Interesting the associations we make with alcohol and the reasons
we come up with to indulge. A significant one is as ND pointed out, The
Weekend. I drank one day of the weekend for years and never entertained the
thought of having a problem.
But what happens when the weekend is gone, it’s
a Tuesday and someone comes to visit? First thing I always do is offer an alcoholic drink if it’s past noon.
Now, I have an excuse to drink again. How about when something bad happens...have
a drink to relax, the kids or significant other is being a pain…drink, happy,
let’s celebrate with a drink. Hmmm, the weekend, company, family, sad, happy, oh,
the weather is beautiful, time to sit outside and have a drink. Now the weather
is cold and snowy, nothing like sitting by a warm fire or with your favorite TV
show and enjoying a drink. Finished work, have a drink, holidays…drink. The day has started…need a drink to take the
edge off.
Easy to understand how a person can go from having one
trigger to many. Essentially there is nothing that is not a trigger anymore. AV
has taken over and your world revolves around the next excuse to have a drink. Not surprising when first quitting how you can
get yourself wound up when considering all the trigger hurdles you must clear.
It takes time to readjust (rewire) how you think and relate to alcohol. Alcohol
deserves to be respected for the drug that it is and be treated as potentially
dangerous.
Dangerous as in anemia, cancer, cardiovascular disease,
cirrhosis, dementia, depression, seizures, gout, high blood pressure,
infectious disease, nerve damage and pancreatitis.
Yes, it is difficult to give up all that glamour…glamour
that is not regaled to just the weekend.
So, are you ready?
TS