Josh Hamilton has alcohol relapse

[ChasHawk]

Somebody help me, please. I can't not pick up this beer and pour it in my mouth. It's that damn disease again.

Is it an addiction? Yes

Is it a disease that should even be spoken about in the same universe as cancer? Kiss my ass

It doesn't matter to me what the cdc says.

And just as a pre-emptive response:
I'm mature, I have a family, I did drink before I was 21, I still drink now on occasion, and I don't go to church.
So I don't have to worry about how I'm going to feel.

 

[Brewer Andy]

Hell I dont know if its still the case but he didnt "allow" himself to carry $$$ out of fear of what he will spend it on.

But the most important part in all this in my eyes are things like this. He tries. Alcoholics are alcoholics for life. He'll struggle with it on some level as long as he walks the earth. If a man is willing to make genuine attempts to change his life for the betterment of himself and his family then that alone is worth some well wishes on our part IMO and when he falls it wouldn't be so horrible for others to reach out a hand to help him back up on the wagon for as long and as many times as he's willing to try

 

[ChasHawk]

Some physicians, scientists and others have rejected the disease theory of alcoholism on logical, empirical and other grounds.

Some critics of the disease model argue alcoholism is a choice, not a disease, and stripping alcohol abusers of their choice, by applying the disease concept, is a threat to the health of the individual; the disease concept gives the substance abuser an excuse. A disease cannot be cured by force of will; therefore, adding the medical label transfers the responsibility from the abuser to caregivers. Inevitably the abusers become unwilling victims, and just as inevitably they take on that role. They argue that the disease theory of alcoholism exists only to benefit the professionals' and governmental agencies responsible for providing recovery services, and the disease model has not offered a solution for those attempting to stop abusive alcohol and drug use

Many physicians reject the disease theory of alcoholism. One study found that only 20 percent of physicians believe that substance addiction is a disease

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

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

 

[mudflap02]

I don't have cancer, and it sure isn't a chore for me to walk across the room, so those people are probably faking it or something.

JUST WALK! HOW HARD IS IT YOU BALD WEAKLING?

 

[homerun28aa]

No one sets out to be chemically dependent on anything and only an ignorant fool would say addiction to alcohol and opiates is not a true disease.

Glad a few here can be glib and have lived their lives so perfect that they can toss those stones from behind the comfort of their computer screen. Hope they are comfortable in their judging this Sunday at church.

Good luck to JH, it's a terrible disease that he found himself in and has done well for many years. Stay strong and get the help you need.

Wrong! The first time that loser stuck a needle in his arm or took a drink he sent himself down that road and nobody made him do it. Oh the poor defenseless drug addict, boo hoo. A disease is something that can’t be prevented; Cancer, ALS, MS, etc. Drug addiction is not a disease it’s a consequence of poor decisions. You wrote "it's a terrible disease that he found himself in," he didn't "find himself" in it, he caused this himself and you think he deserves to be admired and praised.

Why don't you climb down off your cross and get a life.

Ugh. This post really just riles me up. There is just so much you don't seem to understand.

Yes, addiction stems from poor decisions. Every person who has ever lived has made a poor decision or two at some point in their lives. Mozzie, would you care to answer the following question - Have you ever smoked marijuana, used any other illegal drug, or did you drink alcohol before the age of 21? Most people have done at least one of the 3. Some people (addicts and alcoholics) just handle it differently than others. I can stand out in the sun for a long time without getting a sunburn. Mrs. Mudflap turns pink after about 10 seconds in direct sunlight because she is a light skinned Irish lady. Our bodies are just different and we all handle unique physical stimuli differently. Read up on the definition of a disease, along with the medical community's view of alcoholism and addiction as diseases, before you come in a public forum and start spouting off facts. "Cancer is not preventable." Right. Some forms of cancer are not preventable. Tell the person who smoked for 60 years that their lung cancer was not preventable.

