Tag Archives: Alcoholism

ΔFosB: The genetic addiction risk factor

April 27, 2023Dependency, Science, Thursday postsAddiction, Alcoholism, GeneticsWilliam Tell

I only this week became aware of this.

Wikipedia: FOSB

The article is extremely technical, but makes clear in no uncertain terms that Delta FosB is the genetic risk factor for addiction. All addicts have it, regardless whether the addiction is chemical or behavioral.

It also helps me understand how, without having been born with the specific genes for alcoholism, they came to be present for me in middle age; how, after decades of consuming alcohol no differently than any normal person, I abruptly became a “drunk” at about age 32.

Related: Alcoholism basics

Originally posted 2016-02-23.

How not to choose a sperm donor

April 29, 2021Local news, National news, National politics, Science, Thursday postsAlcoholism, Carolyn Hax, Charles Bothuell IV, Charles Bothuell V, Glenn Kessler, Heather Cook, Immigration, Marriage, Rep. Paul Gosar, Wave-particle dualityWilliam Tell

Bookmarks:
How not to choose a sperm donor • Lies about immigration • Heather Cook update • Bizarre child abuse case • The reality of quantum weirdness

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About Heather Cook

December 24, 2020Clippings, Local media, Local news, Thursday postsAlcoholism, Heather Cook, Human nature, PriestsWilliam Tell

TRANSCRIPT:

Heather Cook, an Episcopalian suffragan bishop in Maryland, has been in the news lately. A few weeks ago, she was involved in a vehicular homicide, and currently faces charges including vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, texting while driving, and leaving the scene of an accident.

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Grief and sublimation

December 5, 2019Thursday postsAlcoholism, Ambrose Worrall, Brian Williard, Grief, Karma, Prayer, Reincarnation, Sublimation, The Homeless BloggerWilliam Tell

R.I.P. Brian Williard, a.k.a. funnyphilosopher.

Homey died yesterday. Earlier in the week, he had consumed too much alcohol in too little time, and stopped breathing. Help did not arrive in time.

My grief surprised me, given that, when my mother died in 2011, I never grieved at all. However, that occurred in special circumstances. (Link)

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Jimmy, part 2

October 31, 2019Dependency, Homelessness, Job search/Job prospects, Local news, Thursday postsAddiction, Alcoholism, Deinstitutionalization, Dual diagnosis, Mental illnessWilliam Tell

Thursday 2014-07-03. Jimmy came up to me at McDonald’s yesterday and sat down and talked about the incident. He doesn’t say he’d been drinking. He says people thought he’d been drinking.

Recall his psychiatric diagnoses.

Pastor sent me this clipping about the homeless squatters’ camp underneath the Jones Falls Expressway, which the City was about to raze — again. He thought the housing vouchers it mentions might be available to me. They’re not. A different detail caught my eye: the remark that many people in the camp “struggle with mental illness and addiction.” Note the “and.”

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Eddie

October 19, 2019HomelessnessAddiction, Alcoholism, Methadone, RaceWilliam Tell

Alcohol is the devil.

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Jimmy

October 10, 2019Dependency, Thursday postsAddiction, Alcoholism, Bible, Matthew 21:22, PrayerWilliam Tell

16:01 Saturday 2014-06-28. [Written in the “smoke pit” at the shelter, waiting admission.]

They escorted Jimmy out of here about half an hour ago. He’s always been a milquetoast. Now he was shouting and cursing. “Yeah, I been drinking.” Whatever happened at the desk, he’s barred out now. I owe him $2.

He’s diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and ADHD. I’ve seen him reading books about both of those diseases, but never anything about alcoholism.

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In playground murder, 12-year-old boy charged as an adult

September 26, 2019Dependency, Homelessness, National news, The Way of Peace, Thursday posts, World NewsAl-Anon, Alcoholism, Carolyn Hax, Jamarion Lawhorn, Keep the focus on you, Marlene Pinnock, Names, Russia, UkraineWilliam Tell

Bookmarks:
In playground murder, 12-year-old boy charged as an adult • Homeless woman beaten by cop speaks out • Russian “aid” convoy in Ukraine • First steps in dealing with a problem drinker

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Ask Amy: Inflating the drama won’t help fiance deal with mother

December 20, 2018Clippings, Dependency, Get on your feet, Poverty, Squalor, Thursday postsAl-Anon, Alcoholism, Ask Amy, Don't come uninvited, Keep the focus on you, Mind your own business, PresenceWilliam Tell

Ask Amy: Inflating the drama won’t help fiance deal with mother

With Amy Dickinson’s permission, I am copying here below the whole of her column for today. All three letters touch dramatically on principles I associate with presence, including “Keep the focus on you,” “Mind your own business,” and “Don’t come uninvited.”

DEAR AMY: My fiance’s mother is a monster. He gets upset any time they speak. The latest incident was because he had not been in touch with her since Christmas.
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Two Jews, three opinions

January 20, 2018Bible, Homelessness, Justice, OUR BEST POSTS, Poverty, ScienceAcceptance, Achievement gap, Alcoholism, Breeds, Breeds of cats and dogs, Cats, Dogs, Genesis 45:24, GeneticsWilliam Tell

Ethnic differences don’t all need to be A Problem.

A certain woman has struggled for some years with alcoholism. I have followed her case because she’s close to me and because I am, after all, an alcoholic myself.

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