THIS NAKED MIND

Eggs, Toast and Tea for Supper

I've been watching videos by a writer named Annie Grace about approaching with curiosity the idea of being alcohol free. It's something I decided to investigate when I realized that I had never intended to be a daily wine drinker--one glass while cooking and a refill while eating.  Or one while dressing to go out and another socially.  Or one to help my back pain (never worked). I pretty much wasn't skipping a day and wondered why.  The books and videos by Annie Grace told me. I've been loving the learning process, being enrolled in a free science course, a subject I was never good at.  

I'm finding her programs educational and rewarding and thought I would share some of the benefits, especially the one that took me most by surprise.  Weight loss (though modest) I expected; that gets a ✔.  Extra evening hours when I'm less tired gets a ✔.  The absence of a mild heartburn that I was feeling once in a while.  I put a ✔ there too.  And a ✔ by a sound sleep every night until the sun is up with lots of healthy REM sleep.  

The most surprising benefit took me a few days to notice.  Then I questioned my observation and started paying closer attention to see if this benefit were true.  Here it is:  I've stopped having intrusive thoughts.  You know, those meanie thoughts that are often about something past that we drag around with us?  Basically, those unwanted thoughts that can blindside us.  Maybe a memory, maybe a projection, maybe a fear warranted or not, maybe just a sadness, something we wish had never happened.  Often middle-of-the-night or early morning surprises.  The disappearance of these unhelpful invasions of my peace gets a triple ✔.

I don't know but perhaps the reason is related to the depressive effects of alcohol.  Or perhaps to the cycle the body goes through to rid itself of the alcohol we drink since the body recognizes alcohol as a poison.  As an addictive substance, alcohol creates a need for itself that a drink then satisfies.  The satisfaction lasts about 20 minutes before adrenaline and cortisol kick in to balance the numbing effects of the alcohol.  The adrenaline and cortisol create anxiety, which is then calmed when the anesthetic effect of another drink changes the balance.  This creates a cycle where our body repeatedly seeks homeostasis.  Simple science that I'm sure many knew but not me. 

This new knowledge is changing my feelings about that glass of white wine. And having been alcohol-free since early March, the needs of my body have changed too.  I got hooked on Annie Grace's no-pressure/no-judgment class one other time, after my 2019 back surgery, a pause from alcohol that lasted 2 1/2 years.  Not sure why I forgot how much I liked that.   

So far, I haven't encountered a downside to being alcohol free.  I'm sure non-drinkers knew this, but I didn't. Anyway, if a pause is something you're curious about, I do recommend Annie Grace's Naked Mind series of books.  Or if you just want to learn something new.  From Nina Naomi

Fresh Veg for Supper