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Re:Person of Interest by stalfie on Sunday November 08, 2026 @08:04AM (#50412926)
It is arguably a very uninspired literary device to set up conflicts, but it is unfortunately not exactly unrealistic. Estimates are that more than a third of western society, probably closer to half, meet the DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder at some point in their lives. Roughly a little less than a third will cheat on their partner during their lifetime, closer to half will have their partner cheat on them. These numbers are after a rough fact check courtesy of whatever Gemini model is in Google search, my own rough sense and knowledge of the literature is just that it's very common.

Uninspired as they might be as literary devices, drug abuse and cheating are common themes in actual human existence.

Re:Person of Interest by detourdog on Sunday November 08, 2026 @08:21AM (#50413071)
Not trying to normalize usage in anyway. I just wonder if a behavior is well represented in a society is it still a disorder?

The behavior while under the influence should get labeled but the usage might be normal. People being angry or not taking responsibility deserves a label from the DSM. If a large population is ingesting things this might be normal.

Re:Person of Interest by cluckindan on Sunday November 08, 2026 @08:46AM (#50413337)
It might be that some sort of intoxication is the normal and abstaining from intoxication is the thing that’s normalized.