During law school orientation we had a speaker talk to us about the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. As could reasonably be deduced, lawyers were disproportionately likely to become addicted to AODs.
(All throughout that presentation, heads turned back and forth and bodies shifted a bit in their seats. If orientation was any indication of our future careers in law, we were all doomed.)
I came across an interesting blog post from the New York Times tonight regarding alcoholism. What’s especially interesting about it is that it emphasizes the environmental or social aspect of alcoholism:
If alcoholism is an addiction — which it is — how can people control their drinking just because it is no longer acceptable to get drunk? What about smoking, another addiction? Addicts are supposed to be powerless; is a little social disapproval more powerful than all the rehabilitation centers and 12-step programs and fancy new drugs?
Does fashion trump addiction?
Addiction specialists and scientists have identified three causes of most addictions: early trauma, genes, and environment. Still, addiction has eluded all attempts at a precise definition or a complete understanding. In most models, environment is thought to be the least of the three so-called causes. But maybe environment is the elephant in the room. In an environment where it is not attractive to get drunk, no one gets drunk.
No one likes a sloppy drunk, but everybody likes to have a good time.
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