Most adults like a drink every now and then, especially here in Australia where we have a very well established casual and social drinking culture. Some people do take it too far, but they’re in small enough numbers that as a society we don’t hold alcohol to be an inherently bad thing. Whether or not that’s right is really down to individual choice and opinion.
However, some people do turn alcohol into a crutch and become alarmingly dependent upon it. These are people for whom alcohol moves from being a part of one’s social life to being life itself. If this were you and you were in Western Australia, then you might see fit to seek professional alcohol treatment in Perth, but what are the factors behind it? What drives people into the dangerous grip of alcohol?
Table of Contents
Breakdown of Personal Life
A big reason for people turning to alcohol is a breakdown of personal relationships with family, friends and other loved ones. Spouses going through a divorce might start drinking more, as could siblings who are warring over an inheritance. It could even just be a frustrated grandparent who suddenly feels useless in retirement and feels they have nothing to do but drink.
A loss of these personal ties and relationships means people seek support from another kind of crutch, and unfortunately alcohol is just so available (see further below) and so easy to choose, that it can quickly take hold in people’s lives.
Anxiety and Stress in Career
Perhaps everything in one’s personal life is alright, but the stress is piling on at the office. Anxious workers worried about whether they’ll have a job in the near future; entrepreneurs stressing over where their next pay is coming from to support their family; white-collar employees buried under paperwork and fluorescent lighting…these grim pictures are a reality for many, and a big reason that people seek the comfort of a (massive) glass of wine or a (whole pack of) cold beer at the end of the week, or even just the end of the day.
A General Desire to Escape
Alcohol abuse for many is about escapism. The alcohol alters our mindset, taking us to a place where we might be laughing, jolly, singing karaoke, joking around with our fellow bar friends…but in reality, that’s just an illusion. It may give you a few hours of escape from feeling a certain way, but it fails to solve root problems and even causes more problems if it leads to financial struggles, missing work and other things that can result from the aftermath of a drinking session.
The Habit of a Lifetime
Some people turn to alcohol because it might be all they have ever known in life. If you grew up in a house where your parents were drinking every day, and who drank excessively as a matter of course, then you may grow up thinking that’s totally normal. You may even be “initiated” into the family tradition from a young age, perhaps your mid teens. If you’ve got half a decade of experience behind you when you turn 20, no one should be surprised that you turn to alcohol when you feel like you’re in trouble.
Cost and Availability of Alcohol
Finally, it has to be said that another big factor behind people turning to alcohol is just how accessible it is as an option. Drinking is a socially acceptable form of drug taking, essentially, with suppliers of alcohol even marketing the product directly to consumers, and retailers offering incentives to purchase it through discounts and other special offers. If people feel they need to turn to something, and wine is the cheapest option, then wine it is.
When therapy can cost $100 an hour, but a bottle of wine might be anywhere from $7-25 depending on what quality you’re willing to tolerate, then your choice of “help” might be a no-brainer.
