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The Zen of Drinking Alone

drunkard.com

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Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#251

Post by SyzygistSix »

toyg wrote: post #192
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.

There is something to be said for not being safe all the time.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#252

Post by cbsmith »

nexuist wrote: post #151
tempestn wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've hypothesized that a unique problem with unhealthy eating habits compared to other addictions is that you have to eat. I would think at least with something like alcohol or nicotine, what you need to do as an addict is fairly simple (which of course is different from easy). But you can't just cut out food entirely, so it's a much more complex issue trying to eat in a healthy manner. Especially since even being to…

Well, one of the problems with alcohol and nicotine is that you also can't just cut them out entirely. Withdrawal symptoms are brutal and not compatible with modern 40 hour week jobs. Cutting out food, especially sugary ones, probably would bring about some subset of the same withdrawal symptoms...so the problems are more closely related than they appear, IMO (disclaimer that I have never been addicted to either so I…

Most of the physical consequences of nicotine go away within a couple of weeks. There's a never ending psychological battle, but that is pretty compatible with holding down a job. Find a way to get two weeks off at once if you have to.

As for alcohol, I'll just say that as incompatible as withdrawal is with holding down a job... being drunk is pretty incompatible too. I think if you can finesse one, you can probable finesse the other.

In general, my observation has been that as horrible as withdrawal is, that's the easiest part of kicking a habit.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#253

Post by sundvor »

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…

Thanks. Alcohol is a poison and getting drunk has nothing to do with finding yourself. I wish people would quit romanticising addiction.

I quit a bit over a year ago. Never properly addicted, but Australian culture has it so firmly embedded it's scary. I'm a better person for it, and I don't miss it.

If I want to feel wasted the next day I'll do 120% in the garage gym. Under the bar I both find myself, experience euphoria afterwards, and retain the ability to be wrecked the next day should I choose to.

But it'll be a good kind of wrecked, more likely.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#254

Post by mcbride811 »

mawadev wrote: post #239

Whenever I drink, it's all fun and I'm buzzed, feeling funny... Then it starts to make me melancholic. This feeling doesn't stop when the alcohol is out of my system a few days after. It takes me about 3-4 weeks to feel truly "normal" again... Can anyone relate to this or am I an alien?

I can relate! It's gotten to a point where I'm seriously considering if it's worth it at all. Sometimes I feel outright depressed after having had some drinks the night before, to a point where the observer in my mind is shocked at the dark thoughts I'm having. I have a fructose malabsorption and most drinks I enjoy (wine, cocktails) do have a huge amount of this sugar in them. I wonder if this might be one of the reasons it's messing with my mood so much - I recall my gastro-doc saying something along the line that high fructose intake can lead to depression/symptoms of depression.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#256

Post by medstrom »

cbsmith wrote: post #250
SamPatt wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can cut out entire categories of food or drink though. People drink way more calories than they realize. Drink water instead of soda. It's definitely hard but the "just say no" approach can work. I do recommend taking it one at a time though. Once you've cut out one thing successfully, add another. I lost 90 lbs with this approach.

Totally does not work for me. It doesn't help that I figured out the "drinking calories" problem a long time ago and mostly drank water already. Cutting things out just seems to lead to eating more of others, because the problem isn't what food I eat. It's harder, but the biggest trick was learning to pay attention to what my body was telling me, stop when it first gave me a sign to stop, don't start until it gave me…

> maybe spending a part of your day feeling hungry is a sign that you are taking care of yourself.

Yes - may as well feel positive associations with hunger.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#258

Post by SyzygistSix »

pdimitar wrote: post #73

There are many paths to understanding yourself better and changing your life for the better. I quit trying to be an alcoholic somewhere between 23 and 24 -- finally understood that (1) I am not into it at all, (2) I don't get epiphanies from drinking and (3) the physical after-effects are not worth the hassle. But I have heard from other people that they get unique perspectives on their lives while drunk so hey, mayb…

I don't respect anyone for being a drunkard but I sure do respect a lot of people who were drunkards.

Re: The Zen of Drinking Alone

#260

Post by pdimitar »

SyzygistSix wrote: post #258
pdimitar wrote: post #73

There are many paths to understanding yourself better and changing your life for the better. I quit trying to be an alcoholic somewhere between 23 and 24 -- finally understood that (1) I am not into it at all, (2) I don't get epiphanies from drinking and (3) the physical after-effects are not worth the hassle. But I have heard from other people that they get unique perspectives on their lives while drunk so hey, mayb…

I don't respect anyone for being a drunkard but I sure do respect a lot of people who were drunkards.

Me too. Anyone overcoming that much negative inertia and then taking their life back in their hands demands huge respect.
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