This is a record of experience that has been de-identified, risk-screened, and linguistically organized; the original author's identity, region, or identifiable details are not retained in the text.
At first, it was just that everyone in the family drank
Many people in my family had a daily drinking habit, including myself. But the only one actually diagnosed with alcohol dependence by a hospital was my eldest maternal uncle. This is not my own assumption; it was clearly diagnosed by a doctor. My eldest uncle is 59 years old this year, and he is still alive, but he has been on this path for nearly thirty years.
He started drinking excessively in his early 30s. Previously, he was in very good physical condition and exercised regularly, and with the longevity genes on my grandmother's side of the family, he has been able to hold on until now. But even so, his body has long been eroded by alcohol and is riddled with damage.
Drinking a full jin of high-proof baijiu on an empty stomach, with no appetizers
When normal people drink high-proof baijiu, they always have appetizers; it is absolutely impossible to drink on an empty stomach. After all, the proof is high, and without something in the stomach to cushion it, the burning sensation would be very uncomfortable. But my uncle is not like that—he can drink a whole bottle of high-proof baijiu, about one jin, on an empty stomach without any appetizers or other food.
He does not drink low-proof liquor, and he basically does not drink beer either; he only drinks baijiu of 50 proof or above. For him, low-proof liquor simply does not "have enough kick," and drinking it cannot suppress the physical and mental discomfort. He must consume a certain amount of alcohol to relieve that misery. But drinking this way is very harmful to the body, and it is no longer under his own conscious control.
Cognitive function has clearly declined; his reactions are slower than those of an 80-year-old
What shocked me most was the change in his cognitive abilities. If you say a simple sentence to him—something very easy to understand—he takes a long time to react, and even after a while, he still cannot process it. This reaction speed is far below that of normal people his age.
Never mind people his age—take my grandmother, who was already 80 years old at the time; her reaction speed was far faster than my uncle's. When our whole family played mahjong together during the Chinese New Year, my uncle would hold a tile and need a long time to react before he could play it. That slowness is not intentional; it is the result of long-term alcohol damage to the nervous system.
He must drink immediately, and drinking too little cannot suppress it; he even directly consumes edible alcohol
He must drink right away, and he cannot drink too little—drinking too little cannot suppress this bout of craving. And it must be high-proof baijiu, or he can directly consume edible alcohol, which is also acceptable. He does not care about pure grain brewing, aroma type, or even whether it tastes good, whether it is poor quality, or whether it is easy to drink—none of that matters. All he needs is "edible alcohol."
His family cannot control him, so they can only send him to a place for compulsory detoxification. It is a place similar to a drug rehabilitation center; he certainly cannot keep drinking like this, or his body will be completely ruined. But the process of restricting drinking or quitting alcohol is also extremely difficult. During this period, he did not go completely without a single drop, but it was impossible for him to drink excessively as before. The hospital's detoxification unit does have methods, but every step is like walking a tightrope.
Only after the diagnosis did we realize this is not something that can be solved by "thinking more positively"
He was diagnosed by the hospital as an "alcohol abuser" when he was around 40 years old. During those years, he not only drank frequently, but also drank high-proof baijiu. After the diagnosis, his family finally understood that this was not a matter of willpower at all, but a type of alcohol dependence. Once he stops drinking, he will experience severe withdrawal symptoms, both physically and mentally. That misery is not something an ordinary person can endure.
If you are also wondering whether you or a family member may be an alcohol abuser, you can refer to these signs: drinking high-proof baijiu on an empty stomach, needing to drink immediately with insufficient relief from small amounts, seeking only alcohol regardless of quality, and noticeably declining cognitive function. But a more accurate approach is to go to the hospital for an examination, or consult a professional, to get a more precise result.
This path is very difficult, but at least we now know that it is a path requiring professional intervention, not one that can be walked out of by "thinking more positively."
Alcohol abuse is not a willpower problem; it is a disease that requires professional intervention.