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I dispute the "mental health benefits". Alcohol progressively disables parts of the brain. It literally the opposite of a mental health benefit. In fact, it wi

by ilaksh 5y ago

I dispute the "mental health benefits". Alcohol progressively disables parts of the brain. It literally the opposite of a mental health benefit. In fact, it will make problems like depression significantly worse. I believe that the idea that people are to blame for their alcohol problems is totally false and basically a conspiracy by the alcohol advertising industry. The problem is alcohol, not the people consuming it. It naturally induces almost every person to want to drink more alcohol while inhibiting their ability to make good decisions such as about continuing to drink.

nefitty 5y ago
This is true for all problems people face. Ultimately, the genetic lottery predetermines a wide berth of our experience. Our environment determines the rest. If society wants to change behavior it finds deviant or unhealthy, its main tools are science-based interventions and leveraging its ability to manipulate the context within which people live. The perennial issue is finding and designing the right levers to get the results that are wanted. Prohibition didn't work, moralistic pressure doesn't work, education doesn't work. The right incentives need to be discovered, and I think an acceptance that humans have a need for changing their state of mind will lead closer to answers.