Many times when we talk about security, we mean to say "Digital security". In essence we mean to say that our hardware and software that we use stays safe no matter what we do. And even though the ISO27001 standard (and by extension, for example, the NEN7510 standard) make it abundantly clear that security is a people-domain problem, we usually take that as a process-like truth. Meaning, we think that being secure is a matter of regulating people.

The truth is very different. For example, while writing this I am pretty shot. I slept five hours and I an under influence of a bunch of painkillers and some alcohol. Before you ask what I was thinking, let me mention that I have a genetic defect in my spine that I am dealing with right now by taking measured doses of all three (and yes, to get the Bible into this conversation, there is even a biblical ground for the inebriation with alcohol - see proverbs and the letters to Timothy - , although I did not use red wine. But hey, I am still on top of things).

The problem that I want to talk about, of course, is the strange border between physical and mental health while dealing with security. Clearly, right now, I have to expend a good deal of mental resources staying on top of things. You would think that I had compromised my mental grip to get a temporary relief of pain, and you would be half correct.

What is damaged is my spine, but it pulls my muscles all wrong if I exert myself. The alcohol takes the cramps off of my lower back muscles, allowing for a restoration beyond the cramping up of my muscles.

This is not an endorsement of willy-nilly drinking whatever alcohol. Obviously I cannot just self-medicate and hope everything will be alright mentally. If someone would ask me for passwords or company secrets right now I would have to think harder to realize I should not share those.

So, instead of just "self-medicating" all willy-nilly, I made a conscious choice to drink a semi-exact amount (less than a coffee-cup) of vodka, which I know will not render me unconscious and to do so with a wide margin before the time that I have to drive again (somewhere tonight).

Do I have mental security at the moment? yes, I made a conscious choice and stood within my known limits (I am one of the lucky people to have part-taken in a drunkenness research, which means I know more or less what my metabolism and alcohol have to do with each other). Thus I guarantee I will, in the end, have my back muscles sorted out, while also maintaining my mental facilities.

Is alcohol good for you? generally no. Does it affect your (mental) security? generally, yes. But believe me, between being able to stand up from my chair, and not being able to, the better security lies in being inebriated and being able to move around in the long run... Again, by taking a measured amount of the poison of my choice, knowing just about how much my body can safely handle. Because knowing is half the battle.

However, I am open to suggestion what else I could do (most generic painkillers do not work, and the ones that do work are pretty heavy and specialized). Let me know in the comments what could be done!