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On Why I'm Quitting Alcohol
- meristohm 5y agoThose reasons all make sense to me (doesn’t matter If they make sense to anyone else but the person quitting, of course). I quit soon after COVID-19 was in the news in the US, largely because it wasn’t worth it anymore, I’m getting older and have a young disabled child and thus want to be closer to the top of my game not just for myself. I figure we save at least $600/year from this. What worked? Having a reason, and listening to my body, and a lucky coincidence-catalyst where I felt absolutely horrible The day after one drink and conflated the two, even if the drink wasn’t causative. I don’t miss it, thankfully. My dad died largely thanks to alcohol (well, alcohol as treatment for poor mental health).
- mmcgaha 5y agoBest wishes Anna. My 86-year-old uncle likes to say he is not old enough to drink yet. His face and hair still look great and he is in good health.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoI recently realized that my life is bounded by my ability to regulate: 1. no drugs or alcohol 2. no sugar/carbs/processed food 3. good sleep 4. no porn When I do all of those things, suddenly it is easier to focus at work, i have more energy, am more out and about, more social, wake up with creative enlightened thought, am more human. And so all of the motivational material, ideas about stoking passion in craft, therapy, theories about how to succeed, etc feel like a facade. And it feels like the real truth in life is radical health practices. And by radical I mean actually not radical at all, just avoiding the traps of society.
- etothepii 5y agoHave you removed these individually to see which actually make a difference? I suspect any improvement in well-being is down to the "good sleep".
- xupybd 5y agoI can agree that all 4 have significant impact on well-being in my life.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoIts ranked in the order of effect. No carbs/sugar and instead eating only veggies and grass fed beef/fish is very noticeable to me. I am absolutely my better self when I am on a keto diet.
- tomrod 5y agoOh my friend, I've found defining good pre- and post-sleep behaviors is crucial.
- openknot 5y agoIt's possible that #3, good sleep, is the most important element, and adopting the remaining behaviors largely work because they improve sleep quality. Drugs or alcohol can reduce sleep quality (e.g. cannabis reduces REM sleep, alcohol can cause you to wake up too early); a diet high in simple sugars can negatively affect sleep quality [0]; and porn at night can mean looking at a screen with blue light, which can cause you to fall asleep later [1]. [0] https://www.sleep.org/sleep-questions/sugar-impacts-sleep/ https://www.sleep.org/sleep-questions/sugar-impacts-sleep/ [1] https://www.sleepfoundation.org/bedroom-environment/blue-light https://www.sleepfoundation.org/bedroom-environment/blue-lig...
- melenaboija 5y agoYes, and to me good sleep is highly correlated to physical and mental health and all what is mentioned affects one or both of them. Is not a matter of just to wanting to have good sleep but try to solve other problems such as food, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, lack of sport, caffeine, …
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- skavi 5y agoEach of those rules requires self discipline to enforce. Have you considered that you are more sociable, productive, and creative at times you are able to maintain good self discipline? I suppose making a habit of disciplined behavior could foster such behavior in the future as well. Really, it could probably go both ways in my view, though I suppose from a practical standpoint, whether cause and effect are swapped doesn’t matter.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoI really think its 1,2 -> better brain functioning -> better discipline -> allows me to acheive 3,4. This is something I have experimented off an on for the last year, I am certain of the cause and effect.
- arvinsim 5y agoIt's only radical because society is structured in a way that these are hard to do 1. Even if you don't drink, you need to give in sometimes for the sake of socialization 2. All cheap foods are full of sugar/carbs. If you want to eat healthy food, you either need to have access to farm or pay more. 3. Hustle culture promotes pushing yourself to the limit, sacrificing free time and sleep. 4. Technology(like dating apps) was supposed to make us more connected. But it seems that it instead did the opposite. There is much more lonely people in the world. Some of them can only turn to porn to satisfy their primal urges.
- vorpalhex 5y agoI recently quit alcohol for a few months to support someone else doing the same. I don't find I ever have to "give in". I do sometimes bring canned tea with me if I am going to a friends party. Rice, local vegetables, eggs and basic cuts of meat are all real cheap. I quit working around 5pm most days (save meetings that get scheduled late, I tend to skip those randomly). I spend my free time working on fun hobbies or reading, a bit of netflix. Porn is not de facto evil. It is a supernormal stimulus - it will drown out your sex live because porn literally pushes your biological buttons better. If you can moderate it, then great. If it's an issue, cut it out. Avoid dating apps. Spend your time doing interesting things with interesting people instead.
