BeanyNeamy

Limited edition millennial currently trying to figure out her life purpose. Hobbies include exercising, eating and trying to resist the allure of tequila.

Posts by BeanyNeamy

My hangovers are not that bad but my dislocated knee hurt like hell

0 Comments
Personal stories

Like hangovers, not all drinks were created equal. It takes one hour for a standard drink  to leave your system.  Note that I said one  standard drink, not one drink. A glass of wine can be two standard drinks depending on the alcohol volume and glass size.

So once the alcohol has worked it’s way out my system- what’s left?

­­­­

A wasted (pun unintended) day

Life is short. I’m not overly prone to hangovers, but when I do get them I only want to lie in bed watching netflix. Wallowing in self pity for my self inflicted condition is such a waste of time. I like to get out and do things, and even if I want a lazy Sunday, it is in no way enjoyable if my stomach is churning the entire time.

 

A dent in my wallet

As a broke student, I don’t exactly have open tabs at bars. I’m tactical, sneaking naggins in to drink under the table or pre drinking to the point of oblivion. Yet a naggin, that lasts a few brief hours sets you back €7 or €8 euro, a tenner if you include mixer. While I don’t mind spending my money on having experiences and making memories, I’m not sure that passing out drunk  is a memory worth remembering.

 

A much more considerable dent in my wallet

And the more I drink, the less frugal I become. I learnt the hard way not to bring a bank card out with me to the pub. Racking up €50 on a night of drinks alone seems extravagant when I think of what else that could stretch to. A day of shopping, a nice dinner with cinema after, or just a new pair of shoes. If I added up the money I spend on alcohol over a few months or a year, I could be on a nice weekend getaway right now instead and have skipped the hangovers.

 

The “whoops” moment of my dislocated knee

Fair play if you can hold your hand up and say you’ve never done anything you regret while drinking. I know I can’t. Everything from a slip of the tongue, embarrassing dance moves, bad behaviour or drunk texting an ex counts. I know my moment of fame/shame comes from dislocating my knee on a night out (old hockey injury though- I’m not THAT bad) and not getting medical attention. With my naturally high pain threshold and the numbing ability of alcohol, I sat down for 20 minutes after it happened. Then I was right back up on the dancefloor, without even taking off my heels. I didn’t go to the hospital until the next evening and by then the pain and swelling had really escalated, extending the recovery time. At least I have a beautiful story about my stupidity to tell.

 

Emotional roller coaster trauma

I don’t think anyone can hand on heart say they’re the same rational self when drinking. It’s great to let go of your inhibitions. But it’s not so great to be comforting a drunken friend crying over something that happened two years ago, or worse -to be the drunken crying friend. Everyone knows the stereotypes- the drunk who cries, the drunk who starts a  fight and so on. They say you’re more honest when you’re drunk, but I know I’m just full of shite. I’ve told strangers that I have a new born baby son at home who I’m raising alone (great way to get rid of lads who won’t leave you alone) and that’s just the tip of the bullshit iceberg.

 

Sadness

Since alcohol is a depressant, it’s no wonder I’m generally down the next day is as well. The adrenaline rush and the high from the night before is long gone. My day is tainted with an overwhelming tinge of sadness, that infiltrates the days activities. The enjoyment I’d usually get is sapped, for reasons I can’t explain.

 

I don’t want to go cold turkey to avoid hangovers

I’m learning that alcohol isn’t as glamourous as it’s advertised to be. It’s not this magical liquid that instantly makes you popular or hilarious to everyone you come across. It certainly is enjoyable and has it’s strong points, but there’s negatives such as hangovers to consider too. I don’t want to over do it and be filled with regret afterwards, but I’m just not at a place in my life where I want to go cold turkey. I’m still trying to figure out how to balance it into my lifestyle, without being all or nothing.

 

Editor’s Note

If you’d like some quick tips on reducing alcohol harm, click here.

Do women binge drink more than men?

