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The Zen of Drinking Alone

drunkard.com

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Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#121

Post by coldtea »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #48
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…

Instead of drinking, all of these can be accomplished by taking a “spiritual retreat” for a weekend. It could be a trip into the woods, a religious retreat with other people, or a stay at a quiet hotel far from home. I’ve done all three. When I have to make the long drive to my parents for a mandatory family get together, I’ll book a hotel halfway to take time for myself. The idea is to get away from your normal envi…

>Instead of drinking, all of these can be accomplished by taking a “spiritual retreat” for a weekend

That's like saying to someone "instead of kinky BDSM you could accomplish the same by making sweet tender love".

I don't think it works for everybody.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#122

Post by deepvibrations »

coldtea wrote: post #115
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.

If you can't, then i don't think alcohol is the solution here tbh.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#123

Post by austintech1 »

bradleyjg wrote: post #116
colechristensen wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I really appreciate this insight. Met my wife at a nightclub 19 years ago, me inebriated, her much less so, and we're still going strong!

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#124

Post by taneq »

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…

> 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.

I've had plenty of interesting insights into all sorts of things while inebriated that remained interesting and insightful long after I'd sobered up. Maybe this doesn't work for you but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for anyone.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#125

Post by sdze »

empressplay wrote: post #98
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…

Gabapentin + Clonidine

Baclofen, titrate up until you reach indifference to alcohol.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#126

Post by mod »

alias_neo wrote: post #74
Aloha wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the circumstance, I used to travel for a living, and attended movies alone not infrequently, I can't recall a single occasion when someone looked at me funny, or asked me why I was there alone, nor would my friends ask "who'd you go with?". If the topic of drinking alone comes up, there is always a warning or admonishment.

I've never been the the cinema alone in 30-odd years, and would rather not go than go alone. I wouldn't go to a gig alone or a comedy, I wouldn't have dinner at a restaurant alone and I wouldn't go on holiday alone. All of that is to say that I very much enjoy time to myself to listen to some music with my eyes closed or just to meditate or think, I'm quite happy for solitude, but not to do _things_ (see above).

People are built differently. I saw a heist movie alone on my 21st birthday. I prefer movies alone, along with many other things like eating out. To your point, I would rather go alone to the movies or not at all. It's just a better experience.

I live on 40 acres alone. I'm snowed in here currently, without a care.

But I also own a bar, and bars make you lots and lots of friends. And I'm close with my family.

I don't drink alone, but just because I have no urge to drink when I'm not at a bar. I have a bottle that's been in my fridge a few years and isn't even open.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#127

Post by deepvibrations »

dijonman2 wrote: post #58
kayodelycaon wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of drinking, all of these can be accomplished by taking a “spiritual retreat” for a weekend. It could be a trip into the woods, a religious retreat with other people, or a stay at a quiet hotel far from home. I’ve done all three. When I have to make the long drive to my parents for a mandatory family get together, I’ll book a hotel halfway to take time for myself. The idea is to get away from your normal envi…

Some people just like to get fucked up. Better not to judge

Majority of people like to get fucked up to escape reality, especially alcohol.

That's fine - but to suggest alcohol is a good way to understand yourself better is bs imo. There are far better ways/substances.

Get drunk when you want to by all means, but don't try and paint it as 'good for yourself'. There are far better substances if you want to do some instrospection!

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#128

Post by DarylZero »

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?

The joy and euphoria aren't a result of the presence of people. They're effects of the drug. Whatever asshole wrote this would probably say the same thing about being sober alone.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#130

Post by noir_lord »

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…

My favourite way to blow of steam is what I call drunken arma3.

The sheer insanity of that game suits a few (by which I mean 2-3 beers, not much of a drinker) every couple of weeks.

It’s incredibly relaxing.

I drank way too much in my twenties (shitfaced every weekend which was normal in the uk back then), stopped entirely for my thirties and now stick to 2-3 once every few weeks.

Not been drunk drunk in 14 years, good on you for getting yourself sorted.

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