A L C O H O L I S M
... opens the door to the seductive activities of Satan which take place in a person's subconscious. If you have never looked forward to kicking back with a soothing, mood-quenching, "get-happy", you're probably not at risk. But you can't fudge on the details or it will surely be to your detriment. Addiction is addiction: it ain't goin' away of its own accord.
I have heard first-hand accounts of innumerous Japanese businessmen who were required to wine and dine their American counterparts in order to win their business, only to find themselves hopelessly addicted to the unwanted fluid imposter! They had 'learned' the norms of big business America, including bigger appetites for bigger bellies!
When a person starts calculating how much alcohol he can imbibe before damage has been done, it's already too late. Expressions like "loosen up a little", "change one's mood", "feel a buzz", "get high" are telltale signs that the "A" word is lurking.
As a born again Christian, the entire outlook changes: the mere thought of employing outside stimulation to fix one's unpleasant feelings is at best repugnant. Again, this is not about the person who goes many months with nary a thought about liquid entertainment and is about as physically, mentally and emotionally bound to such 'help' as he might be to, let's say, jello! Or, oatmeal. Now, I have oatmeal every morning; but prove to me that it could at any time turn around and bite me, and it will be sayonara oatmeal for me! I love my unobstructed intimate relationship with Jesus far too much to willfully allow any communication impediment into my otherwise very grateful mind.