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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#521

Post by mythrwy »

kenneth wrote: post #508
jasondigitized wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure alcohol is way harder on your body than edibles or vaping cannabis. Alcoholism has a huge blast radius.

I feel like it's likely a larger proportion of weed-users have it affect their productivity and motivation to grow in life than the proportion of drinkers who become dangerous alcoholics or end up with cirrhosis. I don't have data to back this up though. I've seen more lives around me hampered by marijuana than by alcohol, despite having a very large amount of heavy drinkers in my circles.

I agree and I've seen the same.

However as far as actual physical health (rather then mental or social) I believe cannabis to be far less detrimental.

It might demotivate a person but it doesn't flat out kill them.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#522

Post by whiskyant »

handrous wrote: post #75
paxys wrote: post #31

When we are no longer restricted by resource limits as a society, everything quickly becomes an addiction. Food, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, sex, drugs, gambling, shopping, TV, video games, social media. I'm sure people a lot more qualified than me will be able to talk about it in scientific terms, but I feel like a certain category of species (maybe all of them?) simply never ran into limiting excesses as part of…

I have some similar thoughts about this. Take Internet media streaming: am I happier being able to watch any of 10,000 things with no effort, rather than having maybe a couple dozen at hand and the ability, with some time and effort, to acquire one or two more if I really want them enough? Or is the ability to select exactly a certain thing to watch with low effort just scratching an itch that only exists because I c…

I personally love choice. But maybe for people like you, a service that curates some of the top choices and offers that as limited pool could be a useful.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#523

Post by CapricornNoble »

vdnkh wrote: post #168
fantod wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noticed this when I was in Germany/Austria as well. In America, if you go out drinking then that's the primary activity. It's what you're doing. But in central Europe socializing and seeing friends is the activity and you just happen to drink because that's what you do when you see your friends.

This makes no sense. Do you think that Americans go out drinking to get drunk arounds friends, but not to socialize with them?

Anecdote: we've had curfews/restrictions that prevented the American military from drinking alcohol at establishments in the local community, sometimes for over a year. Almost all of my peers at the time would rather sit at the Officers' Clubs on base and get drunk, as if it was their only option for socializing.

My take (granted, I had quit drinking years prior): I know you guys can't drink off-base, but....that's where all the WOMEN are (the military officer ranks in our Service is ~94% males). I would expect your desire to get laid to exceed your desire to hide inside your alcohol-infused comfort zone....

My peers: Nah....if I can't drink alcohol I don't wanna go out to meet anyone.

The people I hang out with (even to this day) go out to get laid, and if they get DRUNK that's just a side-effect. Most guys I know go out to get drunk, and if they get LAID, that's just a side-effect.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#524

Post by prawn »

pedalpete wrote: post #343
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…

I'm in a similar boat. I stopped, but without a timeframe for how long. I just knew I had to cut back, but that wasn't working well, so I just stopped, and when I was offered a drink, I'd say "I don't drink", because here in Australia, I find if you say no to a drink, it's mostly forced on you. The statement put an end to that. However, I also internalized being an non-drinker. It became part of my identity. I don't…

I'm also in Australia, and though I do drink alcohol, I have wondered recently if it couldn't be a federal or state mandate that restaurants/bars/etc serving beer/wine/spirits must also have alcohol free equivalents - 0% beer, alcohol free wine, etc. If not a directive, maybe something strongly encouraged.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#525

Post by [deleted] »

netflixandkill wrote: post #468
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was that supposed to be a backhanded way to call some large chunks of Europe "undeveloped" or did you just forget about Eastern Europe and all the economically less stable countries on the Mediteranean? Alcoholism, poor mental health care, domestic violence, suicide, etc. etc. are all alive and well on the other side of the pond too. Just not in the "scandanavia plus rich parts of western Europe" parts that HN likes…

That's a bizarre way to read two independent sentences. I don't know if any given eastern European nations counts as developed in your terms, but pretty much all of them with similar HDI or whatever other metric to the United States have their own problems, but not to anything like the degree seen in the US.

[deleted]

Re: America has a drinking problem

#526

Post by gadf »

Barrin92 wrote: post #135

Article mirrors my experience. For context I'm German, my wife's French and we've got family in Croatia who own a vineyard so I'm used to being around alcohol and people drinking. My first impression when I spent time was in the US was indeed how bipolar drinking is compared to Europe. We probably drink a hell of a lot more in raw terms than the average American does.Two glasses of wine for dinner, another one in the…

Ah, the European's old trope of knowing how to Enjoy Life more than the Americans.

Funny, whenever I visit W Europe I find it pretty sad and people look pretty grumbling. America is a lot more lively.

I think of this Eurostory as a EU coping mechanism.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#527

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #336
netflixandkill wrote: post #319

America has problems with drinking, opioids, meth, prescription abuse, vaping bizarre things, health care, mental health, domestic violence, domestic terrorism and violent crime, school shootings and suicides because America has a misery problem. A few decades of bootstrap vs welfare paint don't fix the rotted and failing structure of a culture, if it can even be called that anymore, that had replaced well being with…

Was that supposed to be a backhanded way to call some large chunks of Europe "undeveloped" or did you just forget about Eastern Europe and all the economically less stable countries on the Mediteranean? Alcoholism, poor mental health care, domestic violence, suicide, etc. etc. are all alive and well on the other side of the pond too. Just not in the "scandanavia plus rich parts of western Europe" parts that HN likes…

[deleted]

Re: America has a drinking problem

#528

Post by sk5t »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #233
flatline wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often drink flavored fizzy water - they are a great alternative to soda: no caffeine, no sugar, but some flavor and carbonation. Other times I drink water, or juice because it's there for the kids. Sometimes alcohol too, it really depends on the circumstances.

All the pediatricians and dentists I meet say juice is basically as bad as soda due to sugar content. I never imagined juice falling victim to new knowledge about health, but it makes sense considering sugar (and carbs) are basically public enemy number 1 for almost everyone in the world.

Fruit is nature's candy. So it tastes good! But it really is nature's _candy_, so it also harms your teeth.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#530

Post by systematical »

Since we're all talking about our drinking rates. I personally just drink with friends and occasionally go to a bar myself, so I am not drinking a lone. I can go a week without drinking, it means I didn't leave my house (and I was likely working on OSS for that week). I could drink three times in a week, it means I hung out with friends three times. Most of that is bike rides where we consume alcohol.

As an introvert, thankfully I have alcohol and bars. I don't give much thoughr to how much alcohol I consume. I don't care if Doctors say I'm an alcoholic because I consumed more 5 drinks in a sitting or whatever. I mostly listen to my body. If I am feeling shitty, I know I've been drinking too much, so I take a break. Today I feel shitty, it was memorial day weekend and I went to a baseball game with friends followed by bike rides and drinking with friends. Time to take a break for a few days.

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