- Do you have a drink in your hand right now, or happy hour plans after work?
I know, I know, we all love a fantastic drink every know and then.. or even a slightly ok drink pretty often? Americans love to drink and Wisconsinites do even more however, this is alcohol awareness month and here are all the reasons why you shouldn’t drink.
Memory and Thinking
The vast majority of us would probably say we don’t think our memory is very good, and alcohol could be to blame. The long and short of it is this, we need REM sleep and when we drink, we aren’t getting it, making it hard to remember things that we learn. Even information learned just days before a drink can be forgotten, meaning you can literally lose your memory with drinks. Eek.
As a Gateway Drug
Alcohol is the true gateway drug if you ask me, and others agree. Back in the day we were taught it was pot, that if we smoked weed then we would want to do other drugs. I disagree. Sure, some people who smoke weed also do other drugs, but lots of potheads stopped short at pot and spend the rest of their lives there. Alcohol on the other hand, can literally kill you and can cause black-outs, which in a heavy party situation, could lead to you being beyond influenced, and thus is a gateway to more.
Trigger
Alcohol can trigger past emotional or traumatic experiences, PTSD. The psychological symptoms of PTSD are:
- Anxiety
- Distrust
- Depression
- Avoidance
- Self-blame
- Fear
- Phobias
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Panic attacks
- Poor concentration
- Substance abuse
- Emotional numbness
- Suicidal ideation
to name a few. Alcohol can bring these feelings out and exacerbate them. As a part of National Alcohol Awareness month, if you already deal with any of these symptoms, take a good look at your drinking and pay attention to how you feel and what your feelings are. It might really help you to stop drinking some, if not all together. PTSD doesn’t have a cure but the symptoms can be treated (or almost eradicated, if drinking is a big reason for your struggle.)
Aging
No one wants to look older than they already do, but the more you drink, the older you will look. Alcohol dehydrates us, from the inside, out. If you’re dehydrated and you drink, your skin will show it, and the more you drink, the more the effects will set in. And well alcohol may not seem to effect you beyond a ragging hangover, which in your late 30s are biblical enough, it can make it much harder on your body to deal with things like high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, stroke, ulcers, memory loss, and certain mood disorders.
Weight Gain
That’s right, the pounds can sure pile on with alcohol. You don’t feel full when you’re drinking, although you are consuming a lot of extra calories, most of them being sugar or carbs. Plus, you know when you’re hungry, and everything tastes amazing? Well, alcohol does that, too, and with heavy, greasy food. Beers and pizza sound familiar, how about tacos and margaritas? Salt and fat tastes are enhanced when we drink alcohol, making your favorite sausage, onion, and banana pepper pizza even more delicious.
Cancer
Drinking alcohol has been linked with cancer of the mouth, liver, throat, stomach, voice box, esophagus, breast and colon and rectum. With regards to each of these cancers, the more you drink, the higher your cancer risk. And, if you’re a smoker, too, know that drinking and smoking together raises your risk of these cancers even more than drinking or smoking alone does.
I’m not saying, quit drinking forever, and there is some research out there with good news about moderate drinkers. But if you’re dodging heartburn and sleeping like an angel like me without drinking or have risk factors or other reasons to question your drinking, maybe you should?