By Gillian May: For Complete Post, Click Here…
Many of us think we can drink and be merry for the rest of our lives. Wrong.
I started drinking in my teen years — not just with my friends, but my family too. In fact, my family considers it a right of passage to have your first drink in your teens. The idea goes something like this, “well we know you’re going to drink, so you may as well start with us so you can learn how to drink properly,” whatever properly means.
Unfortunately, in alcoholic families, once we have that first drink, we never stop drinking, never mind drink “properly.” Many alcoholic families have a similar culture — birthdays, holidays, bad days, or good days — alcohol is always there to numb the pain or bring a false sense of comfort and joy.
The problem with alcohol, though, is you think you have time. You believe you have a whole life where you can drink and just enjoy it all. That’s a great fantasy, but it rarely works out that way, especially for alcoholics.
The other thing that happened in my family (and I suspect for other alcoholic families) is that there comes the point when all the magic of alcohol fails. It begins around the mid ’40s after decades of drinking — nervous system problems, digestive upset, headaches, mental illness, failing health and vitality.
