Alcohol is good…

…at what it does.

I think all of us who drink can agree on one thing: we believe alcohol is good. Right? It is good. I want to go on the record and say that.

Now to be clear, we don’t all agree that drinking a lot of alcohol is good, or that drinking it every day is good. Some may, but not all of us. For the most part, all of us who drink believe it’s good on some level, or else we wouldn’t drink it. 

In fact, there are a lot of reasons we have for drinking. And a couple of them are legit at least in the short term.

Look, I didn’t press pause on drinking because I think God himself reached down and shook me, telling me to stop. Maybe he did. But if so, I’m sure he did several times and I ignored him over and over. So what finally changed?

That’s a longer story for another day. But back to my point. Alcohol is good at a couple of things. (1) It makes you feel really good right away and (2) it takes away your pain, stress and anxiety. It truly does.

However—and it’s a big however—you’re getting more. That buzz you get initially is because of the release of the endorphine, dopamine (from your brain’s pleasure center). That’s triggered by the rise in your blood alcohol content. That lasts for about 20-25 minutes and most of us enjoy that stretch. It’s a bit euphoric and makes things seem more fun.

Then your brain counters by causing the release of the hormone dynorphine, which offsets that stimulation to protect your system by making you feel less, numbing you. That takes away the pain and you feel less stress and anxiousness. That’s also an improvement, right?

And then reality sets in. You can delay this by having another round—or three, but the buzz doesn’t return like it initially did. Instead, less inhibitions, dizziness, double-vision, forgetfulness—all replace the buzz. 

Then your brain responds to the numbing effect of the depressant you’re ingesting (that’s ethyl alcohol, same as the fuel at the pump) by causing a spike in the hormone epinephrine. That’s adrenaline. This causes a few things. It turns some into bad drunks. It increases blood pressure and the production of cortisol, another stress hormone. Repeated use causes “cortisol belly” by increasing your production of visceral fat. 

These stress hormones make it impossible to get good, deep sleep, even though you basically pass out once you crash. Or else you pass out before you crash, which ain’t great. Your brain’s response to the stress hormones is to constrict blood flow to things like your extremities (all of them, guys; think leading cause of ED) and your brain. That’s why inebriated people who wonder out into snow storms can freeze to death even though they feel nice and warm from the fake antifreeze in their system. The prolonged constriction of your brain’s blood vessels and capillaries causes increased blood pressure, along with soreness in your brain the next day, resulting in massive headaches.

But there’s one sure-fire cure to hangover. Have another drink and hit repeat! It works every time. Alcohol will deliver again, but its ability to do so will be diminished with repetition of the cycle. Then you’ll need more to get the desired effect.

Or you could (and will) begin to look at things differently. Understanding alcohol’s MO is the start of a process that’s going to change your life. Alcohol is good at a few things, but as you recognize its effects you begin to want something different. And as you do, you get curious. Curiosity begets questions, questions—answers, and answers—knowledge.

And with knowledge, power. The power to change.

Cheers,

Tim

PS—On the contact page of my website one of the options is to “Just talk”. Yep. Just talk. Give me a call when you’re ready and we’ll do that. You won’t regret it.

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