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Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

nytimes.com

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Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#111

Post by tallanvor »

dataengineer56 wrote: post #68
chockchocschoir wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not defensive, I'm trying to explain my position (as a self-proclaimed "smart and rational" person) since you claimed there was no (logical) reason to have those vices. You're making strong claims, and I'm just asking you to back those up without forcing people to buy a book that you say supports those claims. Otherwise there isn't much value in you making your claims here. I'm sure (or rather, I hope) the book h…

I asked why you found it enjoyable and you didn't respond, so it's hard to explain the author's viewpoint when you haven't explained why you drink. To give generalised responses to the three main reasons that people give: - Do you enjoy the taste? - Alcohol is ultimately a foul-tasting poison. No one ever liked their first taste of beer. We start with highly-flavoured drinks like alcopops and after a while our body s…

- When I was a child I didn't like broccoli, brussel sprouts, or many other things that I like today. That doesn't mean that my body decided "well you must have a damn good reason for imbibing this poison, so I'll stop warning you as much".

- I guess the author can consider relaxing to be a sensation, but I don't think I'd be convinced by his argument to that effect.

- When I was a child I was not "bouncing off the walls" within 30 minutes of turning up at a party. If I didn't know people there, I was much more likely to try to find a quiet place to read.

There's nothing wrong with choosing not to drink, but society has made a decision that drinking in certain situations is acceptable despite knowing that it can have a negative impact on your health.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#112

Post by subungual »

chockchocschoir wrote: post #47
dataengineer56 wrote: post #46

I find it interesting how otherwise smart people rationalise drinking alcohol because "everyone else does it". My life was completely changed by Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Drinking (available in audio books, hardback, Kindle etc). The author basically takes every reason people give for drinking and logically destroys it, often proving that the exact opposite is true. There's also an interesting BBC documentary by A…

Interesting. So I both drink and smoke because I enjoy it and life is too short to not do things you enjoy (applicable to all things in life), even if it shortens my life-span by some years give or take. What is the logical evidence proving that I actually don't enjoy it?

Not here to proselytize about your lifestyle choices, and I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of smoking and drinking myself over the years. That said, as someone who works daily with patients whose health has been destroyed by excessive drinking or pretty much any level of smoking, it's always been striking to me how surprised people tend to be by the results.

A lot of people performing the calculus of "eh, what's five to ten years off the end of my life as long as I'm enjoying it now" seem to think it works neatly like that-- they'll die earlier from cancer or a heart attack, and that's it. I'm struck by how often they are surprised and upset by the fact that instead of that, they're living the last 30 years of their lives with irreversible heart, lung, liver, and vascular issues that leave them unable to do the things they've enjoyed outside of smoking and drinking. Just a thought.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#114

Post by tallanvor »

stef25 wrote: post #26

Right before the first lockdown I started a new high stress job and for several months our two toddlers weren't allowed to attend school. During the first few weeks we tried to make it "fun", I'd start working around 4-5AM , alternating morning and evening shifts of work / toddlers with my partner. Then colleagues started complaining "wtf this guy's playing with his kids in the park at 2PM" and I got really bad feedb…

> And IMHO if you weren't at home with toddlers you didn't experience true suffering.

You're entitled to your opinion, but the lockdowns affected everyone differently. I know parents who thrived with their toddlers, but they didn't have the same issues at work where people were complaining about when they were working. But I also know people who's marriages ended due to longstanding issues that were magnified by being locked down.

Some single people did fine. Some of us also turned more to alcohol to try and cope with the loneliness of having to work at home, not be able to go out, and in the worst of it not being allowed to gather with more than one or two other people.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#115

Post by bluedino »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #15

Somewhat by chance, I quit alcohol around March 15, 2020 a few days before our first lockdown. I haven't had a drink since. It was just the right time for me, but I am VERY happy I was not still drinking during all those difficult times.

I quit at the start of 2020 as well. But we had a kid on the way and I'm not sure how I'd mix that with drinking.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#116

Post by willcipriano »

chockchocschoir wrote: post #47
dataengineer56 wrote: post #46

I find it interesting how otherwise smart people rationalise drinking alcohol because "everyone else does it". My life was completely changed by Allen Carr's Easyway To Stop Drinking (available in audio books, hardback, Kindle etc). The author basically takes every reason people give for drinking and logically destroys it, often proving that the exact opposite is true. There's also an interesting BBC documentary by A…

Interesting. So I both drink and smoke because I enjoy it and life is too short to not do things you enjoy (applicable to all things in life), even if it shortens my life-span by some years give or take. What is the logical evidence proving that I actually don't enjoy it?

Addiction is defined as encountering substantial consequences for substance use and continuing to use them. Someone who drinks or smokes a few times a year isn't the audience for this sort of thing. If you do it on a regular basis you may want to look closer for consequences, and spend some time away from the drug to see what life is like without it. After doing so if you find the drug makes your life better, or at least causes you no harm, go for it.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#117

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

BoxOfRain wrote: post #102
DigitalSea wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am so sorry. When we talk about collateral damage from the pandemic, nobody thinks of the parents who had their kids home for months. In Australia, the lockdowns were quite severe. My wife and I were aware that while we were suffering, our kids were too. Their lives were completely turned upside down. Sadly, kids lack the needed brain capacity to deal with emotions and serious changes in routine, so it compounds th…

>I once worked at a place where someone was fired because his number of commits was lower than the other developers. He was a brilliant developer and always got his work done. But apparently his commits were too small (he liked to lump a lot of things into commits, instead of several smaller ones). Bloody hell, I can't imagine how dysfunctional other things must have been if this was allowed to happen without someone…

Yeah, that right there is getting gold in the Olympics for "measuring the wrong thing".

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#118

Post by geden »

I stopped drinking during the pandemic. I think for good. I wasn't drinking much. A bottle of wine or two at the weekend with my wife. Never really liked beer that much. It's hard to articulate exactly why I stopped

I think there was some sort of insight into how boring and mechanical it had become, how little I was gaining from it, the drip drip negative effect it had on my body and crucially, how my drinking enabled and encouraged others to drink.

Me continuing to drink was also making me feel morally very queasy when I personally knew two people who drank themselves to death. Not close friends. Both close enough for it to sting. One of them was an incredible talented music producer and a great loss to the world.

It's a very shit drug. The only reason I ever started drinking was to be inside the 'in' group and to have fun with friends.

It's abundantly clear now that alcohol isn't necessary for that at my age.

The only downside has been watching with crystal clarity how boring and dull when intoxicated people become at gatherings.

Better drugs for inhibited teenagers please. Microdosed kombucha for the win.

Re: Alcohol-related deaths spiked during the pandemic, a study shows

#120

Post by adnmcq999 »

stef25 wrote: post #26

Right before the first lockdown I started a new high stress job and for several months our two toddlers weren't allowed to attend school. During the first few weeks we tried to make it "fun", I'd start working around 4-5AM , alternating morning and evening shifts of work / toddlers with my partner. Then colleagues started complaining "wtf this guy's playing with his kids in the park at 2PM" and I got really bad feedb…

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