Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
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40 Days Without Booze
21–30 of 287 posts
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#22Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
It is not "like a drug", it is a drug just like any other substances commonly called drugs. We just integrated it into our culture, and learned to live with it and accept the consequences of its use (on the societal level, personally it is still as capable of destroying lives as any other drug if abused). But it doesn't change neither chemistry nor biology nor physiology of what is happening.
So if someone talks to you about dangers of such things as marijuana while sipping wine or beer - you're talking to either dangerously ignorant or dangerously dull person.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#23Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
Respectfully, why not? Putting aside state regulation, what's your objection to recreational drug use? edit -- I'm pretty sure your second sentence appeared after I commented. In any event, I don't mean to put you out. Just curious.
I suspect a history of family related substance abuse. That usually does it.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#24My wife is pregnant and as a show of solidarity I’m not drinking around her (which cuts out the majority of my drinking). Which is not quite this experiment, but has shown me one thing where his and my experiences differ: Socializing. As it turns out I socialize a lot in bars - and I don’t like bars at all when not drinking. Mocktails° help - but not enough, and basically no bars serve those in Seattle, only fancy re…
As someone who no longer drinks, but spends a lot of time in bars (where I live its the only way to really socialize publicly), a soda water in a drink glass is nice, because it avoids awkwardness and seeming odd man out - ppl just assume its vodka or such.
Of course not liking bars is a different thing entirely :-)
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#25Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
It is not "like a drug", it is a drug just like any other substances commonly called drugs. We just integrated it into our culture, and learned to live with it and accept the consequences of its use (on the societal level, personally it is still as capable of destroying lives as any other drug if abused). But it doesn't change neither chemistry nor biology nor physiology of what is happening. So if someone talks to y…
Drug is a political term.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#26(I am reading this after two glasses of wine). Am I alone in thinking that he sounds like an addict? I mean, sure he didn't have a big issue sticking to his decision, but at the same time the list of changes is pretty significant.
When he mentioned not waking up early anymore I started thinking the same.. If he is having that happen, he's having more than just a glass of wine to end the day.
Alcohol affects people differently. We are all not the same.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#27(I am reading this after two glasses of wine). Am I alone in thinking that he sounds like an addict? I mean, sure he didn't have a big issue sticking to his decision, but at the same time the list of changes is pretty significant.
Was thinking that too. For all the verbiage, there was only a vague "I had only been averaging a couple drinks a day" way down the article as an indication of what the abstained-from baseline was. Averaging two? The "couple" numeric implies room for large values of 2, and "averaging" easily includes two days of nothing followed by 6 in short order.
This brings back the crux of those who argue such subjects: some people are the "a glass with dinner" type and experience almost no effect, some people are the "six-pack at a time" type and experience significant effect, and very few in either category seem able to acknowledge the other category exists at all. Their average may be comparable, but frequency * intensity produce wildly differing results.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#28Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
He lost a little weight, but had an increase in asthma symptoms. He had a harder time winding down, but slept a little better.
I'm not sure what you got out of this article that confirms your aversion to this drug. Care to elaborate?
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#29My wife is pregnant and as a show of solidarity I’m not drinking around her (which cuts out the majority of my drinking). Which is not quite this experiment, but has shown me one thing where his and my experiences differ: Socializing. As it turns out I socialize a lot in bars - and I don’t like bars at all when not drinking. Mocktails° help - but not enough, and basically no bars serve those in Seattle, only fancy re…
I don't drink but find myself in bars a lot. I also don't like soda and won't drink fake beer. A lot of the time I will get a cup of coffee. Depending on the bar they will have something decent brewing. Nicer bars its actually enjoyable, quality stuff. Rough dive bars its usually some instant garbage that's been on the hot plate all night that serves no purpose other than to wake up the drunks before they drive home.
Re: 40 Days Without Booze
#30Great writeup. As someone who never drinks, and never has, it continues to sound like a drug to me and I want no part of it. That said, I still get questioned about my decision like I have 2 heads.
Well it is a drug, there is no debate there. Like any drug, such as caffeine or aspirin, one must decide for themselves 1) whether the associated positives outweigh the associated negatives and 2) whether you're able to control your consumption so as not to tip scale from net positive to net negative. Legality and ease-of-acquisition are a part of this decision.
I like drinking, and brewing, and would never give it up; that said, it's crazy to me that others find it so far outlandish that someone would want to abstain. It's kind of like having kids: there are great reasons to want them, and great reasons to not want them. It shouldn't be hard to appreciate both perspectives.