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40 Days Without Booze

jdmoyer.com

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Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#101

Post by reustle »

hcurtiss wrote: post #17
reustle wrote: post #11

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.

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 don't drink because I don't feel the need to. Simple as that. It has forced me to develop that "social lubricant" internally which people use as the most common reason for drinking. And for dealing with stress, I think sweeping it under the rug (even a little bit, or temporarily) is not the right way to handle things. I have heard so many reasons over the years, none of them have convinced me. As you can see in my other replies in this thread, this doesn't have anything to do with personal experiences with family alcoholism.

I'm also OK with recreational drug use for the most part. You're free to do whatever you please on your own time, as long as it doesn't affect me. I don't feel any better than someone because I don't drink and they do, that would be silly. That's just about everyone.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#102

Post by GuiA »

munificent wrote: post #78
smsm42 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 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. Or maybe you're talking to someone smart enough to realize that just because a bunch of things are in the same category , that doesn't make them equivalent .

That's true- alcohol has a greater risk for dependency and causes greater physical harm than marijuana, LSD, psilocybin and friends.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#103

Post by eyeareque »

reustle wrote: post #11

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.

I've also never drank before. People just can't seem to understand why I have never chosen to. I've also never met anyone else who has never drank.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#104

Post by hokkos »

3pt14159 wrote: post #85
jere wrote: post #60

I've slipped into the habit of drinking almost every single night over the past few months and I'm currently trying to cut it out. It's harder than I thought it would be. Like the author said, I've never noticed any physical withdrawal, but I have a strong urge to have a drink every night (sometimes even in the middle of the day). This is one of the most stressful times of my life and it's so hard not to just say "fu…

Yeah, I assume you are in your late twenties. I've talked privately with lots of people in the Toronto tech scene about daily drinking. I was doing it when I was 27 during a stressful period when the acquisition of a company I started began to fall apart (I only ended up making 9 months of the 4 year vesting). I was told that it either lasts until you have kids, turn thirty, or turn into a full blown alcoholic. I too…

I don't know if it is linked but a recent study found that 29 years old get hte worst hangover : http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/31/hangovers-hit-the-hardest-at-t...

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#105

Post by ljf »

bitops wrote: post #53

> booze enables workaholism, because of the fast unwind time I think this is the key insight from the article. I went through a stressful period where I used alcohol to wind down quickly. But in reality it just made things worse because it numbed me up to the real reasons why I was stressed out. Sometimes though, we don't want to look at the deeper issues (emotional/psychological) for why we are unhappy, and booze pr…

For ages I was in the habit of having a glass of wine of beer each night after work. For me it all changed when I started cycling daily. Firstly I started to notice the difference it made to me when I didn't drink each evening when I got home, on a 14mile each way ride it would take me at least an extra 5 minutes each way after just one or two beers the night before.

Then in time I found the bike ride alone was all I needed to unwind. I still drink socially, but I'm planning on cutting even that back lately.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#106

Post by schreiaj »

smsm42 wrote: post #22
reustle wrote: post #11

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.

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…

As a frequent drinker and one who talks about the dangers of marijuana and other illicit substances (as well as legal drugs such as SSRIs) I am neither ignorant nor (do I believe) I am dull. I understand the risks and dangers of my substance of choice and am merely discussing those of another substance.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#107

Post by 3pt14159 »

jere wrote: post #94
3pt14159 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I assume you are in your late twenties. I've talked privately with lots of people in the Toronto tech scene about daily drinking. I was doing it when I was 27 during a stressful period when the acquisition of a company I started began to fall apart (I only ended up making 9 months of the 4 year vesting). I was told that it either lasts until you have kids, turn thirty, or turn into a full blown alcoholic. I too…

Wow. I turned 27 last week. It wasn't always about drinking because of stress (I happen to really like trying different craft brews), but lately it has been. My wife is going through some serious medical issues and depression, which invariably puts a strain on finances also.

If there is anything I can do, I'd be happy to help not just you, but anyone in your situation that is reading this.

Medical issues are horrible, especially when then happen to a SO because it puts an unsolvable problem between two people that know they love each other but slowly slide into a distance that only exacerbates the problem.

Not that I could ever properly understand what you are going through, but I've found that being patient, and actively choosing to be patient, even when you don't want to be, and being kind, even when you don't want to be, really, really help a relationship because the other person usually senses that you are choosing to do something for them.

Sometimes it is just this concious choice that gives them validation that they are cared for and the other person can pull themselves up a notch. Sometimes not, but even in those times, the funk they are in is slighly less funky.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#108

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

mumbi wrote: post #82
bitops wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ultimate in self-denial: no computer usage outside of works hours for a week!

I quit computers for two years only to resume a year ago. Very enlightening experience. I recommend it.

I, like many here, would find it difficult to pay the mortgage if I did that!

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#109

Post by jakejake »

I personally enjoy a tasty beverage on occasion. But if I were to go 40 days without drinking I'm not sure that I would even notice. The OP doesn't sound like he was a particularly heavy drinker, but it always has a slight problematic ring to me when somebody tells me they haven't drank for X number of days. Especially when X is a fairly small number. I always figure that since they're tracking the time so specifically that they must be dying for a drink.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#110

Post by PhantomGremlin »

smsm42 wrote: post #77
VLM wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"doing things that our body is not meant to do normally." The reason it doesn't outright kill you is an enormous amount of evolution to occasionally consume "somewhat overripe fruit". That doesn't mean you're evolved to chug grain alcohol like water, or get drunk every night like the goof in the article, it just means your body is quite very well used to handling a bit of fermented grapes once in awhile. Hacking one'…

Human body is a very resilient thing, so it can withstand some abuse for a prolonged time (and some bodies are extremely resilient, read this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Malloy ). But it all takes its toll at the end...

Everyone, that is a must read!!! Amazing.

Of course, it's Wikipedia, so who knows if it's true ... but amazing nonetheless.

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