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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?

#91

Post by SyncTheory13 »

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.

I grew up around a lot of alcoholics - it actually runs in my family. My mother and father have been split up since I was a baby - on opposide sides of the country. My dad only drinks once or twice a year, socially. My mom and step-dad drank all the time and were very open about it - letting me try things, etc. When I was a teenager, I stopped trying drinks and abstained 100%, even after my mom offered to buy me whatever I wanted. Her goal/theory was to teach me how to be responsible/mature with alcohol by learning to drink just one, etc... Instead of learning with my friends and getting wasted.

Well, I hated drunks, hated drunk driving, hated so many things about it... So I found a group of kids who knew how to have fun without it, and even after most of them started drinking (later than average), I still abstained.

Anyway, to the point... In my early 20's, I opened up a little, learned my limits, learned my preferences (I really don't like beer, but hard cider and mixed drinks are great - I like sour drinks like Margaritas and Whiskey Sours), etc... And that's when I learned the benefits of light usage. I enjoyed myself a lot more and found my altered state of mind liberating to a degree (less social inhibition, but I also feel like I can think clearer/faster when I am just a little tipsy).

If you believe you could be an alcoholic, then don't start... But otherwise, I'd recommend you break down some of those barriers you have against it - keep to a goal of only drinking once a month, and only 2 beers/ciders or one mixed drink until you are comfortable/stable.

Last - To the person who said they've only tried Bud Light - no wonder you don't like to drink... lol... Not exactly the cream-of-the-crop.

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

#94

Post by VolatileVoid »

I have, generally, 1-2 drinks per day, where a drink is 1.5oz of something like bourbon or whisky or scotch. I use it to unwind when I get home from work, usually whilst working on personal projects. That being said the definitions you've given above are interesting. A "light drinker" who drinks a fifth of Jack in one night drinks significantly more than I do, but if he/she only does it once a week are they truly light drinkers?

Volume/time is probably a more accurate benchmark.

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

#95

Post by kaybe »

morganvachon wrote: post #81
danielbln wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Well, that was my thought process as a teen. As I got older, I just never saw a need to start drinking. I guess I grew out of it without ever experiencing it. At this stage in my life, why bother?

Well, there is something to say about a good whiskey. It smells like so many things, and tastes like many others.. I can just smell my glass all evening without ever drinking. It's usually expensive enough that I don't even have enough to feel it, and it lasts a long time (since I keep smelling.. ).

What you say sounds to me as if you've never tried chocolate (the good kind, not the sugary cheap one).

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

#96

Post by warbastard »

happimess wrote: post #8
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.

I'm with you--I have a beer with dinner almost every night, but it is very rare for me to have three drinks in a night.

Same here. I voted twice, once for Regular and once for Heavy as I guess I could be classified as both

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

#97

Post by lovelearning »

[deleted] wrote: post #83
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.

[deleted]

I admit "hate" is probably the wrong word to use. But I definitely notice a reaction in their faces which to me comes across as "you don't drink?? WTF is wrong with you!", often accompanied by a smirk or an exaggerated "oh is that sooooo?" :)

Maybe I should start saying I'm a recovering alcoholic and my doctor has told me to totally stay away from drinks if I'm to live!

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

#98

Post by zach »

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.

Yes, this also describes me - I have tried alcoholic drinks just twice (on my 21st birthday and champagne on my honeymoon), and thought them astringent and unpleasant.

More to the point, I've never even sought out, uh, non-sobriety, certainly the world's most popular avocation. I am apparently a mutant, and I definitely feel weird about it. I grew up in LA with no religious background, so it was decidedly countercultural.

Although when I went to Harvey Mudd, there was a definite teetotaling contingent among the self-experimentalists. There, if you brought up the Super Bowl, some would simply say "Spectator sports don't interest me." It was like that.

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

#99

Post by lotsofcows »

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…

Various friends suggest "detoxing" ever now and again. The longest I've lasted has been 3 weeks. Never makes me feel any different. Just makes socialising harder work.

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

#100

Post by unfamiliar »

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.

In my experience there are three groups of teetotalers.

There are the ones who don't drink and don't have a problem with other people drinking. The people who are genuinely in this group, you don't even notice they don't drink. Drinkers have no quarrel with this group.

The second group are very vocal about their disapproval and are constantly telling you you shouldn't drink etc. They are irritating but can be ignored.

The third group thinks they are part of group 1, but they are actually closer to group 2. They never overtly tell you anything bad, but you get the constant sense that they are looking down on you. Drinkers don't like this group because they feel like they are constantly being judged, but not in a direct way they can challenge.

The three can probably be summed up by their response to the question, "Would you like a beer?"

Group 1: "No thanks, could I have a glass of water?"

Group 2: "No thanks, I'd rather not destroy my liver."

Group 3: "No thanks, I don't drink."

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