The effect alcohol has on me

[CallumD]

Hello everyone,

I am writing this because I just drank a small amount of alcohol, before drinking this alcohol I was relatively depressed and in an agitated mood because whenever I am around my family I just don't feel 'right' or comfortable. After drinking, I feel very comfortable, happy and even more care free than usual. I
I have started to realise that alcohol has a seemingly positive effect on me. When I drink alcohol: I can socialise easier, conversations flow, more comfortable and happier in general. Everyone comments on how much easier I am to talk to, deal with and to be around when I am under the influence of alcohol.

Recently, I had to give a speech to a few hundred people (leaving school). I had a few swigs of whiskey before it, wrote the speech on like 10 minutes before and everyone complimented me on how composed I was, how good the speech was and my friends were surprised that I didn't shiver or get stage fright.

This leads me to believe I am probably going to become a sensible alcoholic, if there is such a thing.

Does anyone else share this?
Have you developed problems?
Any success stories due to alcohol?
Any failure/bad stories due to alcohol?

Is this something to do with the way I react to a depressant or what? I would like to understand why it has these effects on me and if I could replicate them whilst I am sober. Just to reiterate, I am a much more tolerable and happy after I have had a few drinks.


EDIT: I am usually hard to deal with, depressed, sometimes angry and a lot of the time I am in an agitated mood.

 

[just george]

My perspective as a guy from a place that even the Irish avoid because the locals "drink too much":

In the beginning, the experience is 90% good, and only 10% bad. So in your case, you feel calm, relaxed etc and only suffer maybe putting on a bit of weight or a headache.

As you continue to use more or with greater frequency, the ratio starts to level out so maybe 50% good 50% bad - you don't feel quite as euphoric or relaxed, while the hangovers get bigger, along with other bad outcomes like making a fool of yourself or getting some girl pregnant or whatever.

Right at the end, it might only be 10% good, 90% bad - you'll find that you get hardly any pleasure or positive outcomes out of it at all - but you'll still get the monster hangovers, weight gain, consequences of bad social decisions, DUI's, health problems etc.

So my advice would be to keep an eye on your use of alcohol (or any drug), and if the ratio ever becomes unfavorable, to stop.

That being said, I once wrote a document when I had had too much to drink plus had a sleeping pill that not only made a lot of money, but has been used as a model of how to write those documents by specialists in the field for the past 3 years. Go figure.

 

[CallumD]

Right at the end, it might only be 10% good, 90% bad - you'll find that you get hardly any pleasure or positive outcomes out of it at all

I thought that might be the case. Are there any alternate drugs that do not have as many negative effects that you know of? Or do I have some sort of problem besides drinking If I want/need alcohol to feel happy?

 

[just george]

I thought that might be the case. Are there any alternate drugs that do not have as many negative effects that you know of? Or do I have some sort of problem if I want/need alcohol to feel happy?

When you're talking about mind altering drugs, the pattern is the same, whether it is booze or weed or coke.

The best way I can describe it, the problem with mind altering drugs of this sort are that, since they aren't permanent, they kind of split your personality when you use them heavily, so that you become dependent. It gets to a point where you start feeling that your personality on drugs is your actual personality, and start needing them to feel "normal" (paradoxically enough).

The problem is that all of them have diminishing returns based on your body's feedback loop, and so you find yourself in a jam, where you need a drug to feel normal, but the drugs become ineffective, so you can never achieve a state of normalcy without the adverse effects (like stumbling, falling, bad coordination, bad judgement etc) becoming so severe that the whole practice is no longer viable.

I would suggest viewing drugs as tools, to be used for different purposes as required eg a shot of whisky to relax before a speech, or to loosen you up at a party, with the goal being to use the experience that you have while on drugs to develop a personality that stays with you after the drugs wear off.

As to whether such drugs exist, the answer is no. I gave some thought to developing one, until I realized that happiness in a bottle is a slave masters wet dream.

 

[Hadoblado]

Find out precisely what the alcohol was solving at a neurological level. There should be plenty of less problematic solutions.

 

[ummidk]

My perspective as a guy from a place that even the Irish avoid because the locals "drink too much":

In the beginning, the experience is 90% good, and only 10% bad. So in your case, you feel calm, relaxed etc and only suffer maybe putting on a bit of weight or a headache.

As you continue to use more or with greater frequency, the ratio starts to level out so maybe 50% good 50% bad - you don't feel quite as euphoric or relaxed, while the hangovers get bigger, along with other bad outcomes like making a fool of yourself or getting some girl pregnant or whatever.

Right at the end, it might only be 10% good, 90% bad - you'll find that you get hardly any pleasure or positive outcomes out of it at all - but you'll still get the monster hangovers, weight gain, consequences of bad social decisions, DUI's, health problems etc.

.

Didn't know you were George Carlin

 

[just george]

Didn't know you were George Carlin

THAT BASTARD stole it from me - that's how I've been explaining "balance" to people for ages

 

[ummidk]

THAT BASTARD stole it from me - that's how I've been explaining "balance" to people for ages

Ohrly?

Regardless, it's a great way to explain drug use, or really just the benefits of moderation in general. I was gonna post the vid with him and John Stewart, but you beat me to it.

