Alcoholism: How to Avoid It.

Alcoholism...you'd think as a single mother like me, I would be more prone to it. But that is not really the case. I had made my choice to not touch alcohol, and to this day I still stand by my decision. Although moderate drinking of alcohol is deemed 'healthy', it is too easy to turn to abuse it and the consequences are too dire for the benefits to be any good.

Alcohol is a social drink. Some people like to call it 'liquid courage' (I'd like to call it 'liquid stupidity', but that's just me). Indeed it's fun to drink with friends around. You'd feel more relaxed, and less anxious. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it actually suppresses brain activity. Meaning you don't think as well as you should. That is where the problem begins...if you go beyond the initial few drinks, then you are doing more harm than good. The consequences: getting drunk. It's actually your body telling you to stop drinking that stuff, because frankly it can't process it all. If you continue, you'll reach the point where you'd puke. Congratulations, you've just experienced alcohol poisoning. You might even make really stupid life altering decisions like drunk driving. And that is not the kind of life altering experience you want to undergo.

Think about it: when else would your body vomit? Sure, after a rollercoaser ride: but that's because all that motion made you dizzy, and in your body's view, dizziness is usually a sign that you ate something wrong. If you eat some bad food and your stomach catches that...vomiting time. Same concept with alcohol, really.

So how did I avoid alcoholism? I just don't drink. Others are smart enough to actually limit their number of drinks. This is a life decision that you have to make yourself. It's really as simple as that. I personally don't mind being the designated driver of the group, and even if they say bad things about that...well, they're not really thinking are they? It's a lifestyle decision, a decision to stay healthy. There have been studies linking longevity to low alcohol consumption. If you want to stay healthy, you have to stick with your healthy decisions.