There aren’t many substances in the world that people willingly consume while knowing the consequences more than alcohol. Beer, wine, and other liquor are used to celebrate life’s greatest moments. They’re also used for coping with the bad times when there seems to be no way out of a horrible situation.
There is nothing wrong with drinking an alcoholic beverage in moderation on the weekend. The unfortunate reality of drinking is that it takes over far too many lives, leading to devastating fallout. There are potentially fatal results if someone gets behind the wheel of a car or truck after drinking too much.
Even if you recover and live an everyday life after driving under the influence, the financial implications are enough to ruin you forever. DUI car insurance is complicated to obtain, as you are a considerable risk to the insurer. If you do maintain your policy after getting ticketed, the increase in your rates will be enormous.
Let’s discuss drunk driving and other ways alcohol wreaks havoc on your wallet. Buying several bottles of fancy mezcal or fruit liqueurs will end in financial ruin if you are not careful. We’ll also discuss ways to recover from alcohol addiction, like talking to your family and attending a support group.
1. Using alcohol when you are suffering
Often when people are suffering from depression, they try to find a way to numb their feelings of pain. The ability to chemically alter behavior and mental state through drugs and alcohol is one of the main reasons for substance abuse.
When people drink to help ease their suffering, they often don’t consider how much they spend. After binging on drinks for an extended period, they might finally notice the dent in their bank account. Upon seeing the lack of money, the depression might get even worse. It is a circular issue.
This means that alcohol goes from something that seems like a solution to mental health problems, making the whole thing even worse. It is crucial to never turn to alcohol in times of trouble because you will regret the permanent damage it inflicts on your life.
It takes work to recoup the money spent on nights out drinking. An excellent way to never get into this habit is only to drink when someone offers to buy one for you. This way, it becomes an activity only done on special occasions, not daily. Going out of your way to buy your drinks every night will snowball, and there is still time to recover that cash.
2. Drunk driving
This is one of the most critical topics surrounding drinking, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s one thing to hurt yourself. It’s another to start putting others at risk of dying because you decided to operate a massive vehicle without all of your faculties.
Getting into an accident because of being under the influence can ruin your finances thoroughly. If you don’t have comprehensive car insurance coverage, you will be left out in the cold with many expenses caused by a car wreck. There’s paying for damage to your vehicle, the other person’s vehicle, and the hospital bills for both parties.
If you have good insurance coverage, that will go away the second you cause an accident. No insurer wants the risk of you causing more damage to yourself and others from drinking. Your rates will increase tremendously, and you might even lose your policy.
Some of the same things apply if you get pulled over for a DUI or a DWI. You avoid all the damages, but your driving record will forever be affected. It could take years before an insurance company will grant you a policy for a reasonable price. You must prove that alcohol will never factor into your driving habits again.
Try taking a defensive driving course or going to an alcoholics therapy session to show your loved ones and your insurance company that you care about improving yourself. If you show that you are better than before, society will no longer judge you and worry about your riskiness.
3. Underage drinking
Parents and other adults need to ensure that they keep alcohol out of the lives of their teenagers for as long as possible. Drinking and driving are one of the most common causes of accidents in teenagers.
There needs to be no access to alcohol for young drivers until they are 21 years old. That doesn’t mean teens who want to drink will go without, though. Friends and other older acquaintances are always willing to help teenagers get alcohol. High school and college parties are littered with substances and alcohol abuse.
Parents, teachers, and other positive influences in teens’ lives must give young people the resources they need to understand alcohol. Showing drunk driving statistics and demonstrating how it can ruin you financially are good starts.
You can’t stop someone from getting alcohol if they want to, but you can at least show them why it’s a poor choice. Don’t attack your teen when teaching them these lessons, though. Being accusatory or acting like teens have already started drinking when they haven’t is an excellent way to cause rebellious attitudes.
Talk about how alcohol can ruin some things your teenager desires to do in early adulthood. Dreams of going off to college, achieving your life goal or getting a great job can be ruined by alcohol. Kids won’t have the money to pay for the things they want, like apartment rent or their first car if they give it to older adults for alcohol.
4. Getting help
The first step to overcoming any addiction is to seek help. Hopefully, these warnings and potential scenarios help illustrate that alcohol addiction is not a choice after it starts to consume you. Let people know you need support.
If you are a family member watching from the outside, you must figure out what you can do. Alcohol doesn’t have to be destructive if used sparingly and at the right moments. It is truly a group effort to ensure that everyone you care about is loved and supported during trying times involving substance abuse and alcohol addiction.
