Jo over at Sinus Arrhythmia has a powerful post up about the effects of alcohol. Go check it out. It got me thinking.
I hate alcohol.
I hate that it takes control away from those who choose to drink it.
I hate that it has become socially acceptable to self-medicate with it.
I hate that it makes people lose their inhibitions and do things that they never would have done otherwise, go places they never would have gone otherwise, and let people do things to them that will scar them for the rest of their lives.
I hate that everyone assumes that if they only drink in moderation it will not affect them.
I hate that they don't realize that it will affect them. Can't they see that ninety percent of alcoholics started by "drinking in moderation".
I hate that so many of these people never realized that they were no longer drinking in moderation until they ruined their lives, or until they ruined somebody else's life.
I hate that you think that you are only drinking in moderation and that everything will be okay.
I hate that those who make the well-thought-out and wise decision to stay away from alcohol are ridiculed and scorned by those who don't understand that life can be even more fun, relationships more rewarding, and intelligence better fostered without the false promises that alcohol offers.
I hate that it has cost us as a society untold billions and trillions in lost wages, and productivity and lives.
I hate that it has cost untold millions of lost relationships and lost innocence.
I hate that patients come in to my Emergency Room on a daily basis because they are so drunk that they passed out in the street again, or because they have ulcers or seizures or jaundice or hypertension or infections or depression or malnutrition or cancer or heart failure caused by their inability to stop drinking.
I hate that patients come in to my Emergency Room because they were driving home to their families and singing along to the radio when out of nowhere somebody locked in the trance of alcohol runs into their car.
I hate that I have to be in the room when the doctor declares them dead.
I hate that wives and even husbands come in to my Emergency Room because they have been abused by spouses who have been drinking again.
I hate that children come in to my Emergency Room because they have been abused by parents who have been drinking again.
I hate that there are wives and husbands and children that don't even know that they have somewhere to turn when their loved ones have been drinking again.
I hate that the nurses and medics that surround me every day and see these same things still go out like idiots and get drunk at parties and become the same people that they complain about all day.
I hate that miracle drugs get pulled off the market because of side effects that are experienced by a few, but alcohol not only remains available, not only remains legal, not only remains easy to obtain, but also remains encouraged and even sensualized by society.
I hate that so-called scientists who want to find reasons to continue enjoying their drinking habits participate in shoddy and unprofessional "research" to come up with any possible silver lining that is the storm of alcohol.
I hate that most of the people who will read this post will be trying to come up with reasons why I am wrong and why alcohol isn't that bad.
I hope that someday we will be able to be honest as a society and let go of the crutch that is alcohol.
I hope that someday we will embrace life and learn to love it as it comes to us, without the mind-deadening effects of alcohol, without the body-rotting diseases that come along for the ride, and without the fear and pain and embarrassment that follow behind.
I pray that maybe one person who reads this post will stop long enough to truly ponder what I am saying and give up alcohol for a better life.
If alcohol were a prescription drug, no doctor would ever prescribe it because whatever positive effects it may have are drastically outweighed by the endless list of negative side effects, and even if a doctor wanted to prescribe it, they wouldn't because they would get sued until they had nothing left to give up.
So why do we continue to prescribe it to ourselves?
I hate alcohol.
I hate that it takes control away from those who choose to drink it.
I hate that it has become socially acceptable to self-medicate with it.
I hate that it makes people lose their inhibitions and do things that they never would have done otherwise, go places they never would have gone otherwise, and let people do things to them that will scar them for the rest of their lives.
I hate that everyone assumes that if they only drink in moderation it will not affect them.
I hate that they don't realize that it will affect them. Can't they see that ninety percent of alcoholics started by "drinking in moderation".
I hate that so many of these people never realized that they were no longer drinking in moderation until they ruined their lives, or until they ruined somebody else's life.
I hate that you think that you are only drinking in moderation and that everything will be okay.
I hate that those who make the well-thought-out and wise decision to stay away from alcohol are ridiculed and scorned by those who don't understand that life can be even more fun, relationships more rewarding, and intelligence better fostered without the false promises that alcohol offers.
I hate that it has cost us as a society untold billions and trillions in lost wages, and productivity and lives.
I hate that it has cost untold millions of lost relationships and lost innocence.
I hate that patients come in to my Emergency Room on a daily basis because they are so drunk that they passed out in the street again, or because they have ulcers or seizures or jaundice or hypertension or infections or depression or malnutrition or cancer or heart failure caused by their inability to stop drinking.
