The Normalization of Alcohol

“We are supposed to consume alcohol and enjoy it, but we're not supposed to become alcoholics. Imagine if this were the same with cocaine. Imagine we grew up watching our parents snort lines at dinner, celebrations, sporting events, brunches, and funerals. We'd sometimes (or often) see our parents coked out of their minds the way we sometimes (or often) see them drunk. We'd witness them coming down after a cocaine binge the way we see them recovering from a hangover. Kiosks at Disneyland would see it so our parents could make it through a day of fun, our mom's book club would be one big blow-fest, and instead of "mommy juice" it would be called "mommy powder." There'd be coke-tasting parties in Napa and cocaine cellars in fancy people's homes, and everyone we know (including our pastors, nurses, teachers, coaches, bosses) would snort it. The message we'd pick up as kids could be Cocaine is great, and one day you'll get to try it, too! Just don't become addicted to it or take it too far. Try it; use it responsibly. Don't become a cocaine-oholic though.

But with alcohol, it’s different. We do have categories of “normal drinkers” and “alcoholic drinkers,” and often we don’t know which we are. We are given messages through advertising, movies, TV, our parents, our peers, and social media that alcohol is this magical, life-giving substance that will work wonders for us (if we’re normal, which we are assumed to be). We are supposed to be able to tolerate it, and when we can’t, when it doesn’t feel good or things start going to hell for us, it’s not the substance that’s the problem - it’s us. We are damaged, weak-willed, defective, and totally fucked.”

-Holly Whitaker

 My second piece of writing on the Debunking Addiction blog was published two days ago. I wrote it after I heard someone joke about four grown men getting black-out drunk at a one-year-old’s birthday party.

Being in recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) can be lonely and confusing while living in an alcohol-obsessed culture. I wrote this to remind myself of the truth.

Here’s a link: Debunking the Normalization of Alcohol

Constantly feeling triggered does not make me broken.

Constantly feeling triggered and still showing up in this world makes me a courageous human who is doing my best to survive in a society that normalizes and jokes about the drug that almost killed me.

Progress.