 

[just george]

Ohrly?

Regardless, it's a great way to explain drug use, or really just the benefits of moderation in general. I was gonna post the vid with him and John Stewart, but you beat me to it.

I agree. Carlins performance explaining it was great. If they played that on television instead of those stupid and annoying anti alcohol commercials showing dead people next to crashed cars, it would probably help a lot of people figure out how to manage their drug and alcohol use sensibly

 

[somfoolishfoole]

I havn't read any of the replies but I found it commical that I was depressed and had just popped the top off of a beer to fix the situation when i noticed this post. furthermore, i popped the beer open in hopes of alleviating my depression enough that I can get to work on my assignment that is due in 3 days

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

Hello everyone,

I am writing this because I just drank a small amount of alcohol, before drinking this alcohol I was relatively depressed and in an agitated mood because whenever I am around my family I just don't feel 'right' or comfortable. After drinking, I feel very comfortable, happy and even more care free than usual. I
I have started to realise that alcohol has a seemingly positive effect on me. When I drink alcohol: I can socialise easier, conversations flow, more comfortable and happier in general. Everyone comments on how much easier I am to talk to, deal with and to be around when I am under the influence of alcohol.

Recently, I had to give a speech to a few hundred people (leaving school). I had a few swigs of whiskey before it, wrote the speech on like 10 minutes before and everyone complimented me on how composed I was, how good the speech was and my friends were surprised that I didn't shiver or get stage fright.

This leads me to believe I am probably going to become a sensible alcoholic, if there is such a thing.

Does anyone else share this?
Have you developed problems?
Any success stories due to alcohol?
Any failure/bad stories due to alcohol?

Is this something to do with the way I react to a depressant or what? I would like to understand why it has these effects on me and if I could replicate them whilst I am sober. Just to reiterate, I am a much more tolerable and happy after I have had a few drinks.


EDIT: I am usually hard to deal with, depressed, sometimes angry and a lot of the time I am in an agitated mood.

The trap many fall into is the easy fixes. Beware. It's enticing but false. As much of the advice you've been given is spot on, I won't go on except to say I was married to an alcoholic. The downward spiral of a good person is devastating.

 

[CallumD]

Find out precisely what the alcohol was solving at a neurological level. There should be plenty of less problematic solutions.

Anxiety and depression. I haven't found any solutions that don't involve alcohol or prescription drugs.

I havn't read any of the replies but I found it commical that I was depressed and had just popped the top off of a beer to fix the situation when i noticed this post. furthermore, i popped the beer open in hopes of alleviating my depression enough that I can get to work on my assignment that is due in 3 days

Haha smooth, I find it a lot easier to do work as well, I don't stress over details.

The trap many fall into is the easy fixes. Beware. It's enticing but false. As much of the advice you've been given is spot on, I won't go on except to say I was married to an alcoholic. The downward spiral of a good person is devastating.

I expected all of these replies when I made this thread. In my life, I have never really known of any full-on Alcoholics that have spiralled out of control, that along with the relatively large drinking culture I am surrounded by definitely contribute to my (positive) views of alcohol. I feel very sorry that you had to experience what you did though, and you have made an effect on my judgement of alcohol. Thank you.

 

[Ex-User (9062)]

Hello everyone,

I am writing this because I just drank a small amount of alcohol, before drinking this alcohol I was relatively depressed and in an agitated mood because whenever I am around my family I just don't feel 'right' or comfortable. After drinking, I feel very comfortable, happy and even more care free than usual. I
I have started to realise that alcohol has a seemingly positive effect on me. When I drink alcohol: I can socialise easier, conversations flow, more comfortable and happier in general. Everyone comments on how much easier I am to talk to, deal with and to be around when I am under the influence of alcohol.

Recently, I had to give a speech to a few hundred people (leaving school). I had a few swigs of whiskey before it, wrote the speech on like 10 minutes before and everyone complimented me on how composed I was, how good the speech was and my friends were surprised that I didn't shiver or get stage fright.

This leads me to believe I am probably going to become a sensible alcoholic, if there is such a thing.

Does anyone else share this?
Have you developed problems?
Any success stories due to alcohol?
Any failure/bad stories due to alcohol?

Is this something to do with the way I react to a depressant or what? I would like to understand why it has these effects on me and if I could replicate them whilst I am sober. Just to reiterate, I am a much more tolerable and happy after I have had a few drinks.


EDIT: I am usually hard to deal with, depressed, sometimes angry and a lot of the time I am in an agitated mood.

That is what a lot of people do to self-medicate.
However, this usually will end in addiction for the majority.
So, it may be a good thing to start looking for other solutions,
as long as this has not grossly impacted your life yet.

Also:
Your drinking habit will cause your depression to be more frequent, more intense and longer lasting.
So you will drink more, which starts a "vicious cycle" of perpetual dose adjustment and as a result heavier symptoms.

 

[Sci Nai]

I'm not much of a drinker but when finishing off my PhD thesis, many a night I would have a few beers to numb my brain. Problem was I knew I had to do it but I hated it. So to help me not get distracted, I'd have a few beers. It worked well, haha.