I hate that patients come in to my Emergency Room because they were driving home to their families and singing along to the radio when out of nowhere somebody locked in the trance of alcohol runs into their car.
I hate that I have to be in the room when the doctor declares them dead.
I hate that wives and even husbands come in to my Emergency Room because they have been abused by spouses who have been drinking again.
I hate that children come in to my Emergency Room because they have been abused by parents who have been drinking again.
I hate that there are wives and husbands and children that don't even know that they have somewhere to turn when their loved ones have been drinking again.
I hate that the nurses and medics that surround me every day and see these same things still go out like idiots and get drunk at parties and become the same people that they complain about all day.
I hate that miracle drugs get pulled off the market because of side effects that are experienced by a few, but alcohol not only remains available, not only remains legal, not only remains easy to obtain, but also remains encouraged and even sensualized by society.
I hate that so-called scientists who want to find reasons to continue enjoying their drinking habits participate in shoddy and unprofessional "research" to come up with any possible silver lining that is the storm of alcohol.
I hate that most of the people who will read this post will be trying to come up with reasons why I am wrong and why alcohol isn't that bad.
I hope that someday we will be able to be honest as a society and let go of the crutch that is alcohol.
I hope that someday we will embrace life and learn to love it as it comes to us, without the mind-deadening effects of alcohol, without the body-rotting diseases that come along for the ride, and without the fear and pain and embarrassment that follow behind.
I pray that maybe one person who reads this post will stop long enough to truly ponder what I am saying and give up alcohol for a better life.
If alcohol were a prescription drug, no doctor would ever prescribe it because whatever positive effects it may have are drastically outweighed by the endless list of negative side effects, and even if a doctor wanted to prescribe it, they wouldn't because they would get sued until they had nothing left to give up.
So why do we continue to prescribe it to ourselves?
24 comments:
Well said.
I hate that so-called scientists who want to find reasons to continue enjoying their drinking habits participate in shoddy and unprofessional "research" to come up with any possible silver lining that is the storm of alcohol.
Amen. How can anyone possibly believe that the miniscule potential benefit from alcohol could even remotely compete with the benefits of abstaining?
Possibly the most astute observations I've ever read on the destructive effects of humanity's favorite drug.
You should come work in our ER in Key West. Then you'd REALLY hate alcohol.....
Beautiful, man.
You're preaching to the converted here. I'm twenty five and have never been drunk. But all the same, a beautiful post.
The absurdity of alcohol being acceptable to people who would never go near other drugs is too much for me to take sometimes, and I don't know whether to feel pity, or scorn for these hypocrites. What the human race are prepared to accept as okay on account of social condition is really remarkable. It's a tragic indigtment on the entire broken, screwed up species.
Alcohol abuse is complete depravity. Imagine how much better our world would be without it. ...Makes me sad.
I hate the fact that people always blame the substance and completely fail to understand that ultimately it's all about the person consuming it.
This is a great list of the downsides of alcohol . I almost drank myself to death and/or to prison a couple of years ago , but thankfully I managed to escape from that hopeless existance .
It's very strange how a hard-drug (one that destroies more lives than all of the illegal drugs combined)has become so socially acceptable ... it's almost a rite of passage . My kids will be raised to know that they don't have to drink alcohol , and that actually alcohol is a dangerous hard-drug ... no better than crack or heroin .
Anyways , sorry for the long comment , but this one strikes a nerve . Pjburgess , how is it about the person consuming it when it makes every person act the same ? Alcohol makes everybody do stupid shit , whether you're an alcoholic or not ... that's been proven time and time again .
Amen
This is a very "real" list! I am a recovering alcoholic, and have been sober for 50 days! It has been tough for me to stay sober, but I have remained sober, with the help of lists like this one, which remind me of what could or would have been if I continued my out of control drinking!! Thank you!
Congratulations, Josh, on being sober for 50 days. I know that it is a very difficult battle. I see patients all the time (saw one today, in fact) who are struggling with it, but I know that it is worth it. Thanks for stopping by.
Very, very well said. I couldn't agree more with you - it's sad that all of this is so easy to see from our side of the ER doors, but not so much from the outside.
Kudos to you. I enjoy your blog - keep up the good work!
i used to love alcohol;enjoyed a long social affair with it. took some time, but eventually what used to turn me on, turned on me.
after 24 years of inner city, paid firefighting, seen my share of alcohol & drug related emergencies. there are plenty of folks who drink safely; it's not the substance, it's the knuckleheads who abuse it.
