Based on the popular belief that booze is a great means toward a fun time, I have to say that I think many people are ignorant of the reality of the effects of drinking alcohol. Or else they see the damage being done but choose to look the other way. Sure, you see the many commercials on television where friends are together drinking, laughing, and enjoying an outing or activity. They sure do look happy, don’t they?

What they don’t show is the way their drinking habits negatively affect their lives mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. If you think heavy or binge drinkers are getting off free when it comes to side effects of drinking alcohol, you’re wrong.

Today, I’d like to share seven things I know about alcohol that I hope will cause you to do a serious reality check and stop drinking.

1. Drinking alcohol negatively affects your body.

I’m sure you’ve heard this, but have you really taken it in? Do you know that when you drink alcoholic beverages, you are drinking a full glass of toxins that dehydrates and damages your body? If you’re drinking regularly, chances are your liver is over-taxed trying to rid your body of the toxic overload. Prolonged, heavy drinking can damage the heart, pancreas, brain, immune system, and more.

2. Alcohol puts you at risk to develop depression.

You may drink because you’re depressed, but if that’s not the case, drinking can put you at risk for depression. Then, you’re dealing with two monsters that can make your life quite challenging.

3. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions.

Yes, you know when you’re drunk or feeling really good you’re more apt to engage in risky behaviors like unprotected sex, driving drunk, fighting, and texting every person who has ticked you off lately.

4. Excessive consumption can kill you.

You might think downing a case of beer and six shots is the cool thing to do, but it could cause you to experience alcohol poisoning and kill you. After all, your body can only handle so much poison. Worst yet, it kills both drinkers and non-drinkers alike. It is the cause of over 2.5 million deaths per year. Really. Take that in. That's 2.5 million lives—whether they imbibe or not—gone due to a liquid poison.

5. Mixing alcohol with other drugs is dangerous.

If you’re taking prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs, mixing alcohol with them could put you at serious risk of danger. For example, health experts say that combining acetaminophen, which is commonly found in OTC pain and fever reducers, with alcohol, can cause liver damage.

6. Chronic drinking may lead to brain damage.

Heavy, chronic drinking changes the brain by damaging the brain’s frontal lobes and causing the brain to decrease in size.

7. Half of fatal car crashes for those aged 17-24 involve alcohol.

That is a lot of lives that could be alive if they’d left the alcohol alone or at the very least, didn’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

These are just seven things I know about alcohol that can negatively affect lives. There are hundreds of other facts about how unsafe alcohol consumption is.

If you’re struggling with trying to quit drinking, it’s time to reach out for help today. Here's a list of detox facilities, professional alcoholism counselors, and rehabs that will assist you with learning how to get free from the cycle.