ALCOHOL POST

Alcohol in praise of

It’s feels nice initially and helps with inhibition and is an aide to social interaction.

Alcohol-the case against

It is a toxin, causes stupid behaviours and gaps in the memory, thus leading to anxiety about what idiotic behaviour you may have indulged in. Kebabs; that’s another side effect of alcohol, yum, just what the doctor ordered at 1.00am. Alcohol bleeds your wallet dry; you leave the house with a nice wad of notes and come home pockets heavy with shrapnel. It’s a depressant; a bad depressant. Given that one usually feels like death warmed up after a heavy night on the booze, there is also the issue of dealing with the dark cloud that has formed above your head. It makes one fat; fat in all the wrong places. It's bad for relationships; that's a fact.

So, on reflection too much alcohol is a bad thing; one of the worst ‘too much of’s’ as it happens, but it is viewed as acceptable. I am fortunate that I have never been interested in drugs or gambling so I am very much in the school of having the single vice of alcohol. Occasionally too much alcohol, but sometimes a moment of clarity is all you need; have a limit! There isn’t that easy? Enjoy a couple of drinks as you would enjoy a couple of scoops of Ben& Jerry’s New York Super fudge Chunk (or is that just me?)No need to eat the whole tub. I had a moment of clarity some years back that led to me abstaining from drinking for a calendar year, and my god it was easy after the first couple of weeks. I have to say in all honesty, without sounding like a promotions manager for AA, that I felt great. It’s true; when you don’t drink you physically and mentally feel much better. I know. Crazy idea isn’t it?

AA is a route that some take and it has a good success rate; although one could argue it requires a certain degree of faith. What AA gives, I suppose is a commonality to people; shared experience and support.

I would have to say that making a choice about alcohol intake has to by definition come from within and this may be at the heart of the problems that alcohol causes. It’s hard to think of the idea of not drinking, but much easier to actually be in the situation of not drinking. The thought of it; not having that crutch, not having that remover of inhibition is what prevents people moderating or stopping.

This post, dear reader is obviously based on experience and is not the start of wellyousaythat preaching about how to live, but it may help a certain person.

After all, they say the pen is mightier than the sword and have you ever tried writing something sensible, or even worse, fencing when you’re pissed?