Good morning Kim, thank you so much for this tutorial on “when your brain gets hijacked“. It is educational and so sound an explanation on a subject that I have not really fully understood very well. You did a great job of dealing with the myths and the misrepresentations as well as the reality of what’s occurring with addiction.
What a scary thought to think that the brain can take over your entire thought process.
It’s definitely complicated. Drinking greatly exacerbated my depression so I’m not saying that it’s a cure by any means. My comment was to highlight that it’s not black and white and certainly not a moral issue.
This is a great article. One myth I'd like to debunk is substance abuse serves no purpose. On the contrary, sometimes it's the only choice.
For example, I have anxiety and bipolar disorder. Before addressing these issues, alcohol served an important medicinal function--helping me regulate my moods and quell my body's perpetual alarm state. Alcohol temporarily saved my sanity and therefore my life. In a twisted way, I'm thankful for it because I may have done something life-threatening had it not been an option. However, the unfortunate consequence is overuse lead to overdependence--a once faithful friend morphed into a cunning enemy. I imagine people who become addicted to painkillers after using them for a legitimate medical condition can relate.
I say this to highlight the complexity inherent to any discussion of substance abuse and addiction. Society must recognize shades of grey for meaningful support and guidance.
Thank you for chiming in! I'm not sure I would agree that alcohol use may be the only choice to help with anxiety or mental health struggles. Alcohol can actually bring on new anxiety in people or worsen pre-existing anxiety symptoms in others. Many will use alcohol as an unhealthy coping tool to reduce symptoms of anxiety. None of this makes drinking okay. Many people feel like alcohol relieves their stress, but it's actual one of the biggest lies. Chronic alcohol use actually affects your ability to respond to stress in healthy ways, because you have become addicted to this incredibly toxic substance. It's the common debate - the chicken or the egg.
Thanks for sharing your honest story and these myths and truths about addiction. I've seen these truths in my own life and in my loved ones' stories. It's helpful to know it on both sides.
Such a great exercise to consider how folks outside of recovery circles might think about these things and what questions they might have. I definitely spend a lot of my time in a (lovely) sobriety bubble!
I think the myth that gets to me the most is that moderate alcohol use is healthy; even if someone doesn’t suffer from alcohol use disorder, alcohol is profoundly addictive and harmful - to all humans.
Ugh truly baffling 😵💫😩 but thankfully this trend is shifting with younger generations. But it’s incredible the damage one or two people can do - wasn’t it an ill informed 60 Minutes segment from the 90s that spread false facts about how wine was good for the heart?! We are still undoing the damage from that. Yikes.
Good morning Kim, thank you so much for this tutorial on “when your brain gets hijacked“. It is educational and so sound an explanation on a subject that I have not really fully understood very well. You did a great job of dealing with the myths and the misrepresentations as well as the reality of what’s occurring with addiction.
What a scary thought to think that the brain can take over your entire thought process.
Thank you so much for your Writing today.
Dad 👌
It’s definitely complicated. Drinking greatly exacerbated my depression so I’m not saying that it’s a cure by any means. My comment was to highlight that it’s not black and white and certainly not a moral issue.
Absolutely never a moral issue. Thanks for your insight! ❤️
This is a great article. One myth I'd like to debunk is substance abuse serves no purpose. On the contrary, sometimes it's the only choice.
For example, I have anxiety and bipolar disorder. Before addressing these issues, alcohol served an important medicinal function--helping me regulate my moods and quell my body's perpetual alarm state. Alcohol temporarily saved my sanity and therefore my life. In a twisted way, I'm thankful for it because I may have done something life-threatening had it not been an option. However, the unfortunate consequence is overuse lead to overdependence--a once faithful friend morphed into a cunning enemy. I imagine people who become addicted to painkillers after using them for a legitimate medical condition can relate.
I say this to highlight the complexity inherent to any discussion of substance abuse and addiction. Society must recognize shades of grey for meaningful support and guidance.
Thank you for chiming in! I'm not sure I would agree that alcohol use may be the only choice to help with anxiety or mental health struggles. Alcohol can actually bring on new anxiety in people or worsen pre-existing anxiety symptoms in others. Many will use alcohol as an unhealthy coping tool to reduce symptoms of anxiety. None of this makes drinking okay. Many people feel like alcohol relieves their stress, but it's actual one of the biggest lies. Chronic alcohol use actually affects your ability to respond to stress in healthy ways, because you have become addicted to this incredibly toxic substance. It's the common debate - the chicken or the egg.
Thanks for sharing your honest story and these myths and truths about addiction. I've seen these truths in my own life and in my loved ones' stories. It's helpful to know it on both sides.
Absolutely. And there’s so much more we can add to this discussion to keep the conversation going. Thanks for being here 🙏🏻
Such a great exercise to consider how folks outside of recovery circles might think about these things and what questions they might have. I definitely spend a lot of my time in a (lovely) sobriety bubble!
I think the myth that gets to me the most is that moderate alcohol use is healthy; even if someone doesn’t suffer from alcohol use disorder, alcohol is profoundly addictive and harmful - to all humans.
Ugh truly baffling 😵💫😩 but thankfully this trend is shifting with younger generations. But it’s incredible the damage one or two people can do - wasn’t it an ill informed 60 Minutes segment from the 90s that spread false facts about how wine was good for the heart?! We are still undoing the damage from that. Yikes.
I love this. Thanks for sharing
Thanks so much for reading Traci!! 🙏🏻