Read today that the British medical community have now listed alcohol and tobacco among the top ten on their most harmful drug list. I think it was #5 and #9 respectively. (Harmful, both physical and to society) Aside from the scientific, do you suppose, that the voices of AA and other related addiction organizations have helped in any way to motivate their action in doing so?
The British medical community can be a confusing lot! My GP is terrific to chat with and she wants to know all about AA and how it works. But, other GPs just don't want to discuss something that they don't know about. But, I do feel that it is getting better and that being an alcoholic isn't such a taboo as it used to be.
I answer the telephone for AA every week, and I feel so very sorry for some of the people who call as they explain that their GP has told them to cut down on the amount that he/she drinks and that they simply can't.
I do wish that the medical community at large could be educated about AA as I am sure that it would help them just as much as the many alcoholics that they come into daily contact with. But, we are getting there slowly!
Take care,
Carol
__________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss
I have to wonder if the fact that AA does what it does with the results that it shows in large part without any medical or pharmeceutical help (I'm thinking aside from whatever goes on in a real detox). Along that line of thinking it's not surprising to find that the medical community in some large part wouldn't want to endorse or discuss AA any further than it has to. I'm certain that billions of dollars in medical care would vaporize if every alcoholic were to stop drinking and to start taking care of themselves.
Of course conversely the coffee companies stock would probably skyrocket, and if you guys are anything like me the cookies and milk business would immediately flourish. ;)
One time, (of 4-6,) I was in the hospital for severe alcoholism and was talked to about AA by the attending. Awesome. I felt the attitude of didain because this was something I did to myself. I sensed he thought I was pathetic. A few more trips to the hospital and I realized I was pathetic. In rehab I tried to learn how not to be so. Lots of recovery later I try to tell people my experience, whoever they are, and I usually note that the general public has little idea of what it is about. Why would they...it is odd to us after we have been sober awhile..."What in the world could I have been thinking?" Paul
Aaah....Have to say, Toby, that same thought crossed my mind about the med. community keeping afloat if everyone stopped drinking. That comes from some personal experiences on some medical problems I had. Serveral tests and a couple of thousand dollars later.......and it was unsettling to learn that out of them all only one is the combined total of the others and could have saved my insurance the expense, not to speak of the waste of some personal days and the techs. time to do the others. Serveral years later......the same problem resurfaced. This time, being a bit smarter/wiser, it was stated "We WILL skip all the others and go straight to the top."
Careful- I smell a conspiracy theory. I absolutely love a good conspiracy theory! If I could somehow in one fell swoop implicate the government, the insurance companies, the medical community, the Vatican, Area 51, KFC and Joe Kennedy, I'd be just ducky. But I've never had the imagination for that. I'm a lot like the internet- just great at efficiently disseminating misinformation.
If I could somehow in one fell swoop implicate the government, the insurance companies, the medical community, the Vatican, Area 51, KFC and Joe Kennedy, I'd be just ducky. But I've never had the imagination for that. I'm a lot like the internet- just great at efficiently disseminating misinformation.