Hideo Azuma's "Alcoholic Ward" should be read by alcoholics and their families all over the world

I read Hideo Azuma's "Alcoholic Ward (Disappearance Diary 2)" (East Press).

I saw "Disappearance Diary" about 20 years ago, but this was my first time seeing this one.

A conversation with Miki Tori is included at the end of the book, and reading it reveals that this is a major work that he began drawing after "Disappearance Diary" was published and took eight years to complete.

It is packed with an overwhelming amount of medical information.

It is supervised by the doctor who serves as his attending physician.

Additionally, "Alcoholism: A Guide to Treatment and Recovery (Shogakukan)" by Satoshi Takagi and Aro Ino is cited as a reference.

I can assert that it is a perfect "public health book."

In the introduction at the beginning, the author himself talks about alcoholism.

Alcoholism is an incurable disease that you can recover from, but never fully cure, isn't it?

No matter how many decades you've been sober, if you drink even once, it's all for nothing.

Eventually, some internal organ

or your brain will be damaged,

and you will either become a vegetable or die.

I'm sure there's someone around you who is happily drunk from the middle of the day, right?

Just leave those guys alone.

No matter how much advice you give them,
they won't listen.

As for how to recover from alcoholism,

I can't say anything definitive as I'm still unsteady myself,
never knowing when I might drink again,

but I suppose it's about realizing you have an illness,
and learning to live with it patiently.

Perhaps it's also about trying to find
some other reason to live.

I personally think that falling apart and being ruined by alcohol is actually beautiful
and noble,
but my wife and children are watching me
with a stern eye, so...

Perhaps drawing this version of myself as a manga
so that everyone can laugh at it a little
is what has become
my therapy.

I think only a patient could write this.

In a sense, I am glad that manga artist Hideo Azuma was an alcoholic, because it allowed the reality of alcoholism to be visualized through manga.

The descriptions of the families of alcoholics also strike a chord.

The reason there are few who recover from addiction is that it is a disease of 'denial'.

They cannot bring themselves to admit they are addicts, and so they repeat the cycle of drinking.

Families try to control the drinking to make them stop.

These people, who are both victims and supporters, are called 'enablers' of the drinking.

There is also a huge impact on the children, and children with an addicted family member also act according to the 'rules of denial'.

The Good Child (Family Hero)
The Problem Child (Scapegoat)
The Child Who Makes No Waves (Lost Child)
The Child Who Clowns Around to Get a Laugh (Mascot/Clown)

"Codependency is rooted in 'narcissism,' where one sacrifices oneself to serve others, thereby proving one's own worth and falling into self-intoxication.

Codependent family members should not live for the sick person (the addict), but for themselves.

Do not control the sick person; leave them alone whether they drink or not.

Eventually, the person will fall apart physically and reach a point where they can no longer cope.

This is called 'hitting bottom'.

Only at this point should you reach out a hand (because if you leave them alone, they will die).

Only from here does the path to recovery open up.

I thought this was also something that could only be said by someone who had been through it.

Hideo Azuma reached 'bottom' and was admitted to an alcohol ward.

Hospitalization is the greatest chance to stop drinking and return to society.

It seems there are many cases where alcoholics become 'sugar addicts' after they stop drinking.

When you consume sugar, substances similar to narcotics are secreted in the brain, just like with alcohol. In other words, they are still in a state of addiction.

Alcoholics generally have bad teeth.

This is because they drink alcohol without eating proper food, leading to a calcium deficiency. Osteoporosis is also common.

The anti-alcohol drug Cyanamide is a medicine created from calcium cyanamide contained in lime nitrogen. It was discovered because people working in fertilizer factories became sensitive to alcohol.

If you drink alcohol after taking Cyanamide, you will experience vomiting, palpitations, chills, nausea, etc., and it is said to be a deathly agony.

Hideo Azuma is a great manga artist.

He created a textbook on alcoholism in manga form.

I hope it will be read by alcoholics and their families around the world.