Everyone has stress or other strong emotions and needs to be able to deal with them. While some people are able to find healthy coping mechanisms, others turn to alcohol. Over time, this can be incredibly dangerous, as it can lead to drinking too much and addiction. Instead, for those who find they are turning to alcohol a bit too frequently or have come to depend on it to help regulate their emotions, it’s important to learn better ways to cope.
What Happens When Alcohol is Used to Cope
Alcohol use as a coping mechanism can turn into an addiction and everything that comes with that. It can lead to severe medical issues, mental health issues like depression and anxiety, and can lead to financial, relationship, and other issues. It can have a severe and profound impact on the person’s life and can lead to death in some situations. Those who are addicted to alcohol can seek help through a rehab program like tricare rehab for alcohol addiction to learn how to get their life back on track.
Why People Tend to Turn to Alcohol
Alcohol is easy to access and it can help numb emotions. Someone may find that when they drink, they don’t worry about their issues as much or feel as deeply as they did before the drink. When they’re feeling stressed, sad, or any other strong emotion, they start to drink. It removes them from the feeling in the moment and allows them to relax. Unfortunately, the feelings come back as soon as they’re sober again.
Eventually, this can mean the person drinks more frequently. Instead of drinking a few drinks on the weekends, they start to drink just about every day. They also start to drink more as their body becomes accustomed to the alcohol. What used to be one or two drinks ends up being five or six. At this point, they may find they have trouble going a day or two without drinking. Their body has become used to it and they need it to feel normal. This is the start of addiction and a dangerous journey if they do not get help.
Finding Better Ways to Cope
For those who are not too far along this path, finding healthier ways to cope can bring an end to the drinking and give them something else to do when they have strong emotions they feel they can’t handle on their own. They can make changes now before the drinking gets too bad. Talking to a therapist can make this a lot easier. They can get help for any mental health issues they have, such as depression or anxiety, and start to learn how to cope with them in a much healthier way.
Those who have already started drinking more frequently and are addicted to alcohol may need to get more help before they can start learning healthier ways to cope with their issues. This could include going to rehab and speaking with a therapist regularly until they are able to quit drinking. It will include learning healthier ways to cope, but they may have to do a lot more, too, as they work on recovery.
It’s very easy to end up abusing alcohol as a way to cope with strong emotions and stress. Unfortunately, it can be dangerous and lead to alcohol addiction. If you or a loved one tends to frequently turn to alcohol to cope, learn more about rehab and other available options for recovery today.