Recovered addicts and alcoholics deserve to be praised the same way that cancer survivors deserve to be praised. One may be easier to beat than the other, but it is commendable to fight against what is killing you as opposed to letting it consume you without a struggle. Just because Josh Hamilton (or any other person in recovery) is looked up to doesn't mean that someone can't look up to teachers, soldiers, firefighters, whatever sort of stereotypical hero everyone is supposed to adore. He didn't make a conscious decision to become an addict, he made a conscious decision to use drugs once without knowing the path it would lead him down. You probably made the same poor decision at some point in your life, but your path led elsewhere.

I agreed with a lot of your post but I'm sorry that I just cannot agree with. I have seen the best of people lose the fight to this disease and I cannot sympathize the same way with Hamilton as those people. Now who knows the reason Hamilton first turned to drugs, could have been terrible parenting, could have been that he fell in with the wrong crowd, could have been a number of different things that were somewhat out of his control. But there is enough knowledge about drugs nowadays to scare people into using them, the fact that he used kind of shows me that he isn't this nice guy it shows me that at one point in time he was a "badass". I commend him now as the fight to sober up is one of the toughest, like you guys said he is in for a long battle it won't ever be easy but HE made the wrong decisions to begin with and unfortunately he dug himself into a hole he may never get out. But those who get cancer it is 100% out of their control and the fight many times is 100% out of their control. I agree with the poster that said the cancer survivors and heros like Pat Tilman are who I'd tell my kids about.

 

[phillyfan0417]

Some physicians, scientists and others have rejected the disease theory of alcoholism on logical, empirical and other grounds.

Some critics of the disease model argue alcoholism is a choice, not a disease, and stripping alcohol abusers of their choice, by applying the disease concept, is a threat to the health of the individual; the disease concept gives the substance abuser an excuse. A disease cannot be cured by force of will; therefore, adding the medical label transfers the responsibility from the abuser to caregivers. Inevitably the abusers become unwilling victims, and just as inevitably they take on that role. They argue that the disease theory of alcoholism exists only to benefit the professionals' and governmental agencies responsible for providing recovery services, and the disease model has not offered a solution for those attempting to stop abusive alcohol and drug use

There are some who also reject that cigarettes cause cancer. There are scientists who also believe bigfoots are real. There are scientists who believe that we are the descendants of aliens.


If you're trying to prove a point, saying some scientists is definitely not going to do it.


Its a choice that can turn into a disease. Kind of like my love of red meat and its ability to make me sick. Is the result of my lifestyle choice not still a disease?

 

[James52411]

I agree with everyone who wishes Josh well and hopes that he can stay clean and sober. I suppose the only quibble I have is with labeling drug or alcohol addiction a "disease." Hamilton has an addiction that resulted from using illegal drugs and failing to use alcohol in moderation. I think we do a disservice when we use the same terms to describe alcoholism and drug addiction that we use to describe cancer, neuromuscular disease, and other conditions that cannot be "cured" by making wise choices in life going forward. Like I said, I want Josh to live well and be an inspiration to others who have made bad choices. However, I think we should frame the issue of addiction as more about morality and wise choices than illness and disease.

http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm

Simply because it is on the CDCs website does not make it a disease. I understand that many people have genetic pre-dispositions to alcoholism, but any condition that is 100% preventable (i.e. don't drink alcohol), that only arises due to personal decisions (excessive drinking), and is 100% curable by making certain decisions (refrain from drinking) presents different issues than cancer or genetic conditions which often arise through no action of the person suffering from them. Furthermore, even in the cases of lung cancer from smokers or AIDS due to irresponsible sex, though the disease arises from bad decisions, it cannot be cured by refraining from an activity. That is why alcoholism is more about decision making, morality, and finding behavioral patterns to break the addiction than these other conditions. To say this isn't to say we shouldn't support, have sympathy, and help people with addictions. I just think that when we label it a disease we open the door for people with addictions to think they are passive victims of a "disease," rather than men and women who need drastic help in the ways in which they live their lives.

