Lives
Can drinking ever be good for us?
Mindful life
by Rebecca Lawrence
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ADAM Q
I have always enjoyed drinking alcohol, something which is rather at odds with my job as an addiction psychiatrist. When I first started this work, I gave up alcohol completely for several months, largely due to the horror of witnessing the devastation it can cause. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could— how could I ask others to stop drinking if I couldn’t? I didn’t feel any better or worse, and eventually I let myself drink again, but the easy pleasure of my youthful drinking was gone.
I am now a unit-counter, a drink-controller, and I am very hard on myself if I fail to stick to my own rules. I watch other people with an eye of suspicion, and envy those who either drink, or don’t drink, with abandon. For me, and for many others, drinking and guilt walk hand-in-hand.