Alcohol is commonly consumed by most adults globally where people have a variety of opinions and approaches towards it. The most popular use of alcohol today is to drink socially with friends and family and/or to signify a celebration. When used sensibly in respectful amounts, alcohol can help oil the wheels at a social event, but it isn’t really necessary per se.
However, when used irresponsibly, alcohol can very quickly have a negative effect on everything ranging from regrettable physical, verbal or mental actions and as a result detract from your own enjoyment of a life experience. Concerned about yourself or someone you know? Then read on for Alcohol: 5 Ways it Can Seriously Undermine Your Happiness.
1. Quick Dependency Factor
Alcohol has particular effects on an individual that, in small doses, may seem fun and enjoyable, for example, feeling more at ease and confident in a social situation. However, this enjoyable, rapid fix of confidence can be seen as far too easily accessible to some people and suddenly alcohol turns from an enjoyable drink to a dependency.
This will affect an individual’s happiness dramatically as they may think happiness and confidence is connected with alcohol when it can be the very same tool to achieve that which is viewed as irresponsible and upsetting.
2. Very Temporary Effect
Alcohol has only a temporary effect due to the effectiveness of an individual’s liver which filters and processes alcohol that’s consumed in a relatively short time.
This means if an individual becomes reliant or addicted to alcohol, they would have to consume more of it regularly to feel the same ‘high’ effect. This can quickly decrease an individual’s happiness as the addiction cycle begins to become steadily and imperceptibly more entrenched resulting in a regular consumption and defence of the habit. This is a weak minded decision – and be sure IT IS A CHOICE, that YOU make.
3. Alcohol Addiction
To combine the two points above, alcohol can become a habit of dependency and, as since its effects are only temporary, an individual’s consumption of alcohol can very quickly accelerate out of hand.
Once this habit becomes normalised, it becomes very difficult for the individual to look past the fact that they have developed an addiction to drink, as their ego becomes defensive about it. This addiction can result in an extremely unhappy individual who will very likely experience a decline in long term mental health and a feeling of loss or self-control, let alone the damaging impact it has on relationships.
If you have a tendency to addiction, steer clear of all alcohol and substitute water or juice or tea until THAT becomes a habit – problem solved!
4. Weight Gain
One of the reasons why alcohol is advised to be used carefully (if it ‘has to’ be) in small amounts is because it is itself an unhealthy drink.
High in calories, sugar and causing you to gain weight, alcohol is often overlooked as unhealthy and successfully hides its level of calories in each glass. For example, in a medium glass of red wine there are 125 calories, a bottle of beer has 150 calories and a pina colada on average 450 calories. With overconsumption, an individual can start to gain weight surprisingly quickly and this weight gain can, in turn, start to affect mental health and contribute to making one miserable.
5. Biologically Harmful
With too much alcohol over a prolonged period of time, it can start to negatively impact you physically and your vital organs can also be permanently damaged. For example, liver damage is a definite result of too much alcohol being filtered through it. Nerve damage can occur as critical physical and mental reaction times slow down to dangerous levels. All of this can undermine an individual’s happiness as, depending on severity of habit, the effects can reach the point of being physically irreversible. The net result being that the individual regrets ever bothering with alcohol.
