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The Zen of Drinking Alone

drunkard.com

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Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#191

Post by acjohnson55 »

dilap wrote: post #177
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…

I've definitely had realizations drinking alone. It's not a state you want to be in all the time, or even often, but it can be useful. It's sort of like a random jump in the mental search space to get out of local minima. (Though perhaps I could train myself mentally to be able to enter these more loose states w/o alcohol, and that would be even better?)

Alcohol isn't special in this regard. There are many ways to shake oneself out of their standard mental cycles. There are lots of other drugs, and there are also plenty of non-drug techniques and experiences.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#192

Post by toyg »

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.

Alcoholism vs abstinence is a false dichotomy. There are safe consumption limits, technically there is no need for total abstinence. But it has to be said that one of the best ways to maintain such equilibrium is precisely to avoid the exact situation this article glorifies. Drinking alone raises the risk of addiction very significantly.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#193

Post by sigmaprimus »

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 thought I was an alcoholic beyond help but it turns out I was just selfish. I used to drink to get drunk almost every day when I was living with someone, they drank too but not to the excess I did. Then one day they were gone, they passed away and suddenly I found myself alone and responsible for maintaining a home and taking care of several animals. I realized I could not risk something happening to me in my drunkenness and have no one around to help me or call for help, end up dead and leave my animals alone in the world with no one to care for them. So I quit, no shakes, no depression just a few cravings now and then for it but far greater of a feeling of loneliness and missing my best friend in the whole world than wanting a drink.

I don't know if it makes a difference but my alcohol of choice was beer and I consumed between 10-15 every night for around a decade. I still would consider myself an alcoholic because if I drink even one beer, I am going to keep drinking until they are all gone, but I guess I have the ability or wisdom to choose not to have that first drink, or maybe I'm just co-dependent without anyone to make it happen. Lucky for me I suppose.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#194

Post by acjohnson55 »

rzzzt wrote: post #27
Aloha wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one shuns reading alone, listening to music alone, or watching a movie alone. Drinking alone is more dangerous than drinking with friends.

Watching a movie alone in the comfort of your own home? I get that. Going to the cinema alone? Definitely shunned.

I think this is one of those things that people may self-shame over. I've been to plenty of movies on my own. I don't see why anyone else would care.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#195

Post by toyg »

PopAlongKid wrote: post #160

What about time of day? If drinking only socially is a check on alcoholism, what about drinking only after 17:00, or maybe even only after 12:00? These time boundaries too are social conventions in many places.

Those thresholds protect productivity, they don't protect from alcoholism.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#196

Post by katzgrau »

avl999 wrote: post #162

Does anyone here enjoy coding after a few drinks? I don't do this often but on a Friday evening if I feel the fancy to work late and am working on a known problem space-- I pour myself a couple of shots on gin, mix with a bit of lemonade and code away. I get a lot done in this state as I am purely churning out code rather than constantly second guessing myself, looking for a more optimal ways of doing it or refactori…

Not anymore, but when I did, I've taken on some hairy tasks that were otherwise overwhelming and the code just flows.

Didn't work all the time though - sometimes I'd just be noticeably tired and stupid. And when I hit my 30s that tended to happen more often than not so I hung it up.

Now, with a good night's sleep, the very early morning hours (5am) is when I can get the flow state consistently.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#197

Post by bluedino »

donw wrote: post #49
Aloha wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have very strict rules I follow for alcohol consumption, if for no other reason than I'm the son of a man who was a functioning alcoholic for most of his life. I've read the big book, and consider it a source of wisdom, even if I perhaps don't follow all of the tenants contained within. The serenity prayer, which is AA adjacent if not (now) directly part of the AA wisdom is my personal lodestar, it's great wisdom o…

What tools do you, or other HNers for that matter, have to share about breaking alcohol addiction? Especially covering the hard parts: what are the major hurdles to overcome?

I had a kid. So I just quit.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#198

Post by mlac »

tagoregrtst wrote: post #180
okareaman wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most "real [1]" alcoholics try over and over to stop like myself and Bill Wilson. The following story from the Big Book illustrates the problem [2] Yet he got drunk again. We asked him to tell us exactly how it happened. This is his story: "I came to work on Tuesday morning. I remember I felt irritated that I had to be a salesman for a concern I once owned. I had a few words with the boss, but nothing serious. Then I…

Do you mind if I ask what was your trauma? I ask because on the one hand it’s fair to say that I’ve never suffered. Not like my wife. Not like many on this board. On the other I have have a pain, and I know where it’s from, but it seems so idiotic compared to what others have suffered. And yet I seek escapism, the trance state where I try to forget my existence.

Not op - but it’s all relative. And if it’s enough for you to go into the trance state then I would think that’s what matters…

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#199

Post by jmkni »

avl999 wrote: post #162

Does anyone here enjoy coding after a few drinks? I don't do this often but on a Friday evening if I feel the fancy to work late and am working on a known problem space-- I pour myself a couple of shots on gin, mix with a bit of lemonade and code away. I get a lot done in this state as I am purely churning out code rather than constantly second guessing myself, looking for a more optimal ways of doing it or refactori…

I once came home after a work night out, and started coding on...erm..something.

I remember thinking at the time that I was onto something brilliant, only to excitedly pick it back up the next day and look at my code and realize it completely indecipherable. I don't even know what my idea was lol

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#200

Post by Sebb767 »

elric wrote: post #46
Aloha wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one shuns reading alone, listening to music alone, or watching a movie alone. Drinking alone is more dangerous than drinking with friends.

I think all of your statements need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Plenty of people will give you the stink eye if you're by yourself in public. Some arse once loudly informed me I was a loser for being at the movies by myself. That happened once, but it was enough to make me realize that some people really can't fathom the idea of people having fun by themselves. Drinking with friends is likely to be much m…

> Some arse once loudly informed me I was a loser for being at the movies by myself.

This is something public, though, while the parent only listed activities in private. Drinking alone in public is shunned even worse.

Not that I agree with that guy, of course. Enjoy your time at the movies alone, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

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