The ultimate irony about drinking alcohol is that we often begin drinking to smooth out the painful emotions or memories from our past. The irony comes about when we begin using alcohol to relax. We often begin to drink more and more to try to forget the past and painful memories. But the addictive nature of alcohol takes over, and soon we find that we have become dependent on alcohol to get by each day. The problem is that the painful memories are not removed, but just buried a little deeper. And the irony is that we have introduced a whole new problem – alcohol – into an already complicated situation.
Using alcohol provides temporary relief from the turmoil
The reason we turn to using alcohol is because it temporarily provides respite from inner turmoil. For a short time we are able to forget the painful emotions. However, this only serves to put up a façade around our inner thoughts. Furthermore, it does not teach us how to deal with the actual source of the issues of our upbringing. The issues of our past do not simply cure themselves. Using alcohol to relax just creates a fog which can be really difficult to see through.
But alcohol helps me to relax!
Many people are useing alcohol to relax, to remove stress, and as a social lubricant. Alcohol seems to make conversations less inhibited but this can lead us to saying things we might regret later! Far from providing respite, alcohol can increase the problems. Some people drink alcohol to numb the pain of failure, shame and regret. Alcohol just provides a temporary relief from these emotions, but it never provides a permanent cure.
Beware the unintended consequences
The problem with using alcohol is that it offers so much, but the irony is that it always lets us down. We drink to relax, but it makes us more uptight. We drink to feel happy, but it makes us feel sad. We drink because we want to feel good, but we almost always end up feeling bad. Why do we fail to see the irony that comes with alcohol?
Alcohol is a psycho-active drug
The reason that alcohol provides such an irony in our lives is that it is a psychoactive drug. When we drink alcohol, it changes the way our brain works. Alcohol convinces our brain that it is good to drink more, and it can be almost impossible to contradict those thoughts. Right up until the point of getting sick. Worse than that, over time, our brain and our body become dependent on the substance, and we can suffer cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes it can seem as though the only way to overcome the effects of withdrawal is to – keep drinking!
We need to resolve our inner emotions
The problem with using alcohol as a façade is that we never get to deal with the hidden emotions. And if we have hidden feelings and emotions that drive our behaviour, then we cannot bury these away forever. Adding a problem with alcohol on top of our hidden emotions is simply making the problem bigger.
Quitting alcohol is the first step
If you recognise that you have hidden emotions or memories of painful feelings, then that is actually a good thing! The problem with drinking alcohol is that it builds a wall around our inner thoughts and creates a denial that there is a need to change. But there is a need to change. We need to change the idea that we can simply build a wall around our emotions. We need to open a dialogue with our subconscious mind. If this sounds a little gooey – just bear with me for a moment.
What is your inner voice saying to you?
Does your inner voice tell you to beware of new things? Does your inner voice put up blocks to trying new things, new adventures, new challenges? Does your inner voice tell you that you can’t do something? That you are not good enough, or that you failed once before so you shouldn’t risk failure again? When our inner voice speaks to us, it speaks directly into our brain, and it says hurtful things, and unfortunately, the negative messages tend to stick. We often like to drink alcohol to quieten the inner voice, so that we can relax.
And that is the ultimate irony about using alcohol
The irony about using alcohol is that it changes the way our brain works, and tells our brain to have more and more alcohol. The problem is that we believe everything that our brain tells and if our brain is tricked into believing that alcohol is good, then it is very simple to go on believing that message.
So we need to educate ourselves about alcohol
When we understand the irony about alcohol, we can re-program our brain to recognise the irony. If we recognise the trap that alcohol is trying to draw us into, then we can choose to avoid falling in. We need to know how to avoid the temptation of having just one drink. Because the irony about alcohol is that when we have just one drink, we know that our resolve will weaken, and our brain will convince us to have more.
It is possible to stop using alcohol
When we recognise the issues surrounding the reasons why we drink alcohol, we can begin to develop a mindset to stop drinking. When we have the knowledge and understanding of the underlying emotions that lie within us, we know that we can no longer plaster over the cracks.
When you find a reason to stop drinking, we can show you how to quit. Click here to learn more about how to stop drinking and stay stopped.
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