- xupybd 5y agoI would argue that a supernormal stimulus should be avoided at all costs. It messes with your reward system too much. Get your endorphins from healthy and productive activities and your life improve immensely. Video games are another for me. They give a huge sense of achievement that real world tasks struggle to complete with.
- arepublicadoceu 5y ago> I would argue that a supernormal stimulus should be avoided at all costs. I don’t like these kinds of blanket statements I had friends that played WoW and were able to have a perfectly functioning life. They got great grades and had somewhat healthy social life. Unfortunately I’m not in this camp, if I play online games it will consume my life as nothing else. A better statement is: know yourself. If you have an addictive personality, stay away from supernormal stimulus. Now, If you’re blessed with genes that can regulate yourself, by all means, go ahead, play games and do whatever you like, you won the life lottery anyway.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y agoI'm pretty much the same except I'll eat fruit and whole grains. A bowl of steel cut oats in the morning is like cheat codes for me at least.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoYeah I would not be surprised, one of my favorite meals is smoked salmon and blueberries. The less I eat carbs though, the more I am grossed out by them. Like if I have rice or a piece of bread now, it tastes like sugar, and I can feel it go into my body.
- hammock 5y ago>one of my favorite meals is smoked salmon and blueberries Are you a bear?
- colechristensen 5y agoIs this real or a bit of an eating disorder? There's something to be careful of when you're trying to be healthy is if your ideas of what's "healthy" don't start being a psychological problem. >The less I eat carbs though, the more I am grossed out by them. Like if I have rice or a piece of bread now, it tastes like sugar, and I can feel it go into my body. Having been around people with eating disorders, this is exactly the kind of thing that they say when they're having problems. I'm not diagnosing you or trying to make you panic, just a word of caution.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoNo where close to an eating disorder
- NoPicklez 5y agoI agree with all of these except for the no sugar/carbs/processed food. It's important to know that sugars and carbs are good for you. I wouldn't say cutting out fruits are a good idea, but not eating chocolate bars and lollies is definitely a good idea.
- garren 5y agoNo drugs or alcohol, how about caffeine? I only ask because I stopped caffeine for months hoping it would help me get some sleeping problems under control. I was surprised to find that stopping caffeine, ~cups of coffee a day, didn’t have a noticeable effect. No carbs, so keto or paleo?
- mixmastamyk 5y agoYes, also exercise and bright sunlight in the mornings.
- openknot 5y agoIf it's too early for bright sunlight (winter, Northern hemisphere), thirty minutes in front of a daylight lamp works great for waking up in my experience.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y agoA mix of keto and paleo, I shoot for keto though. Try to eat organic and grass fed. Caffeine I have not removed yet! But the interesting thing is I notice that I need less when I am doing those 4 steps.
- etothepii 5y agoUrgh. Alcohol has been with mankind since the beginning. I'm sorry you like yourself less with your inhibitions removed but, in my experience, that is all alcohol does.
- clownworldclown 5y agoAlcohol is poison. Enjoy a destroyed liver when you're older.
- freedom2099 5y agoMy 98 year old grandmother is enjoying her daily drink with no issue whatsoever
- colechristensen 5y agoPeople react to drugs differently, nothing wrong with that, and respect to people who realize what’s bad for them and cut it out.
- vlunkr 5y agoLots of undesirable things have been with mankind since the beginning. Not a very compelling argument.
- JusticeJuice 5y agoThat attitude makes you sound a bit defensive about your own drinking, no?
- tsukurimashou 5y ago> that is all alcohol does I'm pretty it also kills you albeit "slowly"
- khazhoux 5y ago> I'm sorry you like yourself less with your inhibitions removed You seem to imply that alcohol is actually her liberator, showing her true self which she dislikes, and that she has decided she can only like herself when "inhibited." That is a poor reading.
- ipaddr 5y agoI quit mostly at 30. Not that I quit I stop feeling like drinking and didn't. At some point you start feeling worse and it just becomes natural. Smoking doesn't work that way.
- colechristensen 5y agoIf this is you, good for you, basically none of it is true for me. Your mileage may vary.
