How to Come to Terms With Grief Without Alcohol -When grief arises, many people turn to alcohol in order to soothe their nerves so that they can cope with these emotions. However, by not properly dealing with grief, it leaves it unresolved and can become worse over time. Here are reasons why alcohol and grief are not a good combination, and what you can do to help you cope with this overwhelming emotion.
Why Alcohol Is Used To Manage Grief
Many people are under the impression that alcohol enhances positive emotions and alleviates the negative ones. Spending some time in a newport beach rehab teaches them, however, that this is not necessarily true. Alcohol does provide a calming effect on the nervous system, especially during times of grief. The loss of a loved one was deemed one of the most stressful life events that can occur, increasing the risk of someone turning to alcohol during their time of sorrow.
Does Alcohol Help With Emotional Pain?
Alcohol can help to diminish emotional pain in the short term. Alcohol can make a person feel more relaxed, flooding the brain with dopamine so that the person experiences euphoria. It also plays a role in diminishing memory, making it easy for a person to forget their grief for a short period. However, this is only a temporary effect, as once the alcohol wears off, those feelings return. A person may even feel worse that they did before.
This causes them to consume more and more alcohol in order to attain that same effect, leading to alcohol abuse and the emotional pain becoming worse over time.
The Dangers Of Alcohol And Grief
As stated earlier, the danger of using alcohol to cope with grief is that it can lead to the person becoming dependent on alcohol. If drinking makes a person feel better, then they’re going to drink more and more in the future. And as tolerance increases, the person will need to consume greater quantities of alcohol in order to achieve the same effect.
This can develop into a full-blown alcohol use disorder. In turn, this can lead to negative impact on job performance, personal relationships, finances, and physical and/or mental health.
Avoiding Alcohol To Manage Grief
Instead of turning to alcohol, there are other ways to cope with grief that won’t jeopardize one’s health or personal life. Here are some alternative coping strategies you could employ:
- Spending time engaged in activities you enjoy and bring you happiness. At first, there will be a sense of guilt that you’re experiencing joy when you should be mourning, but this is natural.
- Take account of what trigger your grief and have preparations in place beforehand. Plan not to be alone during these difficult moments or find a meaningful way to commemorate the source of your grief.
- Join a support group or speak to a therapist.
- Acknowledge your feelings instead of ignoring them.
If you are worried that you may have a drinking problem connected to your grief, then speak to family members or close friends. They can help you in those moments when you crave a drink. You should also seek the help of a mental health professional to help you build better coping strategies for your grief.
Poppy Watt