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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#371

Post by fastball »

globular-toast wrote: post #199
trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

The last time I had a drink was a beer festival. I used to drink beer a lot in my early 20s and beer festivals were something I looked forward to. I slept terribly that night and felt awful the next day. It suddenly dawned on me that this happened every time and I realised alcohol does nothing good for me at all. It's expensive, unhealthy, slows my senses, makes me less funny, makes me worse at sex, makes me sleep wo…

A eureka moment was required for you to realize that... alcohol induces hangovers?

Re: America has a drinking problem

#372

Post by zokula »

ashtonkem wrote: post #315

> who, like most Europeans of that time, preferred beer to water Yes, the pilgrims preferred beer over water because the water kept killing them . Drinking tea or beer was a matter of safety, not mere preference or addiction. We now know that the combination of boiling, pH, and alcohol helped keep beer safer than drinking water of the time, but they were unaware of that and just knew that beer seemed safer. Trying to…

> Yes, the pilgrims preferred beer over water because the water kept killing them. Drinking tea or beer was a matter of safety, not mere preference or addiction.

That's a myth.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#373

Post by sammalloy »

stephen_greet wrote: post #184
umvi wrote: post #172

I was watching "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" with my wife the other day and I commented "These characters seem to all be alcoholics" because seriously they have a drink in hand nearly every scene taking place outside of the workplace. I think part of the problem is glorification of alcohol in pop culture. Heck, at certain times of the year we look forward to watching a bunch of back-to-back alcohol advertisements (…

I noticed something similar. I quit drinking ~4 months ago once I realized I was drinking way too much during quarantine. Since then I can't stop noticing the prevalence of alcohol in nearly all aspects of pop culture. Even innocuous seeming sitcoms have episodes where the whacky, lovable characters drink to excess and have to deal with a hangover.

There was a time in American cinema and television when most major characters were using tobacco and alcohol on screen in a highly conspicuous manner. I don't recall the specific details, but I think I remember reading that tobacco and alcohol use was written into scenes by advertisers to promote smoking and drinking. There are certain decades of film and television production where you rarely see a scene without a lit cigarette or pipe and a glass of liquor.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#374

Post by 9dev »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #353
qeternity wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where in Germany? I find this surprising. As an American expat who has spent a lot of time in Germany, I’d agree that the German relationship with alcohol is less taboo, but Germany/UK have pretty big binging cultures. The Mediterraneans definitely do it more responsibly though.

Yes. Think about Octoberfest. It's all about drinking

Yet, the Oktoberfest is such a small and insignificant detail of our culture. It’s a big party, mostly for tourists. After those two weeks, many people I know take a monthlong abstinence, and life carries on. Binge drinking happens, but it’s definitely nothing regular.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#375

Post by baron_harkonnen »

fokinsean wrote: post #100
trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

> The end of the drinking activities don't leave me sleepy or craving bad food. I can go home and read a book or get some work done. This is one of my biggest motivations for reducing my drinking during the week. Even having just one or two beers after work, the probability that I read or work on a side project drops close to 0.

> the probability that I read or work on a side project drops close to 0.

As someone who has done quite a few major projects on personal time and reads quite a lot as well: I personally have found the attitude that I must always be working on something or "improving myself" far more dangerous than excessive drinking.

Certainly there is balance, and I obviously don't advocate giving up all personal projects in order to drink. But the fact that many people on HN, myself included, feel bad if they're not working on some side project or improving some skill is its own kind of escapism.

I drink and smoke weed a lot more now then when I was younger. I still get many projects done, and read a ton, but there is a certain value to an evening spent stoned just getting lost in a video game or listening to music. Reflecting on it now, I also find that by any objective measure the output from my personal projects is always probably a bit higher now, though I have a lot more fun.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#376

Post by baron_harkonnen »

blhack wrote: post #116

Some of my most cherished memories are those where I was out drinking wine and having really good food with my wife and friends. When people were telling stories about Jesus, the central figure of their religion, one of the miracles they told of was him turning water into wine. This is held up as one of the most important stories in their entire moral system. When the pyramids were being built, the builders were paid…

> "do not drink to excess" is a lesson the Greeks told us with their own myths and stories.

Thank goodness the Roman's brought new light to Bacchus who shows us that excessive temperance is always punished more severally than excessive indulgence.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#377

Post by bluedino »

bitexploder wrote: post #297
quadyeast wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that chart does not make sense to me unless >10% of Americans are AA. I can't think of anyone, besides non-drinking Alcoholics, that have less than 1 drink/wk

I do pretty demanding sport as a hobby. Even one drink during the week greatly impacts recovery and ability to perform and lessens my enjoyment considerably. It’s rather commons in my circles for people to probably average a handful of drinks per year at most.

You get used to it (playing a sport hungover, even). If you’re not a competitive athlete on a high level (it’s just a hobby), you’re missing out by not drinking because of your sport. If you enjoy drinking, that is.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#378

Post by ashtonkem »

zokula wrote: post #372
ashtonkem wrote: post #315

> who, like most Europeans of that time, preferred beer to water Yes, the pilgrims preferred beer over water because the water kept killing them . Drinking tea or beer was a matter of safety, not mere preference or addiction. We now know that the combination of boiling, pH, and alcohol helped keep beer safer than drinking water of the time, but they were unaware of that and just knew that beer seemed safer. Trying to…

> Yes, the pilgrims preferred beer over water because the water kept killing them. Drinking tea or beer was a matter of safety, not mere preference or addiction. That's a myth.

[Citation needed]

Re: America has a drinking problem

#379

Post by mattlong »

crackercrews wrote: post #246
kevinmchugh wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Club soda (or flavored seltzer) + bitters. There's alcohol there still but less than half a percent ABV. Not enough that it tastes boozy or impairs my judgement. Drinking one relatively low ABV beer impairs my judgement enough that a second drink sounds like a good idea, the soda and bitters never does that for me.

How are bitters with plain seltzer? I have a sodastream and am looking for some good flavors. Can't figure out anything that tastes as good as flavored bubly or lacroix and that doesn't have lots of sugar.

I love pairing bitters with my sodastream! A few of my favorite recipes are: 1) Grapefruit & Cherry, 2) Cardamom, and 3) Orange & Cranberry. Clearly it's all to taste, but a 3-4 dashes of each bitter is a good starting point for a ~16oz glass of seltzer.

Fee Brothers sells a 12 piece variety pack which is a great way to experiment. After that you have quite a rabbit hole of bitters brands and flavors to explore!

Re: America has a drinking problem

#380

Post by throwaway0a5e »

tomnipotent wrote: post #365
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This trope needs to die. Europe doesn't have drinking "problems" because it mostly draws the line for "problems" in what would solidly be "functional alcoholic" territory in the US.

Wait, what? From the WHO: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention... "The WHO European Region has the highest proportion in the world of total ill health and premature death due to alcohol."

Exactly. The numbers don't back up the narrative unless you do mental gymnastics to redefine Europe. HN often seems to forget that Europe extends south beyond the Alps and east beyond the Oder.
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