Relying on Alcohol to Soothe Emotional Pain

Many people in life do not understand why people drink alcohol. I do understand because at one point in my life I drank every night. This is a simple account of why I drank, which might help others understand this drinking epidemic. Most people have there first drink when they are a teenager either because of peer pressure or experimentation. No matter what the main cause is, it sometimes sticks and becomes a part of their life, or they don't like it and never do it again. For me I liked it because it was an escape from all my problems. When I was thirteen years old I was raped by a man that was 21.

Ever since this happened life just seemed hard to me. The same summer that I was raped, my father had seen many doctors for an inexplicable illness. He was losing weight quite rapidly and was severely dehydrated no matter how much water he drank. My father had always been a hard worker and for this sickness to come on him was not a common thing. The doctors could not explain this conundrum, and he lost enough weight that he was a mere 130 pounds. I remember my middle sister and mom talking one night about that he was going to die. They were talking with no remorse or care. This bothered me severely to the point I ran in my room and locked them out. I then turned on the radio and blasted it as loud as it would go to drown out the thoughts of that my father might die.

That night I went out with friends and just drank until I could not remember or feel anything. Life became a blur, of course, until the next morning. I woke up with no hangover, which was a huge surprise because of the amount I had drunk. I found out that alcohol was my friend that night and it helped to take the edge away from all the pain in my life. I was dealing with situations that a thirteen year old girl should never deal with. I mean I was raped and now my father might die. As I was puzzling life I remembered that the alcohol made me forget my problems at least for a while. After that night I drank when I could and when I couldn't I would just turn to music.