As my sis' posted, I went to her bar over the weekend with two friends of mine from school. I'd been to the bar once before with my parents and we just had dinner then headed out. This time though, there was a clearer goal for our expedition. I guess it's a bit of a right of passage, but for the most part I just figured that 16, 18, and 21 are the only birthdays worth celebrating.
In the past, my mom's made a few comments about how my sister and I are at a high risk for alcoholism genetically. So it stands to reason that I'd be a bit cautious now. Here (as with many other colleges I'm sure), it's popular to take brand new 21'ers to a few bars and pour booze into them for the majority of the evening until they throw up and fall down and whatnot. That didn't really appeal to me so I took some precautionary measures.
I changed my facebook profile so it wouldn't show my birthday so I could avoid any sort of big outing. I waited until the weekend so it wouldn't interfere with a hellish school week. I went to my sister's bar so she could keep an eye on me, and I went with two pretty good friends of mine because I trusted their judgment. Before the night began I also decided not to give in to peer pressure (My 5th grade D.A.R.E. teacher would be proud).
Overall I'd say it went pretty well. I didn't throw up, do anything stupid, or suffer a hangover the next morning. My sister brought me water during the night which probably helped. At one point my friend told me "Real men chug their beer." At the end of our outing when I said I was ready to go, he gave me a hard time and tried to convince me to take a shot of tequila; again questioning my masculinity. Well, while it may not have been the "manly" thing to do, I resisted both times, and that's probably why the next morning went so well.
While I'm happy with myself for tackling my 21st birthday responsibly, there are a few things that surprise and even worry me a little. I remember when I was younger, my dad let me try a sip of a beer once and it tasted horrible. I've always heard people say that it was an acquired taste. But when my birthday rolled around, I acquired it rather quickly. Perhaps too quickly. The other thing that worries me is how I feel right now.
A few years ago, my mom quit smoking and despite never having smoked, I started to get cravings. Usually not too bad, but one time out of nowhere I suddenly had an intense urge to smoke. Right now I find that I've got the same type of craving for a beer. Strange eh? Like I said, it worries me a bit. I guess my caution might be justified.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
At Risk for Alchoholism
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3 comments:
There was a headline in the Onion once that read, "Frat Brother dies when he drinks as much liquor as he bragged he could." Not a terribly funny joke, when you consider its basis in reality.
Plain and simple, Casey, keep in mind at all times that your body has limits. The best way to avoid a hangover is not drink so much in the first place. As for the cravings, what you do with them is what defines you, not whether or not you have them.
Kudos for standing your ground.
Besides, if a beer has to be chugged, then it has no business being consumed, more than likely its some piss-water-light-beer that some fruitcakes like because they think a porter or stout is "too heavy". Anyone offers you Keystone, Natural Light, Coors, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or Miller, you laugh in their face and ask for real beer.
Ya did good, bro. As far as cravings go, as much as I'm loathe to agree with John... what he said.
I have plenty of up close and personal experience with an alcoholic so I have words both encouraging and cautionary.
Cautionary: alcohol doesn't make anyone smart or pretty or clever or nice. It is a great leveler and makes everyone stupid or mean, or both. You doubtless already know this. Don't let a supposed "genetic" tendency scare you off of moderate drinking if you are so inclined. People assume I don't drink because my dad was a drunkard but in truth it's because it makes me so damn tired the next day that it's not worth it.
Encouraging: I don't think there is a genetic tendency towards alcoholism. It's a learned behavior and since you learn most of what you know from your family, it's logical that being a drunkard will run in families. All but one of my father's siblings, including dear old dad, was a drunk or drug addict, but guess what, they all had in common a mother who at best had borderline personality disorder and at worst was psychotic.
From my research on the subject, I have encountered the idea (that makes complete intuitive sense to me) that your really determined drunks actually would have a dual diagnosis if they were examined by a professional: usually depression and addiction. IN other words, for the drinking to get really bad and to stay bad, a drunk is most likely self-medicating, literally drinking to forget his problems. Like, for example, the kind of insanely abusive mother who makes every child feel like a special brand of shit.
So be mindful of your drinking, as you already are, and don't use alcohol as a drug to numb some inner pain, and you'll be fine.
And happy birthday!
Carol
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