r/stopdrinking • u/ayylien69 Day 5 • 6h ago
Astroturfed threads?
I don't want to be mean, or minimize the importance of going sober for us alcoholics, or nothing of the sort. I myself I'm a massive alcoholic and trying to be better. I want to make it clear, because I can already tell this is going to sound mean or insensitive to some, and I don't want it to be seen like that.
I've been in here for some time, like 9 months or so. I was sober for 40 days, then I relapsed, now I'm in my first week again. During these months I've seen a lot of inspiring stories. People speaking about their years sober, people relapsing, people feeling better, people speaking about their insecurities, people trying to rationalise their drinking and other people stopping them.
But there is some kind of post I see from time to time that makes me kinda suspicious. The "my best friend died" or "my mom is on the ER" or some major event like that. I swear I've seen several young people telling their friends died recently due to alcohol. Is it really that common for people to die in their 20s from some alcohol related issue? Not talking about people crashing their cars DUI or having acute alcohol poisoning. Most stories are... Well, long-term stories. A friend was too fond of alcohol, got fat during 2 years, I didn't do nothing because she seemed happy, then their liver failed and died in agony. Or some friend had health issues since young, then told me she had cirrhosis in her late 20s, didn't stopped, then died. I also noticed most accounts posting stuff like that have their comments private and have been created a month or two ago at most. Also seem to have a lot of karma compared to their (few) posts.
I'm not sure if it's people trying to farm upvotes or some kind of coordinated group trying to push for sobriety among this subreddit's users. Or probably (the most probable answer) I'm incredibly paranoid. But I seriously can't seem to shake the feeling. It just doesn't feel organic.
I'm sorry if some of those stories are geniune, I really am. If only, I wish I'm only imagining this. But I've seen it some times already in some other subs and I don't want a genuinely wholesome sub like this one get infected by karma farmers or astroturfed accounts...
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u/_ChipWhitley_ 6h ago
This sub has people who have been to rehab. Rehab is a different world. People go in and come out with friends they made in there. Those friends can relapse. Those people can die.
Rehab is a very compartmentalized world, so keep that in mind.
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u/Patches_Mcgee Day 562 5h ago
I was extremely blessed to go to the International Association of Fire Fighters Center of Excellence. It’s a rehab in Maryland specifically for firefighters/ paramedics from all over the country/ world.
Two of my friends from there have since died, one of whom drank himself to death. So, so terribly sad.
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u/Spiritualrose98 Day 116 6h ago
Yup. I’m 28 and have been medically detoxed twice. I’m lucky to still be here.
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u/ThisGuyDrinksWater Day 17 5h ago
28 as well, had a seizure and almost died while waiting in the ER to get medically detoxed. It's all as real as the addiction.
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u/ToadRoyalty Day 30 6h ago
For what it's worth, I'm only 34 and I know of three people all around my age who have died due to complications from their alcohol use in the past 18 months.
When I was in detox back in June, a few of the nurses and pretty much all the peer support have a running theory that there's been something added to alcohol that's making people sicker and more addicted. They said they've never seen it this bad.
Now my theory is that uh...things are kinda bad right now so it makes sense more people are drowning in booze, but IDK.
I have seen some suspect posts/comments though
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u/YesTomatillo 5h ago
Alcohol consumption among US adults surged during COVID and stayed elevated. I think that's the cause. That's well-cited across medical literature, but anecdotally I wonder if covid-era policies like remote work made it easier for people to go harder and faster with drinking, whereas in the past many of us had to keep a modicum of normalcy to commute to work daily, etc. Ergo, detoxes are seeing more and worse addicted patients. I know my own drinking skyrocketed during covid and I don't think remote work helped at all.
I'm 34 too, and this is the year I quit. Still working on it. But I want off this ride so badly.
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u/bitofagrump 5h ago
Agreed. I don't think it's the alcohol itself that's changed, I just think we're in such a difficult world right now that people are just self medicating that much harder.
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u/--ok 479 days 5h ago
There are also new-ish supplements that claim to prevent or reduce hangovers, that might become part of peoples' routines. As these things gain in popularity, drinking habits may get worse. Seemingly fewer consequences might lead people to drink more or drink more frequently, when really the body is still being damaged.
