A Sobering Thought
I am not a drunk.
But I definitely have a problem with alcohol.
Several, actually. One of the biggest being… I think drunks are boring.
I mention that first because it’s a point friends and relatives forget to stress when they try to convince heavy drinkers to clean up their acts. We all know alcohol is bad for our livers… and for the rest of our bodies, and we all know we can’t drive a car or do anything else as well when we have had a few drinks. But many people seem to believe they become more interesting when they are on the booze. My take on that? Bullshit! Okay, some people loosen up and become more fun at first, but that only applies to one or two drinks. After that, I’ve found most people become hard work. And I’ve tested that opinion by staying sober at parties, family gatherings and other social events while the people around me have got stuck in.
If you’ve never tried doing that, I think you may find it interesting… for a while. But then, like I say, it will become very boring, and I’ve found even normally interesting people become tiresome if you add enough alcohol.
Before we go any further, I should explain I often drink wine with dinner and that I enjoy going to the pub with friends… once in a while, and I have no plans to stop either of those things. But I have cut back on how much and how often I drink alcohol ever since I noticed the unhealthy effects it was having on my body, my wallet… and my personality.
And the personality thing isn’t confined to being less interesting than usual. It also concerns self-censorship. As in, I am far more likely to say something I regret the next day when I’m drinking. As a matter of fact, that’s what happened last week when I travelled to the United States to visit my brother and sisters.
After a few drinks at our reunion gathering, I decided to share my alternative views on world events. But I went too far… especially since I can’t prove any of my opinions, and I’m afraid I upset a few people, and that made me feel upset myself. If I hadn’t been drinking, I think I would have realised that evening was not the time for a political lecture.
Anyway, during the week I spent catching up with my family, the topic of ‘too much to drink’ came up several times. And judging from what my brother and sisters told me, and from what I observed, alcohol contributes to many of the problems they have with their partners and with each other. And if I’m not careful, I can see how it could contribute to problems people have with me.
The thing is, my family are not big drinkers and their consumption levels would be considered normal in both Botswana and the UK. But since booze seems to be having negative effects on their family lives, maybe heavy drinkers are not the only ones that have to be careful with alcohol. Maybe we all do.
For me, that’s a sobering thought.