1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

How dangerous is alcohol? Really?

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by danbyization171, Nov 10, 2013.

  1. danbyization171

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2013
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Is it really as dangerous as you see on the media with people ending up in hospital, arrested or dead?

    Am i right to be scared about it????
     
  2. English Frenchman

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2013
    Messages:
    142
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    .
    Gender:
    Male
    Hello Dan,

    Let’s establish a few things, shall we? The abuse of any substance is potentially lethal. Drinking too much water can flood your colon and can kill you. Hyperventilating (over-breathing) fills your brain with oxygen and you pass out and can die from it. Everything needs to be taken in moderation.
    That being said, it is especially the case with alcohol. Alcohol is an ethanol based molecule, that develops in certain liquids during a process called fermentation. Pure alcohol is poisonous and will kill you, because like bleach, it kills everything. That’s why we use it for medicinal purposes.
    The alcohol you find in certain drinks varies in content. It can go anywhere from 3% volume (beer) or up to 60%+ volume (absinth).
    Now, drinking is perfectly fine. Your body can process the small amounts of alcohol, thanks to your liver. Most people drink because it loosens them up and allows them to loose their inhibitions or relax.
    However, as I mentioned beforehand, drinking in excess can be very dangerous. Thankfully, our body has a good system. Once you’ve drunk too much, your liver sends signals to your brain, making you throw up. Some people don’t “drink” alcohol. I’m referring to people who do alcohol enemas (Up the butt) or eye shots. Now, this is dangerous as it gets directly into the blood stream and isn’t filtered by the liver. This is the very dangerous part because you get drunk very quickly and this can lead to a coma or death.
    The key here is to learn moderation from an early age. These young people you see dying in the streets or in hospitals because they drank too much? These people have been completely sheltered from alcohol their whole lives, that when they leave home or turn 21, they drink to excess.
    You should be wary of alcohol, but don’t be afraid of it. It’s great to have a drink and enjoy it.
    I hope I might’ve helped in some small way.
     
  3. Skyline

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2012
    Messages:
    265
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, United States
    Well, I had a coworker who lost her young daughter to a drunk driver. If you're asking if that kind of stuff happens, it does. But if you're smart enough to not do something so dangrous while you are intoxicated, then there is nothing bad in drinking in and of its self.

    I don't think there is anything wrong with not wanting to drink though. Or do you want to drink and are just afraid to? Either way, don't force yourself to do it. I've never been interested in trying alcohol. I'm just fine without it.
     
  4. danbyization171

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2013
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well english frenchman I am one of those people who have been sheltered from alcohol their whole life's apart from at my 18th where I did drink a bit but that was only a wkd and a jack Daniels and coke.

    And skyline I am thinking about drinking but yeah I guess I am afraid to. As I said thinly time I've drank is at my 18th which was January.
     
  5. CharlieHK

    CharlieHK Guest

    I have had one hell of a battle getting my mom sober. So my opinions on alcohol are pretty bad. If you drink in moderation, it's fine.

    I mean, now I have the mom that the 5 year old me needed...but 17 year old me just tells her "it's okay, and I’m not mad" because even though it's not true, it's what she needs to hear...

    One drink won't make you an alcoholic. I've had alcohol, didn't much care for the taste or effects.
     
  6. apostrophied

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2013
    Messages:
    969
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    It can be deadly, though in most cases it isn't.

    However, I find the effects and the taste unpleasant, leading me to the conclusion that it is completely overrated. Perhaps part of that is because I wasn't exposed to it very much so I never developed a taste for it. But personally, I prefer to spend my hard-earned money elsewhere.
     
  7. Argentwing

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2012
    Messages:
    6,696
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    New England
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    It is exactly as dangerous as its drinker makes it. :wink:
     
  8. Tightrope

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Messages:
    5,415
    Likes Received:
    387
    Location:
    USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Spot on.

    Making it a forbidden fruit makes it an elixir. In many cultures, many drink wine with their dinners and leave it at that. They wouldn't have withdrawals if they drank mineral water or fruit juice one night. They are not alcoholics, though they consume alcohol.

    In some cultures, it is an almost required social lubricant, a badge of machismo, or a way to escape the social ills and despair of a particular social fabric or harsh physical environment. In these applications, it can indeed be a problem.

    Everything in moderation, as they say.
     
  9. BryanM

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2013
    Messages:
    2,894
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Columbia, Missouri
    Gender:
    Genderqueer
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Alcohol every now and again won't hurt, and I've heard a glass of wine is actually beneficial to a person's health. Just be responsible when you drink (no drinking and driving among other things) and don't make it a habit and you should be fine.

    I, on the other hand will probably never drink alcohol, because of a past history if alcoholism in the family, among other reasons.
     
