It's not just men who do it.
Drinking problems (and other substance abuse problems) typically start off as self medicating other mental health issues that are undiagnosed or untreated, or as a coping mechanism for real life stress.
I think for men, there is a great deal of pressure on them to cope with their own problems on their own instead of seeking help, so they turn to alcohol or other substances.
Women do it too, though.
I think perhaps if there is a difference between male and female problem drinkers, it's that men drink to cope with external problems that are outside of their control (job loss, divorce, alienation) while women drink to cope with "invisible" problems, like depression, anxiety or other undiagnosed mental illnesses, because they are afraid of not being believed or of exaggerating their symptoms. I had started developing the beginning of a drinking problem a couple years ago for basically this reason. I felt empty and bored and lethargic but didn't think I was bad enough off to warrant seeking professional help... I started to numb it all by drinking a bottle of wine every night. I'm grateful I met my boyfriend (who doesn't drink a whole lot) when I did because he helped pull me out of that habit (without knowing. I only told him recently). If I hadn't stopped drinking every night when I did, I don't know how bad it may have gotten. I'm lucky I have much healthier habits now and I can still enjoy a few drinks now and then with friends.
Basically, for both men and women, substance abuse comes down to other mental health struggles being ignored.
lol... Wait.
weknowmemes.com/.../...ever-been-so-drunk-meme.jpg
...
https://i.imgflip.com/2/kb7s1.jpg
- - - Oh, wait... there's more! - - -
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Haha.. I like those.
With those posted, my point, should be quite clear. Not ONLY men do it. Some people use them as a "crutch" or a temporary means to escape.
- - If not careful, it can become a *need* (addiction). Very easy to do and hard to stop once it becomes a habit.
Personal Story Time.
^^ I lost a friend because she needed to drink every night. Then, she got pregnant.. She kept drinking after she KNEW she was pregangnt. I don't mean light drinking, heavy drinking.
I found out and we talked. She couldn't stop and wouldn't admit she had/has a problem. Lost a dear friend, but I can't have that influence in my life.
...
Still catch myself calling her "my friend" because we were friends since the 4th grade.
Haven't spoken to her since I found out. From what people told me, she drank well into her 3rd trimester.
Men drink for the same reasons women do.
But to answer your question, if you're saying that there are more male alcoholics than female, you are correct. I feel men often struggle finding appropriate outlets to express their negative emotions. Men don't often have good role models to show them how to deal with complex emotions. They are pressured by society to be masculine and carry heavy burdens.
If a man does not know how to effectively deal with his emotions in a healthy way, he may use alcohol to alter his mental state so he doesn't have to feel it.
i think it's because men tend to not show their emotions as much as girls do, and therefore they bottle it up instead of "letting it out", which then leads to unhealthy behaviors like drinking to make those feelings go away.
Why do women jump to conclusions? We could nit pick all day. But in the end all guys are the same and all girls are the same. Some people are just better at the negatives of their sex than others. Society and TV has had a huge impact on how we live aamd act. And most of the time we don't even notice it. Guys are terrible at talking about their feelings. Yes some are better than others but all guys hate talking about their feelings for the most part and suck at it. Yes we are able to. But we are way worse than women about it. Society has made opening up and talking about problems feminine. If a guy complains or bitches or opens up about his feelings or problems mostly everyone thinks he's a pussy or gay. Women are expected to open up. Women and men are hard wired a certain way that neither sex will never understand. That's mostly that makes us male and female. So to wrap all that up the reason men drink or abuse drugs instead of opening up and talking is probably because they don't want to be made fun or or embarrassed. Attest that's my take on it.
Because they've been raised to not talk about their feelings.
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Men and women can both do that. It's kind of an easy way to drown out problems in alcohol, dull the senses, blur things out. Lots of people have some kind of "medicine" they resort to when totally stressed out whether it's ice cream or alcohol (latter tending to be much worse).
Unfortunately a lot of people who drink in this way, especially when they're at a point of despair, tend to spiral further and further downwards. Self-destructive drinkers are the worst and they're not really fit to drink in my opinion.
I like to drink but more of a social drinker. I don't like to drink when stressed too much since I find it doesn't make me feel any better. It's all party time drinking for me for fun with friends and only when I'm in a good mood in the first place.
men are supposed to be strong and not show emotions, but you can't suppress them forever and just be fine. if you feel like you're getting crushed by your problems, you look for a way out, or at least something that makes you forget all that shit. in that case alcohol is an easy solution... it makes you feel better, at least for some time and in that moment they don't care that it's the wrong solution
I can relate. When I'm super constipated I drink a gallon of water, and that fixes it, but only temporarily
that's what you're referring to?
Wait... we can drink 'women' away? :v
i3.kym-cdn.com/.../1328554698663.jpg
LOL ok ok, that was a bit mean... hilarious... but mean...
Although the thing is they are just making it worse since they'll be adding one more problem to the mountain of problems they already have... Alcoholism.
It's when we don't have solutions to our problems : (
I don't drink, i don't do it to relax, but i understand why it happen.
Guys need to avoid giving up looking for solutions.
The drink problem comes mostly to the ones that just don't try enough.
To be honest I'm also guilty of this sometimes, I think to some extent everyone does or did this before. But I agree that it's more common or at least more prevalent in men. I think it's to do mainly with the fact that they don't really talk about their problems as much as women do, not even to their friends.
Funnily enough, most people that I know that engage in that destructive behavior have been females.
I don't know why people in general would do it though. Resolve the/problem instead! Drinking to excess doesn't do anything helpful for you.
it is called they have a reaction and they react instead of being proactive and solving their problem. they see themselves as a victim that can't do anything, and this can happen with females too
There's nothing wrong with a few drink to relax every now and then. Some people just have a lot of stress and are generally compulsive so they end up addicted to one thing or another.
Some problems take a lot of time to fix, and like an eight hour shift at work this is our way to take a break.
Used to drink a lot, now i go to the gym to fix my problems
Why are you so concerned about that? 😛 Most likely we like to hide our emotions deep down and let us appear strong and unbothered.
u are talking like women never drink their issues away
the minute she has an issue specially with her love life
the wine never stops coming
and i m generalizing
moreover why do u care about what men do
Lol I don't drink it all, I prefer to find better solutions for my problems. But many guys I know who drink like that all the time have issues and low self esteem
I'm no man, but I do it cause it relaxes me and it's just fun to do it with your friends
I'd rather smoke weed in that case as opposed to drinking my problems away.
I don't even understand why people drink beer, let alone something stronger. Why is it so necessary to consume alcohol? Of course I am speaking as a person who has never touched alcohol and do not intend to ever do.
It numbs the pain, helps you to relax, takes your mind off it.
It's only a temporary fix, but so what? Some things can't be fixed right away.
I don't know why people do that,
I've only drank a handful of times and only hard cider and while I like it, I limit myself and have never been drunk
Someone once told me because they are weak; too weak to face the problems/ deal with them
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