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Alcohol

Writer's picture: Nicks CorbettNicks Corbett

Ok, so here i share a brief from Wikipedia and then my own personal version!


Wikipedia’s version….. and then a personal version…

Alcohol has a variety of short-term and long-term adverse effects. Short-term adverse effects include generalized impairment of neurocognitive function, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and hangover-like symptoms. Alcohol is addictive to humans, and can result in alcohol use disorder, dependence and withdrawal. It can have a variety of long-term adverse effects on health, such as liver and brain damage,[13][14][15] and its consumption can cause cancer.[16] The adverse effects of alcohol on health are most important when it is used in excessive quantities or with heavy frequency.

Alcohol works in the brain primarily by increasing the effects of γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA),[19] the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; by facilitating GABA's actions, alcohol suppresses the activity of the CNS.[19] The substance also directly affects a number of other neurotransmitter systems including those of glutamate, glycine, acetylcholine, and serotonin.[20][21] The pleasurable effects of alcohol ingestion are the result of increased levels of dopamine and endogenous opioids in the reward pathways of the brain.[22][23] Alcohol also has toxic and unpleasant actions in the body, many of which are mediated by its byproduct acetaldehyde.[24]

Alcohol is related to various societal problems, including drunk driving, accidental injuries, sexual assaults, domestic abuse, and violent crime.[27]


Umm… and yet it is so normal. Weirdly encouraged.


Personal version...

I have abused alcohol in my time, for fun and for escape. In my youth it was fantastic fun and I felt like I was the funniest person in the room, until I was not. It made me cry, say things I didn’t mean, develop friendships that were built on false foundations and in time I became incredibly insecure, anxious and depressed. But always putting on a brave face and being fully dependent on that glass of something. Who was I without it for f. sake….

I have witnessed it and experienced it breaking up relationships and doing its best to crack through marriages. I have witnessed it nearly kill someone very close, send others over the edge (including me) and quietly dim the spirit of many by being a daily ‘friend’, escape and numbing.

Alcohol is just one escape… might be drugs, processed foods, sex, excessive exercise…. Why do we let something take over? What pain are we ignoring? The moment we feel that pain. Face it in all its glory is the moment that addiction dissolves.

I watch our kids and their friends drink heavily when they decide to drink and yes they have fun….  And see the subtle changes the days to follow…. Bit sheepish, bit lost, less vibrant, little bit anxious, less or more sleeping…

I see peers and Kids on anti depressants and yet alcohol as a depressant never seems to be addressed? Why? Are we really so trapped in the cycle of consuming alcohol we would rather eat pills with side effects than wave goodbye to a poison. Yup, we are… mostly. Of course there will be many brave souls taking the leap and learning what life is like sober… rather than intoxicated. And with fearful stories being thrown at society from all angles it is unsurprising that people find something to lose themselves in… and yet if we faced ourselves we would be free of the fear. And the control.


Back to alcohol.... Then there is the tactical chunder… throwing up at the end of the night to clear the body to feel better in the morning. I get this logic… personally could never do it….but as the chef of many a meal before kids party hard…. It seems a huge waste of nutrients, food, effort and money. Friends will say… just feed them anything…. Just to soak it up… but I want to feed them real food in hope that it gives the body a chance to clear the system better. Others might say why do you provide the booze. Yes, I have contemplated this over and over…. Because I know what I have provided, I get that they are having fun… and I did it… and because mainly I want them to work it out for themselves in a safe space.

And that is the point… if you want a drink, have a drink but to enjoy, to have fun… the moment it becomes to get ‘fucked up,’ to lose oneself, to forget, the question has to be asked… ‘why?’ No judgement …i did it for years… memory loss… self loathing…. Sore joints, insecure relationships, lack of self worth… and it goes on… years later… diagnosis of lupus… and this led to the greatest awareness.... probably the biggest thing is getting to know who you are without it… we moved to the country and I had just become sober… and looking back… I had no idea who I was out and about… and watching the ease that came with Booze socialising with others i was unnerved… now…. I am so grateful…. I know who I am … I have lost 99 percent of my mental chatter that is intoxicating and comes with toxins. I have fun… laugh… listen (that is a big one)…. And know when the party is over! Life has become fulfilling rather than vacuous. And that is my journey. Saying that i do hope that feelign of beign the funniest person in the room returns.... sober. HA! Still a bit shy.


Imagine the amount of hours spent feeling rough on a sofa, eating shit food, watching tv/reels to try and get through the day.. to give your body the chance to heal….Those hours could be spent contemplating what you want to experience in life…. and in those houses also doing just that. Thanks to those hangovers - and yes some were funny especially when waking up pissed still - I did not do a lot of things because fear would rise up within me… I could not even contemplate those things… I just could not join that bus ride as it was intimidating, or I was not worthy of…. Or there was no way I could do that…. Ultimately they were not decisions made on whether I wanted to or not they were based on fear, false emotions appearing real.


I am not really sure why i write this today..... i just hope that people will face their fears not numb them. Know the dangers of alcohol... not the obvious ones... the ones that raise your nervous tension.... increase anxiety.... bring onsets of depression... self doubt... doubt in general, allergies, auto immune issues that might then follow. It is the sugar that issue in the drinks too!


I hope that we will be able to support our kids and the next generation as a whole to enjoy life rather than numb it. I hope that we will stop using toxins in booze/medications/ drugs/ sugars to numb the pains of the past, of the present and actually re learn that it is good to feel. When we feel we heal. When we feel we experience. When we feel we flow.

Life is for living and thriving not suffering and surviving.


Love, light

x



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