Sober

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by flysci

Actually not true. The chinese have a very high incidence of esophageal cancers from drinking black teas. We are simply mostly unaware of health statistics anywhere but the "western" world.

Margo

Wow! In the west we mainly drink black teas.... Of course (in general) the chinese smoke like chimneys. That cannot help either.

[s/v Beth]

I have treated only a few cancers of the esophagus- enough to keep me from drinking tea. Smoking as we all know carries a completely different set of cancers. If I were ever to come down with oat cell I would not tell a soul and head out to the deep blue...

[tager]

Smoking is a strange one. It is amazing that people will do it with so many demonstrations of its risks.

[hummingway]

My understanding is the nicotine receptors are in the the portion of the brain at the base of our skull, out lizard brain, where the fight or flight response resides. This supercedes the logic centres. Logic says it's not good for you but the lizard says it's good.

[theonecalledtom]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Logic says it's not good for you but the lizard says it's good.

Funny thing is that these days I smoke very little and when I do it tastes yucky, and then leaves me with a foul taste that lasts until the next day (normally these escapades are late night alcohol fueled incidents).

I know this yet every few months I still "indulge".

Responding to the original question not at all, but I do go without each of my props once a year or so to make sure I could if I really wanted too....

[mintyspilot]

Watching the election results on the telly last was made much more palatable with some red wine, chili flavoured crisps and (when the wine ran out) some nice malt whisky. I fell asleep in the chair and woke up when somebody was being barracked during a victory speech and staggered off to bed.

There are definitely occasions for NOT being sober.

[flysci]

Originally Posted by theonecalledtom

I know this yet every few months I still "indulge".

I've never herd the "lizard brain" thing before. But I do know that the nicotine is more addictive that heroin, and you know how hard that is to kick. It amazes me that anyone can suffer through quitting.

Margo

[unbusted67]

I've been trying lately. Quitting substances can be the hardest thing in the world. I remember Knox-Johnson saying that he had quit smoking while he was at sea during his first circumnavigation but that upon reaching land he caved. I read that as: it is easier to sail around the world than it is to quit smoking. That story really helped me when it was time to quit, that and Chantix the miracle drug. I am still working on the other stuff. I would like to be 100% sober again some day.

[DeepFrz]

Withdrawal from tobacco was terrible for me. I tried for years to quit smoking and just now realized that it is over 20 years since I have had a smoke. I had to recognize that if I took just one cigarette I would have to start all over again and I never wanted to go through that again. If you are addicted to tobacco (and I assume other substances as well) it really is the first one that gets you. Good luck to anyone who is trying to kick an addiction.

[flysci]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I am still working on the other stuff. I would like to be 100% sober again some day.

My opinion is that many of the substances listed in this thread - coffee, tea, alcohol, etc. - barely qualify as addictive, and are definitely safe in moderation. Life is hard enough without denying ourselves the comfort of a few mind-altering substances!

It's the "moderation" part that some people have trouble with sometimes, especially with alcohol. Lot's of evidence that's inherited. If you're in that group, then for you no amount of alcohol is safe, so go for the other "vices".

For some substances - heroin, meth, nicotine - no amount is safe for anyone. We don't need to be Puritans, just be smart.

Margo

[Canibul]

I quit drinking alcohol five years ago. I quit smoking just over a year ago. hope to quit shaking any time now.


I could sure use some of those eventual flashbacks the
government and AMA promised me back in the 60's. I feel like I should look up some of my old drug dealers and demand a partial refund.

[97fxdwg]

I was feeling terrible so went to my doc. He told me quit drinking, quit smoking, and to quit running around with loose, immoral women. When I asked him if that would help me live longer, he told me, No, but it'll sure seem like it."

[TexSail]

My wife is Vietnamese/French and she picks the menu (and picks it well). Fresh food - yard eggs - everything is prepared from scratch.

We drink French coffee and have been known to drink beer, wine, and Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey, and even burn one occasionally when in Jamaica. We don't drink on the boat until the boat is on the hook and the sun is low. I drink a cup of Twinings Earl Grey tea in the late afternoon. (homage to my English ancestors) No cigarettes.

One of the hardest things about eating right is choosing healthy foods when having lunch with friends and business associates. Most of the things on the menu at any number of restaurants would probably be OK if you ate them once a month, but they are crap for daily consumption.

[h20man]

There are many forms of addiction..

I confess I am addicted to many things. I tried to go without one of them and went through some horrible withdrawal. I have surrendered, and have chosen to stay addicted:

For I am addicted to the sea.. The power and the smell, the beauty and the swell. Sunrises, sunsets, moon and stars. Dolphins, fresh fish... Fresh wind pulling my spars and boat towards more different days and experiences... (I could go on about my addiction experiences, but I am sure that others have their own that they can pull from their museum of recollections.…)




I am hoping that I shall be able to get my fix for a long time to come.…

Best to all..

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by h20man

For I am addicted to the sea.. The power and the smell, the beauty and the swell

Looked at from that perspective, I'm not sure if I have any addictions except to question everything I see. Science is my only true addiction, I can never stop wondering about what I can see happening.

In the past I've gone without coffee for 3 years and without booze for 12 years. Whilst I like tea I do not drink a great deal of it and tobacco and drugs are something I have never had any interest in. Ever.

But I love the symmetries in nature. There is beauty in an elegant equation or a concise solution to a problem. Just standing in my garden at night I can see for trillions upon trillions of miles - even to the next two galaxies if it is dark enough. I can ride horses and bicycles. I can drive a car and I can fly an aeroplane, soon I plan to learn sail a boat. Everywhere I look I see things to be discovered, learnt and understood.

I suppose that is my true addiction...