Ask HN: What to do instead of drinking alcohol?

I rarely drink. I have kids so Saturday and Friday nights are pretty much at home like any other night.

If I didn’t I would consider a social sport in replacement of beers. Maybe a bouldering gym or a run through the city. Followed by a lemon-lime-soda kind of drink at a pub after?

The super power of being sober if you have a car is being able to drive. You can go wherever you like within say 60 miles - plenty of experiences for most people.

The biggest problem is friends or colleagues not accepting the change and trying to get you yo have a drink. You need a strategy for that and if there is too much pressure ot drunkness becomes too annoying have a bail tactic.

There’s a false narrative floating around the alcohol-free culture; “it’s boring,” or “I won’t be able to socialize the same.” When in reality, the majority of nondrinkers enjoy the weekends even more sans-booze! (Think about it, no Sunday scaries, money saved, and more time to be productive!)

For the alcohol-free or sober curious the weekends are filled with everything that those who drink regularly do- just without the booze. We enjoy cozy movie nights in, fancy dinner dates and fun boozeless brunches with our gal pals. The only difference is, we’re now available for early morning hikes, spin classes and at-home projects.

The truth is, when you stop drinking, you get to know yourself better. You figure out quickly what your really enjoy; perhaps you’re more introverted than you thought, or you prefer a good book on a Friday night over a crowded bar. The possibilities for the weekend are truly endless because you aren’t tied down to activities that only involve drinking. You have extra time to not only unwind and relax, but practice self-care and explore new hobbies.

If you’re new to the booze-free crew try a few of the following suggestions to fill up your weekends while you rediscover yourself:

* Attend restaurants and bars that serve non-alcoholic options so that you feel “part of” (call ahead or check their online menu if you aren’t sure)

* Schedule early morning movement and get those endorphins flowing to start your day off on a positive and productive note

* Connect with other alcohol-free peeps through sober Instagram and find new friends near you

* Stock up on fun, non-alcoholic drinks to make mocktails or experiment with at home

* Plan fun days/nights at home with friends that revolve around things you all love to do- crafting, vision boarding, a book club, a sports team, hiking...

If you want some extra support, try out the Reframe App (https://www.joinreframe.com). For full disclosure, I’m one of the co-founders. Reframe guides the casual drinker through their cut back/sobriety journey through 10 minute daily exercises, community support, coaching, and progress tracking

It sounds about right here. I thought I had lifelong depression/anxiety, but it disappeared totally around 6 months of being sober.

Yeah, developing a board game hobby (especially strategic and/or hobby games, not so much party games) and meeting up with friends who also like board games would fill that slot. I have a group of friends that I've met up with on Friday nights to play games with for like 8 years now. And several other groups that meet more sporadically or to play at different player counts. Or you can play them virtually or digitally (for free even) via websites like BoardGameArena. And since the pandemic started there've been a ton of good solo board games that have come out, and I play a decent amount of those too.

At some of those places there might be alcohol present, but if there is, there's not much incentive to drink because you'll play the games better if you're more lucid. And most groups I've played with don't include alcohol as part of the events at all.

But be careful, it's a pretty easy and deep rabbit hole to get sucked into (we're pretty much in a board game golden age right now, tons of great releases every year this past decade), and takes up a ton of physical space if you have an impulse control problem and keep buying them when you don't really have the space for all of them in the house. I may or may not be speaking from personal experience.

No advice, others have given some great advice.

I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent decision. Your future self will thank you.