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Comment by jlgreco | Hacker News Reader

Delirium Tremens is no laughing matter. Most alcoholics won't get it when they go through withdrawal, but those that do will very likely die without medical treatment. With modern medical treatment, the death rate is 'merely' "5 to 15%".

I don't think most people treat alcoholism as seriously as it deserves; myself included.

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As someone who recently went through DT's (been sober a year and a half) I can tell you for certain they are no laughing matter. I've done hallucinogenics like LSD and mushrooms before, but nothing prepared me for the nightmare of Delirium Tremens. I couldn't close my eyes because of the awful visual hallucinations that played out like a kaleidoscope from hell, each image a broken face in a box, grinning fiendishly. On top of that I had miserable auditory hallucinations that sounded like bad people whispering just out of earshot. I'd advise any heavy drinker who may be physically dependent to seek medical help and not try going cold turkey.

Agreed in that few people treat it with the seriousness it deserves. In fact it's almost a joke for many people - "haha, I'm such an alcoholic" etc. I'm sure if they'd ever seen the real effects of alcoholism they'd think twice about throwing terms like that around.

I drink a decent amount of beer and wine so I'm pretty far from tee-total, but misusing the term "alcoholism" bugs me a great deal.

In my case it started to become obviously serious when I woke up with the shakes and needed some to feel right and stop shaking. I didn't really take it that seriously before then.

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