- khazhoux 5y agoAre you not just stating a truism, though?
- colechristensen 5y agoNot really. The rhetoric you get from a lot of people is "X is bad for me, X is therefor bad for everyone, everyone should stop, I don't understand why they don't" sometimes explicitly, sometimes with subtext. People are really quite unprepared for diversity in responses. Alcohol is terrible for some people, wonderful for others, somewhere in between for most.
- khazhoux 5y agoThe author went out of her way to state several times that she’s writing about herself and not generalizing to everyone.
- colechristensen 5y agoMany other commenters here and on every discussion about why X is bad do generalize to everyone.
- aeternum 5y agoShe does generalize to others though with quotes like, "I’ve never seen anyone improved by drink, ever" and "you can see it in people’s faces as they get older" I'm not sure if it counts if you say you're not generalizing but then do anyway.
- aaron695 5y ago
- atum47 5y agoI moved out to college when I was 17, one day I realized I was drinking alone on a Tuesday and visualizing how "the world" would be better without me on it - my parents would save a lot of money, my brother would have to compete for attention... I was 19 (started around 15) when I decided to quit. Never looked back, never missed it. Best decision of my life.
- asiachick 5y agoWhy I'm sticking with alcohol. Because the cultures I love embrace it. I love going to an izakaya with friends and co-workers. I love drinking under the cherry blossoms with 100k others. I love commiserating with friends about the heat at a rooftop beer garden. I love sitting on the edge of the Kamo river on a summer night mingling with my friends. I love going to a restaurant street with all the kinds of foods and crowds drinking together. I love finding the tiny bars in tiny alleys that hold 5 to 20 people max. My experience of drinking in the USA sucked. My experience of drinking in Japan was pretty great. I wouldn't give up those experiences and I believe they wouldn't have happened or been as good without the social lubrication of alcohol. I suspect many cultures have good (UK pubs?) and bad (death from vodka in Russia?)
- reustle 5y agoI do all of those things in Japan without alcohol and have just as much fun
- newbie789 5y agoYou have as much fun as the poster you’re replying to? How do you know that?
- khazhoux 5y agoIt's unknowable, and in the absence of prior data, it's equally possible he had more fun than the poster he's replying to.
- codq 5y agoEvery sober night ends exactly the same. You get tired, you say goodbye to the people still staying out, you go home, drink water, and go to bed. Drunken, joyful reverie without inhibition is living poetry. Sobriety is admirable, important, and just. But no, you did not 'do all of those things'.
- beecafe 5y ago
- ohiovr 5y agoI gave it up on the 27 of December when my neighbor died of alcoholism related organ failures.
- zabzonk 5y agoIn my experience, never say you have "given up" on anything until 10 years later. And maybe not then.
- ohiovr 5y agoI hope we are both alive to see that day.
- steve1977 5y agoI gave up smoking 15 years ago. I still sometimes dream that I'm smoking again. Although interestingly, it's only ever in dreams, awake I never feel the urge for it. But I guess it shows how much addictions mess with your brain.
- zabzonk 5y agoTell me about it. I gave up smoking completely over 30 years ago after smoking very heavily for years, and I still have nightmares about it.
- tomrod 5y agoAll reasonable reasons. I first drank alcohol in my 30s, surrounded by supportive friends. I can only muster a drink or two, and do not think I've been buzzed before. For me, I enjoy the social aspect, the lightened mood, and the opportunity for further social bonding. I've seen some folks have their life wrecked by it. I applaud those that leave what they feel as negative behind. Kudos!
- intrasight 5y agoWhen you stop drinking (I just have a couple a month) you notice more how much alcohol is consumed on TV and in movies.
- BLKNSLVR 5y agoIt was very soon after I quit sugar that I noticed how ridiculously "available" sugary / sweet treats are. I was able to stockpile a surprisingly large number of chocolate bars, that I'd somehow passively gathered, in a fairly short amount of time. The realisation "this is how much of this crap I'm eating?!" went a good way to motivating me to continue avoiding it.
- intrasight 5y agoSugar is a drug. Best strategy is to eliminate from diet as much as possible.
