Drinking can make us prone to minor accidents, like knocking over your drink at a house party, that you may dismiss as part of an average night.

But alcohol can be the cause of more serious accidents too. There are two main things that make this likely. Because it’s a depressant, alcohol slows down the brain and affects the body’s responses. At the same time, if you’ve been drinking, you’re more likely to take risks. Combined, these reactions increase the chance of accidents happening.

The more you drink, the more likely you are to have an accident
“Forgot my keys. I’ll just hop over this fence!” This is just an example of the more light-hearted side-effects of drinking alcohol once euphoria sets in. But the feeling you get when the amount of alcohol in your blood increases can have disastrous consequences too. It can make you underestimate your own abilities and behave recklessly. Thinking that road doesn’t look as busy or that gap isn’t so big to jump over.

Alcohol slows you down
Alcohol affects your body’s responses. It slows down your brain which means you are more likely to have an accident.

Drinking alcohol can:
Affect our judgement and reasoning; slow down our reactions; upset our sense of balance and coordination; impair our vision and hearing; make us lose concentration and feel drowsy. To be continued.

Just for today
I will plan to do God’s will, not mine. If I find myself at odds with everything around me, I will surrender self-will.

The AA Estcourt branch hosts meetings every Tuesday at Forderville Primary School from 7pm to 8pm. Contact Desigan on 082 849 3014. The AA Winterton branch hosts meetings every Thursday at the Springfield Church opposite the police station from 7pm to 8pm. Contact Dolly on 071 688 5330 or Virgilo on 079 688 0432.