Mixing Alcohol & Relationships
There is a lot to consider when choosing to drink alcohol. Not only does alcohol have physical effects on your body and health, it also impacts your relationships—how we interact and behave with friends, roommates, peers and significant others.
While under the influence of alcohol, you can to do or say things you wouldn’t do if you were sober. Some believe that alcohol helps to “lower inhibitions” and let one’s true self out. In fact, in a recent survey, Creighton undergraduate students reported about their perceptions of alcohol’s effects:
Alcohol...
...breaks the ice
81% of female students
79% of male students
...enhances social activity
81% of female students
77% of male students
...facilitates a connection with peers
69% of female students
63% of male students
...gives people something to talk about
77% of female students
79% of male students
...facilitates sexual opportunity
44% of female students
64% of male students
(For more statistics, click Drinking and Drug Use at Creighton)
Despite the perception of positive effects of alcohol on relationships, drinking alcohol is a major predictor of violence, fighting and relationship conflict. Friends or roommates get into disagreements, say things they regret or betray one another; and whether you are in a committed romantic relationship or not, there are many risks that outweigh the benefits of drinking alcohol that effect our bodies, ourselves and out close relationships forever.