1. “Alcohol enhances your performance” –

No, it ruins your potential, and is one of the common myths about alcohol

This is one of the most unbelievable myths about alcohol use.  Alcohol does not enhance your performance on the sports field, on the dance floor, or holding a conversation with a member of the opposite sex. Neither does it make a joke sound any funnier, nor does slurring when you talk. In fact, there really is nothing that can be seen to perform better after drinking too much alcohol, other than to be the target of laughter from your mates, and is that really something to be proud of?

Even worse, for those aspiring sportspeople – most of us would be aware that drinking too much alcohol and doing sport at the same time just do not mix. I understand that most of us enjoy a drink after a sporting event, and if that is your thing, then that is fair enough. Are you aware that drinking too much alcohol impairs the body’s natural ability to heal and repair the muscles and bones afterwards? This can be a real problem, especially if you have caused yourself an injury or strain. During rest and recovery, the body will go into overdrive to send red blood cells, extra oxygen supplies and extra glucose in order to heal and repair the damage. Unfortunately, alcohol is not one of the helpful ingredients in this process, as it interferes with the recovery process, and actually slows down the body’s ability to heal. No – drinking too much alcohol does not enhance your performance!  And while we are here, lets look at some myths and facts about alcohol.

2. “Alcohol relieves stress” – No, alcohol causes stress

If this sounds counter intuitive, then we only need to analyze the effects of drinking too much alcohol on the central nervous system to understand that it cannot possibly help relieve your stress. Alcohol is an anesthetic and acts as a depressant agent on our nerves and within our brain. That means that although you might feel a temporary uplift from alcohol, what you are actually feeling is a flood of dopamine or happy chemicals in the brain. As soon as this short term effect has subsided, the increasing effects of alcohol only serve to anesthetize your vital nerve centers. Short term gain for long term loss unfortunately, as the stress is simply postponed until later, and as we know, the inability to deal with stress causes it to multiply.

Over time the effects of drinking too much alcohol are multiplied. The long term effects of damage to the nerve endings and general over exposure of the nervous system and brain to toxic chemicals causes serious side effects such as increased nervous tension, anxiety and unease. The brain is increasingly unable to cope with excess demands brought on by the overload of chemicals, which results in increased anxiety, and additional stress like reactions.

3. “Alcohol helps you to relax” – No, it causes hypertension

Alcohol is a depressant. This doesn’t mean that alcohol makes you depressed (although it can have this effect). It means that alcohol slows down the central nervous system and inhibits many of the brain’s functions. At the same time, drinking too much alcohol messes with the heart rhythm, causing damage to the heart muscle, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), high blood pressure, restrictions of the arteries, and thus generally causing havoc with your circulation. In extreme cases, abuse of alcohol leads to increased chance of strokes, heart attacks and heart failure.  So unfortunately, one of the greatest myths that alcohol is good for the heart, is another of the unbelievable alcohol myths debunked!

4. “Alcohol is good for your heart”–No, it has no health benefits

Alcohol is distributed throughout the body very quickly after drinking it, and it affects almost all of the body’s cells and systems. Commonly held opinion is that red wine is good for you, but in reality, the anti-oxidants and health benefits could be gained from grape juice, the alcohol component is harmful. Alcohol can be directly linked to increased incidence of the following nasties;
• liver disease
• heart disease
• pancreatitis
• high blood pressure
• cancer – including mouth, throat and gastrointestinal and breast cancers
• diabetes
• malnutrition (vitamin deficiencies such as thiamine)
• obesity
• mental health conditions
• impaired memory and thinking
• brain disease (shrinking of the frontal cortex)
• increased risk of dementia

5. “Alcohol adds spice to your life” – no it doesn’t!

If by this statement we are talking about enhancing our relationships with the opposite sex, then nothing could be further from the truth. From unwanted liaisons, to date rape, to sexually transmitted disease, to unwanted pregnancies alcohol does not have a good reputation. If a slurred chat up line is your thing, then good luck with that approach. Unless the target of your chat is equally intoxicated, don’t expect too much spice in your life! Getting home late reeking of alcohol is equally likely to reward you with the opposite of spice in your life!
It just gets worse. Erectile dysfunction is the most noticeable side effect of alcohol abuse in men. It can also inhibit hormone production, affect testicular function, and has adverse effects on your fertility.  If you are in any doubt that these conditions might be affecting you, then we recommend that you seek alcohol abuse help or check with your physician.

And women do not get off this warning lightly either; the risk of breast cancer rises with moderate alcohol use, and rises dramatically with excessive alcohol abuse.

6. “Alcohol helps you think better” – No,alcohol abuse makes you lie!

As we have all witnessed, the most obvious sign of drinking too much alcohol in your system is a change in behavior. Alcohol affects your brain and other parts of your central nervous system, which makes it harder to talk and slurs your speech. It can also affect coordination, balance and the ability to walk in a straight line. At this point, your ability to think clearly is in doubt, as is control of inhibitions, and to accurately remember events. So if you think it is funny that you can’t remember what you did the night before, be warned, this is evidence of brain damage. Drinking can actually shrink the frontal cortex of your brain, which can lead to permanent brain damage, and dementia.

One of the most interesting facts about alcohol is that it makes us defend our behavior, even in the face of these warning signs. Have you ever denied that these symptoms have happened to you? Have you ever denied the seriousness of these symptoms? Have you ever lied about how much alcohol you consumed?  This is clearly one of the symptoms of drinking too much alcohol.

Alcohol makes you lie!

7. “Alcohol Enhances your Life” – Impossible – this is a Myth!

For all the six signs of alcohol poisoning discussed so far, there is simply no benefit to be gained from drinking alcohol.  The damage caused by drinking too much alcohol far outweighs any potential benefit.

If you need alcohol help, or if you are drinking too much alcohol and you would like to explore the options for an alcohol free life, then click here to see if we can help you to stop drinking alcohol today!