Hey dudes,
Let’s face it, beer and other forms of alcohol are commonplace when a bunch of bros get together to have a good time. In our culture, at least. But, to paraphrase Spider Man, with great alcohol comes great responsibility. The three simple rules I’m about to give you will help you make sure that your own relationship with booze is a good one:
1. Know your tipping point
You know that slightly buzzed feeling you get from a small amount of alcohol? There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s even a little bit healthier to drink at this level than not to touch a drop at all. Let’s call this the “green zone.”
Now think about a different experience: the last time you got hammered. To the point that it slurred your speech, impaired your judgment, and made you feel miserable the next morning. Putting enough alcohol in your body to reach this point isn’t healthy at all, and in fact it does direct harm. The more you do it, the more your health gets damaged. Welcome to the “red zone.”
The exact amount of booze that moves you out of the green and into the red will depend on many different factors, such as how big you are, your age, and even your genetics. You may need to cross the line a couple of times to pinpoint it, but once you do, avoid the red at all costs. It’s just not worth the damage it does.
2. No pressure
Only a couple of generations ago, Americans never hosted a party without expecting all the guests to drink heavily. That’s changing, but we still have to deal with our natural “herd” instinct to do something just because everyone else around us is doing it.
Remember, only you know your tipping point, and more important, you have a mind of your own. If you feel you’ve reached your limit for the night, you have every right to say no. It works both ways, too: never try to pressure a bro (or anyone else) into drinking more. It’s not fair to them.
3. Self-medicating NEVER works
When you’re feeling stressed or down, it’s very tempting to dull that mental pain with booze. The biggest problem with this approach (besides how it damages you physically) is that whatever was causing you the stress or depression is still there when you’re sober. The only way to solve that problem is to approach it head-on: you can’t just medicate it away. I’m not trying to preach at you, dude. I’m just telling you that nobody in the history of the planet has ever made self-medicating work.
That’s it for rules. Not too complicated, is it? Keep them in mind the next time you celebrate, and you can look forward to lots of safe good times.
Later
-The Blog Dude