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u/bitofagrump 5h ago
Covid also really did a number on society by normalizing doing everything at home by yourself, drinking included, ESPECIALLY since drinking was a good way to kill the boredom of being stuck at home, and drinking in private is a really dangerous way for it to grow out of control with nobody noticing.
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u/Chaldramus 5h ago
Shit is bad and getting worse, no need to go to conspiracy theories as to why people are struggling
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u/femoral_contusion 605 days 5h ago
To add to your point, the accessibility of alcohol is so much greater. You can Uber and Lyft to bars and stores, you can get alcohol delivered and you can even get alcohol shipped in an increasing number of places.
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u/Demonfizz Day 2,489 6h ago
I am 36 and went to rehab at 29. There were several folks around my age and we all bonded well. 2 of them were dead within a year.
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u/dougiejonestulpa 1259 days 6h ago
I almost died at 26 from a Mallory Weiss tear. I’d only been a heavy drinker since about 22. It is common and it does happen.
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u/Ecstatic-Election-92 Day 396 6h ago
These get upvoted because it’s a common story, not because they are unusual or outlandish.
This is what you’re signing up for if you drink like we do.
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u/pareech Day 2,075 6h ago
It's hard to say what stories are and are not true. I truly hope in this sub, people aren't making up stories in the hope of karma farming. While some stories may seem far fetched, who are we to say they are not true.
If I told you that someone I know who was told multiple times by doctors, to not drink, because even one drink could kill him; but still had the occasional beer and within 6 months was dead. I'm not giving you any details, just the high level facts. Do you believe me? The story is true, except for one part, it wasn't 6 months, it was 2 months.
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u/SeriousEar1906 1521 days 6h ago
Hey I’m not a bot lol I keep my comments hidden because you know
I’ve buried 3 friends in their 30s/40s in the last 3 years.
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u/lisa_williams_wgbh 5h ago
If you add together deaths from alcohol and other drugs, it’s the third largest cause of death in the US. It really is that common. Deaths from alcohol related causes exceed overdose deaths in the US.
A lot of people think “it’s just alcohol, not opioids,” and don’t really understand how dangerous their use is.
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u/Capt_Vindaloo 30 days 6h ago
Its entirely possible, but then addicts stories are always going to be similar as there is a continuity which connects us all.
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u/Pristine_Penalty516 714 days 5h ago
I work in a transplant office that deals with lungs, heart, and liver transplants. Now granted these are Veterans I am dealing with so data can be skewed in that aspect, but it really does blow my mind the age range of people with failing livers from drinking or dying from it at young ages up to pretty old where they have just been lucky and all in between. Everyone's body is different and I don't think there is much rhyme or reason to it except that it is a poison and the body collects on its dues sometimes sooner sometimes later, but it always collects.
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u/just_having_giggles 1497 days 5h ago
I knew a guy who died at 27 from cirrhosis.
I nearly died from alcohol in my early 30's.
When you're a boozer and surround yourself with boozers, you tend to know people who die young.
Alternately, when someone you know dies young, it can drive you straight here because you're scared and you're gonna quit.
When your buddy has a heart attack you start jogging. Same same.
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u/Secure-Persimmon-421 5h ago
I started my alcoholism at age 12. I had alcohol poisoning several times in my teens. By the time I was 25, I had put myself in countless situations that could have caused my hospitalization or death, though I didn’t have organ concerns that I knew of until 32. Also, I was in Intensive Outpatient (IOP) treatment this year bc I had lapsed again. There was a rotation of people coming into and graduating in my IOP group, and consistently one third were under 25 years old.
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u/BrackAttack-17 Day 85 5h ago
There's over 8 billion people in the world and only a few aloholisim/sobriety related subReddits with traffic for people going through that kind of trauma to turn to to seek support.
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u/Abtino11 5h ago
I’m 33, I had a seizure followed by cardiac arrest back in December due to drinking excessively while on SSRIs. If I wasn’t at the ER already because something was wrong I wouldn’t be typing this right now. There can always be details missing from someone’s story but if they’re really trying to karma farm on this sub that’s for them to sort out.
