Alright, let’s be honest for a while. Everyone enjoys taking a chilled glass of beer or wine while relaxed right? Think about time like TGIF or other occasions like that. Whether it be in social setting like making new friends, or in a family setting like barbeques in the backyard or any special occasion such as dining out in nice restaurant. It is a breath of fresh air in to our culture. But wait, do you really know what you are putting into your mouth and swallowing when you gulp down that drink?
The consumption of alcohol is no different than the use of other drugs if one thinks about it. WELL, THAT MIGHT BE AN exaggeration. But let me tell you – it makes one stupid, it alters the way one thinks and acts, and if one takes too much it does crazy addictive things to the mind. On top of that, alcohol can caause a whole host of nasty health problems: liver disease, some types of cancer, and deadly car accidents.
The numbers are scary. Alcohol abuse causes millions of deaths per year worldwide. Millions! It's crazy when you realize something so socially acceptable is low-key ruining lives and putting huge strains on health care systems and economies.
So why do we treat alcohol differently than hard drugs like cocaine or heroin? Sure, it's legal. But really, it is not much as a difference in the effects of the given quantities. Alcohol is fully capable of taking over your brain and rewiring it in the same exact way that other drugs would and making you an out and out addict.
Alcohol is a depressant after all. It depresses your brain function, degenerate your judgment and coordination. At high levels, it is fatal, disrupting your most basic bodily functions before sending you into a coma and certain death. Doesn't that sound a lot like the symptoms of drugs, in particular heroin?
Again, alcohol makes your brain reward system to release several chemicals that make you feel happy. And this is what gives you the high, the chill or the push to wanna do it again and again. Like any other legal drug, a tolerance is easily developed and thus, more alcohol is consumed to achieve the same level of drunkenness.
Soon you are drinking all the time, neglecting work, friends, and family in the process of chasing the next drink. The worst part is that alcohol withdrawal can be just as nightmarish as getting off heroin, with intense physical and mental symptoms making it extremely hard to get clean. Lots of good people have lost everything to the grip of alcoholism.
I could list off tons of depressing stats - drunk driving deaths, alcohol-fueled violence, babies born with defects because mom drank while pregnant. But I think you get the idea. This isn't some fun, glamorous indulgence. It is a very dangerous drug that can literally ruin one's entire existence in a very short period of time.
Of course, I am not saying we have to reinstate a prohibition and start raiding bars that secretly sell alcohol. Allowing criminal gangs to monopolize the sale of the alcohol is probably worse than leaving it legal with restrictions on sales. I remember one time a particular alcohol was prohibited, we all might remember how that went.
But maybe it's time we started being more real and conscious about alcohol. Instead of constantly glorifying it in movies, ads and songs or acting like getting wasted is no big deal, we should treat it with the same gravity and education as other drugs. More awareness of the crazy risks, more real talk about alcoholism and recovery help.
Because at the end of the day, alcohol is not some harmless fun drink. It's a powerful, mind-altering, potentially devastating substance that a lot of people tragically underestimate. If we open our eyes to that truth instead of brushing it off, we might actually start making better, smarter choices as individuals and as a society. More moderation, less binge drinking. More honest conversations about our relationship with booze.
I'm not saying that people should never have a drink again. But let's be honest - alcohol is basically a drug, one that can wreck your life and health if you let it spiral out of control. We owe it to ourselves to handle it with honesty and caution, not glorify reckless drunkenness. Stay conscious, stay smart, and let's change the messed up way we view this deceptively dangerous substance.
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