During my 20s, I routinely gave up drinking for Lent. My friends were all drinkers though, and going our for drinks was very much part of our routine. What wor

During my 20s, I routinely gave up drinking for Lent. My friends were all drinkers though, and going our for drinks was very much part of our routine. What worked for me was just to get my own drinks at the bar, and always order non-alcoholic stuff. When folks were buying rounds of drinks, I'd just say "Nah, I'm good for now". No need to mention that I wasn't drinking, and no need to explain why. It's easy to time your drink orders so that you're out-of-phase by few minutes. Then you're ordering at the bar, and you have total control over it. That way, I've got something in my hand to drink along with everybody else. Maybe it's a soda-water with lime, or maybe it's a near-beer poured into a pint glass. But I was taking part in the social aspect, and that's what mattered. I never lied if asked what I was drinking, but I wouldn't go out of my way to bring it up/make it visible either. Anybody who's had some good nights at the bar will tell you - there's nothing wrong with being a non-drinker, as long as you're not an asshole about it. Nobody likes to feel judged (even implicitly) for their life-choices. But if you can avoid giving off that vibe, nobody will care at all what's in your glass. In my observation, the social pressure isn't to drink _alcohol_ per-se. It's to drink _something_. Something that you bought at the bar, and something you're drinking along with everybody else. Soda-water is fine as long as you're pacing your drinks with the people around you, so that you're being part of the group.