Coping with alcohol

Coping: escape and alternatives

Difficulties are part of life: big or small, fleeting or persistent... we don't choose them. When confronted with them, there are always two options: avoid them or face them head-on.

Faced with a problem, we can sometimes feel powerless: the solutions we usually use don't work, we lack the energy or courage to confront the new. Escape then seems the only possible way out of the difficulty, as other solutions seem unattainable.
However, just because no solution is obvious at the time doesn't mean there isn't an effective one. Talking to someone you trust, or asking a professional for help, can unblock a seemingly deadlocked situation. Seeking advice or assistance is not a sign of weakness, but a way of starting to solve the problem. What's more, sometimes explaining the problem out loud to another person can provide a glimpse of the solution, or at least a way of finding out how to tackle the situation.

And what about alcohol? Alcohol makes it easier to forget disappointments, weaknesses and problems... and stress can be reduced. It's a way of escaping (for a while) from difficulties, but it's not an adequate solution, because it doesn't solve anything! When we refuse to face up to the problem, we "bypass" it, and it remains unchanged: it's still very much with us, and we risk being reminded of it by one or other symptom, specific to each individual: anxiety, anguish, tension, migraine, insomnia... If we continue to avoid the problem despite these symptoms, the body can then really rebel: physical and psychological exhaustion, depression... and the longer we persist in avoiding the problem, the more serious the consequences are likely to be.
In short, once the "anaesthetic" effect of alcohol has worn off, the problem will resurface, accompanied by symptoms that may have become much more severe, leaving you with even more to deal with than in the initial situation...

If, instead of fleeing into alcohol, you choose to accept your difficulty, face it head-on, analyze it and look for an effective way to overcome it, you'll emerge stronger and with better self-esteem. Alcohol, on the other hand, merely masks things temporarily, even making them worse, and undermining our self-confidence and our ability to deal with the situation.

Trying to "forget", even temporarily, a small or big problem with one or more glasses of alcohol is not a solution !