Why is alcohol so addictive?
Alcohol. Some know how to measure well, others drink more than is good for them. And whether you drink a lot, little or average; everyone knows that alcohol is unhealthy for body and mind. But why do you keep drinking it? What makes alcohol so addictive?
Suppose you are having a bad day. Your manager is not satisfied, your partner is not feeling well, you feel lonely or whatever. Then it can be nice to drink a glass of alcohol. And another one. And another one. Before you know it, the bottle is empty. Slowly you forget your bad day, because you get intoxicated by the alcohol. You may even feel equally satisfied or happy. This is because, thanks to drinking alcohol, endorphins are produced. Also called the happiness hormone. The endorphins produced are sent by the brain to different parts of the body.
More, more, more
You can imagine that you want to experience this feeling of happiness more often. Especially when you suffer from stress, gloomy showers or are dealing with major setbacks. Every time you drink, you forget about your problems or your stressed feeling fades into the background and you release endorphins. You experience your problems or stress as less intense and you feel a bit better (you think). Before you know it you need alcohol on a daily basis to forget the day and your worries and to experience a certain feeling of happiness. What you don't realize is that you actually crave a shot of endorphins.
Alcohol + endorphins are addictive
When you drink regularly to forget your own misery or to 'relax completely', you link alcohol to happiness. This ritual can lead to addictive behaviors. You want to drink to forget or to relax no matter what the consequences are. The headache, the bad sleep, disappointing people: you may feel guilty, but take it for granted.
Create endorphins naturally
How can you ensure that you do feel that happiness hormone flowing through your body, but that no alcohol is involved? We come with tips!
| Natural Endorphins
To play sports If you put a lot of stress on your body in a sporty way, you will automatically feel better. During intensive exercise, your body sends a pain stimulus to the brain. Your brain converts this pain stimulus into endorphins. Laugh Smile happily! When you laugh, nice and loud and full, you make quite a lot of endorphins. Even if you just pull up the corners of your mouth, you're already producing some of the happiness hormone. Laughter is the best medicine for stress. Put on your favorite comedian if you fancy a glass of wine or a beer and just laugh. Sex A game of sex does wonders for your endorphin production. With yourself or with someone else. That does not matter. A good hug or a nice kiss also helps! massages Physical contact triggers the production of endorphins. After an extensive massage or a session of acupuncture (because: pain stimuli) you feel reborn and you are full of endorphins. Source: drymuscles.nl |
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