Alcohol

There was a once a period in my life for a little more than two years when I was a “drinker”. From March, 1979 until August, 1981 I consumed alcohol, predominately in the form of light beer, because anything stronger was apt to cause a terrible hangover the next day. I believe that I started this habit because I would be very physically tired, hot, and emotionally and mentally spent after working all day. Instead of interpreting my body’s signals to my brain as thirst (for water) and exhaustion, I reacted by drinking beer, and usually quite a bit at a time. I knew the trigger was job-related because I simply did not have the urge to drink on my days off. And whatever purpose it served me when I drank, it lasted a while because I never drank on successive days. I never developed a tolerance for alcohol. On the contrary, by the summer of 1981, I was becoming physically sick after drinking. This was a blessing that enabled me one day to just walk away from it. Looking back, I wish I had just drunk a lot of water or Gatorade after work, along with taking a two-hour nap to break the feeling of physical and mental fatigue that had prompted my reaching for a beer. But I am glad that I had the common sense to never get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol. The only other time I ever drank beer again was during a span of a few days in 1988, and I stopped when I realized that it just made me feel more tired.

As the years passed and I observed others dealing with their own relationships with alcohol, it began to dawn on me how extraordinarily intolerant my body really is to it. So, being a confirmed non-drinker as I am is not even remotely a matter of will power or virtue. It is as if I never drank in the first place! But, strangely enough, I do remember that during that period long ago, it was a habit that at times had a strong pull on me when I was physically and mentally tired. To be able to remember without any fear of its recurrence is true deliverance!

If it were just about me, I probably would have just kept all this to myself. But it bears attention that people have widely varying reactions to alcohol. Some are comfortable with moderate consumption and are careful to avoid driving or engaging in any similar dangerous activity when under the influence. Still others are died-in-the-wool alcoholics from whose thoughts the desire for a drink is never far away. From my point of view, if someone is in the former group, then the more power to them. But it is a risky venture to get involved in this habit because, if one’s body does easily develop a tolerance to this legal, widely advertised, easily available, and cheap drug, then it can destroy their lives and those of their loved ones (and of total strangers as well if they drink and drive). In other words, someone won’t know if they are susceptible to alcoholism until it’s too late to back out. I was fortunate to have a body predisposed to react to alcohol as a poison. But I also know someone who went to jail on a DUI manslaughter conviction.

So, because of the potential dangers involved in alcohol consumption, I’d like to caution anyone who thinks that a beer might be a refreshing “cap” to a long day to stop, take a deep breath, and listen to what their body is trying to tell them. Maybe they are just tired and thirsty. There are better and easier ways to remedy that than popping open a cool one!