Work-Related Stress and Substances

Is it possible to function in the adult world without the aid of a legal/illegal substance?

I say no, it's not. And I'm not just talking about alcohol, pot, coke, etc. I'm talking about any substance that enters the human body and has an effect on it and is a drug. Let's take an easy one first. Alcohol. Prolific, used and abused by millions. Many consume alcohol to lower stress levels. Work, in case you didn't know, is typically a massive source of chronic stress, which helps develop bad habits. I didn't just pull that out m'butt.

Look at this excerpt from an article I found:  "Research and population surveys have shown that persons under stress , particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit more unhealthy behaviors than less-stressed persons. Stressed people drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods than non-stressed individuals." (Source) 

And here's another one focusing on addiction and stress: "Stress has long been known to increase vulnerability to addiction. The last decade has led to a dramatic increase in understanding the underlying mechanisms for this association."  (Source)

That's a pretty easy correlation. But, not everyone drinks! I know this, you know this. What about other recreational drugs? I have found after doing some research that a substance can be addictive, true, but it is the introduction of chronic stress that wears down our willpower, making people more vulnerable to self-medication and addiction. Taken from this peer-reviewed journal, the facts don't lie: "High emotional stress is associated with loss of control over impulses and an inability to inhibit inappropriate behaviors and to delay gratification."

Drugs, alcohol. Smoking, too. Many believe that smoking cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc. has a relaxing effect, and can help calm nerves when under a lot of stress. Although, it is unclear why people only think they relax when they smoke. I found, thanks to this article, that the feeling of relaxation is only perceived. Cigarettes actually have the opposite effect: "Studies have found, however, that in reality, lighting up has the opposite effect, causing long-term stress levels to rise, not fall. For those dependent on smoking, the only stress it relieves is the withdrawal between cigarettes."

Prescription drugs, too. Let's say you're a straight shooter. You don't smoke, you don't drink. No drugs, except for what your doctor prescribes you. But I bet stress has worn you down. In fact, in the United States, there has been a significant jump in the number of people who have been taking cholesterol controlling drugs: "From 1988 to 1994, 3.4% of adults took a statin (drug that helps control cholesterol). This percentage jumped to 15.5% in 2007-2010." (Source) Why focus on cholestrol and stress? High stress levels, especially when chronic, builds up cortisol in your system, a hormone released when the body is stressed. A constant flow of cortisol in your body makes your body produce more cholesterol, same with adrenaline, which also is released during stress events, and also stimulates the production of cholesterol.

There's a direct link, look at the facts: "These two hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) produced by the hypothalamus also trigger the production of cholesterol. Cortisol produces more sugar in order to provide the body with instant energy to tackle the stressful situation. The high sugar levels, however, often are not used up by the body and eventually are converted to fatty acids and cholesterol. Stress also can push people toward unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles: smoking, drinking and eating a diet that contributes to high cholesterol." (Source)

Stress requires us to medicate ourselves to stay well (cholsterol medications, high blood pressure medications, tranquilizers, etc) or to relieve, or more accurately, forget stress (recreational drugs and alcohol). But in reality, we are only making the problem worse. We work too much. Once again, we work. TOO. MUCH. All over the damn globe, and especially America, we are working ourselves to death. We've even developed methods to further that end to deal with the side-effects of working too hard! See the madness?

Enough talk. It is impossible to exist in the adult, working world without the sustained usage of prescription, or recreational drugs, including alcohol. That is my stand. What's yours?