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On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

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Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#71

Post by divan »

artificial wrote: post #65
divan wrote: post #60

I never tried alcohol and never felt compelled to. As a kid I wondered what's happening with those drunk people I had a chance to see. So I read some books in library about alcohol (my mother was librarian, so that was my internet back then). It all just made sense and I decided that don't want to even try. I was asked to try alcohol by parents and relatives, I was ridiculed and insulted by classmates (drinking someh…

Beyond the social aspects the lens I view it through is escapism. If your life is where you want it to be and you're doing what you need to, why would you feel the need to escape? How do you feel about caffeine and other nootropics?

Yes, that's how I explained it myself as well - a lot of people have life and jobs they hate, they're overstressed and here is a cheap and socially approved (pressured even) way to deal with it.

I had a programming as a hobby since age of 6 and non-controlling parents, so I was good.

Caffeine I don't care much. I love culture of coffee, and enjoy good coffee. The latest metastudy I read on coffee concluded that there is no detrimental effects, unless excessive consumption or special conditions. Seems safe to me. I also tried 3 months off the coffee completely and it was incredibly easy switch - no issues at all.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#72

Post by TheFreim »

divan wrote: post #60

I never tried alcohol and never felt compelled to. As a kid I wondered what's happening with those drunk people I had a chance to see. So I read some books in library about alcohol (my mother was librarian, so that was my internet back then). It all just made sense and I decided that don't want to even try. I was asked to try alcohol by parents and relatives, I was ridiculed and insulted by classmates (drinking someh…

Nice to find another life-long teetotaler. One of the most infuriating things is how confused people get when they hear that I don't drink, I have had people ask me how I am "able to have fun" and other similar things. I don't understand why people need to be in an altered state to have fun, I have plenty of fun and it seems like alcohol brings a lot of trouble. I'm not against alcohol, I think it can be used in a moral and responsible way, but the widespread dependence for social interaction is concerning.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#73

Post by jolmg »

smeej wrote: post #57
jolmg wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This being the first time I read about this, I wonder if the same idea can be more generally applied to other bad habits.

I was wondering the same thing. The "neurons that fire together wire together" notion seems to hold in a lot of situations, but I don't know enough about the drug to know if it would be specific to treating alcoholism.

Yeah, I didn't mean the specific drug. I imagine that habits generally work by needing some chemical to act as a reward to reinforce it, maybe different chemicals for different habits. The idea of forming a good habit to preempt a bad habit with something that will block the reward chemical, whatever it is for the bad habit, is interesting, and I wonder how generally it can be applied. Like, I wonder if it would be an effective idea to block dopamine or another chemical to help against bad habits related to computers/internet or food.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#74

Post by hamburglar »

divan wrote: post #60

I never tried alcohol and never felt compelled to. As a kid I wondered what's happening with those drunk people I had a chance to see. So I read some books in library about alcohol (my mother was librarian, so that was my internet back then). It all just made sense and I decided that don't want to even try. I was asked to try alcohol by parents and relatives, I was ridiculed and insulted by classmates (drinking someh…

> Yes, being drunk seems to be like removing your psychological self-defence, which builds trust, especially in a high-stake business relations. But it's not the only way to build trust, for sure, and definitely doesn't justify the damage alcohol does to the body.

Not trying to convince you to change your mind, but you seem to be missing some information: I'd wager that for the vast, vast majority of people, "drinking alcohol" in a typical way rarely means "being drunk." At least in US culture, those things are only synonymous for certain specific groups, like people to whom drinking is novel (think college students) or alcoholics. Your mileage may vary, of course, and lots of this is my perception, but "benefits of drinking" and "benefits of being drunk" are definitely not the same conversations.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#75

Post by zoomablemind »

chihuahua wrote: post #7

I have to admit I simply don't understand drinking alcohol. Apparently it affects me differently from most people. The only effects I get are that I feel tired, and my field of vision narrows. Neither of those are pleasant. I wish I knew how other people feel when they drink alcohol.

The alcohol effects may be moderated by dosage, pacing, anything that accompanies the drink, etc. Personal metabolism can also affect the effects. Having right kind of food with the drink may indeed diminish the alcohol almost to the level of condiment.

I guess, the relaxing effect is what the casual drinkers are after. Loose tongue, less inhibitions in interactions, less anxiety. It works... but briefly, it's too easy to cross into drnking-for-the-sake-of-drinking zone. All leading to feeling tired and dehydrated one way or another.

As it's figuratively said, at some point even the finest wine begins drinking itself, that is its alcohol content overpowers anything else that made it 'fine'.

I guess, in youth the drinking is mostly for bonding, in adulthood it's also for coping and habit, god forbid, dependence... Well, it does make one sleepy too.

Looking back, one thing for sure is early youth social drinking is very much unnecessary and can cause more trouble than good.

A nice piece on the subject of alcohol and anxiety:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/staying-sane-inside-...

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#76

Post by tehnub »

divan wrote: post #60

I never tried alcohol and never felt compelled to. As a kid I wondered what's happening with those drunk people I had a chance to see. So I read some books in library about alcohol (my mother was librarian, so that was my internet back then). It all just made sense and I decided that don't want to even try. I was asked to try alcohol by parents and relatives, I was ridiculed and insulted by classmates (drinking someh…

For one thing, many enjoy the taste of beer or wine or whiskey, and don't drink to the point of inebriation e.g. one beer.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#77

Post by kortilla »

divan wrote: post #71
artificial wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beyond the social aspects the lens I view it through is escapism. If your life is where you want it to be and you're doing what you need to, why would you feel the need to escape? How do you feel about caffeine and other nootropics?

Yes, that's how I explained it myself as well - a lot of people have life and jobs they hate, they're overstressed and here is a cheap and socially approved (pressured even) way to deal with it. I had a programming as a hobby since age of 6 and non-controlling parents, so I was good. Caffeine I don't care much. I love culture of coffee, and enjoy good coffee. The latest metastudy I read on coffee concluded that there…

That’s only one reason. Seeking altered mental states doesn’t mean your regular life is bad. Some people enjoy variety to gain perspective.

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#78

Post by [deleted] »

divan wrote: post #60

I never tried alcohol and never felt compelled to. As a kid I wondered what's happening with those drunk people I had a chance to see. So I read some books in library about alcohol (my mother was librarian, so that was my internet back then). It all just made sense and I decided that don't want to even try. I was asked to try alcohol by parents and relatives, I was ridiculed and insulted by classmates (drinking someh…

[deleted]

Re: On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties

#80

Post by listenallyall »

joshuamorton wrote: post #45
tastysandwich wrote: post #39

Not to mention the money you save. I was recently at a cocktail bar for a party. I think the cheapest cocktail was $17, but most were between $20-$30. And most people had at least two. Meanwhile a lot of these places have cheap food (to encourage you to drink more), so I'm there in the corner scoffing my $4 pizza and $3 diet coke. Heh heh heh, suckers...

What were in these cocktails? Gold and gemstones? The (really good, fairly pricey, good service) cocktail bars that I have gone to in SF and NYC charge less than $17 for their normal cocktails (and the only one I've seen that had a $30 price tag was because it used Remy Martin XO)

gone to in 2010
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