21–30 of 290 posts
It's a way of thinking I went into, and the various recent lockdowns helped quite a lot. I spend good evenings, and enjoyed it thoroughly. But I want to bring up a REALLY STRONG WARNING about it. It's shunned in most cultures for a reason. You don't want to be the one wasted person in the polite social event, so it helps limiting how much you drink. The article fail to mentions that alcohol is a VERY addictive substa…
Otherwise yes, drinking alone, just like eating alone can be wildly enjoyable.
I’d also warmly recommend to people who can do it to get mildly drunk once in a while (every year or two?). Do it with a trusting partner who stays clear, and check where’s the line and how it feels when you come close and then past it.
there are far better and stronger drugs you can do alone for introspection. a night by yourself on shrooms could change you more than 100 nights drinking alone, without the hangover or liver damage
I wish I could source it, but I recall reading an anthropological study of drinking that mentioned that solo drinking is universally shunned across all cultures. There's also something perverse about associating this with Zen given that abstaining from intoxicants is the fifth precept ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts#Fifth_precept ). I would never say there is no insight that could be gleaned from this -…
I think being a loner is generally seen as unusual though isn't it? I enjoy drinking alone, exercising alone, traveling alone, sitting alone, working alone. I don't really think I'm that weird by objective standards, there are also things I like doing with people (I'm married and have a family), but as a sometimes introvert, I definitely value time alone, including relaxing with a beer. Related, when I went to univer…
Drinking alone is more dangerous than drinking with friends.
But nearly everything in this article came across as a fairly odd way of rationalizing what might be "problem drinking" if not outright alcoholism.
I'm sure personal experiences will vary quite a bit here, but I've never found and greater truth about self identity there. I have found that sometimes it seems to assist in creative thoughts, ideas, etc, but certainly not rational thought that I think would standup in the post-hangover light of day.
About the most insightful thing I've found out about myself when drinking is "That was good whisky, but the last one was too much. Let's go drink a bunch of water, some preemptive ibuprofen, and get the coffee set to make a quick cup in the morning." It's not a vision quest.
I agree with everything in this article. Drinking alone is the best, particularly if you like to write while listening to music. The flights of fancy I used to go on! I wish I could still do it, but I found myself waiting for the liquor store to open up at 7:00 am to get rid of the shakes. Then when I tried to stop I couldn't. Long story short, after several rehabs, more stints in mental health lockup than I care to…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think being a loner is generally seen as unusual though isn't it? I enjoy drinking alone, exercising alone, traveling alone, sitting alone, working alone. I don't really think I'm that weird by objective standards, there are also things I like doing with people (I'm married and have a family), but as a sometimes introvert, I definitely value time alone, including relaxing with a beer. Related, when I went to univer…
No one shuns reading alone, listening to music alone, or watching a movie alone. Drinking alone is more dangerous than drinking with friends.
Removing the flowery language, here are the claims and supporting arguments, along with my rebuttals.
* Drinking alone helps you understand yourself better.
- No it doesn't. It distracts you from that endeavor. If you sit at a table with no TV or phone and do nothing, you will have a significantly more interesting and honest dialog with yourself if you are sober.
* Drinking alone lets you drink a lot of alcohol fast, in your preferred cocktail or beverage.
- Yes and this is why it is dangerous. Drinking tasty alcohol fast is a great way to get addicted. Or at the very least damage your health, both short and long term.
* Drinking alone provides you with comfortable silence.
- Drinking has nothing to do with this. Alcohol is a non-sequitur. You have to orchestrate the silence regardless of whether alcohol is involved.
That's it. It's just repeating these 3 points in different ways.
I don’t see an issue with the occasional drink. The problem is people talking like the author does, don’t do the occasional drink.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think being a loner is generally seen as unusual though isn't it? I enjoy drinking alone, exercising alone, traveling alone, sitting alone, working alone. I don't really think I'm that weird by objective standards, there are also things I like doing with people (I'm married and have a family), but as a sometimes introvert, I definitely value time alone, including relaxing with a beer. Related, when I went to univer…
No one shuns reading alone, listening to music alone, or watching a movie alone. Drinking alone is more dangerous than drinking with friends.