Why Should I worry about alcohol?

The problem when we worry about alcohol is that often it is both the source and the perceived cure for the problem of worrying too much.  Do you worry about alcohol and what effect it has on you and your family?  Are you worried that you drink too much alcohol?  Are you concerned that you might have a problem with alcohol?  Well you just might be correct to worry about alcohol!

Why do we drink alcohol?

Do you drink too much alcohol because you are stressed and need a release from all of the problems and issues you face in your daily life?

If you worry that you might be drinking too much alcohol then it is likely that alcohol is actually causing you stress.  It may not be helping you overcome your worries at all.

In other words:  Worry about alcohol doesn’t solve your problems, it is the problem.

Are you stressed and worried all the time?  Then you might need to cut to the chase and work out if you drink too much alcohol and whether drinking is the source of your stress problem.

What are the signs of worrying too much?

Do you find yourself uptight all the time, sick from too much stress, or nervous all the time because of worry?  Stress out all the time over simple things?  Do you stress out over things you cannot change?  How about stress over your health, your job, your family or even about how long it takes to get to sleep?

We all have our individual worry posts, and like a cat scratching its claws on a scratching post, we just can’t seem to leave it alone.

Worrying too much can lead to more issues down the track, but the single worst problem is trying to use alcohol to overcome our stress.  It simply doesn’t work, and although in the short term.  Alcohol can make the problems seem to go away.  In reality, alcohol leaves the issues unresolved and the worries always come back, sometimes worse than before.  If you worry too much, you are at risk of drinking to much alcohol in a vain attempt to keep the worries away.  Eventually you will even begin to worry about alcohol, so that is not the solution!

How to avoid the worry cycle

Instead of turning to alcohol to overcome your worries, here are a few ways to try to eliminate the source of the problem.

1. Don’t worry about what you can’t change

Most of our problems simply cannot be solved by worry, nor by anything else that we can physically do about the problem.  Like the weather, or the outcome of an election, or the future of your company.  There is simply nothing that can be done in the short term to fix it.

Neither will you be able to change the outcome if you drink too much alcohol.  You need to avoid drinking too much, in order to keep your mind clear and focused on what you can control.  You can keep your mindset positive, you can be supportive to others who are feeling stressed.  And you should be thankful for the good things you have in your life instead of focusing on the bad.

2. Only worry about what you can deal with

If you are stressed over an issue that you actually have the ability to control.  Such as the need to do the laundry, or the need to finish an important task for your boss.  Instead of worrying excessively, you need to think clearly through the problem.

Does it have to be solved urgently?  If not then don’t worry now.

If the problem is a genuine, and pressing issue, then take a deep breathe and break it down into some simple steps.  Find as many possible options as you can, without trying to solve it all in one go.  If you don’t know how to fix it – ask someone for help, even your boss if necessary.  Far from being critical, your boss may be impressed with your initiative with asking for help, and can help you to find a solution.

3. Don’t get overwhelmed

Don’t get stuck in a worry cycle such that you feel that like drinking to forget about the problem.  Because if you drink too much alcohol you may actually find that the worry increases rather than finding the relaxation you are looking for.

4. Focus on one issue at a time

Instead of trying to fix the whole world, and getting drowned under the pressure.  Try to set aside a specific time to deal with one issue at a time.  Arrange a specific time in order to deal with each issue in turn, and even if you can only spare one hour.  Then make sure you don’t spoil that designated time by worrying about extra problems.  Try to stay focused on the issue that you need to resolve.

You never know, once you break it down to its lowest level, some problems don’t seem quite so bad any more!

5. Beware the Downward Spiral

The real problem with worrying about to many things at once is that we become overwhelmed or we tend to drink too much alcohol.  Then we worry about alcohol, which becomes yet anther thing to worry about.  Do you see how worrying is simply a downward spiral that we find ourselves in?

People who worry too much tend to over estimate the number and severity of all the bad things that can happen.  It is simply not necessary to expect everything that can go wrong will go wrong.  By the law of averages, there is no need to worry about everything!

People who worry too much

Similarly, people who worry too much tend to underestimate how much stress they can actually deal with safely before overwhelm.  They are probably very good at problem solving when it comes to a crunch.  That doesn’t stop them from worrying about everything in the beginning!

Avoid the temptation to drink too much!

So I recommend that you beware of the downward spiral.  Try to think your way out through the problem before it gets worse.  Or to ignore the problem if there is nothing that you can do to fix it.  Avoid the temptation to drink too much alcohol as a way to solve your problems.  It will only lead to a downward spiral and actually make things worse.

If you can take alcohol out of your worry circle, then you won’t need to worry about alcohol.