0 Comments
Personal stories, The big picture

Over the weekend I stumbled across a news story about a  binge drink session  ending badly. It was a Facebook post from a Mother of a 15 year old daughter in the United States. Her daughter had ended up in a 14 hour coma  from alcohol poisoning. Thankfully as of now she is expected to make a full recovery.(Editor’s note We’re not linking to it ,as it’s not clear if daughter gave her permission for her story to be shared)

 

The Mother was trying to help other Mothers

The Mother posted pictures of her daughter lying in her hospital bed, and described the whole incident in an attempt to raise awareness. The Mother was grateful an acquaintance of her daughter had managed to track her down and help seek medical treatment on time, essentially saving the girls life. The Mother was trying to emphasise how fear of getting in trouble should not hold other teenagers back if their friends are ever in similar situations, as it could be a life or death matter.

 

Why is it always Mother’s who warn?

I don’t ever remember seeing viral posts like that when I was in school. Maybe Bebo just wasn’t the right platform for posts like this to go viral, or maybe parents just hadn’t signed up to social networking yet. In the past few years though, I’ve seen multiple pleas from parents to think twice in relation to drugs and alcohol. Yesterday however, I realised that I have never seen a post like this where the child in question is male. Neither have I seen a post like this coming from a father. The exact circumstances and outcomes may change, but the common denominator is always mothers posting about their daughters ordeals.

 

Are women  more likely  to  binge drink?

A quick Google search revealed to me that;

  1. Updated statistics surrounding the topic are few and far between and
  2. That girls are just as likely to drink as boys are – but nowhere indicated the girls are more so inclined that boys.

 

Women process alcohol more slowly than men

I did learn that women process alcohol at a much slower rate than men, which may indicate why I never hear similar stories involving male counterparts. What did strike me about this particular post was that the Mother was more concerned with ensuring children know to seek help when they’re out on a binge drink session, rather than not to binge drink at all.

 

We were never told how to drink to minimise harm

I went to an all-girls school, so there was never a need to indicate that alcohol would affect me more than my male peers.  My alcohol education revolved around reiterating the fact that alcohol is bad. It destroys my brain, causes permanent liver damage and other bodily harm and binge drinking for women is 3-4 units in one setting. (Editor’s note, We’ve now switched to standard drinks, click here for more details)

Never was a conversation facilitated around the reasons why people drink and how to drink to minimise harm.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying we should be encouraging underage drinking. Everyone seems to think that it is inevitable though. Instead of biased scare tactics as a feeble attempt to dissuade, why not empower teenagers by  fully disclosing both the pros and cons of alcohol?

 

Teachers and Parents lack credibility

It’s not at all credible hearing how “drinking is bad” and simply “don’t drink” when it’s coming from teachers and parents who drink themselves. At some point alcohol is going to be an eager experiment to try, and everyone seems to know it.  The current tactics are clearly not working so why keep repeating them and hoping for different results?

 

Teenagers are not idiots

Teenagers (for the most part) aren’t idiots. If alcohol really was as bad as all these figures of authority are making out to be, why is it legal and easily accessible?  Underestimating their ability to make informed decisions is insulting, and not exactly fostering trust.  Instead of forbidding drinking when it seems to be considered inevitable, why not fully educate and give teenagers the tools to drink responsibly if and when they choose to do so? It’s a lot easier to do something when it’s for your own reasons rather than for someone else’s opinion inflicted upon you. So even if underage drinking still occurs, it might at least minimise the damage.

 

Editors Note

If you’d like to know more about reducing the harm from  binge drinking, try out our top tips to reduce alcohol harm course. It’s totally free. Click here for details.

For more information on teenage binge drinking, see the following links.

Binge drinking in Irish teens

Young people and alcohol

Do we need to be concerned about young people’s drinking?

You might also find Women and alcohol interesting.

 

The curse of the Bulmers beer belly

0 Comments
Personal stories

A cold pint of Bulmers in a beer garden during summer. Sipping on a glass of white wine while catching up with friends. Trying out new cocktails in a bar. Kicking back with a few vodkas before heading on a night out. All things I love to do, with a drink to suit any occasion. Yet as much as I love to drink, I have a love hate relationship with it that sometimes causes me to struggle to enjoy it. Here’s why;

 

I have body issues.

Like most females on this planet, I am insecure about my jiggly bits. On the upside, I can drink to a point that I forget to be self conscious about my insecurities. Yet ­­the flipside to that is the next morning when I’ve sobered up, I resent myself even more.

