10 Reasons Why People Use Alcohol

Alcohol is used by certain persons for several reasons, based on several factors. Its use is related to factors ranging from emotional, social, religious, physical, to psychological.

Some of the reasons why people take alcohol therefore include:
1.To quench thirst: Some see alcohol as an alternative to water when they are thirsty and need something to wet their throat. This is common among palm wine-tappers in villages (palm wine is a special alcoholic sap derived from the palm tree).
2.To promote sleep: Alcohol when taken in small quantity helps to relieve mental tension and relax the muscles hence some make use of it to help them relax and sleep after a strenuous day’s job.
3.To spice up social gathering: Those who drink alcohol believe that without it social gatherings can never be enjoyable, hence they would always include it as part of the necessities to make their gathering lively.
4.To improve appetite: It also has the power to improve one’s appetite; as such those who suffer from some kind of anorexia would want to take it to help bring up their appetite.
5.For boldness: Some people who are naturally shy, timid or fearful see alcohol as a way of getting boldness which they cannot naturally sum up on their own. They use it to confront problems which they are afraid to face. Some even take it before approaching a lady for love.
6.To kill anxiety: Alcohol can distract the mind from worries and anxiety, so people who have some kind of worries take it to help take their minds off such worries.
7.Influence from other persons: Alcohol can also be taken as a way of imitating parents who have been watched taking it over the years. Apart from parents, older adults can also have an influence on the youth which would make them want to have a taste of it. Peer pressure and the desire to belong could make one to indulge in alcohol use.
8.Rituals: Alcohol forms the basis for some social or religious rituals. For example in some traditions, social gatherings are declared open using alcohol for blessing. It is also a means of libation to the gods, blessing marriages, offering sacrifices, invoking curses, etc and those who perform such rituals are required to be the first to taste of the drink.
9.Relieve pain: When taken in large quantity it relieves physical pains hence those with chronic pain take it in order to control the pain.
10.To produce euphoria: Alcohol like other drugs of dependence, is able to produce a state of euphoria (an exaggerated feeling of well-being often not justified by circumstances), or a state of ‘high’. Some would want to keep repeating it in order to have this feeling.