I Quit Drinking and Regained Myself
During the summertime, I catch myself thinking about my drinking days. I stopped drinking alcohol June 2018, but as it is a part of almost every event in modern life I continually have to revisit my reasons for stopping. As a young person I drank almost as much as my friends - I could never drink quite as much just due to my genetic makeup - but I tried! I drank at parties, on weekends, week nights. I enjoyed visiting the bars and going dancing while drinking. It was just a normal thing for me. Once I was in Naturopathic school, the drinking didn't end. It's funny/sad -- but in some parts us ND students were known around town for our heavy drinking! I rolled with it and continued drinking socially. It wasn't until I was living in Seattle that I realized (a) drinking feels awful for me and (b) it was not helping my mental health.
Fast forward to June 2018 - I was doing a cleanse/detox-type diet with my partner. We were both eating healthy foods, juicing and just "getting our health on". We stopped drinking and I cannot even describe the relief I felt! I wasn't waking up on Sundays hungover and massively depressed. Other improvements occurred: my skin cleared up, I lost weight, I gained time that wasn't spent nursing a hangover, I saved money and healed some of my relationship with myself.
I now wake up on Sundays feeling good - sometimes even early to exercise or just have a peaceful morning.
So now, let me share with you a few things I have learned about alcohol which might be helpful for you, in your journey:
Alcohol and Social Time Are Not Mutually Exclusive - Even if it seems impossible, let me tell you it's within your reach to have a healthy and normal social life without alcohol. I like to drink sparkling water with a lime when I'm out - it's delicious and keeps me hydrated. The unspoken pressure to drink goes away once you determine your "why" when it comes to not drinking. Say it to the folks you're with if it helps - even if it makes them squirm.
Alcohol Kills Cells and Tissues - Alcohol is actually cytotoxic - meaning it kills tissues and cells. Sure, in small amounts your body can deal with it efficiently and get rid of alcohol before it does any real damage. I just like to think about all of the work I do to keep my gut healthy - drinking alcohol can literally reverse much of that, and it's not worth it for me.
Mental Health and Alcohol Use May Be At Odds - If you're like me and have experienced anxiety and depression, you know what a rollercoaster ride that can be. Add alcohol into the mix of any mental health challenges and you can sometimes find yourself in over your head. Alcohol has a tendency to change our natural production of neurotransmitters - which can be confusing when one is working on their mental health. I found this particularly challenging when, like I said, I used to wake up feeling awful and depressed on a Sunday morning. I would ask if that was really "me" or just the hangover speaking -- and it was usually impossible to differentiate.
Is It Fun or Is It Coping? Another thing that I've learned through my own journey and working with patients is that in some cases we use alcohol as simple stress reduction and sometimes we use it as a coping mechanism. Using an addictive substance for a coping mechanism gets tricky because it can easily become a dependent relationship --- and it can block our ability to strengthen our own innate coping strategies.
If you are thinking about your relationship with alcohol and whether it's serving you, consider taking a break. If you have medically related questions about any of what I wrote above ask your GP or shoot me a message. I would love to hear from you!
