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40 Days Without Booze

jdmoyer.com

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191–200 of 287 posts

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#191

Post by exit »

ljf wrote: post #105
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…

if 5 minutes is a signal, how wide is your normal variation interval?

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#192

Post by vittore »

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…

I'm sober like 9 years in a row. I was not able work so hard and so long hours (often about 80 a week) when i was drinking. Also it is a rip off paying for that Quick and effective relief form booze. stay sober a year and start drinking, you'll learn what I'm saying.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#193

Post by chrischen »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #30
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.

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 u…

The positives are almost always cultural. Then you just have to ask yourself if you want society to dictate how you live your life.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#194

Post by moocowduckquack »

debt wrote: post #151
tjic wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never had a single drink for my first 40 years on the planet, and, yes, people absolutely look at you like you've got two heads. I started drinking (about once a week) two years ago. It's moderately nice from time to time, but I also think the decision to avoid it for twenty years of adulthood was a good one - I established who I am and what my coping mechanisms are for stress, and now it's a nice little social adj…

THIS. I quit drinking a few years ago and it was the hardest time of my life. Not because, I was having booze withdrawl, but because I didn't know how to be a person. Most of my interactions with other people involved getting obliterated so I was never able to really by myself around other people. First become a real person and develop a healthy coping mechanism for stress. THEN, maybe, think about getting your drink…

I agree with you in many respects, but it also made me think about the flip side, which is not getting drunk because you want to talk to other people, but getting drunk because you want to talk to yourself.

There is a bit of writing in the wonderfully titled "Modern Drunkard" magazine that puts it well, "The Zen of Drinking Alone" - http://www.drunkard.com/issues/03_03/03-03_zen_drinking_alon...

I would say that drinking early does not on the whole make someone a social retard, given the patterns of alcohol consumption among the communities generally deemed to be sociable, but two of the most useful things I ever learned was how to have a good night in a pub while sober and how to have a good night on my own while drunk.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#195

Post by rbehrends »

buckbova wrote: post #173
rbehrends wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I'm not going to demonize alcohol, I also wouldn't downplay the harm. Alcohol is probably one of the nastier psychoactive substances known to man. Alcohol abuse is pretty common (an estimated number of 15 million Americans); it can create a physical dependence; there is a strong link between alcohol and violence (alcohol is normally classified as a depressant, but a significant minority of alcoholics become vio…

> alcohol is normally classified as a depressant, but a significant minority of alcoholics become violent It's a nervous system depressant. This does not mean it makes you emotionally depressed. It is extrememly unlikely alcohol is involved in the majority of car accidents. Please post a source.

> It's a nervous system depressant. This does not mean it makes you emotionally depressed.

Depressants usually have calming effects (hence the colloquialism "downers"); relaxation and removal of inhibitions are common effects (see also the OP about using drinks to wind down from stress). I don't see how that is at odds with what I wrote.

> It is extrememly unlikely alcohol is involved in the majority of car accidents. Please post a source.

You're correct, I misremembered that. The study (a) looked at drivers killed in accidents, and (b) it was alcohol or drugs. Alcohol was involved in only 40.2% of these fatalities.

[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012....

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#196

Post by moocowduckquack »

chrischen wrote: post #193
HelloMcFly wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 u…

The positives are almost always cultural. Then you just have to ask yourself if you want society to dictate how you live your life.

On the other hand, you wouldn't get very far if you decided that no part of your life could be dictated by society. You'd die before you'd worked it all out from first principles. Unless you were some sort of magical wizard, what has magic and stuff. Then you might be ok. Though I bet you wouldn't, cos it would all have to be new magic and you would have to think of it really fast, like in three days cos you can't accept just anyone's say so about the whole water/thirst thingy and stuff. That water might be poison. So you'd have to be a really powerful wizard to make all new stuff that works without the imposition of society so that you can be truly free before you die of thirst. Though I guess if you were a really powerful wizard you might not get thirsty anyway, so it might not matter.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#197

Post by satori99 »

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.

haha.

I too, think alcohol is a drug with a poor value proposition. At least for me. The 'high' is rubbish, and the come down is painful.

I am also part of a minority in this respect in my culture.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#198

Post by shanselman »

tjic wrote: post #61
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 never had a single drink for my first 40 years on the planet, and, yes, people absolutely look at you like you've got two heads. I started drinking (about once a week) two years ago. It's moderately nice from time to time, but I also think the decision to avoid it for twenty years of adulthood was a good one - I established who I am and what my coping mechanisms are for stress, and now it's a nice little social adj…

Yep, I've never had a drink in my 40 years as well. I just never got around to it. I'm not that interested in the culture, either. That said, it does kind of suck to be the sober guy at 3am in Vegas. Always.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#199

Post by arg01 »

GuiA wrote: post #102
munificent wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Yes but a far lower risk of casual use ending up with you charged with something. It would be hard to argue that people smoke marijuana because it is less likely to have a negative effect on their lives. This doesn't mean we disagree on whether it should be legal but until it is I'm going to keep my use down to infrequent trips to Amsterdam.

Re: 40 Days Without Booze

#200

Post by nathanscott »

Just a heads up, if you're thinking about what it's like to give the booze a rest for a while there is a community of people who take on a 3 month or 12 month sobriety challenge and blog about their experiences. It makes for super interesting reading, and the passion in the community really reflects how big the drinking issue is in people's lives.

http://hellosundaymorning.org

Full disclosure: My team built the tech. But you'll want to get involved for the community.

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