Can alcohol help you sleep?

Technically, yes—in the same way that getting hit by a bus helps you lie down. Sure, you’ll pass out faster, but you’ll wake up at 3am with a heart rate that suggests you’ve been chased by wolves, desperate for water, wondering why the ceiling hates you. REM sleep? Never heard of her.
Can alcohol relax you?
Briefly. Then it un-relaxes you, with interest. It’s like taking out a payday loan for calm—you’ll pay it back tenfold in 4am existential dread and random Sunday sadness.

Try putting down the alcohol to get a really good night sleep. Here are thoughts on what works from our Boom Rethink the Drink Community How to get a Good Nights Sleep When You Stop Drinking or Learning to Fall Asleep Sober

Can alcohol make you happy?

For approximately 47 minutes, you will feel like the main character in a film where everyone loves you. Then the credits roll, the lights come up, and you’re crying about something your nan said in 2007.

The bottom line is alcohol is boring. The people who consume it become boring. It’s the exhaustively repetitive patterns that grow stale. Terrible sleep leads to hangxiety and low level depression the next day.

When I was drinking, I was stuck in a rut of being unhappy, but not able to motivate myself to make and maintain the changes I needed to make in order to move on. 

Try putting down the alcohol to find real happiness The Potential for Joy is in Each Day One

Can alcohol help with anxiety?

Much like using petrol to put out a fire “helps” with temperature regulation. Tomorrow’s anxiety will be today’s anxiety plus interest, plus the added bonus of trying to remember what you said and to whom.

The most common reason that people give for drinking too much too often is anxiety. If this story sounds familiar to you – Alcohol, Anxiety and the Octopus – thry some of these tips and tools to tackle the anxiety without the booze – Anxiety, Alcohol and Sobriety

The Alcohol and Depression Rollercoaster

Can alcohol kill germs?

On a surface, yes—hand sanitiser works beautifully. In your throat? Your throat is not a kitchen counter. Different rules apply.

Can alcohol help with pain?

It can help you not notice pain temporarily. This is also what denial does, and denial is free and doesn’t make you text your ex.

How to Stop Drinking Away the Pain

Sober Momentum- Enjoying the Journey by Learning to Tone Your Vagus Nerve

Can alcohol expire?

Hilariously, yes—even booze knows when to call it a day. If only we’d all had such wisdom.

Can alcohol freeze?

Not easily, because it’s chemically stubborn. Much like the voice in your head that used to say “just one more.”

Thawing Out the Fear of Going Sober

Can alcohol be healthy in moderation?

“Moderation” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this sentence. Recent research suggests the only truly safe amount is none, which is less catchy for wine labels.

4 Great Posts to Help You Answer the Moderate Drinking Question

Can alcohol improve your performance?

At what, exactly? Karaoke confidence, perhaps. Literally anything else? Studies say no. Science is, as always, a buzzkill.

Can alcohol kill you?

Unfortunately yes, in both the short-term (overdose) and long-term (178,000 deaths per year in the US alone). This is the one “can alcohol” question where the answer is unambiguously, devastatingly real.

What is the Life Expectancy of an Alcoholic?

In conclusion

Alcohol can’t do what we’re actually looking for. But we can.

I remember when I got to the point where I just got so tired of the fight. I said to myself “how can my life be different?”. That changed things for me. I wanted to explore how my life could be different. I knew my drinking was hurting me and my family but somehow I felt so attached to it. Was I addicted? Not sure. Am I an alcoholic? Not sure. All I know is that I knew something had to change.

What’s worked for me was finally understanding that I did not have to carry the guilt or the shame. I had agency. As an adult I have a choice in the life I want to live. My agency gives me power.

I started with a new therapist yesterday. On the intake form it asks about alcohol and coping. I put down sober five years. So, the doctor asked me about my drinking and how I was able to stop drinking by myself. I told him about the BOOM community and how connection is the opposite of addiction. He was absolutely amazed by this.

I started telling him about all the books I’ve read (all recommendations from people here) and all the crazy shit I did to stay sober. We had a bit of a laugh at some of my early day antics like putting my pajamas on as soon as I got home from work, spending enormous amounts of money on herbal teas , but I realized that this is the first time ever that I’ve been honest about my drinking with a doctor or therapist. EVER. Over five years and finally the shame is lifting.

Finally.

The internet is full of people searching for permission slips, hoping Google will tell them the thing they want to hear. We’ve all been there. But here you are—reading this. Are you part of our community, doing the work? That’s the best answer to any question beginning with “can alcohol.”