You’ve undoubtedly heard about second hand smoking, but what about second hand drinking? Second hand drinking is a rather advanced concept, but when understood, it makes absolute sense.Â
What Happens When People Around You Drink?
When you’re around drinking, you don’t get drunk. But you are still exposed to the consequences of drinking. If someone is a violent drunk, you become accustomed to violence around drinking.
Things that happen around you can alter the way that your brain works. You start expecting behaviors such as erratic, drunken behavior, and your brain becomes rewired to anticipate and expect these things.
Why Is Secondhand Drinking Harmful?
Secondhand drinking can cause a long-lasting traumatic response. Those who are sober need to understand that their drinking may have created these types of patterns in those around them, even if they didn’t intend that to happen.
That means that their family members and friends may have a negative response to their drinking, and may have lingering trauma of their own to deal with.
For someone who is sober, they should also be aware that it’s possible that being around people drinking could set them into the same mental patterns as when they drank. Even if they don’t get triggered into drinking again, they may still feel in the same “head space” as they were when drinking, and may make the same mistakes.
How Do You Recover from Secondhand Drinking?
Time and therapy are necessary to recover from things like second hand drinking, which can change the way that you think and feel. Often, family counseling is recommended for those who are recovering from substance abuse disorders, so family members and loved ones can start to heal as well. It’s important to recognize that drinking doesn’t just hurt you: it also hurts people around you. As you need to recover, they also need to recover.
Drinking is a complicated disease, and it impacts everyone around you. To learn more about recovery and sobriety, follow the experts at My 12 Step Store.