Positive effect of alcohol?

[Bob]

Interesting and a little scary.

I've noticed this a few times.  Alcohol reduces/numbs the body's ability to feel pain.

And must do something similar for procrastination.

If I have a paper I'm putting off for a class.  Drink a bit.  Then crank the paper out.  Later, the results might not be the greatest, but the paper is written.  And more often than not, that's really good enough.  ("You turned a paper that matches grading criteria x, y, and z... therefore, A!  congratulations!")


Drink a bit, the body numbs up.  Do a household project -- Boom, done.

Key point being I don't quite have to be there.  There's something removed.

Exercise?  Aerobic or weights?  Drink a bit.  Numb up.  Exercise whatever I think I think I should be doing.   Yes, maybe sore the next day, but the exercise still gets done.

Practicing?  Want to push something?  Don't want to feel maxed out at 100%?  Drink a bit.  Numb up.  100% from before now feels like 50%.  Easy enough to push well beyond that.  Which makes me wonder if what felt like a 100% before really was 100%.  If I'm numbed a bit I can do so much more than that previous 100%.


So I'm thinking....  Scary enough concept to be able to numb up and become more effective/efficient at things.  Certainly you can't do that all time.  But what about... sometimes?  There's no harm in giving a nice to push things now and then, right?

Do you see any problems with that?

Because I'm thinking... Now and then... Once a week or once a month... Just numb up a bit and get something things done, push things a bit.  Wear and tear felt the next sure, but it's still the same -- It's still a push.  

And the paper still gets written.  Projects I've been putting off get done.

I suppose that too -- The energy.  Part is procrastination.  Part is just having energy to do things.  But drink a bit, numb up a bit.... Then there's plenty of energy.  No much pain.  

I'm wondering how much of a downside there really is compared to the benefit.  Drinking would contribute to liver damage, but if it's not actually done that often.... A push is a good thing for practicing.  Projects are good to have done.

I suppose the scary thing would be to start relying on it.  Or... To not actually use willpower to accomplish things.  Normal conditions, lowered.  It's not quite the same.  It's not quite reliable or something to use from day to day.  

Or drinking and then jogging too much, pushing it too much I suppose, raising the pulse too much.  It still sounds a bit doubtful if it's not done often.

Any thoughts?  It just seems like there's an occasional niche use for alcohol in practicing and for getting things done in daily life now and then.

[Bob]

Negatives:
Addiction/reliance
Not actually being present
Quick to anger possibly, although anger can be useful/get things done/improved
Wear tear or the downside of unnumbing

[Bob]

Stupid decision making too I suppose.  But if you stick to a plan and you still know what you're doing...

I'm laughing at the typo in the thread title now. 

Overconfidence.  Lowered perception.

And probably not being in tiptop performance shape.  Then again, how often do you need 100% peak performance?  Something much lower is perfectly fine for normal life.

[hfmadopter]

Do you know that the organization and organizations associated with, Alcoholics Anonymous has meetings filled with people who started justifying the use of alcohol in much the same way that you are ? Alcohol is evil and if not it certainly can bring out the evil in human beings. I've shed alcohol in my life, not through any organization but have been part of bringing a few to that end who's lives were absolutely ruined, at least in part by it's use. For two, Alcoholics Anonymous is the only way that they finally came to terms with it. Did you know that the basic principal behind that organization is to turn to a power greater than yourself to help deliver you from the grip of alcohol ? Yes, call it what you want, that power. I call it God. I call it God and it's much easier to turn there before alcohol becomes a problem in your life than after, IMO. I find much solace in simple prayer, meditation and a cup of tea. Alcohol is poison in your body and in your sole, believe it.

 Here is an example. It's taken my X-wife, yes I said X, 45 years to overcome the power of alcohol. She is a new person now. God bless her for that, for her finally finding her way clear of the bottle !! Our adult children understand this as well, don't let that happen to you. it could be you walking in the shoes she has finally left behind after all these years. The stories of ruin are very real. The stories of resolve, redemption if you will, recovery a better word yet, just as real but why go there in the first place.

[theholygideons]

Negatives:
Addiction/reliance
Not actually being present
Quick to anger possibly, although anger can be useful/get things done/improved
Wear tear or the downside of unnumbing

Hey bob,
you seem like a sensible consumer of alcohol. I've yet to start drinking, would you care to recommend some refreshing and popular beverages to me? 

[Bob]

Red wine is supposed to be healthy.  It has resveratrol.


Clean fridge.   Finally done.
Weights, aerobic exercise done.  Pushed more than normal for both. 
Some other things organized.
And still ready to do more... like practicing.  Or a few more little projects done.


I suppose a couple aspirin and plenty of water will only help.  If it's the same brand/type of alcohol, the effect could be measure out, assuming food intake is the same too.


Wore off after about an hour and a half.  I have a good idea of how much I took.


I suppose tolerance could be an issue too, always spoiling things.  It would take more and more over time to create the same effect.

[hfmadopter]

Red wine is supposed to be healthy.  It has resveratrol.


Clean fridge.   Finally done.
Weights, aerobic exercise done.  Pushed more than normal for both. 
Some other things organized.
And still ready to do more... like practicing.  Or a few more little projects done.