- XorNot 5y agoI've been cutting alcohol down to almost nothing for a while now. I wasn't a big drinker before, but once I hit my 30s even a small amount socially I still felt in GI effects the next day (which has always been an issue for me) so eliminating it entirely was a pretty easy choice. Non-alcoholic wine is my current experiment, since it provides a way to get very close to a flavor which goes comfortably well with meals, without the alcohol - and I'm very much hoping it catches on as a standard offering in restaurants and the like as a way to still participate.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- pm90 5y agoWhether to consume alcohol or not is an incredibly personal decision. It’s best if you evaluate your situation and decide if it’s providing any real benefits for the cost, which has scientifically been shown to have real costs on life expectancy. My very personal take: I have friends who like to socialize over drinks, and others who don’t. I try not keep much alcohol at home, but do love the culture of drinking at bars and having drinks with certain kinds of food. It is a personal risk profile that I am comfortable with.
- willmadden 5y agoI'll occasionally drink socially every few months, but never more than one or two drinks. That wasn't the case earlier in life. Alcohol is horrible for you in so many ways. If you are unlucky and are wired the wrong way, it's also horribly addictive. My moments of regret in life seem to involve alcohol. It's not worth it. Find different hobbies to blow off steam. Exercising, staying engaged with others, learning new things, and maintaining a healthy diet are the keys to a happy life.
- gonzo41 5y agoI quit booze at the start of 2020, one of the better decision I've made. I lost about 5kg, I'm saving money, and I generally feel better. I generally recommend it. Now all I have to do is get back to going to bed early again.
- rkk3 5y agoIf 3 drinks make you cry, not sure if you really ever started.
- 37 5y agoYeah, if you are crying after 3 drinks, drinking is really not for you, and it's likely you have deeper issues that should be taken care of. (I probably come off like such an asshole right now, I know, don't really care.)
- BLKNSLVR 5y agoAnd that's a damn good thing!
- rkk3 5y agofor their health sure, but not for an informative blog post about 'quitting' alcohol
- PaulHoule 5y agoWent to happy hour and had a Heineken NA today. Felt great.
- _bfhp 5y agoReason 10 is the best reason. I strongly dispute some of the assumptions built in to the other reasons, but it's great to try some things out or try giving certain things up just to see what happens.
- matthewfcarlson 5y agoI've never had any alcohol before, but in my opinion, it is one of the worst things to have happened to humans. Of course, now that it's out of the bottle, it's not going back in. I don't see a good way of removing it from our culture (at least in the US). Personally, I'd rather have pot be legal than alcohol. We'd save a lot of lives.
- openknot 5y ago>it is one of the worst things to have happened to humans. Philosophy professor Edward Slingerland advances the opposite view that alcohol is one of the most important inventions for the development of human civilization. From the Goodreads summary in his book [0]: [...] "In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication." I personally find myself happier without regular alcohol consumption, but there is a strong argument to be made that alcohol has played a positive role in the development of civilization. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55643282-drunk https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55643282-drunk
- ryandvm 5y ago> I've never had any alcohol before, but in my opinion, it is one of the worst things to have happened to humans. I almost thought this statement was satire. Imagine someone saying, "I've never been to another country, but in my opinion, other countries are the worst."
- senectus1 5y agoI think I've reached a point where I'm quitting it as well. I was never a big drinker, but I seem to get IBS issues when I drink. I prefer to not have those really unpleasant experiences.
- seibelj 5y agoAll these posts about willpower and self control are great. Just remember we tried to ban alcohol once and it caused the greatest crime wave in history. Don’t let your clean life turn into coercing others - let me have my booze and I’ll let you be sober.
- quickthrower2 5y agoI like this one "Because this will be a great way for me to filter friends and lovers better—does it still work sober, are we having fun with the lights on… can you live with remembering me to the fullest?" I am pretty much given up alcohol (let's say I drink 1-2 units per month). I could go zero, and this has inspired me to do so. The reason for me is simple. Health issues. Can't afford to carry any "passengers" on my body/health, be that excess sugar, alcohol, etc. Even with a health problem, still get people not understanding why you wouldn't want to get wasted at work, like I am weird, like an elf. Interesting. I get de-energized trying to defend my position on anything, so I now have decided to try to decline drinking-encouraged situations.
- Nursie 5y agoI drink (when I want to, not constantly or anything...), my partner doesn't. It's amazing to see the flak she takes for it, and how people sometimes just won't give up. It's not that weird! Some folks immediately ask lots of personal questions, and others react like she's crazy. I must admit since being with her it has become very apparent how normalised drinking and being drunk are in our society.
