Free Booze For Alcoholics

[islaydarkblue]

There is another type of alcoholism which is quite prevalent on Islay.
People go on benders for two weeks at a time and then do not touch a drop of alcohol for a number of weeks before they have another two week bender.
Eventually these benders catch up with them but these people mostly do not cause any bother as they sit in their own home drinking for.a up to a fortnight at a time.
Some people used to go into Islay Hospital to dry out but NHS Highland in their infinite wisdom decided to treat people on Islay who admitted that they had a drink problem in their own home rather than in Islay Hospital.
I do not see how that will work as someone being treated at home can get alcohol a lot easier than being a patient in Islay Hospital.

[Deeranged]

There is another type of alcoholism which is quite prevalent on Islay.
People go on benders for two weeks at a time and then do not touch a drop of alcohol for a number of weeks before they have another two week bender.
Eventually these benders catch up with them but these people mostly do not cause any bother as they sit in their own home drinking for.a up to a fortnight at a time.
Some people used to go into Islay Hospital to dry out but NHS Highland in their infinite wisdom decided to treat people on Islay who admitted that they had a drink problem in their own home rather than in Islay Hospital.
I do not see how that will work as someone being treated at home can get alcohol a lot easier than being a patient in Islay Hospital.

Interesting one Islay and for once I'm going to have to agree with you. I have a Brother in Law who worked on the rigs for years (retired now), he would do two weeks on and two off. When on the rigs he wasn't allowed any alcohol, there was no alcohol available. However he would get back from his trip, dump his bag in the house and go straight to the pub where he would get absolutely legless, not a coupe of pints, not drunk but absolutely legless. He didn't wait for the kids to get home from school or for the wife to get back from work it was straight to the pub and worry about them later.

The rest of his days at home he would go to the pub every day, if we'd arranged to go out with them on a night he'd be on the phone asking if we could come earlier and would sit and twitch for about an hour before the time we'd arranged to meet up.

I told him at one point that he should get help because he was an alcoholic but he couldn't see it, he'd laugh and ask how he could be an alcoholic when he could go two weeks offshore without a drink. I challenged him to get back from his next trip and not go to the pub as soon as he arrived home but wait to see the kids home from school - turned out the pub was more important than the kids, he went straight there and got legless and the penny finally dropped for him.

There is more to alcoholism than needing a drink every day, it seems to be a cycle with triggers that set off the need for a drink in those that end up choosing that lifestyle. The image of the Jakey lying in the gutter wondering where the next bottle of wine is coming from isn't the full story by any means.

[The AuldYin]

I remember reading about the Canada programme, the reason they done it was they had huge problems with consumption of dangerous products of alcohol, hand sanitizer, anti freeze, thinners etc, which was often leading to amputations. We don't have that problem as much in Scotland the reason being? Alcoholics generally get enough money from the state to allow them to buy what they need without having to drink other products.

[Mudskipper]

Interesting one Islay and for once I'm going to have to agree with you. I have a Brother in Law who worked on the rigs for years (retired now), he would do two weeks on and two off. When on the rigs he wasn't allowed any alcohol, there was no alcohol available. However he would get back from his trip, dump his bag in the house and go straight to the pub where he would get absolutely legless, not a coupe of pints, not drunk but absolutely legless. He didn't wait for the kids to get home from school or for the wife to get back from work it was straight to the pub and worry about them later.

The rest of his days at home he would go to the pub every day, if we'd arranged to go out with them on a night he'd be on the phone asking if we could come earlier and would sit and twitch for about an hour before the time we'd arranged to meet up.

I told him at one point that he should get help because he was an alcoholic but he couldn't see it, he'd laugh and ask how he could be an alcoholic when he could go two weeks offshore without a drink. I challenged him to get back from his next trip and not go to the pub as soon as he arrived home but wait to see the kids home from school - turned out the pub was more important than the kids, he went straight there and got legless and the penny finally dropped for him.

There is more to alcoholism than needing a drink every day, it seems to be a cycle with triggers that set off the need for a drink in those that end up choosing that lifestyle. The image of the Jakey lying in the gutter wondering where the next bottle of wine is coming from isn't the full story by any means.

100% agree with rig workers I think we all knew some back in the day where they went tonto when back on shore.

My old man had a drink everyday of his life pretty much when I was growing up ,sometimes drunk sometimes a quick nip on the way home and that was it ,but a desire to consume for a variety of reasons ,good day/bad day/ average day ,Bangladeshi bank holiday…!!! I think some people look for justification and can’t see the issue with the habit it’s become and for some it isn’t a problem at least until later in life.

