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Forums › Free Speech › Drinking.
Drinking.
What’s the consensus.
In December of 2019 I was fucking done drinking. Tired of feeling like shit. Tired of the whole drinking baggage. For most of 2020 I was fairly dry. 2021 and as things have opened up I’ve found myself falling back into the social scene.
Where are you all standing? Puritan? Partying like it’s 1999?
There was a time I quite drinking for about 5 years. I was going through a divorce and at one point a I made a comment about needing a drink. My then 8-year-old son looked at me and innocently asked “why?”. That hit me hard and I just stopped. After a while I missed it – not getting drunk and feeling like shit, but there are some drinks I really enjoy. One of my guilty pleasures is a well paired Scotch and cigar, or a really good red wine with a steak. For me, separating “need” from “want” was important. Not everyone is able to do that, but finding that balance was key to me personally.
I have always had a high tolerance for alcohol and that lead to me drinking more and more over the years. I never really drank until the evening, but could regularlly drink more than a bottle of wine in one sitting. Every year I would give up alcohol for Lent, no problem, and really enjoyed feeling better, but once I started drinking again, got right back to bad habits. After my mom died last year, it got really excessive and I felt really bad all the time. It was partly dependence, partly hair of the dog, a huge part of self-medication for extreme anxiety and grief (which was a lot more rage than depression). Anway, by August of last year, my IBS was at an all-time high and when my doc sent in my bloodwork, it came back with elevated liver enzymes. So, I quit cold turkey and within two weeks, felt physically better than I had in years. Also lost about ten lbs. Since Christmas, I’ve gone on and off the wagon. Unfortunately, I don’t think I have a moderation switch anymore, ie, if I have one, I will have four. So, I’m back to not drinking and feeling better. I do have to find a better way to deal with my anxiety, being anxious and exhausted is a huge trigger for me because booze makes me feel both relaxed and energetic. And I am often anxious and exhausted at the end of the day.
Blame it on the al, al…al…al, al…alcohol. Virtually 99.687542 percent of the world’s art, literature, scientific discovery or any creative endeavor is/was fueled or motivated, in part, by alcohol. I love the peace, tranquility, and camaraderie that comes with a few drinks with close friends. The delicate balancing act is to recognize not to rely upon it and like anything of substance, be able to control it. Ha, sounds like I’m a problem drinker…but I’m not. I do have a good tolerance and can put away more than my fair share but I do know this and try to keep in it check. But fuck all that, who are we without our vices and excesses?!? Decision making? Excellent time after killing a bottle of Jamo. I jest, but all joking aside after a couple of drinks and focused conversation on whatever issue that may be troubling you, clarity can be available. Having a couple of pints of Guinness and a few shots of Jameson along with a good cigar at the end of the week while bullshitting with a few friends is one of my personal favorite moments and I’m not going to feel guilty about that, ever.
Whoa. Shape bro. No one is here trying to make you feel guilty. We all support you getting drunk with your friends and playfully rubbing crotches. Not here to take that away from you buddy.
This was just a check in to see where everyone was at coming out of this pandemic.
For me, when we go out, we tend it hit it a lot harder than a couple of pints. It usually turns into an epic shit show.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I’m starting to find getting up and going the next day is getting harder than it is worth.
Or maybe I am just out of the getting it on groove.
Ha! Well, we are on the same wavelength. Sadly, I’m the shit show guy as well. I saw something online, I think on the Facebooks, where someone said, “I’m gonna rig up a system where I can wear a gopro camera when I’m out drinking with my friends so later I can look back and pinpoint the exact moment where everything went wrong.” I also struggle at times with how far to take it. And you’re absolutely right, the next day is where payment is extracted. C’mon, one more shot of Jamo!!
See Shaf – for me it’s the opposite. I’ve lost the that enjoyment of “drink.” I used to enjoy a good beer, or a cocktail. I don’t do that anymore.
But, and this may be a function of how the past year went, I’ve been enjoying getting together with people and going old school. I don’t like drinks anymore, but I’ve been liking going out and drinking with people.
