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What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

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Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#171
post #2

Anyone have their own cure for a hangover the following day after drinking heavily? My usual go-to is a 'Full English Breakfast' that has all the trimmings and it replaces lost electrolytes in my system and 'cures' me although it's only a band-aid solution. There's nothing you can really do except wait a bad hangover out and let your body repair itself after essentially ingesting poison. Lucozade is another thing we…

The best cures, as usual, are preventative. In order of effectiveness, I have found these reduce hangovers: 1. Don't drink a lot quickly. If you never get to the point that the room starts spinning, then your body can roughly process the alcohol at the rate that you're consuming it. Avoid doing shots and sip cocktails slowly. 2. Sober up before going to bed. If you do get too drunk, spend an hour or two sobering up b…

I got incredibly drunk last week and had no hangover. I think it was thanks to the 2 hours of vomiting. :)

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#172
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with the discussion is, most people here against alcohol sound to me like vegans. I mean, unable to discuss the "I only drink twice a week a beer" argument. To them even touching alcohol makes one a drunk-driver-wife-beater, deserving no less than high tower scorn. Not very helpful for an argument...

> … most people here against alcohol sound to me like vegans. There’s a pretty big difference. Most people who drink don’t harm another living being, while those who eat animal products are supporting harm towards animals. I understand the vegan perspective but not the perspective of the use who criticize causal drinking.

> harm towards animals

Killing perceived as causing “harm” (or not) is a somewhat non-trivial philosophical question. In an important sense, death is a social construct. From this point of view, the importance of one’s staying alive is measured by the impact on the society (starting with their family). The life of a chicken, therefore, doesn’t matter, with the exception when it is a pet. (At the same time, the life of a hen who is raising a flock of chicks is important.)

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#173
post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best cures, as usual, are preventative. In order of effectiveness, I have found these reduce hangovers: 1. Don't drink a lot quickly. If you never get to the point that the room starts spinning, then your body can roughly process the alcohol at the rate that you're consuming it. Avoid doing shots and sip cocktails slowly. 2. Sober up before going to bed. If you do get too drunk, spend an hour or two sobering up b…

I got incredibly drunk last week and had no hangover. I think it was thanks to the 2 hours of vomiting. :)

> an hour or two sobering up

Checks out

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#174

The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy. Despite overwhelming experimental, historical and anecdotal evidence, 60% of Americans drink ~4 drinks per week - which luckily is on the decline. Something is seriously wrong with humanity if poisoning ourselves regularly to dissociate with reality remains this popular as a core social component. People will point to all of the supposed "socia…

We've been drinking alcohol for 8000 years now so I wish you the best of luck on your crusade to show that it's "something wrong with humanity".

Wasn’t it the Europeans who brought alcohol to the New World?

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#175

shouldn't there be some strong and measurable impact on muslim societies (which tend to drink no alcohol) compared to non-muslim societies (who tend to drink alcohol)? is saudi arabia governed smarter or are imams wiser than catholic priests? do they live or stay healthy for longer? having said that I am personally going through some changes. and for some reason I observed the past weeks how I don't enjoy drinking al…

I’ve asked this repeatedly and never heard a good answer. The wealthiest countries are generally those that have _more_ cultural drinking (Germany South Korea Japan ) not less.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do want a long and healthy life. Yes, I am happy about the world I'm sending my kids into. I'll tell them the world is a wonderful miracle and our purpose is to contribute to its flourishing as much as possible.

you are in denial due to sunk cost fallacy and stockholm syndrome

Potentially you’re just depressed

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should join AA if I have social anxiety or existential dread? Considering GP's comment, this is a worthless response. Also it wouldn't even apply to people that don't drink, such as myself. I'm glad AA helped you but you chose the wrong comment to reply to.

Yes. The 12 steps are a self directed self paced investigation of self and/in society. The community is welcoming, with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Humility, sharing of suffering and joy, laughter. YMMV

I'm somewhat familiar with the 12 steps. As far as I can tell the core premise is to give in to a "higher power." This feels very similar to a cult to me, in the sense that it's learned helplessness and that the only way you can ever have value is by giving in to the group/god/whatever. I am not saying 12 steps is a cult because it exists to help/cure addiction and it does so with mixed results. But the history of the program is very obviously centered around religion.

If you aren't already in such dire straits as to require this kind of help, it really seems like a form of self-harm to me. I've met many people who've gone through 12 steps. Some advocate for it, some protest it. I'm genuinely happy for people to get the help they need wherever they can find it. But I absolutely would not recommend it to someone that isn't already so desperate that they're willing to give up their autonomy because they don't know what else to do.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#178
post #2

Anyone have their own cure for a hangover the following day after drinking heavily? My usual go-to is a 'Full English Breakfast' that has all the trimmings and it replaces lost electrolytes in my system and 'cures' me although it's only a band-aid solution. There's nothing you can really do except wait a bad hangover out and let your body repair itself after essentially ingesting poison. Lucozade is another thing we…

> Anyone have their own cure for a hangover the following day after drinking heavily?

A run. 45-60 minutes usually does the trick for me. I bring an electrolyte drink with me. It sucks, it's painful, by the nideay point I'm usually feeling pretty much normal.

That said, it's been a while since I woke up with a hangover. Having young kids, for me anyway, has been a great deterrent for drinking too much. They (correctly) don't give a shit if you're hungover, they're waking you up early I matter what.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#180

Alcohol is the most harmful drug out there[1] - worse than heroin, crack cocaine, and all the rest. It boggles my mind how common it is, while genuinely useful drugs like psilocybin are still Schedule I and relegated to the shadows. [1]: https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/s0140-6736(10)61462-6 https://i.imgur.com/DQDJMGt.png

What a nonsense.. there are millions of people drinking alcohol sporadically and are doing fine. I don't think there are that many people sporadically consuming crack and are doing fine. Now I guess you can define harmful in many ways and I didn't read the study and probably won't.

The correct phrasing is, "Alcohol is the worst drug to be addicted to". Slightly different from OP, it just removes morality from the issue.

I definitely understand your apprehension to this idea, however, someone I know very intimately is an alcoholic. They've said this phrase to me before and it wasn't clear until they explained their position from their perspective:

There is no other drug that is as socially accepted and harmfully addictive as alcohol. Keep in mind that you can die from alcohol withdrawals and even without dying you might wish you had. The same drug that can do that is stocked on shelves, easily accessible, advertised on TV, and passed out for free at times. Additionally, addiction to alcohol is cyclical. Many people drink out of anxiety, that anxiety is cured while drunk until the person begins to sober up. Then the alcohol fuels more anxiety which continues the cycle.

This phrase isn't meant to discount the experience of other addicts but moreso to express the unique difficulty that alcoholics may experience in the world.

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