We see and hear about excessive drinking in celebrity gossip columns and shows, but more in a “she had fun” and “isn’t she wild” kind of way. Which begs the question: is substance abuse and addiction already a norm?
When I started modeling and traveling on my own, I thought it would be a temporary period of heavy drinking. Passing out drunk several nights per week was “the norm”. I always figured it’d slow down after I officially graduated into “the real world”. I mean, how could working adults function at their jobs if they drank this much?
Well, I graduated and found out that, although most working women don’t get pass-out drunk on work nights (well, not usually!), they certainly do drink heavily, and the same pressure is there to partake. Networking over drinks, dinner meetings, hanging with friends… it all adds up, and before you know it you’ve had way more alcohol than your calorie counter (or liver) wanted you to.
We all know that drinking is socially accepted, and that drinking to excess is, unfortunately, often encouraged by friends. Despite it being a social activity, some people fall into addiction in times of extreme stress. (hello: working women!) Studies have shown that stress can become the driving force behind addiction and –get this– it can go the other way around. Substance abuse also leads to your body creating more stress hormones, which causes a cyclical process that spares only the very strong-willed and resilient.
Researchers will tell you that alcohol and drug use affects the parts of the brain that are associated with rewards. Occasional drinking as a stress-reliever is a societally “normal” coping mechanism for individuals …but once chronic stress leads to habitual use of drugs and alcohol …then we have a problem.
For some people, using substances provides a rush similar to extreme sports. When a surfer conquers a wave, she will look for a bigger one. Consequently, dopamine levels in extreme sports enthusiasts and risk-takers return to a low initial level after an activity that introduces an adrenaline rush. Likewise, an addict experiences the same rush to find a more fulfilling fix.
Say, for example, you get that job promotion in Paris. Your dopamine (feel-good brain chemicals) level increases immediately by 10-15%. Drugs and alcohol can increase that level three-fold, but there are consequences. For example, if you’re overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated, you may have the tendency to go to the pub and grab a margarita with colleagues in the same situation. This act, however, prompts your brain to go into stress mode by activating its stress systems and makes your brain particularly susceptible to the addictive impact of the alcohol. This, ladies, is how you get hooked.
Occasional drinking is actually socially-accepted. However, addiction should not be.
People unintentionally get addicted, and the pattern begins with chronic stress. There are plenty of ways for an individual to resist substances, and the most effective is to reduce stress in your life. Here are some tricks to keeping yourself away from stressors:
Keep yourself busy and productive
Keep your mind working on other things such as hobbies and interests. Go to the gym, write on your blog, or do crafts. These give you a feeling of satisfaction, and what you achieve gets you on a similar high. To boot, you end up with a great body, a thought-provoking article, or jewelry that you can sell or give as gifts.
Take time for a breather
This includes socializing or going out for a snack or pot of tea. Short breaks relieve you mentally and physically and can even improve your concentration.
Rethink or reconsider your time management scheme
Sometimes stress is induced by mismanagement of tasks. Urgent tasks and multitasking sometimes get too overwhelming, and you end up losing yourself in them. Try using software to keep track of your To-Dos and reminders.
Ask for help
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Rather, it entails the courage to admit that you are not strong enough to handle a task alone.
We are all prone to stress. With the multiple roles we play both at home and at work, it’s easy to succumb to the easy and temporary way out. However, the best solution is to address the problem head-on.
Do you use substances more when you’re stressed out? How do you deal?
The problem with drug abuse is that at a certain point in time, you’re fine with mild drugs. It all gets worse once you start feeling like you can no longer get high with just marijuana, so you result to doing something else.
Self-control is the key here, at least in terms of consuming alcohol. Drugs are of a different story.
At first, the alcohol and drugs are a choice. But in the long run, people can no longer stop themselves no matter what effort they do. It’s what these substances do. Don’t blame those who had poor choices when they thought that nothing else was the best option at that time.
It’s so easy to say that, “Hey, I’m feeling stressed so I’m going to go knit the f*** out of my negative feelings.” But nobody really does that. In fact, I haven’t even met any individual that has done something good in reaction to feelings of stress. Other people even result to stress eating when they’re feeling down, so eitherway, it may not be substance or alcohol but stress eating is still a negative behavior. Whoever results into doing something productive whilst feeling stressed should have a shrine. I’ll worship you.?
Recovering with an addiction is a choice that’s harder to do for some people. Always remember that before you even start using substances and alcohol. Nobody ever tried drugs and alcohol without knowing that it can be addictive. Most of us are equipped with that basic knowledge already.
I agree. More or less, the person already knew what he/she was getting into.
Personally, I think addiction is just a result of poor choices. Those who have developed a state of dependency on a certain habit are those who are easily broken.
Addiction obviously isn’t normal. Whether it’s in substance, alcohol or even smoking. I would agree that most people unconsciously get themselves into an addiction, but I also believe that the rest of that population has agreed to engage and dwell in that addiction because that’s what they choose. We’re not born yesterday and we all know how repeated consuming of certain vices can lead to an addiction. I guess there’s really something about doing something bad that makes people feel so good.
That’s the sad reality we live in now.
People who have weaker emotional quotient result to addiction to cope with their problems.
Always be positive in life. Even if you’re going through something difficult, always think the best of it. It really helps, although it’s such a very naive thing to do for most, it’s better than resulting to substance abuse.?
Another reason why most people develop an addiction to alcohol and substances is that they prefer self-destructive behavior that makes them feel free, compared to doing the list of things you stated in this article, getting drunk and high seems to be the “more fun” option. I never got addicted to anything even back in the days although I did engage in a couple of unruly behavior, but for me, that feeling of being free and the fact that you’re so high you can’t afford to feel low, is the reason why some feel that it’s better to engage in that activity rather than arts and crafts.
Yes, this is very true. Freedom is the word that we all want to feel.