“Alcohol poisoning occurs when very high levels of alcohol in the body shut down the areas in the brain that control key critical areas such as breathing or heart rate.” is the definition the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS) posts which is consistent with Web MD, which authors: “alcohol poisoning is when there's too much alcohol in your blood, and it causes parts of your brain to shut down. It's also called alcohol overdose.”.
Did you catch “Poisoning” multiple times? Look, alcohol is poison. Period. Ethanol (the root ingredient found in consumable “alcohol”), also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, or alcohol, is a member of a class of organic compounds that are given the general name alcohols; its molecular formula is C2H5OH, and it is poisonous.
Poisons destroy brain cells and attack. According to Britannica “the effects produced by poisons may be local (hives, blisters, inflammation) or systemic (hemorrhage, convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, clouding of the senses, paralysis, respiratory or cardiac arrest).”
Also referred to as alcohol overdose, this condition sometimes kills. According to NCDAS, thousands of people die annually from alcohol poisoning.
Any amount of alcohol can affect your body’s health and wellness, and the risk starts from the moment you take a sip. According to American Addiction Centers.
Folks, it’s likened to playing Russian Roulette, where one shot can be fatal. With alcohol consumption, the risk is spread out and taken on one shot at a time.
Two truths are that 1) we are alive and writing this post, and 2) you are alive and reading this post.
We have dodged the bullet.
We know the knowledge of the facts laid out in this post will most likely not affect somebody's decision to continue to consume the poison or abruptly stop consuming the toxic substances. We know from personal experience that the decision is made personally and is made for personal reasons. Whatever motivates somebody to surrender to the addiction to these poisons is acceptable and applauded.
S0, we hope that if you have stumbled upon this blog because you have been binge drinking and are wondering about alcohol poisoning, you might stop for a moment. Just pause. And seriously, ask yourself about your relationship with alcohol. Is it serving you well right now? Or, are you crossing that line where you used to control the alcohol, and now alcohol is controlling you? Could your alcohol consumption be at the beginning of a dangerous plateau?
There is a solution available if you think you have a problem, and that solution is found in a program called Alcoholics Anonymous. This program and the people involved know how to stop the cycle and pick up a new process of healthy living.
Explore the website sober.coffee or reach out to us directly at podcast@sober.coffee, and we will point you in the right direction.
For those on the sober path, we trust that this post reminds us if the poison is still out there. The handle of the gun is no longer near our fingertips. We are grateful that this disease did not kill us and that we live another day to help another alcoholic.
The question we ask is; How many shots do we have left?
Thoughts and ideas for this blog post were taken and built upon from sober.coffee podcast E93 Titled: “#Trending Series: Pt 6: What Is Alcohol Poisoning?” The podcast dropped on 1/4/2023. Click here to hear the podcast
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Alcoholics Anonymous and AA are registered trademarks of Alcoholics World Service. Inc. References to AA, the 12 steps, and 12 traditions do not mean that AA has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication nor that AA agrees with the views expressed herein. This publication is intended to support personal growth and should not be considered a substitute for healthcare professionals' advice. The author’s advice and viewpoints are their own.