When You Drink Alcohol to Calm Yourself or When You Feel Stressed
When You Drink Alcohol to Calm Yourself or When You Feel Stressed
If you are drinking alcohol to calm yourself or when you feel stressed, you need to reassess your drinking habits. Throughout history, alcohol in the form of fermented beverages, including wine and beer, has been used as a social drink as well as for medicinal purposes. Hard liquor like whiskey and vodka was used for intoxication purposes, and occasionally, for sterilization or anesthesia in critical medical situations.
Today in the twenty-first century, however, alcohol beverage consumption is widely used for relaxation purposes, although some people choose to self-medicate their emotional problems by drinking alcohol in large or frequent quantities.
Too Many People Drink Too Much
Alcoholism is a disease that is on the rise. Some experts estimate that ten percent of the US population drinks alcohol to the point where it disrupts their jobs, health, or relationships. Alcohol has been shown to be involved in approximately eighty-five percent of domestic violence crimes. Heavy drinking leads to problems like chronic pancreatitis, liver disease or cirrhosis, and certain forms of cancer. Alcoholics sometimes end up in legal trouble due to driving under the influence or getting into fights with others.
Do You Drink Alcohol to Calm Yourself?
Heavy drinking leads to problems like chronic pancreatitis, liver disease or cirrhosis, and certain forms of cancer.
Drinking doesn’t solve any problems. Alcoholics claim to drink to feel better, and you may drink alcohol to calm yourself if you are stressed. However, the truth is that your emotional turmoil may settle down briefly with a short-lived euphoria replacing it. With more alcohol, however, the good mood soon breaks down into anger and a nasty attitude, leading to arguments and relationship issues, along with occasional crimes. Following these moods, you will go through a period of sadness, depression, guilt, or self-pity when you realize the problems you are causing. Finally, with more drinking, you may pass out in an alcoholic stupor, only to wake up eventually with a probable hangover and the desire to do it all over again.
Rehab Can Save Lives
When a drinker is ready for inpatient rehab, a professional program with skilled practitioners can assist the addict in understanding the triggers that cause drinking. Alcoholics learn about the destructive effects of alcohol, along with the long-term losses that some drinkers face, including a shortened life span. A recent study showed that heavy drinkers often shorten their lives by thirty years due to the damaging effects of alcohol.
- A son or daughter of an alcoholic parent has a 50% chance of becoming addicted to alcohol, too.
- A grandchild has a 25% risk. Experts believe there is a genetic component to the risk, perhaps combined with environmental exposure to an alcoholic lifestyle.
- Alcoholics are seldom happy or satisfied for long. Their lives may be unhealthy and complicated.
- Often, rehab is the only hope abusers have of escaping the demons of alcoholism and enjoying a more normal life without alcohol-related legal, financial, or health problems.
Treatment consists of education coupled with professional support, which may take the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Group Therapy. A lifestyle assessment helps to identify areas where changes can be made to help a person avoid factors and triggers that may facilitate a return to drinking. Counselors and specialists in rehab will probably recommend community support groups and other resources.
If you find that you are drinking alcohol to calm yourself, or drinking more than you should at other times, call A Forever Recovery for help today.
