I Gave up Alcohol Completely. Here's why.
- Julie Bell Sneed
- Nov 3, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 22
In high school, college, and several years after, I thought it was a given that you binge drink on free weekends, you dance, laugh, and have a merry time. That was what everybody did, right? Looking back, I see that this was not only dangerous, but my need to get “messed up” was something deeper than wanting to “have a good time.” I learned several life-changing lessons the hard way. Starting about 2 years ago, I gave up alcohol completely. Here is why.
You guessed it: Alcohol is bad for you
Over the years, there has been a lot of confusing information on alcohol use. For a long time, I heard that a glass of red wine a night was actually good for you… Wrong! According to the World Health Organization, recent studies show that “No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health,” and “alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen.” It’s known to cause at least 7 types of cancers, including female breast cancer.1
What the hell?! Why is this drug still marketed and sold so easily? Over the last couple years, I tend to get very irritated when I see commercials for a brand of vodka making it look glamorous. They should show a video of a young girl vomiting out of the backseat window of a moving vehicle instead… Fortunately for my sake, there’s no footage of me after a night out in 2015. :P
When it finally dawned on me that my life was in danger from alcohol misuse, I decided enough was enough. Alcohol is dangerous, unhealthy, and the cause of too many deaths (around 140,000 per year in the US, to be exact.)2
Hangovers…. Why?!
If you’ve ever been hugging the toilet after a night of drinking and declaring to the Universe “I will NEVER drink again,” then you know how awful the full day of nausea and vomiting is from over-drinking. “It was just that last drink” I would tell myself. “I knew I should have stopped.” You would think I would have learned after the first 10 times…
It turns out, there are several reasons we experience hangovers. Your body straight up doesn’t like the legal drug we call alcohol. Drinking alcohol triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system, irritates the lining of your stomach, causes your blood vessels to expand, and more.3
After feeling like self-induced garbage one too many times in this short human life, I finally decided enough was enough. I’m oodles of fun without the drink anyway (in my opinion).
Nothing Good Comes From Drinking (Especially Overdrinking)
If you’ve woken up with that sinking feeling of regret after drinking, you and I have something in common. “Did I really act like that?” Or “How the hell am I going to face these people after making a complete fool of myself?” Ugh. Shame can eat us up alive.
Scientifically, alcohol makes you pee a lot more frequently than other liquids. This leads to dehydration. A dehydrated brain is not a high-functioning brain. The way I explain it to my kid is “alcohol makes your brain dumb.” I mean… Where’s the lie?
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and impairs judgment, causing one to make decisions they wouldn’t ordinarily make sober. I’ve made too many mistakes due to drinking and it took me about 10-15 years to realize it. And don’t even get me started on the rampant sexual assault that occurs with alcohol use… That’s a blog for another day.
I love feeling present and in control of my body
If yoga and meditation have taught me anything, it’s that the feeling of being absolutely present and in control of my thoughts and feelings can't be beat. As my tolerance became lower and lower, even just a couple beers made me feel not quite myself. That “buzz” that once had me dancing and laughing at even the dumbest jokes, now had me feeling on edge and waiting to get sober. Not to mention the nausea that would immediately happen within an hour of the drink.
I believe my body was really trying to tell me “Hey, this is poison. Stop it.” Fortunately for myself, my family (especially my beautiful son and future babe), I listened. Now, I feel better than ever and no longer suffer from self-induced sickness.
Conclusion
There were lots of reasons I stopped drinking. Alcohol has made me and those I love act in irrational ways. There are too many core memories in this brain of mine that involve puking and dehydration brought on by poor decision-making. And on top of all that, alcohol is just plain terrible for your health. Suffice to say, giving up the poison has been one of the best (and probably life-saving) decisions of my life.
Fortunately, I was able to put it down on my own. There are many, however, who aren’t so lucky. There is help available. SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s) National Helpline is a free, confidential treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Call 1-800-662-HELP(4357) or visit the online treatment locator to learn more.
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