 

Alcohol is nothing but empty calories

Have you ever read the nutrition label on your drink? I don’t know the calories in a bottle of Bulmers. Maybe because it’s rarely there- nutrition is none existent. Alcohol is nothing but empty calories, it actually slows down your metabolism – meaning that your body is so focused on processing the alcohol you’ve consumed, it stops processing the food you’ve eaten and turns the vast majority of it straight to fat.

 

Alcohol slows me down

I’m also one of those strange individuals who enjoys exercising. I love getting a good sweat on, and that one hour of the day that I devote to completely exhausting myself is actually the most relaxing. I get a kick out of making progress and seeing my muscles start to define themselves. Alcohol slows down that process. It hinders my progress and my performance.

 

Why do I drink a day’s worth of calories?

Why do I want to blow the whole weeks worth of ensuring I eat balanced, nutritious meals along with regular exercise to drink a days worth of calories in one session? Most single drinks are more calorific than a doughnut, and it doesn’t just stop there. A few drinks in me and I become a bottomless pit.

 

Suddenly I start craving greasy pizza

Suddenly I start craving greasy pizza or 3 in 1’s and eat things that I don’t even like when sober. A drink here or there is grand for a treat, but I’m an all or nothing kind of person. A night of drinking leaves me full of regret and ashamed of myself as I think of how detrimental I’ve been to my health – if only from vanities point of view.

 

Why does Coke have to tell you calories but Bulmers does n’t?

I’ve only realised the negative effect drink has had on my waistline and self image through doing my own research. How is it that a can of coke has to declare the grams of sugar and calorie count in it, yet the entire alcohol industry can bypass these guidelines? One of the biggest health and weight loss tips out there is not to drink away your calories, but it never seems to refer to an alcoholic drink. The sugar in a neon blue bottle of WKD has to exist just as much as a fizzy drink, yet as a nation we’re uninformed about it.

 

Why are we just tackling food and exercise and not drink?

Ireland is on track to become the most obese country in Europe over the coming years. We’re a nation saturated in drink – so surely to combat this it makes sense to address all aspects of our culture and not just the food and exercise side of things?

 

Editor’s note

If you’d like to find out more about being a social drinker , why not do our free course Sofun ?

Bacardi Breezer did not suit my image anymore

2 Comments
Social Life, The big picture

I can drink “like man”.  I can match any of the lads drink for drink, and I’ll still be standing at the end of the night. Intoxicated, but standing. On occasion I’ve even out drank my male counterparts. The night  ending with me holding their hair back instead of the other way around. For some warped reason, this is something I am strangely proud of. In the patriarchal society we live in today (Click here for “Don’t worry darling, you did n’t burn the beer” )  who wouldn’t want to have the ability to exert their capacity to exist as an equal, if only through alcohol?

 

When was the last time you saw a male clutching Bacardi Breezer?

When was the last time you saw a male clutching an alco pop? The neon blue of WKD or the sunset orange of a Bacardi Breezer doesn’t really match the male image. If you are what you eat, what does your drink say about you? A murky pint in a wide stocky pint glass is much more depictive of a tough, strong man. The dainty slender necked, intriguing west coast cooler bottle should be reserved for the feminine, classy, loving woman instead. Inadvertently we seem to be letting our drinking preferences typecast our roles and image.

 

I want to prove I’m on a par with the lads.

When I “prove my worth” doing rounds with the lads, I’m ordering pints on par with them. Even opting for a vodka and splash seems like a sign of weakness at times. Where have I gotten these notions from, that drinks themselves are gendered? The underlying notion of having my drink link into the image I want to project to the world is strangely intimidating. Are my beverage preferences really my own, or have they been shaped by society from the beginning?

 

I used to enjoy a Barcadi breezer

I used to enjoy a Bacadi Breezer. I thought my tastes were evolving, but was it just my personality adapting my taste buds to the image I  want to project to the world? I didn’t want to be seen as “weak” by choosing the “girly” options, so is that why I transitioned to stronger drinks? Exploring this train of thought is making me wonder if I really actually enjoy drinking. There may be a part of me that is only drinking to match a persona, to fit in with societal norms.

Yet if my choice of poison says so much about me, what do my actual drinking habits say?

