Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

[jenniech]

Hello to fellow "just starting out" people.
One of the biggest obstacles for me in quitting the drink is the fact that I tend to glamorize drinking. When I watch TV and some stupid show has a party, everyone dressed up and all drinking wine or cocktails in sophisticated glasses and having a smart, witty time.....or after a long day at work, you go into a restaurant and there are people bellied up to the bar having a drink and appearing to have a wonderful time.....even stupid morning shows - that one on ABC with Kathy Lee Gifford??? They actually have glasses of wine everyday in the morning and laugh and joke and glamorize drinking. It is enough to make me sick because now I know it is a LIE. Especially for this alcoholic!!

So I am starting this thread to give everyone an opportunity to debunk the myth. Drinking is NOT glamorous. WHY?? The next post will start a list - please join me!!

[jenniech]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Please add to the list!!

1. You feel like shit the next day and your day is wasted
2. It makes you fat
3. It makes you slur your words
4. It makes you lose your balance and fall
5. It makes you bloated
6. It makes you say stupid things or hurtful things
7. It makes you do things you would never do sober
8. It makes you forget the entire night = black out

[kuya]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

One thing, for me, is a dead giveaway of the lie. On labels of alcohol it is now written

' DRINK RESPONSIBLY '

Everybody knows that alcohol is the antithesis of responsible. Millions of accidents, pregnancies, violent assaults happen because alcohol has been consumed.

I wonder if we need ' EAT RESPONSIBLY ' written on chocolate ? Why not? Cos taken in excess it just makes you fat, not dangerous.

[JingleJo]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

- it makes you edgy, anxious and an emotional wreck
- it makes you neglect yourself and not look after yourself properly
- it makes you age before your time and get premature wrinkles
- it makes you unreliable and a let down
- it makes you bloated and ill looking
- it makes you lose so many days and opportunities to have a good life
- it can destroy EVERYTHING

[Byrdlady]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Is this glamourous? Drinking from a box of wine hidden in your shoe closet? Chugging it in desperation? Having a hidden stash of empties? They should show this in the commercials...I can't imagine that 'raging ALK' would be a feature on Match.com!!
They could be pouring lighter fluid out in some of those commercials and making it look good! It is amazing the $$$ that go into the marketing of the stuff. Kuya says to imagine it like embalming fluid....YOURS! YIKES! Puts a new spin on it! Thanks K! B

[Starfish1]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Great Thread, Jennie-

It destroys your health and your relationships

[Kradle123]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Ditto, great thread!

One thing which drives me nearly mad is the news stories in which some guy or gal shoots, beats up, knifes or just plain kills some guy or gal and then the reporter comments at the story's end, "There is no apparent motive..."

You're outside a fricken bar, or you're at some late night party, idiot !! Your motivation is at the bottom of a glass or a beer bottle... Who are we kidding here?


Yikes! :wow:

[Nursie]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Great thread.
I always loved the sexy silhouette of a wine glass with my first glass of wine in it. I glamorized the ritual. The uncorking, the reaching for the glass, the pouring, the first sip, and starting to cook like a maniac.

I glamorized the things I did, got away with, and the sophistication of ordering nice wine at a restaurant.

But reality is, after I drank the wine, I would really drink anything to finish getting to the drunk I needed. This includes buying more wine, buying 5ths of vodka to hide in my purse or bathroom, drinking a few little airport bottles before we even went out, sneaking off during mall shopping to order double vodkas at various restaurants while my family shopped, leaving a movie to go to the bar under the guise of going to the rest room, sneaking out of dinner to run to the liquor store before they closed so I could hide liquor in my purse for when we got home.......
Shame, loss of control, self-contempt, not knowing what I did and sometimes hoping to never find out.
I don't know how I haven't had alcohol poisoning with the amount of alcohol I have drank in one sitting. My last drunk was the 17th. I drank 4 double vodkas, 3 tall boy budweisers, 4 makers marks neat, and then a bottle of wine at home.
I don't get sick, so I have no off switch. I have no boundaries, no safety awareness, and no inhibitions.

That's disgusting and sad, not glamorous at all!

[Struggles 106]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

I AGREE

I have always been appalled at the marketing/glamorization of the hugely socially accepted drug that is alcohol. It IS too bad that the adverts don't show people who are REAL drinkers living with the horrible consequences.
I have one really beautiful wine glass, and I used to pour wine in it and pretend to be sophisticated. What a freaking joke. It is what is it-pouring poison down your throat to try to manage a reality that you just don't have the guts to recognize and change.

