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The Zen of Drinking Alone

drunkard.com

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Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#111

Post by Cerium »

satvikpendem wrote: post #102
Cerium wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't drink that much, though it goes up and down over time. I do have a few rules I follow: I never drink on Mondays. I take January as a month of sobriety. The Monday rule is two fold. First it is a weekly check on alcohol seeking behavior. It is also because all the reasons I can think of for drinking on a Monday are not reasons I want to be drinking. Having a rule helps avoid bad habits.

Why just on a Monday? I feel like not drinking on Sunday to Thursday would be more useful.

Indeed, and most weeks I don't drink Sunday to Thursday, but Monday is where I draw the line.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#112

Post by hellbannedguy »

colechristensen wrote: post #100
okareaman wrote: post #8

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…

We’re not all alcoholics. Substances affect people in vastly different ways. A key problem is that people do not understand this, that substances and substance abuse don’t work the same across the board and one person’s experience does not extend to the rest of humanity. It is more like there are tribes that don’t understand each other.

No post body was provided.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#113

Post by taneq »

TigeriusKirk wrote: post #19
pelagicAustral wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- From "Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking" [0]: "The most important of these cross-cultural constants in the social norms governing alcohol use is the near-universal taboo on solitary drinking. The fact that drinking is, in almost all cultures, essentially a social act, is recognised throughout the anthropological literature, and ethnographic data from a wide range of cultures indicate that solitary drinking is…

"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?

Maybe people with depression tend towards drinking alone?

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#115

Post by coldtea »

AndyKelley wrote: post #28

This is poetic, but if you break it down into a syllogism, it's clear that this is totally stupid. 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 h…

>* 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.*

This pre-assumes you can have a honest dialog with yourself sober.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#116

Post by bradleyjg »

colechristensen wrote: post #100
okareaman wrote: post #8

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…

We’re not all alcoholics. Substances affect people in vastly different ways. A key problem is that people do not understand this, that substances and substance abuse don’t work the same across the board and one person’s experience does not extend to the rest of humanity. It is more like there are tribes that don’t understand each other.

This is true. I feel for people that struggle, I really do but it should also be acknowledged that many good and enduring relationships—-romantic and platonic—-were catalyzed by alcohol. Maybe the alcohol wasn’t strictly necessary but empirically it sure helps. That’s not something we should be so quick to dismiss when weighing costs and benefits.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#117

Post by taneq »

elric wrote: post #41

"Write drunk, edit sober" comes to mind. Comments seem to be on the moralizing side of things, ouch. I'm sure we're all aware that being an alcoholic is bad, yes, thanks. And yes, I'm sure we can all strive to be paragons of abstinence and Real Zen. But while we're doing that, we might do well to remember not take things too seriously all the time.

I've always thought abstinence was a questionable goal at best. The only reason I can see not to devolve into total hedonism is that it doesn't work. You just end up doing stuff that's bad for you and it's no longer even being fun. The key is bouts of self-indulgence interspersed with working, training and challenging yourself in different ways.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#118

Post by coldtea »

delusional wrote: post #44
AndyKelley wrote: post #28

This is poetic, but if you break it down into a syllogism, it's clear that this is totally stupid. 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 h…

This magazine or blog or whatever seems to either be an elaborate joke or bait or something: >Are you guys for real? >Yes. While there is some satire involved, we believe to the very core of our >souls every word we write. >Who are you? >We are a group of functional alcoholics based primarily in Denver, CO. Included in our ranks are published novelists, filmmakers, English gentlemen, barflies, punk rock musicians, co…

>This magazine or blog or whatever seems to either be an elaborate joke or bait or something

Or you know, part of the once respected in some circles tradition of self-destruction with style, before everybody started jogging and going vegan to live to 100 years old as a "productive" boring member of society...

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#119

Post by taneq »

almost_usual wrote: post #103
the_only_law wrote: post #34

I always drink alone these days, Covid killed whatever superficial drinking groups I had joined. Though I tend to prefer to go out, as opposed to being at home. I’m stuck in the apartment for most of the day anyway. I’ve never been bothered much by it in the past, but I think I’m quickly getting sick of it. It frankly gets boring, hanging out at bars all night aimlessly drinking. Yeah I talk people on occasion, but w…

Getting called out for drinking alone seems odd and I've never heard of that happening to anyone I know anywhere. Do you live in a college town? Seemed common in SF and other major metros I've lived in. You're not going to find many people doing it at hipster bars but it's definitely normal at neighborhood watering holes.

If you get called out for drinking alone, you're doing it wrong. Nobody else should be present. :P

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#120

Post by okareaman »

colechristensen wrote: post #100
okareaman wrote: post #8

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…

We’re not all alcoholics. Substances affect people in vastly different ways. A key problem is that people do not understand this, that substances and substance abuse don’t work the same across the board and one person’s experience does not extend to the rest of humanity. It is more like there are tribes that don’t understand each other.

I reread what I wrote and don't see where I said what happened to me happens to everyone who drinks
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