Do you use alcohol as a coping mechanism? Many people do without knowing. In this video, you’ll learn 9 Tips For Alcohol Addiction Treatment and how to use more healthy coping mechanisms.
Check out the full blog post👇
https://www.sandstonecare.com/resources/substance-abuse/alcohol/alcohol-use-as-a-coping-mechanism
For substance use or mental health support for teens and young adults call (855) 958-5511 or live chat with us at https://www.sandstonecare.com/
Alcohol Use as a Coping Mechanism
Alcohol abuse and dependence can often arise from the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism. American culture celebrates alcohol as a way to unwind after a hard day at work, drown sorrow in hard times, and as a social lubricant in all sorts of situations. However, using alcohol as a catch-all way to balance out emotional experiences or become less present has some real consequences.
What is a Coping Mechanism?
A coping mechanism is something that helps a person deal with something that is difficult for them. While all coping mechanisms provide the person using them with a real or perceived benefit, some coping mechanisms have more negative consequences associated with them. Unfortunately, alcohol is a coping mechanism the temporary benefits of which are often outweighed by the long-term negative effects on health and relationships, poor decision-making under the influence, as well as increased dependency.
People may use alcohol to cope with:
Difficult emotions
Challenging life events: death of a family member, a break-up, illness, etc.
Boredom
Stress
Insomnia
Trauma / PTSD symptoms
Social anxiety
Alcohol functions to slow down the central nervous system, creating feelings of relaxation. It also reduces inhibition, judgment, and memory. Because of these qualities, alcohol becomes a way to distance from stressors or challenges an individual may be facing. For some, grabbing a drink is the easiest way to deal with something they don’t know how or do not want to handle. Continued avoidance of life’s challenges and lack of healthy coping mechanisms can be direct facilitators of problematic drinking down the road.
Who Uses Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism?
People from all walks of life use alcohol as a coping mechanism, from business people stressed by a heavy workload, to college students overwhelmed by social anxiety, to veterans suffering from PTSD. People with a family history of alcoholism may be more prone to using alcohol as a coping method because alcohol may have been the method used by parents or relatives. Individuals who use alcohol to cope may not be equipped with adaptive coping skills that help to work through challenges rather than mask them. With a lack of healthy coping mechanisms, anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders are not uncommon among people who use alcohol to cope.
Dangers of Alcohol Use as a Coping Mechanism
Addiction. Whether or not substance abuse and/or addiction run in your family, all people experience increased tolerance for alcohol the more and longer that they drink. More alcohol is required to achieve the same effect. In extreme cases of physical dependence on alcohol, a person can become so addicted that they experience withdrawal symptoms without the substance, such as tremors, sweating, insomnia, headaches and more. Alcohol withdrawal can be fatal in severe cases.
Damage to Relationships. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism tends to have consequences in relationships. At best, it has a tendency to create distance between loved ones. At worst, it can contribute to anger, fighting, and irresponsible behavior in relationships.
Failure to develop alternate coping skills. If a person is constantly using alcohol to, for example, avoid feelings of sadness and loneliness, they may fail to develop other ways of managing this distress, such as developing close relationships, practicing mindfulness, or seeking help from a mental health professional. Alcohol becomes a crutch and a barrier to developing more adaptive or effective coping strategies.
Developing Alternate Coping Skills
One of the most effective ways of addressing alcohol dependence and abuse that arises from using alcohol as a coping mechanism is to develop other effective coping mechanisms. Rather than simply resolving to “stop drinking,” which removes one coping skill without replacing it with another, it is important to have other skills in place. After all, you were drinking for a reason, so it’s important to address that reason and find other ways to meet the need it filled.
#alcoholtreatment
#addiction
#substanceabuse
){kind=link}
Comments
Comments are disabled for this post.