Happy Hour, … Really? ~ Part 1 of 2

So, I was recently at a conference for psychologists and mental health clinicians getting some CEUs and extra clinical training. My mind has been spinning with so many thoughts. Can you imagine it, scores and scores of therapists all in large ballrooms listening, thinking, considering? Yes, it is a different dynamic to have that many therapists in the same room at the same time. Anyway, as part of the conference a speaker spoke about perception and the media related to unity and emotional liberation. As part of this she shared some thoughts about alcohol use connected to these tenets. This got me thinking.

So here is the deal. Is happy hour really happy? Really, think about it. People entering in a restaurant or bar mid-day to drink alcohol which is a downer and it is called happy hour? So happy it appears is not a construct of ones mood or presented affect but rather a conceptual construct connected to their wallet, how much the alcohol costs.

Here is my bone with this idea or social construct. It has been labeled happy hour and in fact does not make one happy. It does in fact provide a setting for socializing and having lunch, as well as having a drink. The paradox here is that alcohol is a in fact a downer. So what is a downer, let me tell you.

Alcohol is a depressant, depressants slow down the central nervous system. Alcohol actually cumbers and blocks the information laden messages that are headed to the brain. The messages that are not fully received by the brain become mixed up and otherwise dysfunctional. What ends up happening is the individuals perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing become temporarily retarded.

No doubt about it, alcohol can help a person feel more relaxed and more socially able. Difficulty is though, most individuals engage in alcohol use and complicate their mood and mental wellbeing. Those battling depression can’t afford to dumb down and numb out their minds. This only numbs you to the thoughts and instead ‘freezes’ you in a ‘no pain zone’ but in fact when you are sober again you’ll find the problems are still there.

More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain. Now you do not have to be drunk and intoxicated but if you are depressed and or battle with depression you better watch the alcohol intake. It is a sinister fluid, on that on some level does mediate anxiety and take the edge off after a tough day at work or loosen you up at a company dinner party … but if you struggle with depression beware.

I consistently counsel my patients to curb or stop drinking all together due to the influence of alcohol on the brain what I call the ’spin cycle’ in other blog posts. Alcohol on the brain is like gasoline on a fire, it fuels faulty thinking and only complicates healing from depression as it is counterfeit healing, an agent that numbs the mind/heart thus the healing too. It will not upset you per se but does help slowly lure you into solving a problem by creating a problem. So, upon embracing alcohol as a solution, it actually becomes THE problem! Now you’ve got an issue with depression yet also have the fallout emotionally, relationally, and physically from the alcohol.