mj<3

I am a very touchy person. When someone is upset I like to hug and use my hands as comfort to the other person. But when you're a nurse, a person( whether it is a patient or family members), might not like that. It could be a cultural issue or just the way he or she is raised. My question is.. is is appropriate to comfort in this way? or should I just completely refrain from doing this?

Being the daughter of an alcoholic mother, I see alcoholism as both a choice and a disease. Alcoholism runs on her side of the family. Both her parents drank as well as all her siblings. I've seen first hand some of the horrible things a person will do to get their fix. We have tried to get her help through counseling, taking her keys so she doesn't drive, taking her to AA and church AA groups. So far, nothing is working. Why? Because she is choosing not to stop. I don't believe she will stop until she has a change of heart or something drastic changes in her life. We can support her through it all but ultimately she has to choose to want to stop. Although I say she is choosing to drink, I also see the psychological and physical dependency side of alcoholism. If she doesn't drink for a few days, she starts having withdraw symptoms like shaking, depression, irritability.. her body is craving it. It doesn't matter what the consequences are, she will do anything to get her hands on a few dollars and get her fix. I'm not sure if it is actually a disease but I like what someone said in an earlier post. "Who would really choose to be an alcoholic?" I'm sure my mother didn't wake up one day and choose that. It happened over many years of abuse, which I think leads to alcoholism. But the choice to get help and stay clean is something I think non-drinkers just don't understand and probably never will.