Why do I drink too much alcohol?
How many times have I decided to have a quiet night out with friends, or a short visit to a friend’s house, or chosen not to have a drink at a party due to having to drive home, and one drink leads to another – Why can’t I stop after one drink? How often has that quiet night turned into a raucous blinding party? You know the thing I am taking about, all we feel like is a casual night in, or some other occasion when we don’t want to start drinking too much alcohol. But somehow, no matter what the occasion, when the only two common denominators are me and alcohol, it just happens. I’ve got to stop drinking so much!
Why can’t I stop after one drink? I need to stop drinking so much!
And then comes the hangover, and that terrible feeling – Does alcohol make you fell bad? And after that I get that depressing feeling – oh no, I’ve done it again. Why can’t I stop at just one drink, and why does having one glass of alcohol always seem to lead to more and more with almost no control? Why is there no recognition of what is enough alcohol and what is too much alcohol?
Sure we can all recover from a hangover, hopefully no body got hurt, hopefully we didn’t lose anything important, but how about being a fool in front of everyone? How about those late night calls that are very embarrassing the next day? How about all those wasted opportunities and wasted money that is all but forgotten by the next day? We just never seem to remember the last disaster, before crashing straight into the next one – god why can’t I stop after one drink!
I need to stop drinking too much alcohol, I say to myself after each one of these train wrecks.
My friends say the same thing – we all boast about how much alcohol we consumed, but we never manage to stop drinking, not even for one week. We just seem to laugh it off, no matter how much damage we do to our bodies, or how much money it costs, or how many friends we offend. We just seem to go back out next week and do it all again.
Why can’t I stop after one drink?
When enough really is enough. I have had enough of drinking too much alcohol, I have had enough partying too much, I have had enough staying up late. There I said it – I have had enough alcohol.
But next week comes around and I have forgotten all that. And even worse, even before I go out yet again, I know even before it happens that I will more than likely end up drinking too much alcohol. And regret it.
WHY ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH
It seems that with alcohol, enough isn’t really ever enough, and some of us just can’t say no, and maybe that is why can’t I stop after one drink. If you ever say to yourself “I Think I Drink Too Much Alcohol” – then you probably do!
And the reason is that alcohol is a psycho-active chemical that alters the functions of your brain. It triggers the massive and artificial release of the feel good hormone called dopamine, which leaves us feeling high on life. Dopamine causes such a pleasurable sensation in the brain, that it is almost impossible to resist another shot of that excitement.
But after that first hit, the subsequent shots don’t live up to the same level of expectation, but that doesn’t stop the brain from looking for more. As the combination of alcohol and dopamine increase, and your inhibitions decrease, your ability to control the situation has almost gone to zero, and you never even knew it was happening!
It’s not like it was some sort of surprise. Not as though you didn’t know there was some risk that things might get out of control. It always does, and it seems as tough it always will happen.
Why do I drink too much alcohol?
So the question remains: Why can’t I stop after one drink?
I could make all sorts of excuses, such as my discomfort in social situations, or my naturally shy nature, which seems to magically go away after drinking too much alcohol.
I could make the excuse that all my friends drink too much alcohol. I could say that my partner drinks too much alcohol.
But I can no longer blame my environment or my social circumstances. I am the one in control of my own drinking habit, and I am the only one who can stop drinking too much alcohol.
I need to be responsible for my own decisions about alcohol. That starts with recognizing that alcohol has been shown to be addictive. I also need to be aware that Dopamine is a problem. Maybe that is why I can’t stop after one drink.
That is why I have made the decision to avoid alcohol, and avoid the problem. Stop drinking now!
If you need some help to make hard decision about alcohol, then I would love to be able to help out. I can show you more of the facts around how I learned to stop drinking so much, and hopefully some of these might help you also. It is easy to stop drinking on your own!
I need to stop drinking so much – I think I’ve finally had enough.