04/09/2023
My point here is not to villainize alcohol or drinking; I hope to bring awareness to our relationship with alcohol individually and as a culture.
Ads for alcohol involve beautiful people walking into beautiful places and smiling as they take a sip. People with massive influence market alcohol in carefree ways. Every celebration calls for "popping bottles" — this runs so deep in our collective conditioning.
As we wake up, we must start acknowledging our dark secrets.
Alcohol has long been the accepted coping mechanism for generational trauma.
A secret shame that many have grown up within. Adults who still carry the scars of all the abuse, chaos, and unpredictable behavior that comes with a parent numbs and soothed with alcohol.
Adults who rely on alcohol to deal with the anxiety of social situations.
Adults who rely on alcohol to sleep.
Adults rely on alcohol to silence the scary thoughts of the mind. And to numb the pain of the past.
We know 'drugs' are bad. But alcohol has long been the drug (throughout every economic class) that is perceived in a different light because it's so embedded with all that we do.
If we tell someone at a social event that we're not drinking, it's often met with confusion. Or the thought that this person must have a 'problem.'
It's time to acknowledge and wake up to our relationship with alcohol. To understand, it's the most widely accepted drug to soothe. And to have the courage to look at: what we are trying to escape.
Here are some facts about how alcohol affects your body and brain. We are taught some of these things in school at different ages, but not all of them stick. Here are some note-worthy points this image highlights:
It raises the level of dopamine in your brain, tricking you into thinking you feel better
Within minutes, it starts to slow down our breathing
Even if you feel the effect of alcohol quickly after consuming it, the level of alcohol in your blood won't peak for another 40-90 minutes.
Too much alcohol, too often, can affect how you process information
What is something new from this fact sheet you never knew before?
Edmonton Drug & Alcohol Counseling
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