Miserum
Well-known member
I haven't had a drink in months until tonight, but used to drink quite heavily.
Something I noticed in particular tonight was a slowing of my ability to form coherent thoughts when talking. My memory was affected after just one, regular drink of liquor, so expressing myself while talking to a friend was more difficult, especially with more complex topics. I felt like an idiot, searching for words and concepts and then failing.
I've always thought that my memory wasn't that good, but now I'm wondering if my "bad" memory was simply a result of drinking too much. In fact, I can't even recall thinking that my memory was bad during these past few sober months, a thought that was prevalent when I was still drinking. And my "bad" memory has been a culprit in social anxiety because it made me feel dumb and outmatched in comparison to others.
Of course, being nervous has an effect on memory, but perhaps the cumulative effect of drinking alcohol has some bearing on that nervousness as well. During these past few sober months, despite my nervousness, my memory has seemed to improve from the times when I was drinking heavily, though I did not come to this conclusion until tonight. Looking back, it seems I have had an easier time remembering things overall while completely abstaining from alcohol.
Tonight did not feel good, but it seems to have given me a new perspective. And they do say that sobriety tends to reduce anxiety. Maybe there is some truth to that. Back to sobriety.
Something I noticed in particular tonight was a slowing of my ability to form coherent thoughts when talking. My memory was affected after just one, regular drink of liquor, so expressing myself while talking to a friend was more difficult, especially with more complex topics. I felt like an idiot, searching for words and concepts and then failing.
I've always thought that my memory wasn't that good, but now I'm wondering if my "bad" memory was simply a result of drinking too much. In fact, I can't even recall thinking that my memory was bad during these past few sober months, a thought that was prevalent when I was still drinking. And my "bad" memory has been a culprit in social anxiety because it made me feel dumb and outmatched in comparison to others.
Of course, being nervous has an effect on memory, but perhaps the cumulative effect of drinking alcohol has some bearing on that nervousness as well. During these past few sober months, despite my nervousness, my memory has seemed to improve from the times when I was drinking heavily, though I did not come to this conclusion until tonight. Looking back, it seems I have had an easier time remembering things overall while completely abstaining from alcohol.
Tonight did not feel good, but it seems to have given me a new perspective. And they do say that sobriety tends to reduce anxiety. Maybe there is some truth to that. Back to sobriety.
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