12 October 2012

Wrinkly drinking

This article appeared in the news today. Greg would certainly have been one of those listed in the 2010 statistics.  Having been a light social drinker most of his life, he suddenly took to drinking in an excessive way literally once he hit the age of 55 and took early retirement on health grounds (ailments that had nothing to do with drinking at that stage). I still ponder about why he took up drinking and why so excessively, but have to put depression over quitting a very stressful but  extremely dynamic job high up on the list. Nothing he did after that (particularly because his health prevented him) came close to the excitement his job had given him. I guess for a lot of over-55 year olds that may well be a key factor for taking to the bottle... the feeling of no longer being useful to society....as well as a dawning resignation of changes not necessarily for the better in life/marriage/health and the outlook of being on a downhill slope.

It's knowing when to keep to the advised drinking guidelines, though, that can be the difference between life and death. In Greg's case, addiction took hold and he was dead by the age of 60. He'll be in one of those statistics somewhere too.

6 comments:

Nota Bene said...

Sobering article.

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Interesting this. I had scanned a report briefly before coming here and have just scanned more in-depth and as I type the wrinkly-drinkers are being reported on the news...

I wonder if the report is on shaky ground in that it sought the result it achieved...baby boomers have lived longer therefore it is reasonable to presume health problems related to (even moderate) alcohol consumption were storing themselves up...?

I have a very good friend who has had 'a problem' with alcohol for all the years that I have known her (30+) and only now are the problems presenting themselves...

I really don't believe that baby boomers hit the bottle as they near their dotage and young binge drinkers (now) will experience similar problems in years to come.

I do think this report lends itself to the increasing invasion into our lives of the 'Health Police' as health coersiveism is becoming a regular feature in controlling the masses...

All the above said, I am aware (as you know) alcohol addiction and all the hell it brings is sadly alive and kicking.

Kind regards

Anna :o]

Ellen said...

A sobering article, but to you and those who loved Greg, and of course those of us who read your blog, Greg will never be just a statistic.

Billy Ocean said...

This is always hard to hear about. Unfortunately, the disease of addiction can take hold at any age. For me I was an alcoholic by the time I was 20 and my life was in shambles. I got help from a place called New Life House and I have been sober for three years now. If you or a loved one is suffering from alcoholism, check out their website and they may be able to help. New Life House- Structured Sober Living

DD's Diary said...

How very sad - only five years! It is such a short time to do such damage. x

Unknown said...

What a really inspiring article. If you have a friend who is suffering from alcoholism, the best thing you can do is to talk to them about Inpatient Alcohol Treatment.