For Jayme Minor, rock bottom was a rude awakening.
On the way back from camping with friends, he decided to stop and get some booze for the road. Thinking nothing of it, he started drinking behind the wheel.
Shortly into driving, he was pulled over by the police, charged with a D.U.I., and sent home in an Uber.
He got the Uber to stop at a liquor store on the way home.
The scariest part? He did not think any of this was wrong.
This is only one of many situations in which drinking influences choices that no rational person would ever make. However, addiction is more complicated than it first appears.
Last year, Health Canada’s new stricter alcohol consumption guidelines shocked many. They recommend people should have zero drinks per week with a maximum of two standard drinks—the standard being 17.05 millilitres of pure alcohol.
Prior to the new recommendations, Health Canada recommended no more than two drinks a day or 10 drinks per week. Men were held to three standard drinks daily with at most 15 per week.
What do we as a society consider a drinking problem?
Alcoholism is often overlooked due to its ubiquity in popular culture. But according to a study done in the United Kingdom, alcohol is rated as the most harmful drug.
“It’s so normalized yet it’s such a messy drug that hits a whole bunch of neurotransmitter systems in the brain. It’s almost like multiple drugs in one, it’s so interesting because we are all so casual about it,” says Karen Atkinson-Leadbeater, a psychology professor at Mount Royal University.
So where does that gray area cross the line between a casual drink and a serious problem?
As long-term effects of the drug are explored, some young adults are choosing to turn away from the party culture often associated with their age range.
“They say alcoholism is this extreme thing that you see on the street, people drunk falling over themselves, having a bottle of something in their hand, but it’s not, that’s just a version of it,” says Willow Tenzin Cotton.
Cotton, a 21-year-old former addict, decided she wanted to go sober three years ago.
Abusing both narcotics and alcohol, Cotton’s journey surely wasn’t an easy one. Eventually, she realised that there was life without alcohol and drugs. After attempting many times, sobriety stuck—and she couldn’t be happier.
Now, Cotton can often be spotted at the clubs on the weekends without a drink in her hand and explains that the people watching is super fun. She looks at going to the club sober as a fun workout.
“I was so much fun, and people could not believe it because I wasn’t drinking. It was a big eye opener, people were like ‘no way could you be sober and enjoying yourself’,” says Cotton.
Cotton explains that the way many people depend on alcohol to be outgoing and meet people is sad.
Peer pressure in drinking at a young age is also a common problem. Young people feel like they have to drink in order to fit in. F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out) is a very common issue. According to the National Library of Medicine, the fear of missing an experience can be associated with heavier drinking episodes.
“Some people don’t have the luxury to just try it once, your friends could have beer and wake up the next morning and feel like crap and wanna go to McDonalds whereas you could wake up the next morning and want it again now, want that feeling again right now,” explains Cotton.
Are we able to go out and have fun without drinking?
Following his journey with rehab, now-sober activist Minor, wants to spread awareness around the benefits of becoming sober and the joy that comes with sobriety.
Minor, who is six years sober, spreads a message of kindness and authenticity through his social media presence. His goal is to bring awareness around where the problem can start and how dependency can be built without knowing.
“I was a fun guy, so you would look at it from the outside as he is not getting a problem. He is just a young guy who likes to party, but looking back now, at that time, I was creating a dependency on it,” says Minor.
Minor recalls not realising what state he was in, until he was deep in addiction.
“I would wake up in the morning, I wouldn’t have a hangover, I would have this crazy need for booze, it was the only thing that would make me feel better. That’s the one thing that a lot of people don’t realize about alcohol is how addicting it is,” said Minor.
After attending a two-month rehabilitation facility, Minor found his way out of addiction and turned to helping others with their journey.
Minor hosts many sober events to raise awareness about the healthy lifestyle that comes out of becoming sober.
In late October, Minor organized “Soberween,” an all-ages event hosted in collaboration with Ranchmans.
“I had to make the decision, I had to advocate for myself, I had to research and do that myself, it’s not like I had the resources at hand,” Cotton recalls of her experience.
Both Cotton and Minor have expressed their hope for more free addiction support for young adults, as that is one of the main struggles in starting your journey.
But at the end of the day, your family and friends will be there for you, but not until you are ready to ask for help.
“The first step is admitting that you want to do it. And admitting to yourself that you are content making this decision, the next one is to believe in the fact that humankind is very very nice. People are fucking nice, I swear to God,” stressed Minor.
