Alcohol: Pink Elephant (1976)

[Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] the nerve of that guy my old buy L telling me I'm an alcoholic je I didn't know but oh [Music] what's happening who who who who are you oh come on you've seen pink elephants what do you want I just want to help you look at yourself an alcoholic is a person who cannot control his booze oh yeah well I'm no alcoholic maybe not whoops elephant you making me nervous why can take it or leave it lots of people are taking it these days about 70% of the population that's it everybody's doing it hey Bender gives me a refill booze plays a big role in our culture and it's been around for centuries here to you El most of those who are able to drink sensibly don't have a problem with alcohol so was the f one out of 12 of those who drink are alcoholics no kid this amounts to about 9 million Alys hey that's a lot all right friend that ranks with cancer heart disease and mental illness alcoholism can crumble you in short [Music] order I wish you wouldn't say things like that next you'll have me on skid Ro most alcoholics are not The skro Stereotype can you spare a quarter jumbo in fact 19 18 out of 20 are intelligent men and women many have families hey Mama where's papa it's not only the alcoholic who suffers his or her family does too don't bother your mother now kids she's she's resting gosh that's bad for business the AL is something like a 10 billion hangover they lose up to three times more productive days annually than the average wage earner sh look out BL uh sorry about that friend this results in added insurance claims property damage as well as lost productivity now let's have a close look at alcohol alone I'll buy that oh an average ounce and a half drink has 150 calories but no real value no minerals proteins or vitamins yeah it sure has a kick to it the alcohol goes straight to the stomach 90% being directly absorbed into the bloodstream it then heads to the brain affecting restraint and judgment this affects one's performance like slur speech slur speech slower reflexes ouch loss of memory dull thinking let me see what were we talking the bath in great excess drinking leads to stuper and coma the effects vary according to weight sex metabolic makeup or mood the immediate effects will wear off with a cup of black coffee right wrong walking around the block or taking a cold shower doesn't help either so what do you do alcohol wears off by oxidation via the bloodstream at the rate of 1 o per hour for example two 1 and 1/2 o martinis equal 3 hours in a person's system hey that's what I have for lunch lunch too bad buddy booze has no nutrients lack of food produces malnutrition listen I eat like a horse most of the time prolonged drinking can damage your liver weaken your heart damage your stomach kidneys and nervous system take it easy you're giv me the shakes ah yes the shakes for the Ali this is the DTs meaning delirium treemans the DTs are sometimes accompanied by hallucinations like seeing pink elant hey watch out for that snake yeah what I must be seeing things hey hey drinking is really F of the birds for some not everybody who drinks becomes an alcoholic lots of people choose not to drink to excess some drink and just get sick then there are some who appear to stay sober even after drinking a lot how do they do it perhaps it's their particular enzyme system or their ability to metabolize alcohol this is all very interesting elephant but tell me just what makes a person turn into an Al olic well there's lots of theories but no one knows for certain some use booze to relieve tension to escape maybe their job has become a source of tension for others it might be loneliness yeah or maybe they're just playing bored with life sometimes family problems or marital difficulties Bring It On take that you bum oh social surroundings friends neighbors business associates drinking becomes the thing to do if you want to belong it seems like everybody is trying to escape from [Music] something speak speaking of Escape let's get out of here here here some researchers think alcoholism may be inherited family habits May influence attitudes the young often imitate parents the girl is going into the dark so is the kid I guess some use boo to cope with their environment hey you're starting to see the light it's like a substitute for a strong personal relationship or challenging work sensitive intelligent people often find their roles unrewarding booze is like a means of self-expression still others use it as a cure for Fears booes courage huh yep oh that poor dude the hooch is is just a temporary help huh often it makes situations worse someone who keeps on drinking in spite of painful results can be considered alcoholic but are there any real symptoms to look for each Aly has a different drinking pattern but one thing is in common what that they cannot control their drinking one will drink heavily for a long while but can stop for certain periods of time well that's all for now partner others lose control over drinking after a few some will develop a tolerance for alcohol so they have to drink more just to get the same effect eventually they cannot stop for fear of the pain of withdrawal later this can lead to convulsions all right elent level with me am I an alcoholic have you ever promised to quit drinking sure lots of times once I went two whole weeks without the drink why' you start again I was getting too tense I guess needed something to relax me but listen I can hold my booze what do you like when you're high who knows I can't remember anything when I'm out the sauce H just about everything you said could be early stages of alcoholism but it's hard to tell a heavy social Drinker from an early stage alcoholic I've been this way for 10 years do you take a snort in the morning only when I'm alone you know if old lady knew she that make committed afraid of your wife huh what she don't know don't Mur she'd be nagging me about it your wife nags huh brother that's not the half of it if I'd miss the Monday after a rough weekend toot you should hear her n n n n n that's what I have a little bumper to every day okay you've just mentioned the middle stages of alcoholism Buster huh you're in a pattern drink guilt isolation discouragement drink again the next steps Rock Bottom soon you'll find yourself isolated from friends family the world you won't eat go on chew lots of vitamins nerves will snap take tranquilizers but they're not going to help for long your whole personality changes you're tense irritable Shake hallucinate you're [Music] consumed okay okay if I were an alcoholic what could I do the only sure cure is to kick booze completely it's not just a matter of willpower you're right it is hard the alcoholic needs both physical and mental treatment to recover chronic alcoholism for one who's really bottomed out is a medical problem many hospitals across the country accept alcoholics for treatment under a doctor's care special drugs can control discomfort of withdrawal and nervousness the body can be nourished back to health through proper care and diet certain chemicals which act as off fence against drinking may be prescribed along with physical treatment m is mental treatment counseling is the starting point helping the alcoholic person to face life without a booze crutch gosh that would be a good feeling to begin with institutional confinement might be necessary to separate the person from alcohol there are also alcoholism clinics offering medical and psychological treatment on an outpatient basis following treatment one finds several Avenues of continuing help alcoholics anonymous AA for example reformed alcoholics working with one another for a common goal to stay sober sort of like group therapy huh elephant yeah you could say that the longer an alcoholic stays dry the better the chance for full recovery what if you have a relapse sometimes a relapse convinces the Aly that he just can't drink any kind of alcoholic beverage yeah maybe that's so you might have to develop new interests new friends or associations gosh a lot of things you say make sense elephant I think I have a good idea what alcoholism is it's a plain sickness it could take a real personal crisis a shock to get an alcoholic to want help the people around the alcoholic sometimes have to be patient still with others friends sometimes must be firm and help the alcoholic realize his potential in life both parties should find out where to go for help a doctor Alcoholics Anonymous local alcoholism information centers to mention a few sources hundreds of thousands of Alcoholics have recovered and stayed sober the rest of their lives why can't you oh hey why can't I [Music]