“My man P put me on to the shorty Henn Rock. Now Henn Rock is strong
enough to make your heartbeat stop” -Drink Away the Pain, Mobb Deep

Some of us do try to drink away the pain, but drinking will not take us
away from reality and solve our problems. What does happen though is
that instead of just trying to have a good time and forget about
life’s challenges, we end up hurting ourselves and often the people we
love because we go too far.

If you are that dude at the party who can drink 5 or more drinks in 2
hours or a woman who can drink 4 or more in that same time? You are a
binge drinker. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a
standard drink is 0.6oz of alcohol which can be found in a 12oz beer,
8oz malt liquor, 5oz wine, 1.5oz of 80 proof liquor such as whisky,
vodka, gin or rum. If you can go through several of these back to
back, homie, you are a “Binge Drinker”.

Let’s keep it real…If you need more and more drinks to feel “a
buzz” every time you go out, that means that your tolerance is
becoming too high for the average amount of alcohol that it takes to
feel “right” and you are on the road to becoming an alcoholic.

Let me tell you what that is dangerous…
– Risky Business – You’ll make really bad decisions like gambling your
life savings or sleeping with some ol’ dingy ug mug an getting
pregnant because you were too drunk to see and were too out of it to
use protection.
– Sexual Dysfunction – How about you not even being able to perform at all?
– Physically hurting yourself or someone else which could result in
jail time. When people get drunk, they can get violet and hurt
themselves or by accident may kill someone because they were driving
drunk.
– Embarrassment – Like falling and busted your a$$ in front of a group
of people or vomiting all over your friend’s car or even worse,
shatting in your pants. Save yourself the embarrassment. Keep it
simple. Have a drink or two and stay on point.
– You could get alcohol poisoning because of the high blood alcohol levels.
– Your pregnant? Your baby could die through miscarriage or stillbirth
or be born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome if they do survive. As a
matter of fact, if you are trying to get pregnant or are a man trying
to get someone pregnant, you could be messing with the functioning of
your whole reproductive system.
– You increase your risk of all kinds of health problems like high
blood pressure, liver and heart disease and stroke.
– You also increase your risk of certain cancer such as cancer of the
mouth, colon, esophagus, liver and breasts.
– We all know that alcohol affects your learning. So unless you just
want to be a dumb a$$, literally, take it easy.

Do you have a problem?
– You mess up all kinds of relationships. Your parents can’t stand
you. Your girl thinks you stink. Your co-workers call you lazy. Your
boss is ready to fire you. And your children have said, “Mommy,
What’s wrong with Daddy?” That is a problem. Fix it.
– Have you tried to cut down or stop drinking but can’t?
– Do you experience cravings to drink?
– Do you often end up drinking more than you expected to?
– Are you often sick from hangovers?
– Has drinking interfered with handling ya business? Ex: School or
work relationships? Neglecting your home? Arguing with friends and
family while you are drunk?
– Do people suggested that you need to stop or that you have a problem
hanging liquor?
– Do you give up activities or relationships that you enjoy to drink instead?
– Do you experience withdrawal symptoms like shaking, getting angry
easily, can’t sleep, feel depressed or anxious. Are you vomiting all
over the place after drinking?
– Do you spend more time drinking than you do reading?

If you have answered yes to any of these, that means that you are
still alive and do have a chance. I suggest that you get professional
help immediately. Call information and ask about local or even
national organizations that may be able to help you. If you don’t
trust that, go to a doctor. Tell them that you’d like some help. If
you don’t trust that, go look at the drunks on the side of the road
and ask yourself what you are willing to do to not get to that point.
Don’t be so cocky to think that it can’t happen. Do you really think
they knew they’d end up that way?

– SciHonor Devotion

SciHonor Devotion, CD, CPD, CCCE, CMA, CWSP is a contributing writer
to the Hood Health Handbook set. She is a Labor Doula, Postpartum
Doula, Childbirth Educator, Homebirth Midwife Assistant and Womb Sauna
Practitioner who serves women and girls in her community through
workshop, ceremony and rites of passage. She is also Co-Owner of
Queen’s Quisine: Vegetarian and Vegan Catering Company and can be
contacted at www.facebook.com/EarthDoulas / SciHonor17@gmail.com /
www.facebook.com/QueensQuisine