If you are a social media user, take a moment to think about the posts you see from your “friends.”
The odds are pretty good that most of them are positive: pictures from their vacations, various “humble-brags” about their careers, examples of funny or impressive things their kids have said or done. Consume too much of that stuff and you can start to feel like your life does not measure up. Meanwhile, you might be carefully posting only positive things about your own life (which might be making someone else feel less than great).
Even though most people realize that what they are seeing on social media is usually made up of carefully chosen highlights from other people’s lives, it is still pretty easy to convince yourself that everyone you know is doing better than you are in all kinds of areas. That is one of the primary reasons folks post their own highlights: as a way of keeping up with what they see from others.
In reality, all those folks in your feed are likely struggling in various ways—just like you are. Social media is a place where reality and appearance do not necessarily match up perfectly.
Why do we bring this up? Well, it is worth noting that social media can be truly problematic for a person in recovery from a substance use disorder. That’s a topic for another day. The other reason we mention this disconnect between appearances and reality is to highlight the ways in which alcohol is represented in the world differ from the all-too-real challenges faced by individuals for whom alcohol becomes a problem.
Let’s take a look at that divide—and what it might mean for your ongoing recovery.
Alcohol Seems to be Part of Every Activity
When you take a moment to think about it, you will probably be a little surprised at just how available alcohol is in our everyday lives. You can get it at a bar or a restaurant or a club, of course, but also at a sports stadium, a theater, a party or reception (fancy or not-so-fancy), and so on.
It can feel as though alcohol is a central part of all of these activities—and that everyone is indulging. So much so that you might feel awkward at a gathering of one kind or another if you are not drinking.
While it is certainly true that alcohol is widely available and many people drink, it is not true that alcohol is central to any given activity. There are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available at the bar, the restaurant, or the club. That is true at the stadium, the theater, and the party, too. And while they may not be immediately obvious when you look around, in all of those situations, there will be plenty of folks who are drinking something other than alcohol. You can certainly be one of them.
Lifestyle Advertising Suggests You Need to Drink
As a rule, advertising for alcoholic beverages does not spend a whole lot of time arguing for the specific benefits of any given product. Sure, you might see an emphasis on the number of calories or on taste comparisons or what have you. But most advertising for alcohol focuses on suggesting that these beverages are defining features of various lifestyles.
Want people to know you are just one of the boys (or girls)? There’s a beverage for that. Want to be attractive to the opposite (or same) sex? There’s a beverage for that. Want to be seen as cool or sophisticated or manly or feminine? There are beverages for all of that, too.
If you see yourself as a certain kind of person (or aspire to be a certain kind of person), you might find yourself thinking that you should drink what those kinds of people drink. The alcoholic beverage becomes a status accessory or group identifier—like the kind of car you drive, what you wear, and so on.
But all of this alcohol-as-image messaging is a mirage. No matter how you see yourself or how you would like others to see you, drinking hardly needs to be the defining characteristic of your image.
A Reminder: Alcohol Has Been Linked to Cancer
Sometimes you hear people suggest that drinking alcohol has health benefits. Of late, that notion has been called into serious question. Here’s a link back to our post about the link between alcohol and cancer.
We Can Help You Take Back Control of Your Life
At French Creek Recovery Center, located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, we help individuals put alcohol and other substances behind them so they can build a brighter future for themselves.
We offer medically supervised detoxification to ensure you can weather the symptoms of withdrawal in a safe environment that is free of temptations. We follow that with a rehabilitation program that can also address mental health disorders—depression, anxiety, trauma-centered issues, and more—that may be entangled with your substance use disorder. And we provide ongoing support after your time in treatment comes to an end.
If you are ready to make a change for the better, we are ready to help you accomplish your goals.