How and why I became a teetotaler!

I received an email on why I had included not drinking in my list of healthy habits.  As the sender mentioned that one drink a day can actually be good for you especially red wine.  And I want to clarify my reason in a separate post.  While looking back at my long life of almost 35 years I have a B-Day in around a week!  I realized that all of my serious bad mistakes, stupid things I’ve said to someone, actions I wish I had NEVER taken all these things happened while I was under the influence of alcohol!  You see I used to be a diehard beer drinker I loved drinking beer, all different kinds and I drink it almost everywhere I went, ballgame, social party, weekends, while watching a movie, while visiting friends just about any function I felt the need to have a beer.  I drink when I was happy for someone or something I drank when I had a bad day; I could always find a reason to have a beer there really were sooo many! 

My wife did not drink and never liked me drinking thou I never acted much different she just did not like the smell or the thought that I was even partially dependent on a substance.  This became the focus of many arguments over the subject with her fighting for me to stop permanently and me fighting to keep doing “what I enjoyed”.  I even thought of alcohol as an “enhancer” if you could watch a movie that was nice but you could enhance watching the same movie if you were able to drink at the time you watched it!  Looking back I was becoming dependent on the substance as I suspect may others out there have or are in the process of becoming. 

So I challenged myself to stop not by telling myself I would forever quit drinking, just this week, then this month finally, after this year.  It has now been going on four years since I had made that decision and I feel great!  I will likely never drink again I don’t want the expense; I have acknowledged the fact that I will never be the type of person that can drink half a glass of wine a day and nothing more ever.  And I have found that after the first year the desire evaporated I found that I could have great days, bad days, things go horribly wrong, and yet I could get through them all without alcohol!  Better yet I have found that working out as in lifting weights, doing the Insanity program, cycling, kayaking, running, are all much better ways to release the tension of life and yes even riding my scooter is a much more efficient way to release the stresses of everyday life than drinking. 

But this is just me and my way of looking at life I fully understand that some people have no issues with a glass of wine once in a while and nothing more.  I also fully understand people’s desire to get impaired often and it is their choice, not for me to judge them in any way.  I don’t tell others what they should and should not be doing it is a free world I just post what works for me in my personal life and under my circumstances.  A wise man once told me an old Indian proverb “You can never fully understand someone until you have spent a day walking in their moccasins”.  None the less here are some facts about alcohol and its effects on the body.  Oh and one more side note I also have replaced my nightly beverage with Green Tea and yes I'm a total addict!!  I don't put sugar in it I like it plain but I drink like six cups a night, all different kinds as long as it's got green tea in it and I fresh brew it, no prepackaged teas!  

Alcohol and the Brain

Most of us have witnessed the outward signs of heavy drinking: the stumbling walk, slurred words and memory lapses. People who have been drinking have trouble with their balance, judgment and coordination. They react slowly to stimuli, which is why drinking before driving is so dangerous. All of these physical signs occur because of the way alcohol affects the brain and central nervous system.

Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Neurotransmitters are either excitatory, meaning that they stimulate brain electrical activity, or inhibitory, meaning that they decrease brain electrical activity. Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. GABA causes the sluggish movements and slurred speech that often occur in alcoholics. At the same time, alcohol inhibits the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Suppressing this stimulant results in a similar type of physiological slowdown. In addition to increasing the GABA and decreasing the glutamate in the brain, alcohol increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink.

Summary of alcohol's effects on the brain - Move your cursor over the colored bar in the lower left-hand corner to see which areas of the brain are affected by increasing BAC.

Alcohol affects the different regions of the brain in different ways:

• Cerebral cortex: In this region, where thought processing and consciousness are centered, alcohol depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers, making the person less inhibited; it slows down the processing of information from the eyes, ears, mouth and other senses; and it inhibits the thought processes, making it difficult to think clearly.
• Cerebellum: Alcohol affects this center of movement and balance, resulting in the staggering, off-balance swagger we associate with the so-called "falling-down drunk."
• Hypothalamus and pituitary: The hypothalamus and pituitary coordinate automatic brain functions and hormone release. Alcohol depresses nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance. Although sexual urge may increase, sexual performance decreases.
• Medulla: This area of the brain handles such automatic functions as breathing, consciousness and body temperature. By acting on the medulla, alcohol induces sleepiness. It can also slow breathing and lower body temperature, which can be life threatening.

In the short term, alcohol can cause blackouts -- short-term memory lapses in which people forget what occurred over entire stretches of time. The long-term effects on the brain can be even more damaging.

How Does Someone Become an Alcoholic?

Why is it that some people can drink socially and not become addicted while others become alcoholics? The reason has to do with a combination of genetic, physiological, psychological and social factors.

Genes may be an important factor triggering the development of alcoholism. Research has indicated that children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves; and while this statistic is at least partly due to environmental factors, scientists have determined that there is a genetic link. Researchers are working to pinpoint exactly which genes increase a person's risk of becoming an alcoholic in order to develop new medications to treat alcoholism.

Physiologically, alcohol alters the balance of chemicals in the brain. It affects chemicals in the brain's reward center, such as dopamine. The body eventually craves alcohol to restore pleasurable feelings and avoid negative feelings. People who already suffer from high stress or psychological problems such as low self esteem and depression are at higher risk for developing alcoholism.

Social factors such as peer pressure, advertising and environment also play an important role in the development of alcoholism. Young people often start drinking because their friends are doing so. Beer and liquor ads on television tend to portray drinking as a glamorous, exciting pastime.

Signs that someone might be an alcoholic include:

• Drinking to forget his or her problems
• Drinking alone often
• Lying about his or her drinking habits
• Losing interest in food
• Feeling unhappy or irritable when he or she is not drinking
• Losing memories of certain events ("blacking out")

Alcohol and Death

Alcohol is a poison, and it can kill. A person with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.35 and 0.50 percent can fall into a coma. Anyone with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.50 can die. People have died after drinking too much at once, as well as after consuming large amounts of alcohol steadily over a long period of time.

I suppose after finding all of these things out I decided that the risks of drinking far outweighed the reward let alone the actual week cost to purchase the product!

Peace to you thou no matter what your habits might be these are decisions we all have to make on our own.

Roketa Scooter Man