunk once in my teens , it turned me so dead off alcohol due to excessive sickness and a hangover that felt like someone had hit me on the head with an atomic bomb. I have never bothered to try it again.

      Reply

    • H of SA says:

      08:34am | 01/02/10

      Once went without booze for 6 months. Alcoholism had affected most of my male relatives at some point and so I wanted to prove I could go without. I highly recommend it for everyone at some point in their life. Its good to not just say “I can enjoy life without it” but to actually live that at some point.

      Also as a kid I can remember being scared by drunk adults - none of them every abused me or anything, but drunk friends of my parents - I could tell they were unpredictable - I knew they shouldn’t be like that - and it was frightening to me as a child. I intend to keep any of my children from experiencing that.

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      08:55am | 01/02/10

      after a fairly alcohol intensive Christmas/New Year last year, I decided to give Dry July a go, and I found it to be quite a lot easier than I anticipated - even at a few house parties I went to that month. I even had a Dry August as well.

      I’ve never heard of FebFast, but if anyone’s thinking of doing it, I’d say go for it. It’s a great cause, helps raise awareness (I spent quite a long time on my high horse whenever I was asked “so how come you’re not drinking?”), and if for no other reason, your wallet and waistline will thank you

      Reply

    • John A Neve says:

      09:01am | 01/02/10

      Carrie,
      Alcohol has been with us since the dawn of time as we know it. As has red meat, drugs, tobacco and just about every thing else that is now “bad fo us”.

      80% of the population handle it, sadly the other 20% don’t, some of us die at birth, some live to be 100, it’s called life.

      Carrie, please tell, if we banned every thing that is bad for us, what sort of world would we be living in?

      Reply

    • Wolf Granny says:

      04:00pm | 01/02/10

      Alcohol has been with us since Egyptian times, as we know them. Tobacco has been with Western Europeans since Colombus brought back a crop tended by east coast Native Americans, for ceremonial purposes. ‘Drugs’, usually in the form of halluginogens, for ritual purposes, we known to all ‘primitive’ cultures. ‘Red meat’ is a red-herring. The others are all neurotoxins, known as such to modern science. The trouble with these (and other)  chemicals, as research is showing, is the long-term effects on the brain and it’s functions. Research is also showing that the earlier the onset of use at levels constituting ‘abuse’, the early and more permanent are the likely negative consequences, particularly on the capacity to use these chemicals as a matter of ‘choice’ as the author says. More importantly John, no one has mentioned banning anything, aside from you. Where did you get such an idea? Finally the problems with statistics are twofold; you can essentially make them suggest whatever you like, depending on how you present them and, like yours, 87.3% of them are made up on the spot.

    • John A Neve says:

      04:40pm | 01/02/10

      Wolf Granny @ 1700hrs.

      I liked that, does it mean you agree or disagree with me?

      As to “banning” the inference is clearly there, give it up for a month, better if you give it up altogether. As to red meat Dr Cooney has clearly stated (for what any experts views are worth), red meat is a carcinogenic.

    • Wolf Granny says:

      12:00am | 02/02/10

      ...If red meat is carcinogenic, it’s probably because of the way it’s treated and/or packaged in the affluent west, rather than due to an inate quality of dead bovine flesh… It’s not a matter of agreeing with you or otherwise; I was merely pointing out that no one is suggesting ‘banning’ anything. The research into the adverse effects of neurotoxins (drugs and alcohol to you and me) on the brain is that; the earlier one is exposed to them (alcohol in particular) the more damage is done to the brain and nervous system. The long-term effect of this sort of damage is physical dependence. The legal, emotional, societal and economic cost of this physical dependence is virtually incalculable. The point Carrie Miller is making here is that prolonged use of ethanol actually removes the capacity to make reasonable informed choices, both in the immediate sense and cummulatively, over time. She’s also drawing attention to theplight of ‘innocents’ dragged into the maelstrom of alcohol abuse via one means or another. We seem to live in a society that has been at great pains to ignore these facts, at it’s own peril. A case in point is the football codes; 3 or 4 decades after Johnny Raper was seen in London naked, aside from a bowler hat, it’s finally dawned on the football establishement that there may be a causal link between alcohol and some footballer’s more erratic behaviour!

