Why The Glamorization of Alcohol Could Slowly Be Killing Us

Two months dry (no alcohol), and I found myself at the bookstore buying the book "Drink? Written by Professor David Nutt from the UK." I instantly found myself nose-deep reading word for word.

The Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology has been studying the effects of alcohol throughout his career. I resonated with the first couple of pages when he mentions how we dress alcohol up in a fancy cocktail or dress it down like a whiskey on the rocks. Alcohol is a molecule that affects our brain chemistry that produces behaviour problems and addiction depending on how you handle the drug.

Our culture glamorizes the liquid substance of a way of life that approximately 80 percent of adults have consumed alcohol in the western world. It has become a 249 billion dollar industry in the US alone. Showing up at grocery stores and corner stores is now the new normal. We celebrate events as far back as the Romans and Greeks, but when does it become too much? To frequent?

During the coronavirus lockdown

My party lifestyle sped up. I had an unexpected roommate move in. We spent days basking in the sun as we enjoyed our happy hour that started at 3 pm and ended around 9 pm-eating delicious food as we paired it with the cocktail of the day.

Dirty Gin martinis with blue cheese olives became my new favourite, the sunshine, the buzz, and the cigarettes that followed as I picked up smoking again. I had become a functional party girl, and I loved every minute of it. It was the first time the world stopped, and it became a big lockdown party because the liquor stores stayed open.

Boxed wine showed up in my house regularly. It was becoming too expensive for bottles. As the months rolled by, my liquor cabinet became fuller than any holiday liquor that I would typically consume.

After my restaurant re-opened, the consumption didn't slow down like I thought it would. Instead, I was excepting that it was okay to have drinks after work at home and on my days off. When you're in the drinking cycle, it's hard to recognize how the alcohol slowly creeps in.

My smoking was causing my ears to plug up, and my lungs felt heavy first thing in the morning. My acid reflux started up again, my insomnia, and vomiting from too many gin martini's. According to the book, vomiting is a way for my body to survive; removing the alcohol from my system stops me from dying. By the end of the year, the red flags were high, and I took it upon myself to get my drinking together.

The purpose of going dry for three months

On December 31st, 2020, I started dry January, continued into February and March. Three months was the original goal. As I reflected on my drinking, I realized that my alcohol consumption started at fourteen. I have twenty-five years of experience, starting on the weekends in my teenage years and indulging more frequently through the week during my twenties. It was only slowing down when I had a career that required me to work Monday to Friday but still binge drinking the weekends into my thirties.

For the first time, I'm feeling good, really good. My sleeping pattern has become more consistent with falling to sleep with ease, and the acid reflux is gone; the smoking has stopped. I have more motivation, and my meditation is more fluid. I'm not in my head as much, and I have more clarity.

The purpose of going dry for three months is to rebalance, rewire my party lifestyle. Rebalancing reflects how I feel when I'm drinking, how much control I have, and how I can implement mindful drinking into my life to enjoy its social aspects, not the habit. Rewiring gives my brain enough time to build new healthy synapses, which will implement stronger connections and shred the old synapses related to drinking, known as the scientific term neuroplasticity.

Surrounding myself with like-minded and supportive friends is part of the growth process, and as I give myself time to find out who I am, I have laid down new foundations in my journey with alcohol and realized that there are more experiences than drinking.

Disclaimer: If you have alcohol addiction then, please seek professional help. This article is for education purposes only and does not replace the advice of a doctor.

Published initially on Medium.com in Inspired Writer.

Copyright © 2021, Jennifer Pitts, All Rights Reserved.