The Growth And The Power Of Your Appetite

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One fact attendant on habitual drinking stands out so prominently that none can call it in question. It is that of the steady growth of appetite. There are exceptions, as in the action of nearly every rule; but the almost invariable result of the habit we have mentioned, is, as we have said, a steady growth of appetite for the stimulant imbibed. That this is in consequence of certain morbid changes in the physical condition produced by the alcohol itself, will hardly be questioned by any one who has made himself acquainted with the various functional and organic derangements which invariably follow the continued introduction of this substance into the body.

But it is to the fact itself, not to its cause, that we now wish to direct your attention

The man who is satisfied at first with a single glass of wine at dinner, finds, after a while, that appetite asks for a little more; and, in time, a second glass is conceded. The increase of desire may be very slow, but it goes on surely until, in the end, a whole bottle will scarcely suffice, with far too many, to meet its imperious demands.

• It is the same in regard to the use of every other form of alcoholic drink.

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Some men are able to control their appetite within certain limits of indulgence for many years, or even throughout their entire lifetime. To say “So far, and no farther.” They suffer ultimately from physical ailments, which surely follow the prolonged contact of alcoholic poison with the delicate structures of the body. Many of a painful character, and shorten the term of their natural lives; but still they are able to drink without an increase of appetite so great as to reach an overmastering degree. They do not become abandoned drunkards.

No man is safe who drinks. ———————-

But no man who begins the use of alcohol in any form can tell what, in the end, is going to be its effect on his body or mind. Thousands and tens of thousands, once wholly unconscious of danger from this source, go down yearly into drunkards’ graves.

There is no standard by which any one can measure the latent evil forces in his inherited nature.

He may have from ancestors, near or remote, an unhealthy moral tendency, or physical diathesis. To which the peculiarly disturbing influence of alcohol will give the morbid condition in which it will find its disastrous life. That such results follow the use of alcohol in a large number of cases, is now a well-known fact in the history of inebriation. The subject of alcoholism, with the mental and moral causes leading thereto, have attracted a great deal of earnest attention.

Physicians, superintendents of inebriate and lunatic asylums, prison-keepers, legislators and philanthropists have been observing. And studying its many sad and terrible phases, and recording results and opinions.

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Uncovering the Hidden Risks of Alcohol: Inherited or Acquired Vulnerabilities

There are differing views on whether drunkenness is a disease, a crime, or a sin requiring repentance and healing. However, all agree that an inherited or acquired mental and nervous condition can make any use of alcohol extremely dangerous.

The point we wish to make with you is, that no man can possibly know, until he has used alcoholic drinks for a certain period of time. Whether he has or has not this hereditary or acquired physical or mental condition; and that, if it should exist, a discovery of the fact may come too late.

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Alcoholic Idiosyncrasy: Causes of Intemperance and Addiction

Dr. D.G. Dodge, late Superintendent of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, speaking of the causes leading to intemperance. After stating his belief that it is a transmissible disease, like “scrofula, gout or consumption,” says:

“There are men who have an organization, which may be termed an alcoholic idiosyncrasy. With them the latent desire for stimulants, if indulged, soon leads to habits of intemperance. And eventually to a morbid appetite, which has all the characteristics of a diseased condition of the system, which the patient, unassisted, is powerless to relieve since. The weakness of the will that led to the disease obstructs its removal.

“Another group includes individuals with healthy parents and a positive upbringing. But their temperament and physical constitution lead them to continue indulging in stimulants once. They find them pleasurable, progressing from moderate use to excessive drinking.”

A depraved appetite is established, that leads them on slowly, but surely, to destruction.”