I recently met a work colleague from the mid 80’s who was a very heavy drinker ,he looked a broken man and it clearly has taken its toll, I then asked what he was up to at the weekend ….. getting pished was his reply…!!! It’s the Scots culture and mindset still for many ,on a positive note I was at a wedding in Ireland about a decade ago and we are amateurs in comparison!!!

[Deeranged]

on a positive note I was at a wedding in Ireland about a decade ago and we are amateurs in comparison!!!

Sat in a pub in Dublin when a wake came in and said they'd booked the area we were sitting in, apologised and said we'd move. 'No, stay where you are you're OK' (think it's because we weren't English). I've never seen drinking like it. We probably stayed an hour, they all had around six or seven drinks and we were offered as many. The singing started after about half an hour and a great time was being had.

We're defintely amateur by comparison.

[BCram]

Think that there should be some discussion about this topic because I am not sure that a Managed Alcohol Programme would be a success unless the general public got behind it.

Here are some definitions. Alcohol abuse is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM‐IV 2001) as a destructive pattern of alcohol use occurring within a 12‐month period, resulting in repetitive maladaptive behaviour and leading to significant social, occupational or medical impairment. The alcohol abuser still has control over his/her use of alcohol and has not developed tolerance. Alcohol dependence (alcoholism) occurs when an individual has lost control over his/her use of alcohol and its consumption becomes the dominant focus in his/her life, causing deterioration of occupational, psychological, social functioning, or a combination. DSM‐IV diagnosis of alcohol dependence requires users to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse plus have three or more of the following: (1) tolerance ‐ the need to increase amounts of alcohol consumed to achieve the desired effect; (2) withdrawal ‐ the experience of physiological and psychological symptoms when alcohol consumption is stopped or use alcohol consumption to avoid or reduce specific symptoms, or both; (3) uncontrolled behaviour ‐ alcohol is consumed in larger amounts or for longer than intended; (4) cravings ‐ persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol use; (5) a considerable amount of time is spent to procure, use or recover from the effects of alcohol consumption; (6) important social, occupational or recreational activities given up or reduced because of alcohol use; and (7) continues alcohol use despite knowledge of persistent physical or psychological problems worsened by alcohol.

I also didn't know how units of alcohol were calculated. Volume in ML x ABV% /1000=units of alcohol. 500ml can x 5.2 ABV /1000=2.6units.

For me it seems like the general public would be a very important source of comment. If we leave it to the experts we run the risk of creating a methadone equivalent programme for alcohol. I don't seem the benefits of that kind of approach. More worryingly, in the way that the Scottish Government and the MSP's have behaved regarding the treatment of covid, we can see that authoritarian control just leads to more and more rules. I find it incredible that, at the start, the creation of vaccines was the only way to beat covid, and yet with all the vulnerable people vaccinated we are still being asked to adopt the same measures which were essential before the creation of the vaccines.

Commonsense seems to go out the window and I think a discussion about Managed Alcohol Programme should be encouraged.

I agree entirely with hmac's comment the decent, hard working people might just deserve more than they are getting.

[thegen65]

Interesting one Islay and for once I'm going to have to agree with you. I have a Brother in Law who worked on the rigs for years (retired now), he would do two weeks on and two off. When on the rigs he wasn't allowed any alcohol, there was no alcohol available. However he would get back from his trip, dump his bag in the house and go straight to the pub where he would get absolutely legless, not a coupe of pints, not drunk but absolutely legless. He didn't wait for the kids to get home from school or for the wife to get back from work it was straight to the pub and worry about them later.

The rest of his days at home he would go to the pub every day, if we'd arranged to go out with them on a night he'd be on the phone asking if we could come earlier and would sit and twitch for about an hour before the time we'd arranged to meet up.

I told him at one point that he should get help because he was an alcoholic but he couldn't see it, he'd laugh and ask how he could be an alcoholic when he could go two weeks offshore without a drink. I challenged him to get back from his next trip and not go to the pub as soon as he arrived home but wait to see the kids home from school - turned out the pub was more important than the kids, he went straight there and got legless and the penny finally dropped for him.

There is more to alcoholism than needing a drink every day, it seems to be a cycle with triggers that set off the need for a drink in those that end up choosing that lifestyle. The image of the Jakey lying in the gutter wondering where the next bottle of wine is coming from isn't the full story by any means.

Excellent post.

[noahrab]

think it's because we weren't English

Not everyone is bigoted like you.

[Deeranged]

Not everyone is bigoted like you.

Were you there? No? Then you can't know what happened and can't comment can you?

[noahrab]

Were you there? No? Then you can't know what happened and can't comment can you?

“THINK it’s because we weren’t English”

Bigots always judge others by their own standards.