 

Drinking away the Irish stereotype

0 Comments
Personal stories, Social Life

With curly red hair and pale skin that has a light splattering of freckles, I’m a walking Irish stereotype. Having recently spent just under a year living in the United States, this was something I learnt to embrace. I’m proud to be Irish, and general American knowledge is that we’re a friendly bunch but drinking anyone under the table and causing the occasional bar fights are second nature.

 

We drink more than most

In the ten months I spent away from home, it revealed a lot to me about Ireland as a nation.  We are friendlier than most, and can strike up a conversation with just about anyone. We also drink more than most, something I was n’t really aware of. Normality for me was having weekends revolve around drinking, whether that’s catching up with friends over a bottle or three of wine or casual pints in the pub. Or necking back shots in a club until you lose your inhibitions to let loose on the dance floor. I’ve so many fond memories that started off with a drink, but since I was under 21 when I embarked on my trip stateside – I was going to have to adjust.

 

It’s harder to drink underage in the US

Don’t get me wrong – I still drank underage there. It was just a lot harder to negotiate. Bars and clubs for example, would still let me in, but branded my hands with permanent marker X’s on each hand. Bathroom attendants would watch you like a hawk to make sure you didn’t wash them off.  Even if I was simply holding a friends drink for them you were instantly kicked out of the establishment, no questions asked. It was a long way from the drunk room in Wezz. (Editor’s note, A local rugby club called Wesley  runs this dance which is nearly a rite of passage for South Dublin teenagers)

 

It’s more acceptable not to have a drink in your hand

The concept of going out without a drink was a new one, but it was better than not going out at all. I could still pre-drink before the night started, but I began to realise that I don’t need the social crutch of alcohol as much as I thought. Nearly everyone else had a drink or two in them, so their tongues were flowing and I could still dance like a lunatic if I wanted  too- without feeling self-conscious. And because my fellow Americans had been raised in these conditions, of suffering through a few years without drinking, it was more acceptable to not have a drink in your hand at all times in a bar or club.

 

American students  drink to get drunk

House parties became my safe haven; I could drink without those shameful X’s that took days to fade off my skin. Instantly though the culture differences became apparent. In Ireland everyone has their individual drink preferences and drinks to it accordingly. American college students start out with the sole purpose of getting drunk.

For most, college is their first experience of drinking so they neck back cheap luke warm beer until they’re spewing up their ring. (Ed’s note, vomiting) The older students have passed this stage, but still haven’t acquire a taste for alcohol- it’s not something to enjoy, just a means to an end.

 

Two options for drinking

You had two options for a drink – cans of the nastiest beer I’ve ever tried, or “jungle juice” which is a homemade cocktail of just about everything on hand including the kitchen sink. I’d never appreciated a cold pint of cider more, and didn’t get the same kick out of drinking. The parties were fun but drinking wasn’t. Yet without a figure of authority to impose the law, drinking was a mandatory sport.

 

The world of Beer Olympics

There were even events called “Beer Olympics” which is an entire day of intense drinking games. A few times I was on and off anti-biotics, and just didn’t feel like drinking. I still went out, I just neglected the supply of beer that tastes like piss.

 

But you’re Irish and you’re not drinking!

That was when I started to realise that the world thinks we’re a bunch of alcoholics. People would come up to  me in shock

“But you’re Irish – and you’re NOT drinking?!”.

The peer pressure to live up to Ireland’s reputation was an unexpected force. I had to defend my choice not to drink, simply because of a stereotype.

 

Americans were allowed not drink

Some Americans I knew choose never to drink for their own personal reasons, and that was greeted with respect and never questioned. Yet the odd night here and there where I was still out having the craic but doing it sober was outrageous. , (Ed’s note, craic is slang for fun)

 

My relationship with alcohol changed

The centre point of every weekend wasn’t always drinking. It was strangely refreshing to realise that I’d been ignoring all these other ways to connect with people. There’s nothing like falling flat on your face with someone while skiing for the first time to bond with someone. Or to run screaming from a haunted house together at Halloween.  Suddenly I was trying all these new experiences, because I wasn’t having my social life pivot around alcohol. -even if it was just taking a day trip to the Zoo. My relationship with alcohol changed from being an all or nothing affair. I didn’t have to drink to have a good time, but I still had the option to drink if I wanted.

 

Editor’s Note

if you’d like to find out more about social drinking, click here