The Long Road to Recovery
The Long Road to Recovery 1
The Long Road to Recovery, From a Hopeless State of Mind and Body
Michael A White
ENG 211
Professor Geoff Pope
March 14, 2010
The Long Road to Recovery 2
The Long Road to Recovery, From a Hopeless State of Mind and Body
Alcoholism and the disease of addiction have been viewed in two strong yet completely different ends of the spectrum for as long as men and women have been losing control of how much and when they drink. One end of the spectrum is the immoralist point of view, which claims the “alcoholic as not having morals” (Gary, 1999). When describing alcoholics, they have also been known to call them “sinful” or “moral weaklings” (Gary, 1999). Throughout history, the alcoholic has been ridiculed, as described by Gary Stofle in the article “The Morality of Alcoholism”: “Society has ascribed to these views as evidenced by the fact that alcoholics have been jailed just for being alcoholics in the past. At worst, alcoholics have been killed or left to die because of society 's views and from a lack of knowledge concerning treatment of alcoholism as well. At best, alcoholics have been laughed at, scorned, pitied and/or run out of town” (1999). These views of the alcoholic have caused a great many to relapse, and even die, when all that was needed was a little understanding of the disease. The biggest problem with holding this view of addiction is that it can be potentially fatal for the alcoholic of
The Long Road to Recovery 3
my caliber. The other end of the spectrum that I hold to be truer, yet still don’t agree completely with, is the view of the Amoralist. “The alcoholic must also understand that he is not responsible for the things he said or did when he was drinking. The physical addiction controlled his behavior, and because he is powerless over the addiction, he cannot be held responsible for it” (Gary, 1999). My purpose in this essay is give my first-hand experience of the pain and despair that the
The Long Road to Recovery, From a Hopeless State of Mind and Body
Michael A White
ENG 211
Professor Geoff Pope
March 14, 2010
The Long Road to Recovery 2
The Long Road to Recovery, From a Hopeless State of Mind and Body
Alcoholism and the disease of addiction have been viewed in two strong yet completely different ends of the spectrum for as long as men and women have been losing control of how much and when they drink. One end of the spectrum is the immoralist point of view, which claims the “alcoholic as not having morals” (Gary, 1999). When describing alcoholics, they have also been known to call them “sinful” or “moral weaklings” (Gary, 1999). Throughout history, the alcoholic has been ridiculed, as described by Gary Stofle in the article “The Morality of Alcoholism”: “Society has ascribed to these views as evidenced by the fact that alcoholics have been jailed just for being alcoholics in the past. At worst, alcoholics have been killed or left to die because of society 's views and from a lack of knowledge concerning treatment of alcoholism as well. At best, alcoholics have been laughed at, scorned, pitied and/or run out of town” (1999). These views of the alcoholic have caused a great many to relapse, and even die, when all that was needed was a little understanding of the disease. The biggest problem with holding this view of addiction is that it can be potentially fatal for the alcoholic of
The Long Road to Recovery 3
my caliber. The other end of the spectrum that I hold to be truer, yet still don’t agree completely with, is the view of the Amoralist. “The alcoholic must also understand that he is not responsible for the things he said or did when he was drinking. The physical addiction controlled his behavior, and because he is powerless over the addiction, he cannot be held responsible for it” (Gary, 1999). My purpose in this essay is give my first-hand experience of the pain and despair that the
References: Gary, S. (1999). The morality of alcoholism. Retrieved Feb 28, 2010, from mentalhelp.net Angel C. H. (2007) period Alcoholism stages-understanding the progression of the disease of alcoholism. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2010, from ezinearticles.com/?Alcoholism...Progression-of-the-Disease-of-Alcoholism Buddy T. (2009)period Hitting bottom, usually it must get worse before it gets better. Retrieved, Feb. 28, 2010 from About.com Burge, S.K., and Schneider, F.D., (1999) Alcohol related problems: Recognition and intervention. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2010, from www.aafp.org B- 86/100 = 129/150