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?
I have to agree on this one. Even the younger generation will have bigger problems because of this.
So many people are prone to addiction nowadays because proper communication isn’t done the right way anymore. Instead of hanging out with each other doing clean fun, people just rant through text and social media. Personally, no one actually benefits from that. Nobody overcame a problem just by texting and social media? It’s human contact that we need and being present in other people’s lives personally, not just through text or snapchat. We’ve become so indulged in the digital world that a lot of people are getting lonely and depressed already.
It all starts with that partying that is masked with fun and all that jazz. Until you realize that you’ve been partying 3x a week and alcohol is just like water to you.
Addiction is never normal. However, others have mental issues that’s why they result to that. While I can’t say that’s normal, it’s an in-born thing.
If people just need serotonin in their lives, which in layman terms is just being happy, why is that so hard to do???
Sometimes, these people can no longer choose to stop using the substance. I don’t think it’s their fault though.
I don’t think it’s their fault either. Consider the fact that some people are really going through a tough time that isn’t just “stress”.
The problem is that if you ask for help, the best advice other people can give you is to drink the night away. Worst is, if you’re surrounded by junkie friends, you’re not in a good position either. Since people who are under stress can’t necessarily make the best logical decisions, they’re bound to succumb to the temptation. Until they realize that it was so fun that one time, they’ll want to go back to that feeling as soon as they undergo stress again. It really is a bad cycle of bad habits and bad decisions.
As human beings, we always have a choice. Social drinking is a choice, occasional drinking is a choice, substance abuse is a choice, everything is a choice.? If we found ourselves already in that state, help is always there. Yet, people don’t seek it. It’s still a choice.
In my opinion, most people just need someone to be there for them in a positive way. Everyone needs that person who will always take away the bad feelings without the use of alcohol and drugs… It’s so rare to find those kinds of friends lately…
People who simply love to party are those who usually lead to an addiction. They don’t even think about how many drinks they’ve had and they can’t even rationalize how much partying in a week they’re doing. Since they’re surrounded by people who like the same thing and enjoy the same thing, they think that their behavior is really normal. Just imagine being surrounded by so many people who love to party as much as you do, would you even have the epiphany that what you’re doing is wrong? Of course not.
This is true. Even as mature adults, we’re bound to justify behavior that we also see in other people.