Alcohol: The Socially Acceptable, Deadly Addiction

When alcohol causes irreparable damage, it’s already too late

Sarah Paris
8 min readJun 14, 2021
Photo by Michael Discenza on Unsplash

I love you more than I did the week before. I discovered alcohol.”- “Alcohol,” Barenaked Ladies

When I used to think of alcoholics, I pictured old men. I thought of the throngs of regulars from bars where I’d worked — who’d plant their lonely butts firmly on a stool at noon and leave six hours later. I visualized movie scenes of young teens who escape their trailer park after an abusive, alcoholic father — always in a white “wife-beater” tank top — hit them one too many times.

Alcoholism plagued past generations of my own family. My paternal grandfather died of cirrhosis months before my birth. My paternal grandma passed from alcohol-related heart issues eight years later. But my parents, stained with childhood trauma and healed through faith, largely abstained from drinking through my formative years. Even now, they may have a glass of red wine to mark a special occasion, but otherwise don’t drink socially or privately.

As I hit my teen years, social anxiety and peer acceptance compelled me to down vomit-inducing fruity concoctions at parties — typically served in a large tub or trashcan. The yellow flag of caution kept me from indulging frequently, but I had my moments. Through…

--

--

Sarah Paris

Author of Signs My Toddler Has a Drinking Problem (humor collection).Freelance writer of all things. Looper features writer. Believer. Adventurer. Semi- funny.