 

[mudflap02]

I agree with everyone who wishes Josh well and hopes that he can stay clean and sober. I suppose the only quibble I have is with labeling drug or alcohol addiction a "disease." Hamilton has an addiction that resulted from using illegal drugs and failing to use alcohol in moderation. I think we do a disservice when we use the same terms to describe alcoholism and drug addiction that we use to describe cancer, neuromuscular disease, and other conditions that cannot be "cured" by making wise choices in life going forward. Like I said, I want Josh to live well and be an inspiration to others who have made bad choices. However, I think we should frame the issue of addiction as more about morality and wise choices than illness and disease.

http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm

Simply because it is on the CDCs website does not make it a disease. I understand that many people have genetic pre-dispositions to alcoholism, but any condition that is 100% preventable (i.e. don't drink alcohol), that only arises due to personal decisions (excessive drinking), and is 100% curable by making certain decisions (refrain from drinking) presents different issues than cancer or genetic conditions which often arise through no action of the person suffering from them. Furthermore, even in the cases of lung cancer from smokers or AIDS due to irresponsible sex, though the disease arises from bad decisions, it cannot be cured by refraining from an activity. That is why alcoholism is more about decision making, morality, and finding behavioral patterns to break the addiction than these other conditions. To say this isn't to say we shouldn't support, have sympathy, and help people with addictions. I just think that when we label it a disease we open the door for people with addictions to think they are passive victims of a "disease," rather than men and women who need drastic help in the ways in which they live their lives.

All good points, and I am glad to respectfully disagreee with you.

But if the US Government Center for Disease Control defines something on their website as a disease, yet this is not make it such for you, what would constitute a disease then?

 

[WoundedDuck]

Why do people like to argue everything as black and white. Can't the addiction be both the results of poor decisions AND a disease that now needs to be treated? Sure, had he not got mixed up in the stuff he did, he wouldn't be dealing with this; however, that does not mean that his addiction isn't now a disease that is impossible for him to control on his own. That's like saying STDs aren't diseases that deserve treating because they are often the results of poor decisions, or like saying type 2 diabetes isn't a disease because it's often the results of poor diet and weight control. Certainly I wouldn't put this in the same realm as cancer or some other type of disease that has nothing to do with the actions a person takes. I don't have the same type of empathy either, but it definately deserves it's own place. Josh Hamilton is definately dealing with the results caused by his own actions, but at this point I'm sure he needs help and I wish him the best in getting it.

 

[MacK]

Don't really care, he's a human.

Who's to say he didn't have two beers?

 

[ChasHawk]

Why do people like to argue everything as black and white. Can't the addiction be both the results of poor decisions AND a disease that now needs to be treated? Sure, had he not got mixed up in the stuff he did, he wouldn't be dealing with this; however, that does not mean that his addiction isn't now a disease that is impossible for him to control on his own. That's like saying STDs aren't diseases that deserve treating because they are often the results of poor decisions, or like saying type 2 diabetes isn't a disease because it's often the results of poor diet and weight control. Certainly I wouldn't put this in the same realm as cancer or some other type of disease that has nothing to do with the actions a person takes. I don't have the same type of empathy either, but it definately deserves it's own place. Josh Hamilton is definately dealing with the results caused by his own actions, but at this point I'm sure he needs help and I wish him the best in getting it.

If you make a bad decision to have unprotected sex and you get ******, you can't get rid of ****** by refraining from sex.

If you develop type 2 diabetes, you can't stop eating and suddenly not have diabetes anymore.

You can choose NOT to drink and do drugs.

 

[Titans74]

So the man likes to drink and whatever else. Who cares?

If he weren't Josh Hamilton of the MLB Texas Rangers it wouldn't even be news. Lincoln Parker of Johnson City, Tn likes to drink too. I don't see the media headlines, the public outcry or the forum banter on this. Nobody hung their heads and shook them with judgemental looks when Mantle was seen at a bar getting trashed or when Billy Martin was racking up DUI's. They were grown men who chose to do as they pleased. So is Hamilton.

People should worry more about themselves and less about what others choose to do on their own time. Media has really dumbed society down and made female privates parts out of so many Americans.

