Alcohol Does Not Serve You

You wake up and oh man you really wish you hadn't. The light that shines through your windows of the afternoon is too much for you to bare. Your brain is telling you "hey I hurt go back to bed". But you drag your body out of bed and you stand there still for a few seconds so the nausea can pass. You think about what you've had last night and it was only two drinks, but no water and given that you have turned thirty, alcohol just hits you worse. You tiredly look for the Motrin, you open the drawer and screech just rings in your ears, wishing you never opened the drawer in the first place. It makes you grind your teeth as you shut it closed again. You open the lid and pop a capsule in your mouth and you chug down a glass of cold water from the fridge nothing felt better than that glass of water. You wander into the bathroom for the morning shower, the light is still too bright so you shower in the dark. You don't feel like eating because you are just feeling too much nausea from thinking about it. You sit on the couch and rethink your life choices.

I am not alcoholic but from the above paragraph you would think otherwise. Two drinks is all it takes me to feel that awful, not even heavy drinks just some coke and rum. I say coke and rum because I only ever put a splash in just to change the way it tastes. I like the taste of rum and coke, I like the taste of a margherita in Mexico. I still drink like I am in my early twenties with more sugar the better, but my health can no longer handle it. My stomach gets more upset with me, my head hurts way too much to have just one drink. It affects everything. I feel awful, so i decided maybe i should start trying the non-alcoholic section in the liquor store and boy am I glad that this is becoming a larger trend. I love the non-alcoholic mojitos you can get now because it gives you the taste without the awful feeling. Imagine if alcohol was invented today in 2026 it would go something like this:

"Hey have you tried alcohol?"

"No what is that?"

"Well it's ethanol but you can drink it.

"Why would I want to drink it?"

"it makes you act really weird because it affects your brain, and you can even have blackouts and not remember what you did the next day. It can cause you walk not straight and you think that you are, you start slurring words and it completely intoxicates you, it's really great"

"That does not sound like a good idea to me."

You're right it really isn't, so why do we drink it more than we should? It is primarily the taste or sometimes purely from wanting to escape the reality or you have a substance use addiction or problem. It can cause you to feel happier than you are, making you want to drink more. It releases dopamine and you love that feeling of happiness it gives you. You feel like you can entertain those around you with your slurred speech, your weird sentences and it lets go of your anxiety you feel. Now, I feel that I only drink in social situations where everyone is drinking. But I also really enjoy being the primary driver, so I have an excuse to not drink. I prefer remembering good times and moments with friends or siblings rather than struggling to remember what occurred last night.

I sleep better, I feel more motivated in the mornings, I feel well rested and more than anything I feel like myself. So i challenge you to try a sober month and only drink non-alcoholic drinks that still make you feel good and refreshed. It is a much better way of living your life and you will find more of your health problems go away when you stay away from it. Drink water. Drink water.