- khazhoux 5y agoAt my house we joke that it'd easier to tell friends we're recovering alcoholics. Then people instantly respect your decision and respect you, instead of pegging you as a downer.
- quickthrower2 5y agoReligion also seems to be an acceptable reason.
- openknot 5y agoI've had a similar experience with certain groups of people, but not all social groups are like that. Most recently, the groups of people I currently know overwhelmingly don't drink alcohol when I see them; sobriety when meeting up for dinner or karaoke is normalized, and it would seem out of place to order a drink.
- fouc 5y agoHappy Dry Feb everyone! https://www.dryfeb.ca https://www.dryfeb.ca
- fumar 5y agoI am a 30 something who stopped drinking over two years ago. My body feels better which improved exercise, work and relationships. There have been a few occasions where I miss the flavor profile. Athletic Brewing makes a great non-alcoholic stout. I’ve had it three or four times. Otherwise, the prominence of alcohol in media is extreme. It conditions people to drink for almost all scenarios. Upset, drink. Happy, drink. Angry, drink. On a date, drink. Usually it’s paired with branding via product placement in movies and films. They have to let you know what to drink and when to do it. My new drug of choice, running.
- nkozyra 5y ago> Because quitting alcohol is the cheapest, fastest, simplest way to acquire a major superpower and make my life drastically better. This is a recipe for disappointment and one of the lies alcoholics themselves. "I'd be X if only I didn't drink!" When they stop and they're not X it leads to a lot of "well, that didn't work" reasons to go back. If you're dependent on alcohol and you stop, your life will be better. But sometimes those ways will be imperceptible or subtle. Expecting the clouds to open and to rise to the heights you deserve is an unrealistic expectation. It's amplified here without any irony.
- khazhoux 5y agoI read it differently. This seems like someone who has not actually been dependent on alcohol, and now realizes that the downsides outweigh the so-called enjoyment. So, she'll simply give it up completely, and instantly do away with all the negatives. I can very much relate. I drink only rarely, and overall enjoy it but then my head and body complain the next day, even after just one cocktail or glass of wine. Or, I'll have a tall beer at home and then notice I can't talk as clearly, in front of my kids. So it's just not worth it, and I'm debating just walking away completely. Instant win.
- nkozyra 5y ago> So, she'll simply give it up completely, and instantly do away with all the negatives. That is a very different thing than claiming you'll be granted a superpower. And again, people who do have dependency issues often use them as a crutch to avoid looking at other problems or root causes. Alcohol isn't the one thing holding you back from writing the great American novel or becoming a 10x developer or learning Mandarin, and telling yourself that when you attempt to quit or limit is a very good way to find your way back to booze.
- khazhoux 5y agoI don't know author's real meaning, but you may be reading too much into "superpower." I took it as: she doesn't drink so much to be dependent / alcoholic, but enough that it's fucking with her life (bad experiences, body damage, gateway to smoking again, etc). And she seems convinced that it'd be easy to give up. So that's the superpower: to be able to so easily erase negatives in her life. It's like: I have alcoholic friends trying to give up drinking, and it's very difficult for them, meanwhile it's trivially easy for me not to drink (in fact, my body mostly dislikes alcohol.) From my friends' POV, I have a superpower they wish they possessed.
- mortenjorck 5y ago> Because two drinks in I get melancholic, three I start crying, at night I have nightmares and sleep lightly or not at all, and the next day I’m depressed or sick or both The author gives nine other reasons, but this alone would be enough for me. I count myself fortunate that for me, a couple of drinks tends to have the opposite effect.
- Rapzid 5y agoSame.. Like, usually the complete opposite LOL. But that's its own problem, and too frequently makes the sober day me( I don't day drink ). a very different person; low energy, low assertiveness, etc.
- exdsq 5y agoI stopped drinking 180 days ago (to the day) as I was overweight and worried about the possible health issues it could be causing (I am from the Uk and pub binging with friends a few nights a week became a very common hobby). I’ve already dropped like 10 kilos, and way stronger from attending the gym, and have my first Triathlon in Napa this April. Best decision I’ve made in my life. I am seriously considering training for a 70.3 Ironman which would have been completely unfathomable to me a year ago, and could be reality a year from now.