  10. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Generally excellent advice here.

    I'll add one other piece that's coming from the emerging literature about addiction: From what some of the newest research indicates, the risk of addiction isn't really genetic, but conditioned very early in life (before age 3) based on the bonding between parent and child. Without going into detailed explanation, it basically has to do with how well parent and child bond, how secure the child's environment is, and how stressed/anxious/emotionally available the mother (or primary parent) is. And this is generally not something that can be easily determined by looking at parenting style, it is more an emotional/psychological issue.

    If the bond isn't strong, then the child's dopamine and endorphin pathways never fully develop correctly, and that creates an enormous risk for later-in-life addictions, because the drugs of addiction (alcohol, opiates, amphetamines, etc.) essentially replace the dopamine and endorphins that aren't working correctly.

    Problem is, if you have the predisposition toward addiction, you may not know it until you try one or another addictive material. For most people, even those with the predisposition toward addiction, it isn't an instant, one-time-and-you're-addicted thing, but it does develop pretty quickly in those with the addictive predisposition. And for an unlucky few, a single exposure can trigger very strong addictive patterns.

    The good news is, the dopamine and endorphin pathways can be "rebuilt" even in adulthood, but it takes a lot of time, patience, and energy and there are no shortcuts.

    So in short... a lot of people can drink and never have a problem, but an increasing number of people (because of the increasing incidence of stress and other factors in parents) are at risk, and for those people, it's better simply to never put oneself in the situation where the risk could turn into a real problem.

    Unfortunately, that's not a very practical decision for many, and simply not a decision that many others are willing to take.
     
  11. Contact1111

    Contact1111 Guest

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2015
    Messages:
    363
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    New Paltz, NY
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Not very normally. You have to get EXTREMELY drunk before it is dangerous. However, if you do drink enough to get alcohol poisoning (which takes outrageous amounts), it is deadly dangerous. Other than that, it is actually quite safe.
     
  12. Zen fix

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2015
    Messages:
    694
    Likes Received:
    26
    Location:
    California
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    In regards to driving it doesn't take much to make it dangerous. One drink is enough to slow or alter many people's reaction which can cause an accident.

    If you decide not to drink your life will not be lessened in any way.
     
  13. GayBoyBG

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2014
    Messages:
    140
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Plovdiv, Bulgaria
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    My parents let me drink since the age of 14 - a glass of wine or beer with lunch/dinner. Same with coffee, even though many consider it dangerous too. And in time I got used to it, but not in the bad way. When I hit puberty I noticed a lot of my highschool friends having problem holding their liqiour and drinking too much. When I went to university, 2 years ago, 4 people I knew from there died, because they were drunk while driving.
    I guess it varies from one person to another, when it comes to any dangerous substance. But bottom line is - if you think alchohol is not for you, then better not start at all. :slight_smile:
     
  14. dragon20

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2014
    Messages:
    65
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Pretty much everything has already been said about this by everyone else but I guess I'll say my two cents. I don't drink myself but I've seen what happens when people do drink too much and I don't wanna be that guy. I mean it's fun watching drunk people do dumb things sometimes but I'm usually the guy telling drunk people that their idea isn't as good as they think it is. So let's just say your judgement gets impaired when you drink. Like everyone else has been saying, it's not that dangerous if you're careful with it. Everything in moderation and all that. So long story short, as long as you're careful with it and don't overdo it, you should be alright. And there's nothing wrong with not drinking either. I personally don't really like the taste. Plus the meds I'm on tell me not to drink so yeah. Thanks for listening to my rant :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  15. gravechild

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    3,425
    Likes Received:
    110
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    A lot of variables to consider, such as: what is being drunk, how and how often, reasons why, genetics of whomever is doing the drinking. If you mean long-term, that's usually addiction and hard to break. It doesn't happen overnight, and doesn't always come in the form of a homeless guy drinking out of a paper bag. That's probably the minority.

    There's binge drinking, which is dangerous period. I've only gotten to that point once, and everyone was terrified. I guess I'm a bit of a lightweight, so that keeps me from drinking too much, and besides, I drink (rather sip) for enjoying the product, rather than the effects that come from it.

    Some people have allergies to gluten, so they avoid certain products. Not as dangerous as the alcoholism or poisoning, but still something to keep in mind. "Scared" might be the wrong reaction. No one is forcing you to, and nothing "bad" is going to happen if you don't drink.
     
  16. BrokenRecord

    BrokenRecord Guest

    Considering it can turn both your brain and your liver to mush, I'd say it's pretty damn bad. I won't touch the stuff even when I come of drinking age, as I don't want to have my precious brain cells and liver rot away. Plus, there's no telling what I would do if I got drunk. It's just a catastrophe waiting to happen.