It's nice to know somebody else out there shares some of the feelings that I do... I came from an alcoholic background, and everyone likes to tell me to "get over it" when I happen to voice that I have issues when other people drink... I'm still trying to find a healthier way to think about it, but so far I'm right where you are... so thanks for making me feel better!
acoaramblings.blogspot.com
Fireman John: it IS the substance. Much of the time the knuckleheads don't know they will be abusing it until they are abusing it. And many of them are in denial even then, because the nature of alcohol is addictive and controlling.
Curious Student: Don't try to find a healthier way to think about it. Healthy is considering alcohol for the danger and evil that it truly is.
I hate alcohol for the damage it has caused my son due to prenatal drinking, he is such a creative, inquisitive child that will never see his full potential and most likely will never be able to live alone due to his permanent brain damage done by prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Simple, well done.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am 19, and I sometimes feel so damn lonely on this matter.
It is nice to see that I am not going insane and that I am not the only one to see and understand the possible truth.
I am so worried for everyone else though...it is like social alienation, I can't help a person even though I know he or she is hurting him or herself. I don't have that option because it is not what society says you should do...all the individuals that drink really just want to drink without someone getting in the way. Is that something close to an addiction? A craving? Pressure?
I fear for my future children that have to grow up in a world where alcohol is involved in so many things...and I pray that they have the courage and the strength to be, sadly, different from the rest and just be damn sober.
Damn. That's one of the best posts I've ever read.
WOW. Great list. Cheers to that!
Just kidding.
Thanks for the link. I printed that post.
Thank you. Thank you so much. I had tears in my eyes when I read this. My entire life I've felt alone because I feel this way too. I don't know why I didn't go on Google sooner to find other people like me.. I thought it was impossible.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Now I know I'm not the only one.
Danielle
Age 21
danisunshinegurl@hotmail.com
"I pray that maybe one person who reads this post will stop long enough to truly ponder what I am saying and give up alcohol for a better life."
You can count me as one. Thank you.
This is really good to hear. I'm 19, have never been drunk, and never ever want to. I just moved to college and I feel so alienated already. The fact that my intolerance of alcohol has made it difficult for me to make friends really sickens me. I can't stand even being around it. I don't know what makes me see things so differently from everyone else, but the fact that alcohol is socially acceptable (encouraged, even) just seems so bogus to me.
I have a girlfriend that I love more than anything in the world. She used to drink, but, due to my influence, no longer does. However, I know that the only reason she doesn't is because I don't want her to. The fact that she isn't abstaining because she wants to, but only because of my strong views on the subject, is something that I will never truly get over. The fact that I'm so alone makes it hard to tell if I'm just crazy and oversensitive or not. I certainly feel that way sometimes. Ugh.
It's comforting to know I'm not alone, though. I'm tempted to get a facebook group started or something so us likeminded few can stay in touch. haha
This is so good to see that there are people that feel the same way about alcohol as I do. Just like some other posts say, I feel so alone when it comes to alcohol. I am only 17 but already everyone in my grade at school seems to drink regularly. I know its probably not as bad as it seems, but a good portion of them do. And the thing that really bothers me isn't really the drinking itself, its why people do it. Why do so many people do it? What is so good about it? People who think they are making the right choice by staying away from things like drugs and smoking don't realize that when they drink they are potentially killing themselves. I was recently in a relationship with someone who drank, not regularly, but she still did, and I would beg her not to, and talk to her for hours about how bad it was. But she still did it. I just couldn't get why she would. She thought it was ok because she was being safe, but there is no safe way to drink. Especially when you are underage. And...thats not rocket science, everyone learns that in school. If you drink you are hurting yourself. Our arguement over alcohol eventually caused our relationship to end. With Robby, thats great that she isn't doing it, but it was the same with me, just her saying she wasn't going to do it because of me would never be enough. You have to want to not do it. Thats the only way to get rid of the temptation. I definetely think someone should get a facebook page started, and get it out there that there are people that hate alcohol. And I had the same problem, I didn't ever know if I was just over-reacting or being controlling when I tried to get her or others to stop, but after reading this, I really think I was doing the right thing by making a stand against this. Thanks for the great post. And thanks to everyone who understands what a problem this is, and tries to stop it.
F A and too much love.
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