impulsive drinking - 85066
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:40 pm
http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/85066/
So, as someone who has lived experience with drinking, I wanted to jump in here and say that everything in this question seems to illustrate a way of thinking that is going to lead to unhealthy patterns and attitudes towards alcohol, and this is a vicious cycle just waiting to happen.
First, I think anyone who chooses to drink needs to educate themselves. You need to be able to know what a unit of various types of liquor is, what is a safe amount to drink without long-term damage (less than you think: it's probably no more than one unit a day for a woman, and if you are going to go "get drunk" on NYE, please, at least don't do it on an empty stomach and alternate with water!), and have a designated driver/non-repressed safety friend if you're in a party scene.
I have always been a pretty anxious person, and it got worse and worse in my twenties. I look back and am alarmed by some of the assumptions that were there: here I was, in all likelihood self-medicating a mental health condition, and I felt that it had to be a deep, dark secret. And finding a support network, some not from an LDS background, some were, was actually much more instrumental to me not going down what could have been a self-destructive path, and fast, than this idea of external punishment. I think that lying is a bigger integrity problem than not following the Word of Wisdom, frankly.
I think there are issues around this that don't have to do solely with a framework of "sin" and "repentance" (though, to be clear, I 'm not discounting that as a framework if you think that applies to you). I think that finding someone: a counselor? A friend's parent? A doctor? to talk about the reasons you want to drink is important from some of the language you use.
Maybe I have strong opinions on this, because someone I considered one of my closest friends was also raised in a strongly conservative religion and is a full-blown alcoholic. There's a stereotype (maybe especially among Mormons) of the alcoholic in the gutter, someone who has just completely lost control of their life, finances, and hygiene, and though substance abuse is certainly a problem among the homeless population, this guy is a successful, attractive, professional. But I am almost certain that his drinking started as an anxiety thing, and became a self-reinforcing loop where he started living something of a double life, in my opinion ("feel[ing] trapped or constrained as a result").
Why not asked to be released from the calling you don't enjoy anyway and do some soul-searching out of what you DO want in life? That right there sums up What Made Me Happier In Life.
To be clear, I'm not teetotal. I still enjoy wine and beer, and if someone, even Mormon, wants to, that's their choice. But I think the social situation is especially conducive to unhealthy behavior. /rambling
So, as someone who has lived experience with drinking, I wanted to jump in here and say that everything in this question seems to illustrate a way of thinking that is going to lead to unhealthy patterns and attitudes towards alcohol, and this is a vicious cycle just waiting to happen.
First, I think anyone who chooses to drink needs to educate themselves. You need to be able to know what a unit of various types of liquor is, what is a safe amount to drink without long-term damage (less than you think: it's probably no more than one unit a day for a woman, and if you are going to go "get drunk" on NYE, please, at least don't do it on an empty stomach and alternate with water!), and have a designated driver/non-repressed safety friend if you're in a party scene.
I have always been a pretty anxious person, and it got worse and worse in my twenties. I look back and am alarmed by some of the assumptions that were there: here I was, in all likelihood self-medicating a mental health condition, and I felt that it had to be a deep, dark secret. And finding a support network, some not from an LDS background, some were, was actually much more instrumental to me not going down what could have been a self-destructive path, and fast, than this idea of external punishment. I think that lying is a bigger integrity problem than not following the Word of Wisdom, frankly.
I think there are issues around this that don't have to do solely with a framework of "sin" and "repentance" (though, to be clear, I 'm not discounting that as a framework if you think that applies to you). I think that finding someone: a counselor? A friend's parent? A doctor? to talk about the reasons you want to drink is important from some of the language you use.
Maybe I have strong opinions on this, because someone I considered one of my closest friends was also raised in a strongly conservative religion and is a full-blown alcoholic. There's a stereotype (maybe especially among Mormons) of the alcoholic in the gutter, someone who has just completely lost control of their life, finances, and hygiene, and though substance abuse is certainly a problem among the homeless population, this guy is a successful, attractive, professional. But I am almost certain that his drinking started as an anxiety thing, and became a self-reinforcing loop where he started living something of a double life, in my opinion ("feel[ing] trapped or constrained as a result").
Why not asked to be released from the calling you don't enjoy anyway and do some soul-searching out of what you DO want in life? That right there sums up What Made Me Happier In Life.
To be clear, I'm not teetotal. I still enjoy wine and beer, and if someone, even Mormon, wants to, that's their choice. But I think the social situation is especially conducive to unhealthy behavior. /rambling