- smoyer 5y agoI don't think I'm that old but I had two coworkers who were my age die in the last couple years. They were both heavy drinkers (both learned to drink in the military) and both looked much older than they actually were. I'm not much of a drinker at all and I'm convinced that I shouldn't be.
- User23 5y agoAs Raymond Chandler put it, paraphrasing from memory, drinking is like kissing. The first is magical, the second is intimate, and the third is routine. After that you might as well just take her clothes off.
- Barrin92 5y ago>Because two drinks in I get melancholic, three I start crying, at night I have nightmares and sleep lightly or not at all[...]Because we drink to soften life’s regrets but most of my bad memories from adulthood involve drinking—the rages, the heartbreaks, the slumps; because drinking promises to ease the pain over what’s lost but I’ve lost things in my life because I or someone I was with was drunk. I mean, it doesn't sound like it's the alcohol itself that is the problem here. It sounds more like someone using alcohol as a means to self-medicate, and to quote Christopher Hitchens, don't drink if you have the blues, it's a junk cure. Drink when you're in a good mood. Alcohol is great to enliven company, to make food more pleasurable, even contrary to popular opinion a drink alone can be great. Nightly coding sessions being somewhat buzzed are surprisingly fun. Don't drink to drown bad emotions, that's never a good idea.
- colechristensen 5y agoIt kind of just seems like this person doesn't have positive experiences when drinking, that's a good reason to stop.
- npteljes 5y ago>don't drink if you have the blues, it's a junk cure. Drink when you're in a good mood. I think this is a step closer to the truth, but not there yet. A larger truth is to not reinforce behavior with substances. How to do that while still using substances, now that I don't know.
- windows2020 5y agoI find drinking, in moderation, an enjoyable experience. When done right, the social effects can be positive and perhaps beneficial. But I also enjoy pouring a beer into proper glassware, gazing at its gradient under the light, smelling it's aroma change as the head dissipates and looking at how it retains its body and lacing. Of course, alcohol can also lead to bad experiences. For some people, it may be better to totally avoid it. Regardless, it's good to take some time off once in a while.
- seabird 5y agoAlcohol is a personality replacement for a large number of people in the US. I don't feel like I have the moral high ground for not drinking, but I really wish people would stop convincing themselves that drinking is in and of itself a worthwhile activity, or that they need to be drinking to say or do something. Bar crawling is incredibly boring. It can be made bearable by drinking, but that begs the question -- why aren't you just doing something where you don't have to be drinking to enjoy it?
- openknot 5y agoCounter-example: I went on one bar crawl with student organization members at college. The fun part was opening up and talking honestly with other people I typically had a more professional relationship with due to the nature of the organization. We saw a live music performance by a small band at the back of one of the bars, and every time things seemed dull, we changed locations and visited hidden-away parts of the city at small bars that were difficult to find. The novelty of the exploration and speaking openly to people was really fun. I suppose we could have explored the city sober, but I doubt that the vast majority of the other people would have spoken unreservedly without alcohol. I wouldn't do it again at my age, but it was a fun memory. It wasn't necessarily drinking that was the fun part, but rather the activities it enabled.
- seabird 5y agoThe idea that alcohol helps you speak unreservedly when you otherwise wouldn't is one of ideas that bothers me the most. If you wouldn't say it unless you were drinking, it's either better left unsaid or something you should be training yourself to become comfortable (or at least capable) of talking about sober. Just because society at large promotes alcohol as an acceptable way to paper over not developing these skills doesn't mean it's better off for it.
- openknot 5y agoThis is a good way put it, and it could be a useful goal for the individual to aim to speak as comfortably sober as under the influence of alcohol. However, it's very likely that most people don't act like this, or even know that this is a goal to work toward. As an individual, I can act (or aim to act) unreservedly sober, but the other people I want to know better might not; and it takes more than one to carry a conversation. It's possible to only choose friends who are comfortable opening up without alcohol (I believe this represents most of my current social circle, though this was coincidental versus by design), but I believe I would have missed out on meaningful friendships in the past if I filtered out potential friends based on this criteria.