 

[WoundedDuck]

Why do people like to argue everything as black and white. Can't the addiction be both the results of poor decisions AND a disease that now needs to be treated? Sure, had he not got mixed up in the stuff he did, he wouldn't be dealing with this; however, that does not mean that his addiction isn't now a disease that is impossible for him to control on his own. That's like saying STDs aren't diseases that deserve treating because they are often the results of poor decisions, or like saying type 2 diabetes isn't a disease because it's often the results of poor diet and weight control. Certainly I wouldn't put this in the same realm as cancer or some other type of disease that has nothing to do with the actions a person takes. I don't have the same type of empathy either, but it definately deserves it's own place. Josh Hamilton is definately dealing with the results caused by his own actions, but at this point I'm sure he needs help and I wish him the best in getting it.

If you make a bad decision to have unprotected sex and you get ******, you can't get rid of ****** by refraining from sex.

If you develop type 2 diabetes, you can't stop eating and suddenly not have diabetes anymore.

You can choose NOT to drink and do drugs.

If you make bad decisions and develop drug and alcohol dependacy and addiction, you can't rewire your brain or body chemistry to take away the extra desire. You can't make it so that one sip of alcohol sets you off on a destructive path. There's a difference.

 

[ChasHawk]

All good points, and I am glad to respectfully disagreee with you.

But if the US Government Center for Disease Control defines something on their website as a disease, yet this is not make it such for you, what would constitute a disease then?

The cdc has a section on obesity as well...does that make it a disease?

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html

 

[ChasHawk]

Why do people like to argue everything as black and white. Can't the addiction be both the results of poor decisions AND a disease that now needs to be treated? Sure, had he not got mixed up in the stuff he did, he wouldn't be dealing with this; however, that does not mean that his addiction isn't now a disease that is impossible for him to control on his own. That's like saying STDs aren't diseases that deserve treating because they are often the results of poor decisions, or like saying type 2 diabetes isn't a disease because it's often the results of poor diet and weight control. Certainly I wouldn't put this in the same realm as cancer or some other type of disease that has nothing to do with the actions a person takes. I don't have the same type of empathy either, but it definately deserves it's own place. Josh Hamilton is definately dealing with the results caused by his own actions, but at this point I'm sure he needs help and I wish him the best in getting it.

If you make a bad decision to have unprotected sex and you get ******, you can't get rid of ****** by refraining from sex.

If you develop type 2 diabetes, you can't stop eating and suddenly not have diabetes anymore.

You can choose NOT to drink and do drugs.

If you make bad decisions and develop drug and alcohol dependacy and addiction, you can't rewire your brain or body chemistry to take away the extra desire. You can't make it so that one sip of alcohol sets you off on a destructive path. There's a difference.

But you CAN make it so you don't have that sip of alcohol.

You can't wake up and decide not to have a STD.

 

[LazerShow15]

I can see him being signed by the Brewers next year to be reunited with Narron. We need a CF after this year.

Brewers = bad idea for any alcoholic, recovered or not

Actually just because we are known for our breweries, doesn't mean it wouldn't be best. Throw him into the fire cold turkey.

 

[ChasHawk]

The cdc has topics on aging too, and gay and bisexual men, and menopause, and piercing, and semiconductor manufacturing...

 

[ChasHawk]

I also love how smokers are smelly pariahs, but that poor alcoholic needs our help.

 

[WoundedDuck]

My point is, there is a real physiologic change that takes place with substance addiction. I agree that ultimately the person is responsible for their actions, but there has to be some middle ground. As I said before, I don't believe it's all black and white. It's not in the same place on the spectrum as other diseases, and while they still have a choice, that decision is not even close to being the same as it would for you and I.

 

[phillyfan0417]

My point is, there is a real physiologic change that takes place with substance addiction. I agree that ultimately the person is responsible for their actions, but there has to be some middle ground. As I said before, I don't believe it's all black and white. It's not in the same place on the spectrum as other diseases, and while they still have a choice, that decision is not even close to being the same as it would for you and I.

Agreed. I dont always get why people have such a problem with grey. Poor life choices lead to diseases every single day.