Alcoholism

It is best described by the famous saying: “One drink is too many and a thousand not enough.” For someone with the disease, even a single drink can trigger uncontrollable consumption, while no amount ever truly satisfies the craving. It highlights the paradox: one is already too much, yet never enough. The first drink is the critical point — once taken, it sets off a cycle where the desire for more becomes insatiable, even when the initial indulgence was excessive.

Put another way, “normal people” — those not afflicted with this soul‑ and life‑destroying disease — can have a few beers, a couple of glasses of wine, maybe a whiskey or two. They enjoy themselves in the context they find themselves in, call time, and go home. An alcoholic cannot. Once the first drink is taken, the brakes are gone. The body and brain are hijacked. The alcoholic wants to keep drinking until the body, in a desperate act of survival, forces shutdown — pass out, blackout, collapse.

The lucky alcoholics, like me, simply get to a point of exhaustion where the brain can still function just enough to put myself to bed. That’s the survival brake. Others aren’t so lucky. They wake up in hospital beds, jail cells, or not at all.

And here’s the kicker: alcohol doesn’t just sedate. It agitates. It encourages risk‑taking, distorts perception, increases emotional volatility, reduces anxiety, impairs judgment, lowers social inhibitions, and inflates confidence. One big drinking session is not just about the liquid in the glass. It’s about the cascade of second‑order effects: destroyed relationships, eroded trust, drunk driving, brawls, inappropriate comments, lost jobs, locked doors, locked cells. Alcohol is not just a chemical; it’s a chaos multiplier.

Founder of the Hadspen Foundation, Jason is committed to building frameworks for spiritual recovery that are both repeatable and personal. His writing is guided by discernment, narrative cadence, and the belief that doctrine should support—not overshadow—the human story.