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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#71

Post by [deleted] »

rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #24
subsubzero wrote: post #14

I am not a heavy drinker, but one thing I noticed having moved around to a few places is how much everyone in my age group drinks(30's to mid 40's). I have gotten to know many a neighbor and they are all working professionals like me and I am just shocked that having 8-10 drinks a night seems like it comes standard for a Friday/Saturday night. I thought that it was just one location, but I moved twice in the past 2 y…

That's definitely just a certain personality type, I think. 8-10 drinks is pretty aggressive for a random Friday night among grown-ass adults - that's 2 full bottles of wine. At best, you won't be able to drive home and you'll feel beat up in the morning. How long are they staying out? I'm in my thirties, and a drink every 45 minutes seems pretty standard among my peers that don't have kids and still go out. In colle…

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#72

Post by Someone »

awrence wrote: post #33

“ In his 1979 history, The Alcoholic Republic, the historian W. J. Rorabaugh painstakingly calculated the stunning amount of alcohol early Americans drank on a daily basis. In 1830, when American liquor consumption hit its all-time high, the average adult was going through more than nine gallons of spirits each year.” I think I remember hearing a similar stat on the ken burns prohibition doc. I didn’t quite understan…

Wine isn’t a spirit (nor is beer). That number is about distilled alcohol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor:

“Liquor or spirit (also distilled alcohol) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation.

[…]

Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30%”

⇒ For a 10% alcohol wine, multiply that by a factor of (at least) 3. That makes it a bottle of wine a day.

Also, it was the average adult. Women likely consumed less alcohol. If so, the average adult male must have consumed more.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#73

Post by graeme »

leifg wrote: post #56
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…

Genuine question: what do you drink instead? Do you stick to water or do you order any kind of soda/lemonade (or something I’m not thinking about)

If available, sparkling water with lemon. Another commenter mentioned bitters, I plan to add that. They’re fine as long as the incredibly tiny alcohol amount won’t cause any issues.

If that isn’t available, some sort of soda or tea or coffee. Or, just water. No one really cares, though to be polite to the bar you’re at it’s good to try to buy something.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#74

Post by graeme »

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…

Exactly the same experience. Gave it up after a concussion, substantially happier now. I notice the effects of even a single drink the next day.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#75

Post by handrous »

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 can do that, and I'd be exactly as happy watching whatever caught my eye on the public library movie shelf earlier that week? I suspect, for most people, it's the latter. Am I happier with Spotify or whatever, than I would be with a smallish but well-used record collection that I add another entry to only a couple times a year? I suspect not.

Am I better off with 2-day shipping and the easy ability to read the opinions of enthusiasts and experts for any product I have a small interest in, then order it immediately? Does the change in what I buy actually pay off given the extra time-cost of that research, the extra brain-clutter of knowing things about products I'd probably never have though much about otherwise, and the extra money I'm sure I'm spending because of those factors? I kinda doubt it, but it's so damn hard to resist finding out what's the best way to do [thing] or the best product for the best way to do [thing] when you can do that, even if the result is that your life-satisfaction meter doesn't budge versus some hypothetical alternate universe in which, for anything you're not an actual enthusiast about, you just buy whatever looks good out of the selection at a local non-specialty store.

[EDIT] and yes I'm aware I'm dangerously close to realizing that almost everything "good" in life is just removing an irritation that only exists in the first place because of how life is and is structured, and how I'm choosing to respond to life and its typical structure, and then abandoning the material world to become a Buddhist monk or something.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#76

Post by agumonkey »

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…

> Anxiety in general is noticeably lower

you were more anxious when you were drinking ? that's a first

not to look naive, but there was a period of my life having a beer [0] was really the only way for me to exist outside my bedroom walls, i wasn't even tipsy.. I was just able to sit in a room without crippling dread.

[0] I didn't drink, but the few times I did at parties I realized how drinking a bit was lifting me up to ~people's normal

Re: America has a drinking problem

#77

Post by barbazoo »

lupire wrote: post #37
barbazoo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My example was of a municipality (Canada) that designated a place where it previously wasn't allowed to drink alcohol to be allowed. That's what I meant by "supporting". At least don't expand the options.

Due to COVID-19, people couldn't drink their healthy moderation where they usually do.

No amount of alcohol consumption is "healthy". There might be an amount up to which it's not considered harmful.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#78

Post by spankalee »

tmm wrote: post #30

I’ve never been much of a drinker, generally preferring soda, sports drinks, or sweet tea to stay hydrated. In my experience, this is unusual. My friends, relatives, etc. all exclusively drink beer when doing yard work, home improvement projects, or hobbies like working on cars. When I’m at the marina, I’m the only one not drinking beer while working on their boat. Maybe all of these people stick exclusively to water…

Why don't you drink water to stay hydrated?

Sodas are liquid candy. I don't think many people eat 6 Snickers instead of food to get calories while they work.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#79

Post by subsubzero »

hervature wrote: post #23
subsubzero wrote: post #14

I am not a heavy drinker, but one thing I noticed having moved around to a few places is how much everyone in my age group drinks(30's to mid 40's). I have gotten to know many a neighbor and they are all working professionals like me and I am just shocked that having 8-10 drinks a night seems like it comes standard for a Friday/Saturday night. I thought that it was just one location, but I moved twice in the past 2 y…

I know you said they are neighbors and I assume you live in an apartment complex because you have met "many a neighbor". But how much of this is selection bias? You meet social people, social people drink because drinking helps socializing.

Strangely its not apartments, these are houses, the people in the neighborhood are usually in sales, and other professional areas, sometimes in tech but not engineers.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#80

Post by [deleted] »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #68
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…

Alcohol withdrawals are serious enough that they can be fatal. This isn't true for cigarettes, opiates, or cocaine. Breaking habits is hard, but usually doesn't risk hospitalization or death.

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