If you are like I was, a long term binge drinker you may not even be aware that all your day to day experiences are more than likely being filtered and dumbed down by the effects of what's going on in your brain. As vision is your primary sense, its like you are living with glass bottomed goggles on.
Say what?
Yep, your brain can anticipate the ingestion of alcohol and compensate for it, damping down the artificial buzz alcohol gives you. The effect over time is make everything look the same, feel the same, and suck the joy out of the things that once lit up your life.
Like living life through distorted coloured glasses. We call this tolerance.
Drink enough, long enough and your brain begins to anticipate alcohol before you even drink it. Dynorphin is released to counter the stimulus of alcohol, this and the presence of other hormones become the new normal baseline. Your vision may not literally be amber but the effect is to fog your brain and remove the ability to experience joy, happiness and fulfilment. Your existence begins to be shrouded in sameness, day in day out.
I realised this was happening to me when I preferred drinking over the things I loved to do. Like finishing a favourite activity early so I could rush by the liquor outlet and crack a coldie in the carpark before going home to finish the rest of the six pack. Looking out the window at a magnificent day, then going to the fridge instead of being out there enjoying it. Skulking back to the couch and downing a couple in quick succession to get the buzz.
Once I learned these facts and many others I was able to break free and control my drinking, restoring my ability to enjoy life and see things clearly instead of though the bottom of amber coloured glasses.
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