Can you drink away your problems?

It’s a simple but unmistakable truth – no matter how much you try to forget something, you can’t change the fact that it happened. But what you can do is change what you’re doing about it. Many people start drinking as a way to cope with their present or their past.

How do I stop drinking comfort?

Make time for self-care

1. Prioritize wellness. Feeling at your best physically can boost resilience and emotional strength, equipping you to weather challenges that trigger the desire to drink.
2. Rediscover hobbies. Many people use alcohol to cope with boredom.
3. Keep a journal.
4. Explore new tools to cope.

Why is alcohol so relaxing?

When we drink alcohol it disrupts the balance of chemicals and processes in the brain. The relaxed feeling you experience when you have your first drink is due to the chemical changes alcohol causes in your brain. The alcohol starts to depress the part of the brain that we associate with inhibition5.

How do you deal with someone who is a problem drinker?

Expect pushbacks and denial. Give the person time and space to come to terms with your concerns and start to see the problem for themselves. Don’t attempt to threaten, punish, bribe, or preach. Avoid emotional appeals that only add to the problem drinker’s feelings of guilt and increase their compulsion to drink.

Is your loved one struggling with a drinking problem?

Watching a friend or family member struggle with a drinking problem can be as heartbreakingly painful as it is frustrating. Your loved one may be disrupting family life by neglecting their responsibilities, getting into financial and legal difficulties, or mistreating or even abusing you and other family members.

How do past experiences with alcohol affect drinking behavior?

Past experiences with alcohol help to shape people’s current value and the expectations that they place on drinking alcohol. Alcohol users may recall their previous positive experiences with alcohol, and this may increase their motivation to drink. A negative experience will do the opposite.

Why do people drink alcohol?

This view can be applied to explain the reasons why people decide to drink. The decision to drink alcohol will depend on the value that the person attributes to drinking alcohol—to elevate positive mood, alleviate negative mood and anxiety, or increase confidence —and the person’s expectation that these outcomes will actually happen.