Alcohol Is A Sucky Drug

The first time I drank alcohol was a disaster. I had just turned 16, the legal drinking age in Belgium, and was at the wedding of a cousin of mine. The waitress kept bringing me beers and I was too much of an anxious people pleaser to say no. So I kept drinking the beers she brought me and I got very very drunk. I had no idea what alcohol did. I got so drunk that I vomited on the dancefloor on my way to the bathroom. I spend the rest of the party dry heaving outside on a chair. I couldn’t keep my head up because I was spinning like a dreidel on Hanukkha. The mother of the groom cleaned up my mess. Some members of the family still bring it up to this day more than twenty years later. Bad choices, good stories. But better someone else. The bride later cheated on the groom and tried to steal his life savings but that’s beside the point.

My grandfather on my father’s side was an alcoholic mailman. When he got his paycheck he got blind drunk and terrorized his family. My grandmother fled the home with her 5 children in the dark of the night and they got divorced. My grandfather died alone when my father was 17 years old. According to my father he lived with great regret in his final years.

In 2022 a friend of mine got killed walking on the train tracks while blind drunk. The driver of the train said he tried to jump out of the way but it was too late.

In 2024 a female friend died from liver failure due to alcoholism at age 43, leaving behind a 13 year old son.

I know a lot of people whose lives and bodies are fucked up because of alcohol. It is a very sucky drug. 

The initial buzz lasts about ten minutes but I can’t stop drinking after that. Even though I don’t like being drunk 99% of the time. It’s a physically addictive drug. It hijacks your body into craving it, once it is in your system. You start needing it to feel normal. I have now stopped drinking … again. I have come to realize that it is much easier to never drink. If I make an exception at a party or something I fall right back into drinking every day.

I was sick because of drinking. I was pre diabetic, had high cholesterol and a fatty liver. After a few months of sobriety I was healed from all three conditions and my doctor told me my blood work looks perfect now. I am slowly losing weight, I have lots of energy and my mind is much sharper. I realize I have more fun at parties when I am sober because my brain works better. I don’t actually miss it at all. But I know that if I make one exception I will be drinking every day again. It’s happened many times before. 

If you are looking for motivation to stop drinking, try watching the Hubermanlab episode on alcohol on YouTube. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/DkS1pkKpILY 

You will realize just what a crappy drug it is. For one thing the liver turns alcohol into acetaldehyde, a poison that causes cancer and kills cells including your brain cells. 

Life is much better without alcohol.

Click here to read my guide on how to quit your addiction with mindfulness.

live long and prosper 🖖💜