Music runs the world and there is nothing that beats music in terms of popularity and the effect it has on people. Unfortunately, the use of alcohol is almost as popular as the consumption of music and a large percentage of people, especially the young generation, are indulging in alcohol consumption worldwide. Truth be told, alcoholism is a problem that is affecting our people and is causing many challenges.
In 2015, statistics according to the National Institute of Health showed that a staggering 15 million US citizens had an alcohol use disorder. Many who’ve been affected have tried to find ways to reduce and eventually get away from the desire to drink in excess. It’s sad to report that many have not been able to overcome this great challenge that is lagging their lives behind. Today, we’ll try and shed some light on overcoming alcoholism and how music can help you do just that. In other words, here are some pointers describing how music can save you from alcoholism:
Dealing with Emotions
Often, when people are undergoing tough times in their lives, there are feelings of sadness, grief, and pain. The sad truth is that most people tend to hide or suppress these feelings by consuming alcohol. Alcohol addiction leads people to evade or deny their emotions. To some, this is a good way to hide from reality, but what they don’t realize is that these emotions pile up and erupt in the future, which is bound to cause a lot more harm than good. The good thing with music is that it affects our emotional state and listening to music can help someone to explore the emotions that are hidden within them, thus eliminating the need to get high. With a professional music therapist, an alcoholic can benefit from discussing their different feelings by pouring out their hearts. Music brings back repressed memories that were not dealt with in the past, and dealing with these kinds of memories can also help reduce the amount of alcohol consumed.
Self-awareness and motivation
Music gives room for a person to identify how they feel about a song that they are listening to. It’s a good thing to be in a position to learn more about yourself and things that you never knew about yourself. It’s a moment of self-discovery. Music also helps someone in the journey of sobriety and especially when facing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, it can keep them motivated to not relapse back into alcoholism. It encourages optimism due to the feel-good energy that music brings.
Helps in connecting with others
Listening to music together with other people is fun. It helps build more connections and a certain kind of excitement is evident, especially if you all enjoy a particular kind or genre of music. You end up singing along to the lyrics and making comments that serve as a topic of discussion. This serves as a good distraction for those who tend to abuse alcohol. The more you listen to music, the less time you have to think about alcohol. It gets you occupied for the better part of your free time.
Reduces stress
The world we live in is challenging and people tend to deal with stress differently. Whenever some people are having stress, alcohol is the solution to their problems. Pleasurable music helps relieve stress and there are various ways you can use music for stress relief. It calms the nerves and causes a good effect on the brain that reduces stress. Instead of turning to alcohol for what might seem as help, music is the real deal. You find peace, you meditate, and keep calm, as music is good for the soul.
One-fourth of students who gamble in new online casinos frequently or always drink while gambling and try to relieve stress. . Drinking when gambling is significantly related for males, but not for females, to size of bet, obtaining additional money while at the casino, and losing more than one can afford. So, keep an eye out on your male children if they try to reduce stress through gambling.
Alcoholism affects every age, sex, and social class. All kinds of treatment, such as rehab, talk therapy, and many more have been tried out but not all of them may work for all people. People use alcohol because they are suffering from something, for fun or because they are simply addicted to alcohol. Music can be an effective tool in fighting alcoholism. Music has the power to transform lives for the better and it can help you go a day, a week, a month or even years without having to say, “I need a drink”.