    • John A Neve says:

      07:48am | 02/02/10

      Wolf Granny @ 1001hrs on 1/2/10.
      If my memory serves me well (I drink), the red meat issue is the time it remains in the bowel. Dr Cooney suggested much of the western world was constipated!!

      But back to Carrie’s article, it is beholden on society to make decisions both individually and collectively. For thousands of years societies have used things that are bad for us. Mankind is still here, there is a process called natural selection, it’s aim is to stabilise population, we have interfered and we are now seeing the results.
      People chose their life style and it is not for society to gain say them.

    • wk says:

      09:15am | 01/02/10

      good idea…but shame my birthday party is in Feb :-o

      Reply

    • K says:

      10:42am | 01/02/10

      same… sorry smile maybe another month smile

    • i allus has one at eleven says:

      09:32am | 01/02/10

      how stupid! if it was bad for us, the government would make it illegal - like riding pushbikes without a piece of foam strapped to our head.

      Reply

    • Craig Lambie says:

      10:37am | 01/02/10

      I am happy to have a FebFast, what a great idea!
      I currently only have a few drinks on the weekend, and maybe a glass of red with dinner once or twice a week….. I’m in my thirties now… when I was in my twenties I would be out at the pub / bar/ club 5-7 nights a week…..
      For the last 5-6 years I have had a month off the grog every year or so, just to prove I didn’t need it (to myself as I hate being dependant on anything… I do it for coffee too)
      So I happily embrace FebFast, and also encourage everyone to give it a fair go!  (Maybe go for a walk too…. smile

      Reply

    • Michelle Parker says:

      10:53am | 01/02/10

      http://www.febfast.com.au
      FebFast, the original fundraiser of its kind in Australia, is now in its third year. Our annual education, awareness and fundraising campaign invites people to participate in a booze-free February, and at the same time raise funds to support organisations working in research, prevention and service delivery concerning the use of alcohol and other drugs by young people. This year’s proceeds from registration payments and fundraising go towards the Australian Drug Foundation, Mater Health Services – Adolescent Drug and Acohol Withdrawal Service (Qld), Ted Noffs Foundation (NSW & ACT), Youth Substance Abuse Service (Vic) and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations.

      Reply

    • jg says:

      11:05am | 01/02/10

      Wow, did Roxon fund that amazing piece of anti alcohol propoganda video? From what I can see all drinkers are baby killers, but then again, so are smokers.

      Maybe the federal government should ban alcohol, oh, and cigarettes while they are at it. And fast food, after all, it’s no good for you either.

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      11:42am | 01/02/10

      Funny thing is, the people who do a FebFast are probably the people who don’t actually need to.
      For me, doing something like this would be akin to giving up red meat for a month. Sure I could do it, but why would I want to when it’s so tasty?
      Alcohol in moderation is fine all year round.

      Reply

    • Your name:KB says:

      04:18pm | 01/02/10

      Your comment:

      Hear Hear Tim.  I enjoy my alcohol.  I don’t go overboard and I haven’t been totally drunk in about 15 years….  Why the hell would I want to give up something that I enjoy.

    • Lauren says:

      01:03pm | 01/02/10

      Giving up the grog completely (for February or forever) isn’t really for everyone though. Personally, I’m in my early twenties, and I would drink about once every fortnight, sometimes once a month. I could give it up for a month, but why bother? Maybe when I’m older it will be a different story.

      Plus my birthday is in February, none of my friends are allowed to go on FebFast!

      Reply

    • IMHO says:

      02:47pm | 01/02/10

      Funny thing alcohol! In it’s pure form it tastes terrible! We drink it cloaked in various forms that make it palatable. At the end of the day it is a drug and we are self-medicating for various reasons. Nothing wrong with that in most cases, just worth stating.

