Alcohol: The REAL After Party…

the real after party

drug is a drug. I feel like that’s a really valid point. Any drug has the potential to cause addiction and some drugs are a bit more socially acceptable than others. For instance, it would be frowned upon for someone to shoot up heroin at a college party but drinking until you black out, make a ton of bad decisions, and have to do the “walk of shame” in the morning is considered totally fine. We live in a society that completely glorifies over-consumption and getting really messed up. Celebrities, movies, advertisements, ad infinitum portray the egregious use of alcohol and drugs and put a sort of spin on it that makes it look like it’s totally normal, fun, and acceptable behavior.

After the club, it’s the after party…

Drinking and getting plastered, wasted, whatever, definitely has its downside and pitfalls. People need to realize that alcohol, while one of the first drugs a person tries, is also one of the most hardcore drugs out there. When it comes to “hard drugs,” people usually think of heroin or meth. When people think of softer drugs, they usually put pot and alcohol in that category. Why is that? Alcohol is one of the deadliest drugs out there and the withdrawal from alcohol can actually kill you. It’s one of the few drug withdrawals that can be absolutely deadly if a person isn’t medically supervised.

But no one tells you that when you drink your first beer. It’s a coming-of-age experience, most people think. No one ever tells you that alcohol is not only highly addictive, but it can also ruin your life and the lives of the people around you. No one told you that alcohol can lead you to one bad decision after another, especially getting behind the wheel of car after you’ve had too many. And no one told you that alcohol can cause you to hook up with the wrong person, leaving you alone in bed the next morning having caught gonorrhea or a host of other STDs. And no one ever told you that alcohol could land you in rehab for the 6th time in a year when you’re 40 years old, unable to keep your life together because alcohol has taken everything away from you.

While Hollywood is busy making alcohol look sexy, musicians are telling you that in order to have fun you need to get “crunk” at the after party, and the liquor ads show you beautiful people loving life while drinking a martini—none of them tell you about the real after party. They don’t show someone hugging a toilet with vomit running down their chin after having too much to drink. They also don’t show the person in the bathroom stall next to them, half dressed, who they just slept with. They also don’t show that person, two days later who just realized they caught something from the person in that bathroom. The world also doesn’t show you the family grieving the loss of their loved one after they drove their car 70 mph into a light pole. They don’t show the other family visiting their loved one through a pane of glass because they killed a family when they decided to drink and drive.

The real after party sucks. While many people can drink successfully, many others cannot. Many people wind up in the grips of an addiction to a substance that’s been around for thousands of years and caused the downfalls of many societies and leaders. Don’t let the media fool you; alcohol is one of the most dangerous and deadliest drugs out there. And the rabbit hole is the same as with any other drug. Don’t let its legal status sway you—alcohol is a drug! And if you need help getting off of it, find a drug rehab program that will actually be able to get to the root of your problem. That’s the only way out…

AUTHOR

Jason Good

Jason has been working in the field of addiction and recovery for over 11 years. Having been an addict himself he brings real-word experience to the table when helping addicts and their families, while also offering a first-person perspective to the current drug crisis. Jason is passionate about educating the public about what’s currently going on in our society, and thankfully, offers practical solutions. Jason is also the co-host of The Addiction Podcast—Point of No Return. You can follow Jason on Google+, Twitter, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

NARCONON SUNCOAST

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION