Christmas is a magical time of year for most people. For others it is a time filled with dread and fear, notably due to alcohol and its toxic fallout.

Whether you grew up in the city or the country, alcohol is hard to avoid as it is an integral part of daily living. Weddings, funerals and Christmas are saturated with our careless approach to boozing.

But in the last few years, massive ad campaigns are denting our denial and we now have to swallow the reality that alcohol abuse poses many dangers. Traffic accidents, physical violence (including rapes and racial attacks), STDs and suicide have all been linked to alcohol abuse.

The notion that alcohol was a pleasure to be enjoyed occasionally has completely evaporated, partly due to the fact that supposedly the Celtic Tiger has made us even thirstier. Maybe we should have learned more practical things at school like how to appreciate and enjoy a drink, like the French do when they’re dining.

Why is one drink enough for one person, yet for another it’s impossible? There are many opinions on the subject of alcoholism. Is it a disease? Or a state of mind? Depends on how closely related to the subject you are, I suppose.

A person can be forgiven for not recognising alcoholism as a disease. The word disease conjures up notions that the illness is beyond one’s control, like cancer. If an alcoholic interprets alcoholism as a disease, is he or she surrendering to the idea that they’ll never be cured? Why are recovering alcoholics never considered cured? Why do they never stop having the title alcoholic– shouldn’t that be part of the past and more importantly the healing?

There are many stories of alcoholics overcoming the disease by simply deciding to never ‘put the bottle to their mouth again’. The gains far outweigh the sacrifice.

Sure there are lifestyle changes and many end up with a new circle of friends. (You’ll find that drinking buddies are just that, drinking buddies.) For the lucky ones, they get their family back.

Rehab centres like the Rutland and John of God’s offer life-saving help for those with a drink problem. It’s no surprise then, that these centres are full post-Christmas.

Christmas is a parody to some people. For every feel-good family Christmas movie there’s a family at war. People find themselves packed around a family Christmas dinner, biting on turkey and tongues, just to see that one day through. Throw alcohol in and it’s far from a wonderful life. Others who are averse to their own family choose to spend Christmas alone, with just the bottle for comfort.

What about office Christmas parties? You can’t ply staff with booze and mistletoe and expect professional conduct. Hormones and a year’s worth of pent up anger towards a pompous boss are bound to rage. At Christmas you may not care if you lose your job. After all, New Year brings the illusions of new beginnings.

But children are the real victims in all the merriment. How the disillusioned face of a frightened child isn’t enough to cure someone of alcoholism, I’ll never know. Break the poisonous pattern. Children are the real magic of Christmas. We can’t bottle that spirit but we can preserve it.