I'm waiting for the commercials showing bloody dead people in drunk driving wrecks, dying HIV infected people from drunk unprotected sex, and all the other lovely ramifications of alcohol use/abuse.

This subject really gets me going . Sorry

[K9Lover]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

If you've ever watched that show "COPS" you'll notice that 95% of their calls are due to some drunken or drug-induced behavior. Makes you wonder how things would be if people weren't drinking or drugging themselves into oblivion? THAT'S the reality of alcohol...not the happy times they protray on TV.

Here's MY truth: Drinking for me isn't rainbows and butterflies, it's DUI's, handcuffs and a cellmate named Diablo.

[Nursie]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

I definitely don't remember rainbows either K9! DUI- check, handcuffs-check, nursing license suspended-check, wrecking car-check, bar fights- check, flashing people and arm-wrestling for God only knows why-check.

And I've had a lot of pretty wine glasses, but damn if my glamorous ass broke at least one a night.

[Starfish1]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Nursie-:H:H:H

[Oneredshoe]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Loving this thread Jenni....the funny thing is that I actually stopped watching the morning show with Kathy Lee Gifford because of their cocktail mornings. Here's the other thing....when I watch commercials for prescription medication, at the end usually comes with a list of horrific possible side effects that make me cringe. Alcohol should contain a list of side effects such as; may cause blackouts, profuse vomiting, the morning after shits, malnutrition, liver disease, anxiety attacks, pancreatic disease, shakey hands, potential loss for bladder control, emotional outbursts, and will guarantee a visit from the 3 brothers. You get the gist.......nothing glamorous about that.

[NoSugar]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Even before I decided AL was not for me, the faux sophistication at wine tastings drove me crazy -- all the fancy language used to describe every aspect of a wine's aroma, taste, behavior on the sides of the glass (legs? really?) --- it all seemed so pretentious.

Waxing poetic about something that negatively affects or even destroys the lives of so many people is ridiculous! And I think if you did a blind taste test where the tasters did not see the bottle (with its arty and cool label), you could put some nasty stuff in their glass, tell them all the "right" things, and they would say it was just fabulous, dah-ling...

This relates to food issues other than alcohol per se but it speaks to the head-games we play on the subject of alcohol and our glorification and romanticization of drinking particular products (from http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/re...nd-wine.html):

" First, we surveyed 49 graduate students at a wine and cheese reception. Half of the students were presented with wine with a label indicating it was from California. The rest of the students were presented with the same wine, but with a label indicating it was from North Dakota. We found that those who believed their wine was from California perceived the taste of both the wine and the cheeses as better. In a second study, 39 patrons attending a prix?fixed dinner at a university?affiliated restaurant were given a complimentary glass of either North Dakota?labeled or California?labeled wine with their meal. The amount of food and wine patrons leftover was measured. Those whose wine was labeled from California consumed 12% more of their entr?e and consumed a greater weight of wine and entr?e combined compared to those served North Dakota?labeled wine. We conclude that not only does taste expectation influence one's taste ratings of accompanying foods, but that it also influences consumption of accompanying foods. Environmental cues affect expectation and consumption, and cues of quality should be used to manipulate ones's expectations and intake behaviors.
For more information, see: Wansink, Brian, Collin R. Payne, and Jill North (2007), "Fine as North Dakota Wine: Sensory Expectations and the Intake of Companion Foods," Physiology and Behavior, 90:5 (April), 712-16. doi: 10.1016.j.physbeh.2006.12.10

[K9Lover]

Debunking the Myth: Why the glamorization of alcohol is a LIE

Oneredshoe;1467282 wrote: Loving this thread Jenni....the funny thing is that I actually stopped watching the morning show with Kathy Lee Gifford because of their cocktail mornings. Here's the other thing....when I watch commercials for prescription medication, at the end usually comes with a list of horrific possible side effects that make me cringe. Alcohol should contain a list of side effects such as; may cause blackouts, profuse vomiting, the morning after shits, malnutrition, liver disease, anxiety attacks, pancreatic disease, shakey hands, potential loss for bladder control, emotional outbursts, and will guarantee a visit from the 3 brothers. You get the gist.......nothing glamorous about that.

Don't forget: Unwanted pregnancies, STD's and an overall feeling of worthlessness!