I am in line with Shaf. Big drinking nights lost their appeal and hangovers are more unpleasant lately. In my youth I could drink most of the night, sleep for three hours and then train the next morning. Now I need to recover for at least a day to do something meaningful.
I have also became more selective. I rather get more expensive bottle of single malt and stretch it for longer than drinking Black Label every second day. Same with wine.
On a mildly related tangent, the idea that moderate drinking is beneficial for health has been debunked. One drink is no better for health than one cigarette. Neither will kill you, of course, but don’t kid yourself that it will lower your cholesterol, dilate arteries or some other nonsense.
I like the metaphor by some Russian guy. Drinking is similar to borrowing. You get tired of life – you borrow some “time off” by drinking or taking drugs. Similarly to borrowing money to cover some expenses. You repay it later. However, if you borrow continuously eventually you go bankrupt.
Sangria you dirty bitch you’re as bad as the super-est of Debbie Downers, Spells! You two could make Jesus say fuck it, you’re all on your own. You shut your gingivitis-plagued whore mouth right now about the …debunked health benefits of moderate drinking! There’s a whole bunch of awesome good stuff about moderate drinking, like…increased HDL, super strength and the ability to take on any adversary. Also, problem solving, driving ability, and key decision-making is greatly enhanced. I’m sorry that you have no friends and no one loves you but don’t try to shit on the things us normal folks with good dental hygiene enjoy.
Sangria you dirty bitch you’re as bad as the super-est of Debbie Downers, Spells! You two could make Jesus say fuck it, you’re all on your own. You shut your gingivitis-plagued whore mouth right now about the …debunked health benefits of moderate drinking! There’s a whole bunch of awesome good stuff about moderate drinking, like…increased HDL, super strength and the ability to take on any adversary. Also, problem solving, driving ability, and key decision-making is greatly enhanced. I’m sorry that you have no friends and no one loves you but don’t try to shit on the things us normal folks with good dental hygiene enjoy.
You are a goddamned national treasure.
I quit ~13 years ago when it was clearly becoming a net negative and the overall trend was “drinking more over time.” Didn’t take the first couple times but I more or less accepted that going back to having a drink or two was probably not worth the downside risk given past difficulties moderating.
I’ve since seem some people do the whole multiple stints in rehab and lives circling the drain, and I think most people who think maybe they drink too much should probably quit as it doesn’t get easier the longer you wait. It’s like people who are lactose intolerant. If milk makes you shit your pants, maybe you should stop trying to find creative ways to drink less milk and switch to something else instead.
I thought this was gonna be about your favorite liquor (mezcal) or beer (stouts)….
Twice a week max…six shots max (or less)…on a full stomach = everything fine for me
That global depression that’s hanging around seems to have led all my friends/family to drink daily…or close to it. If alcohol can (personally) be kept to the above, it’s more fun….life doesn’t get missed out on due to hangovers…body-fat stays stable.
But it’s a fucking struggle to say no all the time.
I used to party quite a bit back in the day but in my mid to late 30’s the hangovers got to be too bad and lingered for too long, so I cut back quite a bit. Now about the only time I drink is while working around the house on the weekends or after a ride. Now edibles and weed on the other hand…
I have never been an alone drinker because of a grandfather who was such an alcoholic he drank away a successful butcher shop and died young-ish. My dad’s younger half brother, who was also his cousin(I think?) because my grandfather married my grandmother’s little sister, died from just running out of steam after a drug overdose, lifetime of using, and being a drunk on top of that.
That said, for my late teens through my mid 20s, when I did drink, I sent it fully. A couple times a week it was a race to bad decisions.
Around 30 I started noticing that even when I kept it relatively mild, I didn’t feel great the next day. Kind of dull and off feeling.
Now, I probably have 2 or 3 drinks a year up until recently. Now maybe 2 or 3 beers a week. Never more than 2 in a night.
I stopped drinking. Alcohol is a trap.
Oh yeah? How long? What led to this? I think, from past posts, that drinking had definitely been a part of your life. Has it been hard?
I stopped in the beginning of summer and no, it has not been hard. It was easy and, as strange as it may sound, enjoyable.
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