sorry, i've never bought into it being a disease. you can't decide to put down the cancer bottle, or the ms bottle. i think they started calling it a disease so that insurance companies would start covering the treatment, but i'm sure that's just the cynic in me. as for it being an addiction, so hard to overcome...i smoked for 15 years, which was half my life when i quit cold turkey. so, even tho many say it's such a hard nut to crack, i didn't find it to be so at all. you just have to make up your mind. tyler needs to get to that point-the sooner the better.
and funny, those times i have come to your defense on here in the past, i bet you didn't think i was ignorant and insensitive. appreciate that.

:tro:

Perhaps not. That's what's wrong with your theory.

alcoholics can't rise above it? really? i worked with a guy who realized he had a problem and quit drinking years ago. i think he rose above it quite nicely.

Coming to my defense over internet drivel and not knowing what the entire worldwide medical community now agree upon is two very different things.

"You just have to make up your mind" Good chance those are the 8 most assinine words ever posted on any message board about any subject.

Unbelieveable!

Danzig:

There are plenty of people that can't stop drinking. It does seem like a simple concept - just stop drinking. It doesn't work that way.

Some of us have been turned upside down by somone who just could not stop drinking.

:tro:

I have been. 3 times. Dad, Brother, Best Friend. All gone now.

Glad you chimed in here Trackrat.

which is why i said what i did regarding his family members. it's got to be heart wrenching to have to sit and watch someone destroy himself. those are the people who have my deepest sympathies. they are the real victims. the parents, friends and family members-you see it occurring, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

i'm pretty sure that i've heard people say many times that there are people who have to hit rock bottom before they realize that's where they'd been headed all along, and then decide to do something about it. that's what i meant by 'you have to make up your mind'. sadly, not everyone hits rock bottom and is able to pull themselves back up. some shoot right thru the bottom.
forgive my being so asinine; make no mistake, i do hope tyler is able to pull himself out of his mess. it always boggles my mind when people waste their life.

tyler's in a bad spot, and i do hope he gets out of it.

My brother died in 2005 from drinking, he couldnt stop, not mentally or physically. My birth father is also an alcoholic as well as another brother who if it wasnt that he was incarcirated for 12 years would most likely be dead as well. For some reason my oldest brother and I are not like the other two in that we can drink but its not like it is or was with the other two.

It wasn't meant to be classy, you histrionic fop.

Humor at the expense of others is timeless.

The internet was a lovely place. You'll have internet 2.0 soon where speech is monitored and censored so your fragile mind can be at ease.

It was a great day. Sunny and 70.

My oldest brother and I are a lot alike. Before I got sober, we could go toe to toe, drink for drink. My brother that just passed away, the most alcohol he ever had in one setting was 7 beers :rolleyes: and my sister is the same way as him, she can take it or leave it. Neither of my parents drink.

Alcoholism is not a disease, it is a choice.

Science may disagree with you.

Not recognizing alcoholism as a disease is like assuming that the mentally ill just need to "snap out of it."

Defined:

In a 1992 JAMA article, the Joint Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) published this definition for alcoholism:
“Alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, mostly denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic.”

There's a reason alcoholics who have stopped drinking are called "recovering." it's because they'll never be "cured." They won't ever be able to drink as someone who is not alcoholic can drink. It's a disease.

My father is drinking himself to death. It's an awful thing to watch. And I spent years angry about it. But, for whatever reason, I was spared the addictive need for alcohol my dad has. Which means I can't ever understand what's going on in his head. I can't judge, because I will never truly understand.

I need a drink.

If you posted a picture of an aids baby would that be funny and timeless?

Alcoholism is a disease. To belittle someone, especially in a public forum for having a disease is the act of a heartless, hateful, coward.

Simply not true.

The mentally ill can't go for years and years of sanity before falling off the wagon.

I think almost all people have weaknesses and vices.

I battle with poor sleep habits. I battle hard with temptation to eat junk foods constantly and I hate 99% of foods that are good for me. Those two things will kill you as fast as drinking if you don't fight your urges. I've been diagnosed with Autism by doctors.

