A video lifting the lid on what happens to our bodies when we drink alcohol is deeply unsettling.
Many of us enjoy a drink of beer, whisky or rum now and then. Whether its celebrating a special occasion with a glass of wine, or hanging out with friends and sampling the delights of a cocktail bar, alcohol has formed part of our social life for centuries.
However, a new simulation from The Infographics Show YouTube channel lays bare the myriad effects that alcohol has on your body, and many viewers are finding this knowledge deeply disturbing.
The intro begins with a stark warning: “The cool liquid hits your lips and enters your body. Over the next several minutes and hours, your body will swell, you’ll lose control of your bladder and bowels, and you could blackout and die.”
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The video then goes on to break down, minute-by-minute, the various chemical and physical affects that alcohol has on the body. Starting from only one minute after drinking alcohol, the video explains: “Some pretty strange stuff will happen to your body in the minutes to come. Some will feel good, while others will make you wish you have never put a drop of booze into your body.”
The positive effects that can happen when knocking back the booze is described, chillingly, as the alcohol ‘playing mind games with you’ as it causes the release of so-called ‘happy chemicals’ such as dopamine and serotonin.
Even only 30 minutes after consuming alcohol, the video explains, the liver is already working overtime: “Your liver is the only organ that can actually break down the alcohol, and it is working overtime to try and eliminate the poison that is circulating through your system. Because that’s what alcohol is, you are essentially poisoning yourself.”
Comments on the video were almost an unnerving. One user saying that the video prompted him to try and quit drinking, saying: “Having been a moderate/heavy drinker for 7 years and feeling the effects on my body and some recent health scares, this video is just that much more of a motivator to finally quit, which I'm on day 4.”
Other comments came from recovering alcoholics who praised the video for reminding them of how harmful and dangerous alcohol can be. Others thanked the video creators for the explanation on why drinking could be enjoyable, such as one commenter who said: “Although I'm of age, I don't drink alcohol for religious reasons, but still want to understand what it's like for those who do drink. The explanation of dopamine and serotonin helped me understand why someone could enjoy it.”