- ethbr0 5y agoMy rules for drinking alcohol: 1) Never drink alone. 2) Rarely drink when sad. And when doing so, time box it in a specific period. 3) Rarely drink until drunk. And when that's the intent, make sure everyone around you has the same intent. It's generally worked out pretty well. Some better times of my life have featured more alcohol: it's a great way to quickly unwind with friends when you need to cram 10 hours of decompression (from work) into 3 hours available. But recently, I've been drinking less, if at all. See Rules #1 & #2 + COVID. 110% agreement that it ages people though.
- motohagiography 5y agoGood, enjoy. I'm a fan of interintellect as well. Also, if you change your mind, I hope you remember that's fine too.
- credit_guy 5y agoA bit tangential, but just in case you like the taste of beer, but you don't necessarily think beer is good for your health, you might enjoy hops tea. I'm enjoying some as we speak: a mix of hops tea and regular black tea, served with ice and lemon juice. Zero alcohol, zero sugar.
- SwiftyBug 5y agoAlso kombucha
- hackerfromthefu 5y agoAll the commercial kombuchas I've tried are full of sugar ..
- gsinclair 5y agoAll those I’ve tried (in Australia) are sugar-free.
- winrid 5y agoEverything in Moderation I guess. I like a tiny bit of wine to relax, like a couple shots worth. I wouldn't want to like, drink a glass everyday...
- azth 5y ago> They ask you about wine (khamr) and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit." https://quran.com/2/219 https://quran.com/2/219 > O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants (khamr), gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars [to other than God], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. https://quran.com/5/90 https://quran.com/5/90
- blunte 5y agoI have managed 3-5 weeks at a time without any alcohol, and while I think not drinking is ideal, I found some downsides which I have yet to resolve. One surprise was after two weeks, my mind became non-stop busy and desperately hungry to do things, make things, and generally solve problems. I became hyper and mildly aggressive about working and producing results, and equally annoyed by peers who were not being very productive. At night, or rather 3am when I would make myself go to bed, I could not stop thinking about whatever work or projects I was doing or planning to do. I also began declining and avoiding social gatherings since they often involved alcohol. It’s really boring to make small talk or just sit still while everyone else is tipsy or socially lubricated.
- steve1977 5y agoWelcome to the real world Neo...
- thefz 5y ago> Because two drinks in I get melancholic, three I start crying, at night I have nightmares and sleep lightly or not at all, and the next day I’m depressed or sick or both > Because drinking makes me want to smoke cigarettes; it makes me accept (but not like) bad food and bad sex > Because it’s an expensive way to make myself unhealthy, sad, and fat, and to embarrass myself All of those seem like her personal issues, not alcohol's.
- hackerfromthefu 5y agoAnother thing I've noticed is that on long term decade time scales people who drink regularly have less energy in life
- wink 5y agoEvery time I read something like this I'd really love to know some objective data of the person. Amount of drinks per day, per week. How drunk after X? On the chance I am so involved in not seeing my own problem... but I had a beer last night, the first in probably 2 weeks. I've been staring at one bottle in the middle drawer of my fridge for a few months. Since covid started I think I've not had 10 beers at home. (so one every 2 months?). I have a medium-sized collection of single malts and I always dread the amount of space they take up. I like them, but I don't seem to be in the mood for drinking them very often. That sounds like I'm more pushing myself to drink more... but alcohol for me 90% is a social thing, going to a bar (or even better beergarden) with friends, or for dinner. I've no problem drinking a little every day for a week, because I don't remember when that ever happened a second week. My last hangover might have been the company christmas party in 2019, and maybe I'm averaging 3-4 hangovers a year? TLDR: Really confused about how much you really need to drink to have these deep insights of how unhealthy and bad it is, because I'm certainly not feeling it. I 100% respect people who say they don't drink at all, but I am very weirded out by people who are telling me that drinking (anything) is bad per se. (Not necessarily the author of this post, it's phrased neutral enough).
- RickJWagner 5y agoGreat decision. The author makes many good points, especially those about the long-term effects of alcohol use. Once past the youthful decades, booze begins to take a terrible and undeniable toll. Wishing her much good luck.
- slenk 5y agoWhy is it news that someone is quitting using a known carcinogen? There are lots of us that have quit drinking but didn't feel the need to tell the world.
- gsinclair 5y agoOne reason given, indeed the first, is that the taste qualities of alcohol are a marketing fabrication. This is nonsense. A high quality wine is heaven in the mouth. A high quality gin and tonic is nature’s beautiful gift. I won’t argue with the other reasons though.