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Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

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Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#71

Post by danielbln »

morganvachon wrote: post #46
Zirro wrote: post #24

I am in my early twenties, and I have yet to drink my first alcoholic beverage. I made a decision a few years ago after weighing the negatives and positives of drinking against each other, and concluded that drinking alcohol provided very few benefits in comparison to the potential risks.

Late thirties here, and I've never drank, not once. Not for any religious reasons, but exactly what you said: I weighed the positives and negatives as a teen, and decided I'd have more fun watching my friends get drunk and making sure they got home okay, than ending up in the same mess as them.

I respect that decision, but it is a bit of a false dichotomy. You can responsibly drink w/o becoming "a mess". Granted, that probably works better as an adult than as a teenager. Personally, I follow the 'everything in moderation, even moderation' approach.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#72

Post by aroberge »

swombat wrote: post #22

I have been a regular drinker for most of my adult life. Recently, I tried a "semi-dry July", where I told myself I would drink only once a week (with no limit on that day, i.e. binge drinking allowed). But when I got to that day, I felt only like having one beer or so, and same the following week. Well, here's an amazing thing, shocking and totally counterintuitive: I felt much better while doing this than I did for…

The following comment/observation could be about anything - not specific to drinking. You wrote "I was forced ... to resume drinking...". No you weren't. You chose to do so. You may feel that you were pressured by other people to drink but I would bet a huge amount that no one tied your hands and used force to feed you alcohol. If you ever need motivation to refuse to drink, re-read the rest of your post and you should find all the good reasons to do so.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#73

Post by nkozyra »

It's weird when you encounter people who develop/code while drinking heavily. I know a crew that does this, spends evenings doing sessions with tons of beer.

Frankly I don't think it leads to much productivity, but there may be some social benefits. That said, me + beer + code = some cleanup the next morning.

I love beer and beer only, and leading the dev half of a startup + a new baby has really deprioritized that in my life. I drink on Friday and Saturday nights exclusively, no more than 4 drinks and always at home. Even then I feel a bit rough, grumpy and unproductive the following day.

I think that while age may play a role in this - the proverbial "I can't drink like when I was in my 20s" - I think it's more a matter of the amount of responsibilities and how that translates into recovery time. When I was 24, I could spend a whole Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but recovering from a hangover. If I did that today I'd spend months recovering from a divorce and a collapsed business.

Ultimately, my experience switching from casual drinking to limited drinking has cemented the fact that alcohol is generally bad for a human that needs to get things done every day. This a bummer for me because I'd otherwise be fine drinking 3 good beers a night.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#75

Post by Dewie »

diggan wrote: post #3

I wouldn't say I'm a heavy drinker since I mostly drink one beer per day but since it's the only option for me, I guess I'm a heavy drinker according to this poll.

The poll seems coloured/biased towards binge-drinking cultures. To say that someone who has a glass of beer with his dinner on most days is a "heavy drinker" sounds ridiculous.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#76

Post by [deleted] »

Zirro wrote: post #24

I am in my early twenties, and I have yet to drink my first alcoholic beverage. I made a decision a few years ago after weighing the negatives and positives of drinking against each other, and concluded that drinking alcohol provided very few benefits in comparison to the potential risks.

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#77

Post by deweller »

lovelearning wrote: post #52

I'm a teetotaler. At every social gathering - be it work or relatives - somebody asks me the inevitable question "but why?". I never have a good answer. I have no idea why I'm a teetotaler, I just am. I did try alcoholic drinks exactly 3 times in my life, and didn't like anything about them. I think drinkers - even the casual ones - hate teetotalers.

I'm the same way. Alcoholic drinks never appealed to me in any way. To me they taste bad and smell bad. And the idea of becoming intoxicated is in no way appealing.

I am clearly in the minority of people in the world. But I really have no idea why alcohol is so popular.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#78

Post by mjhouse »

I was a heavy drinker for about two/three years. When I say heavy, I mean a fifth of rum every afternoon. I do my best not to drink like that any more, but I still have the habit. So if I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing, my beer will vanish in about a minute and a half, and I'll have another one, and another, and another etc.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#79

Post by blktiger »

smoyer wrote: post #70

I checked teetotaler but in an effort to be truthful, I'll state that I do drink very rarely (amounting to perhaps one or two glasses of wine a year). I don't think that makes me a "social drinker" but I also don't want to drag down a celebration by being "that vocal objector" (would you refuse to toast with champagne at a wedding?).

I find most people don't really see that as a problem. You probably already have another drink to use nearby.

Re: Poll: Are you a drinker or a teetotaler?

#80

Post by vacri »

swombat wrote: post #22

I have been a regular drinker for most of my adult life. Recently, I tried a "semi-dry July", where I told myself I would drink only once a week (with no limit on that day, i.e. binge drinking allowed). But when I got to that day, I felt only like having one beer or so, and same the following week. Well, here's an amazing thing, shocking and totally counterintuitive: I felt much better while doing this than I did for…

My old boss's brother liked to drink, and he always spent one month a year dry in order to prove he was still in control. But she said he always made it February, because it was the shortest month...
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