Ooo, Alcohol!

Hello my loves!!!

I have not been here in an age and a half... Been ever too lazy to update, even though I have absolutely nothing to do since I ended my contract a while ago. Been to lazy to get to the gym too, and I am turning into a cow. A pregnant cow.

Ah well, such is life.

I guess I should address the whole idea of drinking. Alcohol, that is, not water. I will not hide the fact that I drink. *gasp* *horror* What an idea!!! How terrible!!

Really? How terrible is it, truly?

Now, let us explore this uncharted territory, uncharted for most of you anyway.

In my personal opinion, there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol, may it be beer, wine, whiskey, gin, tequila, whatever. In itself, there is nothing wrong with it, as far as I can tell. It can be nice to drink, depending on your personal tastebuds, and is often a social lubricant. Drinking at home, in a club, pub, or bar, is all the same to me. Alcohol is. Being devoid of an awareness, it cannot influence, persuade, coerce, or manipulate, anyone into drinking it. It is simply there. So , we agree that alcohol is not in itself 'bad'? Good. Let us carry on from there.

Let us take a look at the effects of alcohol on a person.

Alcohol is a sedative hypnotic. It is a powerful drug available to virtually anyone who wants to try it. Buzzed: The straight facts about the most used and abused drugs from alcohol to ecstasy describes the effects of alcohol on the body:

• About 20 percent of alcohol is absorbed through stomach, and most of the rest is absorbed through the small intestine. Alcohol molecules are carried through the bloodstream and come into contact with the cells of virtually all the organs. When someone drinks on an empty stomach, the blood absorbs the alcohol rapidly. The body also absorbs higher concentrations of alcohol, such as mixed drinks or shots, very quickly

Ethanol Dose (oz/hour)	Ethanol Dose (mg/100ml)	Function Impaired	Physical State
1-4	up to 100	Judgment, fine motor coordination, reaction time	Happy, talkative, boastful
4-12	100-300	Motor coordination, reflexes	Staggering gait, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting
12-16	300-400	Voluntary responses to stimulation	Hypothermia, hyperthermia, anesthesia
16-24	400-600	Sensation, movement, self-protective reflexes	Comatose
24-30	600-900	Breathing, heart function	Dead

• After drinking, people usually feel pleasure and become talkative at first. The feelings are usually replaced by drowsiness as the alcohol is eliminated from body, and the drinker may become withdrawn. This pattern often encourages people to drink more to keep the buzz going.
• Immediate medical attention is necessary if a person becomes unconscious, is impossible to arouse or seems to have trouble breathing.
• Drinking a high concentration of alcohol in a short period of time can suppress the centers of the brain that control breathing and cause a person to pass out or even die.
• When people pass out, their bodies continue to absorb alcohol. The amount of alcohol in the blood can reach dangerous levels, and they can die in their sleep. Continue to check on someone who has gone to sleep drunk. Do not leave that person alone.
• It is dangerous to combine alcohol with other drugs, especially those that make you sleepy
• Most alcohol is metabolized in the liver and then excreted. When someone drinks more alcohol than their liver can handle efficiently, the additional alcohol accumulates in the blood and body tissues.

Source: Buzzed: the straight facts about the most used and abused drugs from alcohol to ecstasy by Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder and Wilkie Wilson

(Taken from http://www.tcada.state.tx.us/issues/danger.html)

Now, the above is a simple synopsis of the short-term effects on alcohol on the body. What, then is our response to be, as responsible Christians? Do we simply reject it altogether, or is there a more moderate stance that we can take?

Personally, I prefer to stand in the middle. I do not condemn those who drink (I can hardly do that when I do the same), but it is equally true that there are circumstances where drinking become wrong. So, when do these circumstances come into play, and what can we do about it?

For me, one of the keys is in moderation. Whenever I go out with my girlfriends/guyfriends to drink, I have a clear cap on the number of drinks I will take. I will drink no more than 2 alcoholic drinks, any more drinks after that is Coke. It is a principal that is well known among the friends that I drink with, and they respect me enough to honour my decision. So, ladies and gentlemen, pick your drinking partners well. Make sure they respect you and the decisions that you make.

Following this line of thought, it then becomes clear that drinking to excess is wrong. It is possible to drink till you pass out on the floor somewhere. It is possible to drink yourself to death. Please tell me how that is attractive. I have never found drunk men (or women, for that matter) to be attractive in any sense. As Christians, we have a responsibility to the body that God has given us. Alcohol is a drug, just like aspirin or morphine. Small doses make you feel good, and have benefits to our body. Large doses, especially over long periods of time, will do incalclable harm to it. It induces brain damage (some of us can't afford to lose brain cells, especially when you have only 2), liver damage (you do have only one of those, you know), is related to sleep disorders (we don't get enough as it is), and memory loss. Think about it; is the temporary mood elevation and fun for those few hours worth the hangovers and resultant damage to your body?

It's not only dangerous, it is indicative of a problem with self-control, and/or an inability to say 'no'. How hard is that? It's just one syllable: 'No!' I mean, stand up for yourself, don't let people push you around, especially when it comes to something like drinking. When you make a decision, others will always try to influence you, overrule you, change your mind. The fact is, that it's YOUR decision. What these people think has very little to do with it. Ultimately, they will respect you more, not less, if you are able to stand up for yourself. Trust me.

Well... There you have most of my opinion on drinking... I drink, and I'm not afraid to admit it. BUT! I do NOT drink to excess; I have NEVER been drunk, although I have been high. But then it doesn't take much to get me high anyway.

Kisses!