
Alcoholism in Antarctica - ph0rcyas
http://www.funraniumlabs.com/2013/06/alcoholism-in-antarctica
======
vermontdevil
My father spent 13 months there while in the Navy in 1963. He just gotten
married and two weeks later went off. In return the Navy let him pick any
assignment for three year stint which was Bermuda. Talk about a long thawing
seeing that I wasn't born till some years later.

He told me stories about the drinking and the bleakness etc. It's even worse
at the Amundsen–Scott Station where he was frequently sent over the 13 month
period.

I do wonder if he developed his alcoholism while being down there because of
the environment or it was a trigger. He no doubt had long hidden problems and
alcohol was his way of self-medicating.

He's gone now so I will never know but this article brought back a lot of
memories of our conversations about his experiences down there.

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marvin
The interesting part of this story, for me, was how Antarctica is for some the
ultimate, final destination for people escaping from themselves. If anything,
this only highlights the need to improve awareness and treatment of mental
illness in the United States.

It is obvious to anyone who has first-hand experience with these issues that
you can never outrun your own problems. Some people flee for a while before
realizing this, someone just keeps taking the delusion to its logical end.
What is really needed is an acceptance that it's okay to have issues and that
in most cases, they can actually be treated.

~~~
tommi
Actually you shouldn't totally dismiss fleeing. It modifies the environment
and that is a major component in a mental change.

~~~
base698
That doesn't mean there isn't an active role you have to play in making
yourself better. Moving may get you over a hurdle of feeling hopeless, but if
you aren't active in pursuing self improvement you'll quickly find yourself in
the same spot.

~~~
tommi
Of course it doesn't, that is why it's just a component of the change. And
it's not only about getting over of feeling hopeless. Change in environment
helps you to break routines and create new ones. Hopefully ones which guide
towards a better path.

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ableal
The casual reference to "hypothyroidism in Antarctica" got me curious.
Apparently there's a link with working in low temperatures, and research on
it, e.g.
[http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/1/110.full](http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/1/110.full)

P.S. also bumped into yesterday's jwz post
[http://www.jwz.org/blog/2013/06/how-to-drink-in-
antarctica/](http://www.jwz.org/blog/2013/06/how-to-drink-in-antarctica/)

------
hardtke
Time has a different meaning at the South Pole if you are working with offsite
people, as is typical of the science winter overs. "Day" is when the internet
connection is working. "Night" is when it is not. There is only satellite
coverage for half the day.

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GoodIntentions
This post reminded me of an antarctica blog I stumbled on years ago:
[http://www.bigdeadplace.com/welcome-to-the-
program/](http://www.bigdeadplace.com/welcome-to-the-program/)

The Q & A bit here ("what are things you wish you brought?") seems to list a
fair amount of booze/booze related items. [http://www.bigdeadplace.com/ask-an-
antarctican-2/](http://www.bigdeadplace.com/ask-an-antarctican-2/)

~~~
dbarlett
It's worth noting that Nicholas Johnson, author of the book _Big Dead Place_
[1] and editor of bigdeadplace.com, committed suicide [2] in 2012. He had just
been rejected [3] from another contract in Antarctica.

[1]
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0922915997/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0922915997/)

[2] [http://www.albedoimages.com/blog/2012/12/06/death-of-
antarct...](http://www.albedoimages.com/blog/2012/12/06/death-of-antarctic-
writer-nicholas-johnson/)

[3] [http://feralhouse.com/nick-johnson-rip/](http://feralhouse.com/nick-
johnson-rip/)

~~~
DanBC
That is very sad.

> _You may believe that you are only going to Antarctica for one season.
> Though that may be true, it is not. Antarctica will pierce you in the heart,
> and even if you don’t come back, you will think about it off and on,
> probably for the rest of your life._

------
rdl
Doing satellite tech/eng stuff overwinter in Antarctica is one of my dream
jobs (along with obviously doing the same thing for Mars, which would be even
better).

9 months isn't that long, and I can't imagine wanting to spend all the time
drunk, rather than learning about all the interesting science going on. Plus,
obviously, Internet.

~~~
pc86
In fairness though, and this is mentioned briefly in the article, you'd be
there to do science. Many of the people passing out in a bar alone by 8pm are
doing physical labor and not interested in or qualified for the science.

~~~
rdl
I'd be support staff (running the satellite network, or maybe other IT stuff).
That falls in the "support" vs. "beaker" camp. I just happen to also like
science more than most forklift operators or electricians do, I think.

~~~
seszett
I've been on Kerguelen island (which isn't quite Antarctica, but not that far
either, and rather isolated too with four or five ship passages per year).

You wouldn't "fall in the support vs. beaker camp", you would be firmly in the
beaker camp. It's more of a "somewhat intellectual" vs. "manual" camp (also
vs. "military" in our case, but it might not be the same for US stations). I
was right between beakers and support myself, by the way.

In our case, alcoholism was a problem for some of the manual labourers, but it
never went as far as what I read from this article (I didn't read everything
though), probably in part because they had more restrictions on alcohol
consumption than the others, and because they were only there for shorter
(three-six months depending on available transportation) missions, while most
everyone else have 12-14 months missions.

------
worksaf
I wonder what kind of effect legal marijuana would have on the same crowd if
it were available as a nice alternative to Alcohol

------
DanBC
This is a fascinating look at the stations.

I'm tempted to add alcohol to my local install of Mars Simulation Project.
([http://mars-sim.sourceforge.net/](http://mars-sim.sourceforge.net/))

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southpolesteve
I've spent time in Antarctica, specifically at the South Pole and not during
the winter. Even in the summer months, there is a lot of drinking.

Antarctica was a great experience and I would do it all over again, but
honestly the novelty wears off after only a couple weeks. McMurdo might be a
bit better since it is on the coast and has a much larger community. The South
Pole is just cold, white, dry and flat in every direction. Feels a bit like
mild sensory deprivation after a while. There is not much to do besides work,
drink, and sleep.

~~~
Zaephyr
Good to hear that you found it a great experience even if the novelty doesn't
last really long. I've always thought it would be.

I've applied for ASC tech jobs but have never gotten an interview. I keep
trying even if part of me thinks I have to crazy to want to go.

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kybernetyk
I'd love to spend a winter at McMurdo ... but I have no idea how to get there
without being a scientist :(

~~~
aplusbi
[http://www.usap.gov/jobsAndOpportunities/](http://www.usap.gov/jobsAndOpportunities/)

And in particular:

[http://www.gscgov.com/jobsmcmurdo.htm](http://www.gscgov.com/jobsmcmurdo.htm)

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jdmitch
Great punchline: >even one friend that isn’t a bottle is a better than none.