I suppose a couple aspirin and plenty of water will only help.  If it's the same brand/type of alcohol, the effect could be measure out, assuming food intake is the same too.


Wore off after about an hour and a half.  I have a good idea of how much I took.


I suppose tolerance could be an issue too, always spoiling things.  It would take more and more over time to create the same effect.

We are all free to choose as we see fit for ourselves. I wish you all the best moving forward!

[Bob]

It's just an interesting idea.

If you lift a heavy weight, you can lift it and feel it normally.  Or if you numb up, you can still lift it the same but not feel anything.  Are the results going to be the same?

[hfmadopter]

Red wine is supposed to be healthy.  It has resveratrol.

Red wine is fairly proven to be heart healthy at a rate of about 5 ounces per day. It is a fairly common allergy to be allergic to the tannins in some red wines. The Old Vine red wines for one and often Cabernet. That's not to say everyone is allergic to that but it happens. If you have a gluten allergy you want to watch out for red wines produced outside the USA ( contact the manufacturer to be sure). Only the USA as far as I know requires wine makers to make their wines with no wheat or flour seal for the corks and kegs it is brewed in. Just sayin, fact not fiction. When you have a gluten allergy you read all up on this stuff, because nobody likes literally crapping out pieces of their guts because of it, alcohol product related or not. Gluten free is consider 20 parts per million gluten or less in this country.

[ted]

Do you see any problems with that?

Yes, as an aid to finishing tasks there are problems for me personally because having a drink does not propel me to do anything. As I have said several times in discussions about alcohol, it progressively lost its charm for me over several decades. I keep a bottle of brandy on hand, the only drink I like, but it is used so seldom it usually ends up in my wife's Christmas cake or London bread pudding. It has no positive effect for me except the mildly euphoric sensation after the first sips and then I can't be bothered.

[hfmadopter]

It's just an interesting idea.

If you lift a heavy weight, you can lift it and feel it normally.  Or if you numb up, you can still lift it the same but not feel anything.  Are the results going to be the same?

Tell yourself that answer in ten years. You can live it and find out for yourself. I shed my life of alcohol because I feel it's a pollutant in my body and I was by far not a heavy drinker. I've seen too much to be that, I take too many meds to bother finding out otherwise. I believe in grace spiritually. All good reasons to abandon in fact, the healthy red wine you speak of.. I do not like how I feel with wine in my body or any other alcohol in my body. It's not the real me, it loosens the tongue, the limbs have less control, the mind is less sharp if even slightly ( and I need all of the sharpness I can get !!!).

[hfmadopter]

Yes, as an aid to finishing tasks there are problems for me personally because having a drink does not propel me to do anything. As I have said several times in discussions about alcohol, it progressively lost its charm for me over several decades. I keep a bottle of brandy on hand, the only drink I like, but it is used so seldom it usually ends up in my wife's Christmas cake or London bread pudding. It has no positive effect for me except the mildly euphoric sensation after the first sips and then I can't be bothered.

In terms of taste, indeed brandy could be a favorite of mine as well and especially Cognac.. However, beyond what I'm speaking of, brandy kicked off muscle inflammation in me. Vodka palpitations, eventually the same with whiskey. Beer a bad attitude and dull head ache, wine fall asleep and or a loose tongue. It's all bad, nothing positive at all and in small quantity at that. For me and for many, it's poison in my body. Nobody needs alcohol to sustain life, they just want it and possibly crave it. At that it's helped people willingly ruin their lives. It's never produced goodness in life or improved quality in the long term. It's use has ruined entire families. No good.

[ted]

It's never produced goodness in life or improved quality in the long term. It's use has ruined entire families. No good.

Agreed. New Zealand is gradually going under a sea of bottles and alcohol induced violence is becoming frequent in Auckland streets. Those who are not violent with it seem to think two bottles of wine a day is normal, and statistically it probably is. I remember my grandmother, a strict teetotaller all her life, at ninety-three, saying to me, "Drink, grandson, will be the ruin of this country." She was dead right.

[outin]

If I have a paper I'm putting off for a class.  Drink a bit.  Then crank the paper out.  Later, the results might not be the greatest, but the paper is written.  And more often than not, that's really good enough.  ("You turned a paper that matches grading criteria x, y, and z... therefore, A!  congratulations!")

Did not work for me...I had to redo countless of papers that I wrote accompanied with a bottle of red...They just didn't seem that smart the following day 

On the other hand one may get over the fear of a blank page with it. But after the computers came that wasn't much of a problem anymore...you just start writing anything and it's easy to change and rearrange.

For me the most positive effect of alcohol was always it's muscle relaxing effect. Certain physical tasks were much easier after a drink or two...If only I was smart enough to stop at that 

[iancollett6]

I don't see the problem of enjoying a few six packs in moderation, it gives me something to do,...in the mornings,....when I'm by myself.

[thalbergmad]

The main positive effect of alcohol is that it makes women look better.

Thal

[ahinton]

The main positive effect of alcohol is that it makes women look better.

What - to women as well as men?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

To answer that, you would need to ask a woman.

Thal

[outin]

I haven't noticed, but I rarely pay attention to such matters with or without alcohol...