From: Jean
Date: 28 Apr 2000
Time: 13:28:42
Remote Name: proxy-335.public.rwc.webtv.net
I am probably going to do this in sections. My background is mental health and regular hospital work. I am going to simplfy, therefore some things are not going to be exact tecnically. I just starting reading this site last night and saw discussion about Alcoholics. This is going to be sketchy. There has been and continues to be a conflict as to if mental problems are physical defects or the way one is raised Nature vs Nuture. Due to the cat, pet, and Mrl scans, there is a tendency to now lean toward physical problems. Cat and MRL show the structur of the brain, Pet Scans show the functions of the brain. New on the market is a machine that has both the function of the Pet and MRL Scans. Not enought work has been done in this area, because it is so expensive, esp. the Pet. Also there is the chicken and egg problem. Are the chemicals their genetically or is the way we are raised change the chemicals. I believe that one day we will find that alcohol and drug addiction are a chemical problem, very similar to diabetis. Its kinda self treatment. Some of the heavier drugs may damage the chemistry. But think of all the social drinkers and pot smokers, who have no problems from it and have no true addition. where others getting a few drops from say caught medicine will then drink until they pass out. There is a psychotic disorder-(bi-polar) that often looks like alcoholism. They drink because alcohol is a depressent and it is a sub concious medication. Takes some pretty sofiticated tests to tell the difference. Any one who is dealing with alcoholism, should be or have loved one tested by doc. who understands this phnomenon.