Holidays and Drinking Double Trouble
“I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer” – and so goes a popular holiday song. Drinking and holidays are pretty common partners around the world. It sure makes it easy to blend in your out-of-control drinking when everyone else is doing it too. This holiday season could be your wake-up call to go to alcohol rehab.
photo credit: Steve & Jemma CopleyHave
Family Conflict Made Worse By Heavy Drinking
Nearly everyone has one obnoxious relative, someone who speaks their opinion loudly and doesn’t care what others think. Well, are you that relative in your family? Drinking even small amounts of alcohol can lower a person’s inhibitions. Ordinarily, they might keep their opinions more closely guarded. Have a few drinks and a family feud might be rekindled.
Do you find family gatherings to be stressful? Do you feel like you often end your holiday time with someone complaining about you, fighting with you, trying to “get in your business”? Ask yourself how often you’ve been drunk when that’s happened. You might discover that your drinking gives you the fuel to provoke others and be overly sensitive to criticism. And if you’re not the only one getting drunk during the conflict, there’s no way a sensible calm discussion is going to suddenly break out.
Everyone Else Is Drinking So Who Cares
Your denial can run wild when other people are also drinking at holiday gatherings. It’s all just innocent normal party drinking like everyone else. You and your family might even have a “tradition” of getting pretty drunk watching football games, drinking after dinner, or even going out to the bars.
One thing to consider – your drinking may not seem abnormal because so many people around you also drink to excess. You may not even think twice about spending most of the holidays drunk. Perhaps you aren’t the only one in the group that has a problem. Has anyone in your family already spent time in an alcohol treatment center? Or should they? And just because lemmings follow each other off cliffs doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Drinking and Driving
I’ll never forget last year when I heard about a family in Ohio coming back from the Christmas holiday in a mini-van. They were struck by a drunk driver (almost three times the legal BAC limit) in a head-on collision on the interstate. Half the family was killed instantly including one of the parents, a newborn baby, and three other young children. It’s an unbelievable tragedy that many people have kept in their hearts this past year. Even the most basic description of the accident stirs disturbing images in your mind.
Anyone who sees someone intoxicated at their family gatherings needs to be sure they don’t drive away in that condition. If you know your drinking gets out of control at the holidays, tell a family member you trust to keep you off the road at all costs. This man got sentenced to 43 years in prison and a lifetime burden. I sincerely hope that he also has some form of alcohol treatment while serving his time.
Consider Alcohol Rehab For Heavy Drinking Problems
The holidays are supposed to be a time of joyous reunion with loved ones. Unfortunately, these times often expose personal problems and family rifts. If you find that your holidays are affected by your heavy drinking, strongly consider giving the best gift possible to yourself and your family – time at an alcohol rehab center.
Tags: Alcohol Rehab, alcohol-treatment, Holidays and Drinking Double Trouble
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