300

International man of mystery, saving the world from evil villains, rocking a dickie bow like a boss and always has time for a Martini(shaken not stirred) with a teenage boys wet dream in hand. Well that’s all my young impressionable minds boxes ticked, guess I’ll start with a martini and hope the rest follows ?! Too short to fight crime, look ridiculous in a dickie bow and realised my personality becomes repulsive to women if I’ve made it on to the martinis. So as I approached forty I decided to take a three hundred day break from the indulgences of alcohol and this is a little insight into how it all played out.

Before the why, the what and all those observational observations this is not an alcohol bashing article, far from it. I’ve always enjoyed a beer or two and experienced some of my fondest memories with friends after one too many but at some point you must start questioning its involvement in your life or maybe that’s just me?! Armed with a social circle full alcohol lovers, a recent involvement in the craft beer culture and nothing better to do with my free time, I wasn’t too sure I would complete three hundred days but on New Years Eve 2017 I began the timer.

It quickly became apparent my social circle has a dependency on alcohol to facilitate meeting up after dark and often meeting up full stop. Has it become weird to socialise without having a reason to ? When’s the last time you asked if Jimmy fancied going to the park just to catch up on a Saturday night?? No ball, no bat, no picnic, no booze, just you and Jimmy and your thoughts on thoughts. When was the last time you and Jimmy met at the pub got drunk and shared your thoughts on thoughts more often that at the park I bet?

“A couple of drinks” has become the pimp to my social connectivity in real time, I’m still wondering why?

Well lets first consider the effects of alcohol that has us so hooked, after all it is a depressant. The central nervous system is supressed during consumption and all communication both physical and mental are altered. Why would this be something we enjoy I ask myself ? Well strap yourself in Dorothy I’m about to waffle …..

Along with losing the ability to walk, talk and make rationale decisions on kebab related food choices the biggest factor is the ability to turn down your fight or flight senses. We spend most of our lives in some shape or form with these senses fully switched on, from assessing the dangers of crossing the road to processing scenarios that will help you pay that over due council tax bill. Modern day life especially in Western civilisation has us on edge. The legal escape presented and taxed by your government is readily available at all good bookshops Monday to Sunday twenty four seven.

Alcohol turns down the noise caused by fight or flight and allows other parts of your psyche to take some lime light. Ego, confidence, creativity, irrational risk taking and an audience are a recipe for a jam jar full of fun times. As society becomes more difficult to navigate the attraction to trade that stress for social fun is pretty appealing.  This subconscious trade off is  downloaded and becomes a coping mechanism for life, the birth of addiction.  

Having downtime in your life is a necessity but dialing down those fight or flight cues with poison comes at a cost.  The physical health risks are well documented(one dead every 10 seconds worldwide according to the web) and is a concern that people put to one side in the name of “enjoying life” which is fair enough as you definitely only live once in this current vessel. However intoxication is just a shortcut to relaxation which comes with toxic overtones, the confident cool you with no worries that is born from alcohol can be found through other practices. Practices that don’t run the risk of eating kebabs, losing your temper because Larry stepped on your shoes on the dance floor or worse still driving home and putting the world at risk.

The effects of alcohol can last days, dampening productivity, focus and often that ego overload crashes and leaves you picking through your life with a negative tooth-comb. Is it all worth it ??? We are social creatures by nature and drinking can enhance that connectivity as you reach a symbiotic relaxed state but finding that equilibrium, and not egotistically over indulging is hopefully where I find myself today. With the festive season approaching only time will tell if I have rewired the subconscious connection between beer, social connectivity and found alternative avenues to express characteristics subdued by social etiquette.

I’m pretty certain not frequenting the bar as much will impact my social life but coming to terms with that is part of the process, maybe I’ll take up knitting smiley face emoji .