I just smoke weed. Feels better with less hangover.
However it does have a more pernicious effect on ambition and maybe cognition if you do it all the time. Feels money though, and doesn’t prevent fitness or waking up spry
Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
261–270 of 600 posts
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#262Tried psilocybin mushrooms once. It was not a pleasant experience, but for some reason afterwards the need for social validation through alcohol usage completely evaporated. The effects of alcohol became almost boring. I literally started drinking milk at those kind of social gatherings. Very strange.
A couple of years passed since then. I'm now in an environment where alcohol usage is increasingly encouraged, and not drinking makes other people uncomfortable. So what I'm doing now is just buying small amounts of alcohol, usually better quality.. but I still don't feel any internal drive to drink.
So.. perhaps trying out one of these psychedelic substances once could help.. there is also some research suggesting that they have anti-addiction effects.
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#263Earlier quoted context omitted.
They mean every night, as in each night. About 20 standard drinks in a bottle of vodka, so takes 18-20 hours to process all the alcohol before starting again. It's just about doable with a day job if you start as soon as you get home from work and don't have to drive in the morning. I know because that was me once. This is why people with serious drinking problems find the "I drink a beer every night I must be an alc…
Someone drinking really regularly fires up their MEOS which also reduces/oxidises alcohol and can significantly speed up standard drinks per hour. Like, in the realm of double. That’s why you or a drinker may have started to get the shakes 24 hours after you first drunk - they haven’t had any etoh in your system for 12+ hours
I had to look it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsomal_ethanol_oxidizing_s...
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#264Spaniard here. Social drinking is very much a thing in Spain. However, most social drinking is light or moderate: walk to a nearby bar, have two beers with the family or with close friends (with free tapas, which accounts for dinner), then walk back home. In rare occasions (at least in my personal experience) things degenerate and one goes out for "just one beer" and gets back home at 5am with a vague recollection of…
Are the prices higher for a drink in the free tapas bars? I mean, no such thing as a free lunch, but this article shows that a drink is like 5 euros and you get a little meal with that, which seems like a great deal. In Germany I'd have to pay at least 5 euros per 0.5 liters of beer in average locations. Yes, the article is 7 years old and Spain is a little cheaper to live in and we have high inflation but it still seems very inexpensive to me.
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#265I've found it easy to stop a great deal of such behaviors by examining not what they promise to deliver, but what they actually brought. I.e. don't look forward, look backward when making decisions. Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets. Junk food promises a great time. Junk food delivers poor health and regrets. Going to the gym promises hardship and struggle. It delivers health. I'v…
I've regretted reading some books (half through). Mostly modern neuroscience stuff and self help.
Maybe you should have a drink before reading those.
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#266I've found it easy to stop a great deal of such behaviors by examining not what they promise to deliver, but what they actually brought. I.e. don't look forward, look backward when making decisions. Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets. Junk food promises a great time. Junk food delivers poor health and regrets. Going to the gym promises hardship and struggle. It delivers health. I'v…
Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets Sure, but simply ignoring the time in between where alcohol effectively does deliver a great time, and which is for many people the addictive aspect of it, isn't exactly easy. Or at least not quite as easy as downplaying the hangover and regrets, as addicts often do. And since your core advice is basically not to misjudge, it's extra weird to me t…
Ultimately, pleasures and hardships fade, what remains at the end is what we accomplished and what we regret. That is, the very memories I'm suggesting you use to evaluate your habits.
You had a good time at a party once. Great. Are you really still enjoying that good time? Not likely.
You climbed a mountain another time. You were tired and it was very difficult. Are you still exhausted months later? Not likely. But the accomplishment remains the rest of your life.
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#267Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets. One beer? Also Alco often delivers crazy social interactions that may be very desired >Reading a book promises struggling and boredom. It delivers wisdom and inspiration. I've never once regretted it. I wish, a lot of books that ive read were mostly waste of time e.g dragon book
> One beer? Actually, yes. If you are someone who only drinks one beer, then your low tolerance means even that single drink will leave you leaving crummy afterwards. Not a full-on "oh dear god please don't mention eggs around me" crummy, but just groggy, headache-y, and so on. This is me. I only ever drank maybe a glass of wine or one beer every couple of months, and finally realized it was easier just dropping down…
> your low tolerance means even that single drink will leave you leaving crummy afterwards.
That's not true. As long as you compensate with a bit of water, and you drink quality spirits rather than shit, one or two drinks are absolutely fine even for the low-volume drinker.
Source: am one.
What makes a real difference is that, if you're super-fit and super-lean, your body will struggle harder to deal with alcohol, so you will have to over-compensate by drinking a lot of extra water (and hence piss more).
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#268Spaniard here. Social drinking is very much a thing in Spain. However, most social drinking is light or moderate: walk to a nearby bar, have two beers with the family or with close friends (with free tapas, which accounts for dinner), then walk back home. In rare occasions (at least in my personal experience) things degenerate and one goes out for "just one beer" and gets back home at 5am with a vague recollection of…
Are the prices higher for a drink in the free tapas bars? I mean, no such thing as a free lunch, but this article shows that a drink is like 5 euros and you get a little meal with that, which seems like a great deal. In Germany I'd have to pay at least 5 euros per 0.5 liters of beer in average locations. Yes, the article is 7 years old and Spain is a little cheaper to live in and we have high inflation but it still s…
Yes, they are a bit higher, the places that give you good tapas are usually outside of the touristy areas. In tourist areas, you will not get anything or just some olives or chips (that is not considered a tapa for most spaniards)
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#269Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets. One beer? Also Alco often delivers crazy social interactions that may be very desired >Reading a book promises struggling and boredom. It delivers wisdom and inspiration. I've never once regretted it. I wish, a lot of books that ive read were mostly waste of time e.g dragon book
Can't speak for everyone, but after one beer I am done. It's funny the first 20 minutes, then a certain numbness covers my brain.
Some of it must be genetic disposition towards certain elements. I can deal with wine just fine, but beer stones me really quickly.
Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?
#270Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets Sure, but simply ignoring the time in between where alcohol effectively does deliver a great time, and which is for many people the addictive aspect of it, isn't exactly easy. Or at least not quite as easy as downplaying the hangover and regrets, as addicts often do. And since your core advice is basically not to misjudge, it's extra weird to me t…
Ultimately, pleasures and hardships fade, what remains at the end is what we accomplished and what we regret. That is, the very memories I'm suggesting you use to evaluate your habits. You had a good time at a party once. Great. Are you really still enjoying that good time? Not likely. You climbed a mountain another time. You were tired and it was very difficult. Are you still exhausted months later? Not likely. But…
No post body was provided.