Dr. Don Wood explains why alcohol addiction stays hidden: it's socially accepted and high-functioning people hide it well. He describes a blackout-drunk colleague whose behavior was normalized by coworkers, then breaks down how alcohol damages the liver and why cravings are psychological, not physical.
Chapters
Why does somebody get stuck on alcohol, maybe not on drugs? Alcohol is accepted. Nobody has a problem with you going out, having some beers and even getting drunk. People will accept it. I remember before I was ever in this, I was in a business. And the first time that we went to a business event with this organization, one of the guys there who we found out actually later was not only alcohol addicted, but drug addicted. He gets blackout drunk at the party, then all of a sudden gets up and he's going to drive home and nobody was stopping him. And my wife turned around and said, I'm sorry. Like this is wrong. Why is somebody not taking this guy's keys? People just had accepted him as being the guy that just is a party guy. He was actually a fun drunk. He got funnier. He laughed a lot. He was joking. That's why people will use alcohol, because it's very easy to use. There's no shame involved in it as much I know people who are have been addicts and they can actually fight function in their lives. They're pretty good at covering it or they don't do it when they're at work. So they're high functioning alcoholics. But I can tell you for sure they're affecting the physical side of their body dramatically. Cirrhosis of the liver. There's all kinds of stuff that shows up. Alcohol, number one is a depressant. Number two is considered a toxin to the body. Immediately upon taking a drink of alcohol, your system is trying to get rid of it. It wants to dispense of it. And so that's why I'm always fascinated when people say to well, my body craves it. And I go, that's just nonsense. How could your body crave a toxin? It's the mind that craves it. The mind is addicted to it because it's addicted to the feeling that you get and it stops the pain. But it's not the substance it's addicted to, it's a poison.
