Tough on Drugs

Research and population surveys have shown that persons under stress , particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit more unhealthy behaviors than less-stressed persons. Stressed people drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods than non-stressed individuals.

Many people report drinking alcohol in response to various types of stress, and the amount of drinking in response to stress is related to the severity of the life stressors and the individuals' lack of social support networks.

Alcoholism is a complex medical condition that is believed to be caused by a number of both hereditary and environmental factors. While stress is not considered to be a cause of alcoholism, stressful experiences may lead to relapse of the disease in those who already suffer from alcoholism that alcohol actually increases the stress response by stimulating production of the same hormones the body produces when under stress.

"This is driving me to drink" a once popular humours phrase is rooted in the fact that many times stress is the root cause for the consumption of alcohol.

While it may be true that someone under stress may have a tendency to seek a good stiff drink; it is just as true that the chronic consumption of alcohol can cause stress. Moderate consumption of alcohol can actually have some beneficial effects on one's health. The problem lies when the alcohol consumption is heavy and becomes more and more frequent as a reason to relieve stress. This type of compulsive behavior over time will actually worsen the stress in one's life.

Heavy alcohol consumption stimulates the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal glands. A side effect of this is an increase in the amount of cortisol and adrenaline produced. Although both of these to chemicals alone don't cause stress directly, it is believed they play a role in the symptoms.

Many people use alcohol to release stress. But alcohol results many other problems such as ;
-The more you drink, you need more drink to relax. You are depending on alcohol
-Alcohol disrupts sleep leaving us tired
-knowing we’re drinking too much can be
stressful in itself
-alcohol can make feelings of anxiety worse

Research and population surveys have shown that persons under stress , particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit more unhealthy behaviors than less-stressed persons. Stressed people drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods than non-stressed individuals. Many people report drinking alcohol in response to various types of stress, and the amount of drinking in response to stress is related to the severity of the life stressors and the individuals' lack of social support networks.