      It’s a self-medication that is not benign though. Even at low doses it has an effect on the brain, in general disrupting our ability to think clearly and control our emotions. Again, ok in most circumstances. But clearly there are times, such as when we are looking after children, or driving, when we as responsible adults need to make a clear choice to not allow our good judgement to be in any way affected by a self-ingested drug. Again most of us make that choice appropriately. Unfortunately many don’t.

      Some of us need more self-medication than others. This is usually in reponse to psychological pain. What follows is physiological addiction.

      My point is, alcohol is a dangerous legal drug. Some adults have the maturity to enjoy it’s effects at the mild end of the spectrum by limiting their dose. Many don’t. Most teenagers certainly don’t have that sort of judgement.

      And yet prohibition doesn’t work (and raising taxes on alcohol is just that by stealth); it just introduces criminals into the process of production and distribution.

      What it requires is that all of us take hold of our own lives, sort out and own our psychic pain, develop a sense proportion, and rediscover, personally, the shame that should accompany the ridiculous and dangerous behaviours that we engage in whilst drunk.

      Being drunk should not be able to be used as a defence for bad or criminal behaviour. We should be embarrassed to use that as an excuse to evade our responsibilities.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      03:47pm | 01/02/10

      News just in : manufacturing output in Australia rose in January.
      You beaut.
      Think I’ll have that drink now.
      PS sorry Carrie.

      Reply

    • Valentin Tschistjakow says:

      06:41pm | 01/02/10

      Good on ya Carrie,
      It takes intestinal fortitude to stand up or write up as you have done, on issues such as this.
      In a book (long since out of print0, entitled “They Chose Freedom” I remember reading an explanation of the often misunderstood condition called “denial” (which is a central feature of addiction) as simply not wanting to know or deal with something and simply categorising it as unimportant (for me) or something that can be dealt with at a more convenient time.
      Yes, the undeniable (though often denied)  fact is that there are some people who become ‘problem drinkers’ or simply alcoholics and have great difficulty is seeing or recognising their dependence on alcohol.
      The idea of attempting to stop for a month is terrific as it is a simple way to examine the evidence and determine for yourself if you in fact have a problem.
      Interestingly, even in the Fellowship of AA (support group) that exists specifically and single-mindedly to carry the message of hope (that it it is possible to stop drinking) there is a strict adherence to the proposition (within the Fellowhip) that the only person who can determine whether a person is an alcoholic is that person him or herself.

      Reply

    • Front says:

      04:49pm | 18/03/10

      Dear Valentin -
      Those of us who are addicted to life, or sobriety,  are thus all in denial.  Life is addictive, pleasurable, we take it every day and it is eventually unsustainable. Can you understand where I’m coming from?
      Front

    • SteveB says:

      06:46pm | 01/02/10

      But if I were to stop drinking Ms Miller, how on Earth would I calm my nerves before having the government mandated “Say no to Drugs” conversation with my children?

      Oh and to those who are concerned about upcoming birthdays, FebFast has you covered, you can buy a “Time Out” for your special occasion, because while a month of sobriety is obviously important, it’s not THAT important.

      Reply

    • S.L says:

      08:37pm | 01/02/10

      I didn’t drink for 14 years…..........
      But that all changed after my 15th birthday!

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      08:07am | 02/02/10

      of course I meant ‘without the amber nectar’ - jesus - I should probably cut back on the sauce!

    • cunt says:

      12:54am | 25/02/10

      Gerard Oosterman says:08:34am | 01/02/10

      And if you can’t give alcohol a miss even for one day, and you start getting hallucinations and seeing crawling insects everywhere, you start losing everything in your life and end up in hospitals numerous times, chances are you will end up in a jail before you get help through detoxes or rehabilitation units.

      I know there are those 1800 numbers that are supposed to give advise to alcoholics but they are underfunded, understaffed and often give a recorded message. By that time the bottle is back on the table again.

      To do something that works, to decrease alcohol consumption we need to target the advertising of alcohol in the same way we managed to do with cigarettes,

      It always cost money and that means we have to think of paying more taxation. Raise tax on alcohol. Double it, go on do it!
      = wanker

      Reply
 
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