4 ms·

"drinking with others tends to spark joy and even euphoria, while drinking alone elicits neither—if anything, solo drinkers get more depressed as they drink."

"drinking with others tends to spark joy and even euphoria, while drinking alone elicits neither—if anything, solo drinkers get more depressed as they drink." I wonder how much of this is "set and setting", something that is well known with other drugs. Maybe people tend toward depression when they drink alone because that's what they expect to happen?

jimmaswell 5y ago
> "drinking with others tends to spark joy and even euphoria, while drinking alone elicits neither—if anything, solo drinkers get more depressed as they drink." Never been the case for me, even when I used to do it a bit too often.
taneq 5y ago
Maybe people with depression tend towards drinking alone?
- JohnBooty 5y ago
  I have zero problems agreeing that drinking alone because one is sad is potentially a very, very, bad habit that in a worst-case scenario can lead to full-blown alcoholism. Yeah, I have to wonder if people are seriously mixing up correlation and causation. I think the danger (or lack thereof) of solo drinking is highly dependent on a person's reasons for drinking. I like to get mildly drunk, alone, perhaps... an average of once per month? I've been doing this for about 20 years with no increase in frequency. The key is, I only do this when I'm happy. It's like a little celebration. For whatever reason, I do not desire alcohol when I'm feeling down. The thought of alcohol's effects seems repugnant to me at those times.
DarylZero 5y ago
The joy and euphoria aren't a result of the presence of people. They're effects of the drug. Whatever asshole wrote this would probably say the same thing about being sober alone.
noirbot 5y ago
That also seems to ignore that people can be drinking to enjoy the taste or sensation of the drink itself. I find plenty of joy in having experimented with a cocktail that worked out to be an improvement, or having a wine or beer that just fits the moment. Sure, both are also fun with other people, but I feel like so many of these discussions assume the people drink purely to become intoxicated with no care for the taste or composition of the drink. If anything, the depression that comes with drinking for me is that I feel the intoxication and know I need to stop drinking, no matter how much I enjoyed the taste and would prefer to continue and not switch to water or something I enjoy the taste of less. It's part of why I've been so excited by the new innovations and improvements in non-alcoholic beer/hop water.

jimmaswell 5y ago

> "drinking with others tends to spark joy and even euphoria, while drinking alone elicits neither—if anything, solo drinkers get more depressed as they drink." Never been the case for me, even when I used to do it a bit too often.

taneq 5y ago

Maybe people with depression tend towards drinking alone?

JohnBooty 5y ago
I have zero problems agreeing that drinking alone because one is sad is potentially a very, very, bad habit that in a worst-case scenario can lead to full-blown alcoholism. Yeah, I have to wonder if people are seriously mixing up correlation and causation. I think the danger (or lack thereof) of solo drinking is highly dependent on a person's reasons for drinking. I like to get mildly drunk, alone, perhaps... an average of once per month? I've been doing this for about 20 years with no increase in frequency. The key is, I only do this when I'm happy. It's like a little celebration. For whatever reason, I do not desire alcohol when I'm feeling down. The thought of alcohol's effects seems repugnant to me at those times.

DarylZero 5y ago

The joy and euphoria aren't a result of the presence of people. They're effects of the drug. Whatever asshole wrote this would probably say the same thing about being sober alone.

noirbot 5y ago

That also seems to ignore that people can be drinking to enjoy the taste or sensation of the drink itself. I find plenty of joy in having experimented with a cocktail that worked out to be an improvement, or having a wine or beer that just fits the moment. Sure, both are also fun with other people, but I feel like so many of these discussions assume the people drink purely to become intoxicated with no care for the taste or composition of the drink. If anything, the depression that comes with drinking for me is that I feel the intoxication and know I need to stop drinking, no matter how much I enjoyed the taste and would prefer to continue and not switch to water or something I enjoy the taste of less. It's part of why I've been so excited by the new innovations and improvements in non-alcoholic beer/hop water.