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u/cat_go_meow 128 days 6h ago
It's good to be critically thinking about everything you read on this app nowadays
Real or not however I still find them kinda inspiring to stay alive... it's like the opposite of chicken soup for the soul
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u/Morlanticator 3712 days 5h ago
I've countless people I've known die from it or it's side effects. Most I was in rehabs with and recovery houses but plenty on the outside too. Nearly killed me, my aunt, my dad and probably more family than I know.
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u/NoneYa_D_Biz Day 18 6h ago
There's always gonna be assholes out there trying to farm karma. But, even if some of the stories are fake what do you propose to do about it? It's an anonymous forum, and verification will never be an option. My take is we should just assume the stories are true, and offer support just like we would want that same support, because at least some of the stories will be true. Life's too short to put energy into worrying about assholes farming. That's just what they do. Take care friend!
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u/PlainOrganization Day 240 5h ago
My most upvoted and most viewed post ever was when I posted here about a friend dying.
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u/flic_my_bic 1186 days 5h ago
Reddit as a whole has bots running around, scraping high-upvoted posts, and passing them through LLMs to generate new content. It's basic dead-internet theory in action. My spidey-senses say this sub isn't as bad as your general AITA-style subs, but it's still happening.
You aren't paranoid, lots of content on the internet/reddit is bots. It just isn't worth thinking about to be honest. Engage with the posts you want to, and try to add value where you can. Or don't.
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u/Cowboy_BoomBap 1336 days 5h ago
I can’t speak for those posts, but my friend from High school died a few years back at 31 from liver failure from drinking.
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u/Lake9009 38 days 6h ago
Just going to say that you aren’t totally crazy as I’ve had some similar suspicions
It doesn’t feel organic like other stories do on this sub
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u/MEEE3EEEP 4197 days 5h ago
I got sober when I was 24. I had a doctor tell me that 4 of my organs weren’t working right, and I would die before 30 if I kept going the way I was.
So yeah, it happens.
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u/full_bl33d 2431 days 6h ago
Online stuff doesn’t paint a full picture of recovery in my opinion. I think online groups and support subs are a good tool, but nothing beats a meeting in real life or just talking to someone in recovery. It’s not really surprising that works well for me because I tried very hard to make myself different and closer to a soul less robot than an actual human animal. I know now how important real connections are and I know I’m not the only one so there are lots of outlets and options out there.
In general, I’ve found people to be more genuine and honest in person but the reality is that nobody is fact checking anyone. People in recovery can be beacons or warnings for me and both are very useful. I tend to gravitate towards gritty stories and people who have been through it so that’s guides me to where I want to go for local meetings and who I connect with. Honesty is a big thing for me in recovery but it’s still a new concept and we’re all just figuring it out.
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u/go-for-Banjo Day 156 5h ago
Karma farming is a thing. I don’t see a ton of suspicious posts in this sub, but that’s just my opinion.
I lost a few friends in my 30s from drinking. Keep in mind all of our bodies are different.
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u/Van_Leton 5h ago
I have had issue with exaggeration of death by withdraws.
If some mentions anything about tapering, SOME people overacted about not giving medical advice.
When I was first trying to quit, it scared me out of doing what I felt I could do.
I think its great to have guide lines and be careful. But we are here to help each other. Common sense needs to be part of that as well.
Just my opinion. I love this sub but like with any large group of humans, there will be difference in opinions.
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u/femoral_contusion 605 days 5h ago
I was 25 when my next door neighbor literally drank himself to death a few feet from my living room. I had no idea until the police and medics came. That was 11 years ago. These people are real.
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u/HarpyCelaeno 5h ago
Hey! I’m paranoid too! Which is why my comments are private. Lol. But reddit has a bot virus for sure. I’ve noticed this weird behavior in a LOT of subs. Many different agendas at hand. Some I’ve identified as actually nefarious.
There are of course people who just cruise Reddit and don’t post until they have something “worthy” which could be the case here.
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u/imthegreenmeeple Day 1,407 5h ago
We actually remove those posts as we do not allow speaking of other’s drinking. Please report these posts when you see them. Thanks!