Reflection on the Use and Abuse of Alcohol

1088 Words3 Pages

Most people do not realize that alcohol is a drug that claims the lives of youth in college campuses across the world. In my case, it took the encounter with the ORL staff at UCLA for me to come to understanding that I am putting myself and those around me in danger through my risky drinking habits. With hours of self-reflection and the help of a cosmopolitan article called The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make, I have found that there are several risks associated with alcohol that can put me at a quarrel with death. Even so, drinking does not always need to be deadly, and by keeping in mind the well-being of my fellow bruins and the skills mentioned in the article, I can find a balance between drinking for fun and drinking till death. According to the article The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make by Nicole Blades, there are several risks an individual runs when consuming alcohol. For instance, if someone is not a frequent drinker or are a light drinker, they could be at an even greater risk of alcohol poisoning than the average consumer because they either don’t know their limits or are not able to tolerate alcohol in high doses. Genes, gender, and weight are all factors that affect how quickly your body processes alcohol and for most beginning drinkers, they are unaware of how much their body can handle. They also generally tend to misinterpret the signs of when enough drinks are enough due to their inexperience’s, causing for greater risk of alcohol poisoning. Drinking alcohol without time in between can also be deadly because your body doesn’t have enough time to metabolize the alcohol, causing it to circulate throughout your body at a rapid pace. This can lead to “loss of inhibitions and euphoria, followed by ... ... middle of paper ... ...heavier friends. Also, since it takes my body about an hour to digest a drink, I should start to pace myself in order to assure that I do not drink deadly amounts. I have also had time to look within myself and truly reflect on my reasons for drinking. My self-evaluations led to the following conclusion: maybe I shouldn’t use alcohol as an escape from stress or depression because it doesn’t help, but rather it intensifies the feelings I am already experiencing. Alcohol is a drug and it’s surprising that it took an incident like this one for me to truly grasp the significance of making sure my drinking habits are at a level that is safe for my individualized body. Although this experience led to intervention with the ORL staff, in my case it was positive because I have gained the knowledge and self-realization that I needed to make healthier decisions in the future.

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