I probably could have milked the Autism angle into getting feel good pills, or getting some type of cash benefits, or as a reason to leach off of my parents and sit around all day doing nothing with an excuse in my pocket. The Autisim is really just an extreme discomfort around people and a struggle to understand social cues and small talk. It's something you can accept you're not good at and try to improve.

If a person can accept that they have a weakness for booze -- they should still be able to work to avoid drinking themselves to their grave.

You are young so you can afford to have poor sleeping habits.

I'm 42 and hardly sleep more than five hours a night on weeknights.

Anything can be funny under the right circumstances. Right now I am in stitches over a man with more estrogen than most women calling me a coward for making fun of an adult midget who is a confirmed coward who won't take the responsibility and get help.

The weak defending the weak. Gfy, woman.

:tro:

'Many physicians reject the disease theory of alcoholism. One study found that only 20 percent of physicians believe that substance addiction is a disease. In addition, 55 percent believe that there is "no effective treatment" for it.(T. McLellan. R-Considering Addiction Treatment: How Can Treatment Be More Accountable And Effective? A Continuing Medical Education (CME)Course. Cranston, Rhode Island, Association for Medical Education and Research on Substance Abuse, 2006.)

Another study found that only 25 percent of physicians believed that alcoholism is a disease. The majority believed alcoholism to be a social or psychological problem instead of a disease. (S.I. Mignon. Physicians' Perceptions of Alcoholics: The Disease Concept Reconsidered. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1996, v. 14, no. 4, pp. 33–45)

A survey of physicians at an annual conference of the International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous reported that 80 percent believe that alcoholism is merely bad behavior instead of a disease. (Barrier to Treatment. Alcoholmd - Information About Alcohol and Medicine)

Dr. Thomas R. Hobbs says that "Based on my experiences working in the addiction field for the past 10 years, I believe many, if not most, health care professionals still view alcohol addiction as a willpower or conduct problem and are resistant to look at it as a disease." (T.R. Hobbs. Managing Alcoholism as a Disease. Physician's News Digest, 1998.)

Alcoholics Anonymous says that "Some professionals will tell you that alcoholism is a disease while others contend that it is a choice" and "some doctors will tell you that it is in fact a disease." (Alcoholics Anonymous. What Is Alcoholism? http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.com/...alcoholism.htm)[42]'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease..._of_alcoholism


not trying to change minds here at all. just want to show that it's not a clearcut decision amongst physicians. which probably explains why some of us aren't sure it's so clear cut either.

:$:

I was primarily a beer drinker for over 20 years. I am ashamed to admit it but I dodged countless DUI's and I was lucky I never injured or killed anyone.

I will never know for sure but my life (and possibly others) may have been spared 13 years ago when I ran into the back of a car at a stop light after consuming over 24 beers over an 8 hour span.

I never touched a drink again.....until two years ago. So far so good. It is not a battle for me. I need to stay away from a motor vehicle when i consume alchohol.

I put the bottle down instantly after a wake up call. Others aren't as fortunate. I could be the same person I was 13 years ago from today forward.

Everyone's experience is different. I'm responsible for my actions. Tyler Baze is responsible for his actions. Whether alchoholism is a disease or not doesn't spare Tyler his responsibility.

Well said.

I don't think anyone here thinks that alcoholism is a reason to not face consequences, especially for actions that are illegal, which includes driving under the influence. I have no problem with people ending up in jail for DUI or losing their licenses. And not because I think it's a deterrent- because alcoholism is a disease, it's not going to respond to punishment. How many people have repeated DUI's? I think they should lose their licenses and serve jail time because they're a menace behind the wheel.

So of course Baze should face consequences. But to assume it's just a character flaw really ignores what alcoholism is.

It's a disease! OMG put on the kid gloves.

You can prevent the disease through lifestyle choices.

Personal responsibility is the best path for wellness. Stop making excuses for adults. The overreaction to those pictures is telling. Making fun of a drunk who is fortunate to be blessed with the ability to make a great living is equal to making fun of an aids baby?

Ridiculous.

You have a very mild form of autism. Having worked in education for years, I've encountered kids all over the autism spectrum. Believe me, you have a very mild form of it.

