• Drinking alcohol to excess;
• Illicit drugs;
• Tranquilizers;
• Risky sex practices;
• Overspending;
• Violent behavior

Most people who are alcoholics suffer from depression caused by stress. They use alcohol as a way to make themselves “feel better” about their stress and the related anxiety and depression that it causes. They are, in fact, self medicating. Instead of getting to the root of the cause of their stress, they prefer to mask the stress with alcohol.

Alcohol works to numb the effects of the stress and does relieve anxiety. Unfortunately, alcohol is a depressant and only serves to magnify the depression. Alcohol is also addictive both mentally and physically. People who abuse alcohol can expect to live a shorter lifespan than others due to diseases of the liver as well as the heart that are caused by alcohol abuse. In addition to that, they usually do not have many friends except those that they meet in the bar. Chances are that their alcohol abuse will take its toll on both their professional and personal life.

If you think that you can deal with stress by any of the above methods, you are wrong. Alcohol is not a “cure” for stress. It will, however, eventually lead to more stress in your life such as:

• DUI arrests;
• Being fired from your job;
• Your spouse leaving you;
• Your children not having any respect for you;
• Financial issues;
• Health issues.

Using alcohol is definitely a mask and not a cure when it comes to eliminating stress from your life. The same goes for using illegal drugs and tranquilizers. Many people will go to the doctor and complain about stress. Quicker than a fast draw at a Wild West shootout, the doctor will pull out his prescription pad and write a prescription for a tranquilizer. Tranquilizers are virtually booze in a pill. Only they are twice as addictive. Like alcohol, they have a tendency to build up a tolerance, requiring an increased dosage to get the same effect.

Tranquilizers can be very effective if they are used properly. For example, if someone experiences the loss of a loved one, they may be prescribed tranquilizers for a brief period of time. However, they should not be used as a long term cure for anxiety or depression caused by stress. And they should be monitored, not given out freely as many of them are in today’s society.