Why do some people become alcoholics and others don't?

According to the statistics for 2020, weeklyalcohol is consumed by 19.6% of men and 15.5% of women. Usually the habit of drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages appears in the student years - not a single meeting in a club or house party takes place without this. And this despite the fact that people are well aware of the dangers of alcohol: we have already said many times that alcohol abuse can lead to cancer and even cause blindness. In addition to this, alcohol is addictive, and over time, a person who drinks occasionally runs the risk of becoming a full-fledged alcoholic. Fortunately, some people find the strength in themselves to keep everything under control and not let alcohol ruin their lives. Scientists from the US have suggested that people do not become alcoholics because they have clear goals in life. But is there any proof for this?

Scientists have told how you can protect yourself from alcoholism

Why do people need a purpose in life

So far, there is evidence that the presence of a cleargoal in life protecting people from alcoholism was not. But American scientists decided to fix this by conducting a survey among 54 healthy students for a whole month. Every morning, the volunteers were asked what goals they have in life and how strongly they are motivated to achieve them. They were also asked every morning and evening if they wanted to drink and if they really intended to do so. In addition to the questionnaire, the scientists studied the brain activity of the students when they were offered a drink.

The survey was conducted among students because people often become addicted to alcohol in their student years.

According to Yuna Kang, the author of the scientific work, earliershe has already conducted studies that have proven the benefits of having a clear life goal for health. For example, it has been proven that if a person knows exactly what he wants to achieve in life, it is easier for him to cope with loneliness - this helped people much more easily survive isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The researcher emphasized that a goal in life can greatly influence a person's thoughts and behavior.

Scientists already know why people like alcohol. In their opinion, craving for alcohol was transmitted to people from monkeys. Here are the details.

How to give up alcohol

The results of the study showed that studentswho were more motivated each morning to achieve their goals in life, were less thirsty in the evening, and it was much easier for them to refuse an offer to drink. At the same time, volunteers without specific life goals showed more brain activity after being offered a drink and were more likely to drink in the evening. In particular, we are talking about the activity of the ventral striatum - this area was previously identified as responsible for the feeling of reward and addiction to alcohol.

People without a clear goal in life find it harder to turn down an offer to drink.

According to the authors of the scientific work, the obtainedthe results may help people avoid becoming alcoholics. This is especially important for students - instead of telling them about the dangers of alcohol, you can try to help them decide on goals in life. After all, the strategy of scaring people with stories about the harmfulness of alcohol has long shown its ineffectiveness - doctors constantly talk about the fact that regular drinking is harmful to health, but people do not pay any attention to it. But if people think carefully about what they want to achieve, cravings for alcohol can be significantly reduced.

See also: What happens to the body in a month if you stop drinking alcohol?

How to stop drinking forever

It is important to note that the study tookOnly students participate. Because of this, the results of the work may not be relevant for older men and women. But nothing prevents every person from engaging in self-improvement - as mentioned above, having a goal in life can not only protect a person from alcoholism, but also generally have a positive effect on health. Unfortunately, there is no universal answer to the question “how to find a purpose in life” - the easiest way to deal with this is to go to a psychotherapist. It will require money, but the result is clearly worth it.

Bullying stories about the dangers of alcohol does not help reduce drinking, so a different approach is needed

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It is worth emphasizing that the life goal is onlyprotects against alcoholism, but does not help to completely stop drinking. To get rid of a bad habit once and for all, you need to make even more efforts. To make it easier, we recently published a collection of facts about quitting alcohol that can help you stop drinking. For example, it has been scientifically proven that after a month alcohol is completely eliminated from the body and a person becomes more attractive. And what person doesn't want to look beautiful?