I have a father drinking himself to death, and I have an uncle who dried out over 20 years ago. My grandfather limited himself to one drink a day, but I know he spent his entire day looking to when he could have that 5PM cocktail. The Apocalypse could have come and he would have still demanded his 5PM drink. All three were alcoholics; they all experienced the disease differently.

Like autism, it's a very poorly understood condition at this point in time. It won't always be, but assuming it's the same thing as a craving for chocolate doesn't help us deal with it, any more than calling severely autistic kids retarded helps them.

Apparently, it's a horseplayer thing. Ditto for me and I'm 41. Oh yeah, small children have an adverse effect on opportunity for extra sleep.

To me if it is a disease for one it is a disease for all or it is a choice people make. I reacted to my drinking only when the unthinkable happened. As I stated before Others aren't as fortunate. Some people don't give a flying **** and some have a death wish. I have empathy for anyone who has lost a loved one to alchoholism and my belief as to whether I have a disease or a choice is based only on my personal experience and no one elses.

The medical profession was still considering homosexuality a mental illness in your lifetime, too.

I think what boggles the minds of non-alcoholics is that it seems so simple- just stop drinking, right? But in the mind of an alcoholic it just doesn't work that way.

This is pure woo speculation on my part, but I do think there's a difference in brain wiring for people prone to addiction, and sometimes I wonder if it's more likely in people with a higher tolerance for adrenaline/stress. My dad is amazing in a crisis. Amazing. Calm, clear-headed, insightful. It's everyday life he can't handle.

And when it comes to jockeys, these are men and women who are happy to get on a fragile animal traveling at 30 miles an hour, knowing they are going to break bones several times in their career. You have to be an adrenaline junkie to want to do that.

Drinking is a choice, alcoholism is not. And it manifests in so many different ways that I think it's hard for those of us who are accustomed to diseases being easily identifiable and manifesting pretty much the same way in everyone. The four condition usually used to diagnose a disease are that it be primary (have recognizable symptoms), chronic (continues if not treated), progressive (gets worse over time) and be fatal. I feel alcoholism fits the bill.

The frustrating thing being that it is possible to arrest the disease by stopping drinking, which is the easiest thing in the world for those who don't feel a compulsion to drink.

There are those who would say you're not an alcoholic at all if you're capable of drinking now, and those who would say you're a functional alcoholic, which is to say it's not interfering with your life. As far as I'm concerned, as long as you're not hurting anyone, it's no one's business but yours whether you're drinking or not.

Baze, of course, is actually hurting people, and needs to be held responsible for his actions, but the state of being an alcoholic is not an action. Either way, I do hope he gets help. Bailey said that after he stopped drinking, it was like races were suddenly in slow motion- with a clear head, he felt had all the time in the world to think about what he was going to do during the race. I always thought that was a neat image.

I think this could be true, and could explain why pro athletes get caught up in addictions.

I'm sorry to hear about your personal stories of family members battles with alcoholism, Nicole.

I don't think alcholics can "just stop drinking" unless they're truly tough enough to do it and have a lot to gain by doing it. I think it's ok if they accept what they have and drink in cycles.

Tyler Baze needs to do what Tyler Baze wants to do. If that's to run from the pressure of being a jockey and drink -- it's his life and that is what makes him happy. When he gets to the point where he accepts that he will be happier as a jockey -- he has a comeback attempt to motivate him.

Sorry if my opinion seems or is ignorant.

i very much agree they have something going on in their heads-i've cautioned my kids that there is addictive behavior in their family history. drinkers, smokers, my loser brother will play world of warcraft all day and all night. i think his kids could spontaneously combust right next to him and he'd never notice. he's made it his life, since he's so unhappy with reality.

Yeah Vic....... an alcoholic who has had many chances to straighten out and people who get cancer is a great comparison. You are a jagoff of the highest order.

Nice job with that whining letter where you completely threw Wrona under the bus. Funny coming from a guy who all the time preaches about the announcers "brotherhood". What's next? You gonna slash John Dooley's tires hoping he will miss work and get fired from Fair Grounds....then send a letter begging for the job?

Alcoholism and Cancer are both diseases.

Don't take my word for it.

You're a learned person.

Do the research.