Alcohol Makes Your Brain Stop Working (E224)
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Your brain has to be connected well to be able to work. We beat ourselves up because we know we shouldn’t drink, but then we do, or because we keep convincing ourselves it’ll be different this time, even though it’s never different. It’s easy to think this is because you’re a weak-willed loser with no self-control, but it’s just not true. In this episode I’m explaining how alcohol changes the way our brains are connected to make us continue drinking in an automatic loop while preventing us from using higher-order thinking skills at the same time. We need to be able to use our brain to get out of the back and forth.
What to listen to next:
E191: Going Back and Forth Makes Your Cravings Stronger
E128: Why Cravings are So Powerful (Attentional Bias)
E182: Why You Drink Habitually Without Thinking
E205: Kindling in Alcohol Withdrawal
E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations
Bonus Episode: Do This Daily to Turn Back On Your Brain
Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life
Listen here. The episode will automatically load in your preferred podcast listening app.
Cite:
Gillian Tietz. Michael Painter. Alcohol Makes Your Brain Stop Working (E224). Sober Powered. 2024
Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.
Sources:
Weiland, B. et al. Reduced Left Executive Control Network Functional Connectivity Is Associated with Alcohol Use Disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2014
White A.M. Kraus C.L. Swartzwelder H.S. Many college freshmen drink at levels way beyond the binge threshold. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006
Hingson, R. et al. Drinking Beyond the Binge Threshold: Predictors, Consequences, and Changes in the U.S. AJPM. 2017
Shields, C. Effects of chronic alcohol exposure on motivation-based value updating. Alcohol. 101: 53-64. 2022
