The hidden dangers of alcohol

One of the most widely accepted drugs on this planet is alcohol.

I used to drink a lot of alcohol. Every weekend, I would drink a minimum of six beers each evening—Friday, six beers, and Saturday, six beers. My Sundays were spent recovering from the damage I had done to my body.

Of course, it was often more than just six beers. The six beers were just pre-drinks before going out.

For the past couple of years (maybe five), I have almost completely stopped drinking alcohol. Well, not completely, to be honest—I still drink about once a month. And when I do, I drink enough to really feel it.

So, I'm not claiming to be perfect by any means.

That being said, let's dive into what I’ve learned from reducing my alcohol consumption (I won’t say quitting completely, but I've definitely cut back significantly).

Social Confidence

This one is so common, yet it's the most overlooked. I actually realized this long before I quit alcohol.

The reason is that I forced myself to improve my social skills early in life, so I noticed this before many others might.

When I talk about social confidence, I primarily mean the confidence to say what you think and to talk to strangers.

Almost everyone consumes alcohol to “let loose” or to “de-stress.” Whether alcohol really de-stresses you is a topic for another day, but the truth is most people drink for those reasons. They want to feel looser, so their social brakes come off.

What do I mean by "social brakes"?

Most people have these brakes. They are afraid to let their real personality show because they fear being judged.

By social brakes, I also mean the hesitation to talk to strangers. It's socially unusual to strike up conversations with strangers, and there's a stigma around it.

It's not that you can’t talk to strangers, but it’s definitely out of the norm to start a conversation with someone you don’t know.

But deep down, there’s a natural drive to communicate and connect with others.

So, what do most people do? They drink until the brakes come off, until they feel loose.

That’s why clubs and bars are so much fun: strangers talk to strangers, and people let their true selves show without the brakes.

This has become so normal that people don’t even think about it anymore.

But here’s the truth: You don’t need alcohol to be social.

You can be social without alcohol. Shocker, right?

Most people just don’t want to face their inability to socialize. They’d rather escape reality than face the truth.

Escapism

This isn’t just specific to alcohol; it applies to all drugs and vices.

The previous point overlaps a lot with this one—the escapism of social inability. But I want to discuss escapism in a broader sense, not just in social situations.

I’m very familiar with this.

In my teens and early twenties, I was addicted to weed.

The reason I started smoking weed was to fit in. Yeah, I know—stupid, right?

The reason I kept smoking was to escape my bad thoughts, instead of dealing with them. Being an introvert and a deep thinker, I always struggled with overthinking and falling asleep.

Weed seemed to fix both problems. But after a while, I was relying on it to numb my thoughts and help me sleep.

Unsurprisingly, I ended up with a bigger problem: a weed addiction.

It took a lot to quit.

Nowadays, I practice mindfulness and meditation, which not only helps me with my thoughts but also helps me fall asleep much faster.

That’s what you call solving the root problem—the exact opposite of escapism.

Back to alcohol: maybe there’s another reason you drink. Maybe it's stress from work, or maybe your relationship isn’t going great.

I don’t know your situation, but I’m sure there’s something in your life you’re trying to escape.

Alcohol is so universally accepted that it’s easy to hide your problems behind a haze of drunkenness.

And because it’s easy, it’s also easy to be unaware that you’re running away from your problems.

Damage to Your Body and Brain

This one’s obvious.

It’s no secret that alcohol is bad for your body.

• High blood pressure

• Heart attacks

• Strokes

• Lung infections

And of course, alcohol will make you gain weight. For those who don’t know, there's something called a beer belly.

I think about 80% of male adults over 40 suffer from this.

Beyond the physical effects, alcohol also damages your brain.

There are tons of videos online, like those from Andrew Huberman, talking about the dangers of alcohol on the brain:

• Brain degeneration

• Stress

• Sleep issues

And I haven’t even mentioned the stupid decisions people make while under the influence, but I won’t get into that here.

Social Outcast

Sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with the world.

When I reduced or stopped drinking alcohol, people started labeling me as “the weird guy who doesn’t have fun.”

Because alcohol is so ingrained in our society, people don’t think twice about drinking.

It’s as if all the negatives of alcohol are completely ignored.

But the worst part is that people look at you strangely if you don’t drink at social events.

The reason many people find it hard to reduce or quit alcohol is purely due to peer pressure.

I can’t even count the number of times people said, “We’ll see,” when I told them I was quitting or cutting back on alcohol.

The Infinite Loop

This is the worst part, and it wraps up all the previous points into one big negative.

Imagine this scenario:

You hate your job, so you drink on the weekends to de-stress (escapism). You lack confidence, so you drink to gain artificial confidence (again, escapism). But in the process, you gain weight and ruin your body (damage to your body).

Now you’re overweight and unhealthy. Your confidence drops even more.

By Monday, you’ve messed up your sleep routine because you had late nights drinking with your friends.

The whole week flies by because you’re working. Stress builds up, and the only way to relieve it (in your mind) is by drinking alcohol.

And so, the cycle repeats itself until you retire and wonder where your life went.

You tried to stop at some point, but everyone around you treated you like an alien for even trying to quit or cut back.

Combine that with a lack of confidence and high work stress, and it becomes easier to keep drinking.

Sound familiar?

Yeah, that’s the life of most adults.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you have to make your own choices.

I just wanted to share my perspective and what I’ve observed around me. I just want to make you more aware of the choices you’re making.

Whether you drink or not is entirely up to you.

That said, thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your day.

At the end of the day, your choices shape your life. If you're ready to take control of your fitness and learn from someone with 15 years of consistent training experience, I'm here to help you shortcut your progress.

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