NRR - Thinking of completely giving up alcohol

Ok, I'll bite. Do you know how often OP drinks? Didn't think so. Giant assumption in your post; OP could be drinking moderately. Even if he wasn't, there is no need to call him an idiot. The degree of vitriol and sarcasm in your post in completely unwarranted.

Unfortunately due to a medial condition I can no longer drink. I wasn't ever a big drinker, but there are times when I could go for a beer with a meal, a glass of wine, etc.

Anyway, just order a tonic water or something. It gives you something to sip on and hold in your hand in a social setting. In my experience the likelihood of anyone caring that you're not drinking is pretty low.

I quit 20 years ago, slightly after college. I drank too much then. In a new city with few friends, I thought booze was the cure. Turns out it was the problem!

Give it up and never look back. Life's better without it.

For anyone thinking of trying to quit, read this: It gives alternatives to AA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

It's been a little over a week since I stopped drinking, and I feel much more betterer already.

Not really. He starts by saying he doesn't have a problem. He goes on to say he kinda likes the taste etc. The post shows clear disinterest in drinking alcohol. With that background, asking about quiting something you don't really like doing does sound really dumb. Maybe you don't need to call him an idiot, but, if I had to bet, I would go with the OP being an idiot. It's just not nice to say so.

solus wrote:

For anyone thinking of trying to quit, read this: It gives alternatives to AA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

Thnx, good Article in Atlantic

brofest2016 wrote:

I like going out but when I had a girlfriend she just made me do stuff with her. As I get older I imagine this will be the case again.

What are you talking about? When you drink you girlfriend made you do stuff with her that you wouldn't have to do if you weren't drinking?

I thought one of the perks of drinking is that its easier to do stuff with your girlfriend?

That's an odd statement.

How often do you drink? If it is very rarely then it isn't a problem.

I drink one beer when I play music in a bar, and right now that is once a month, so one beer a month. Not really something to have to quit. So, why "quit"? Just don't do it other than very rarely.

hobble jogger wrote:

Just some facts. There is a lot of misinformation about how drinking beer makes you fat. i.e. it's not the beer, its what you eat while drinking, or its the darker beer. While darker beer can have higher alcohol content, and therefore more calories, a doulbe IPA can have many more calories and be light in color.

FYI: dark beers are not necessarily higher in alcohol content. Many stouts, porters, British milds, etc. are dark in color, but often have low ABV.

Usually only drink on the weekends (Friday and Saturday nights, rarely Sunday). Would when I'm going out with friends to bars or clubs. If it somewhere low key I have 2 drinks while just talking. If we are going "out out" it can be 4 - 8. That might sound like a lot but if you meet for a dinner at 7 and stay out until midnight or so it doesn't seem like much. I am a pretty big guy (6'3" about 180) so to be frank I usually don't feel the affects after even 3 or 4. I am going out about 2 - 3 weekends a month. After a big night out I usually don't want to do anything for a while.

He said he had an aunt that died from alcohol abuse. Having a family member with alcoholism increases your own risk as there is a genetic component to addiction. Thus, I'd say he's making a wise decision not to drink at all.

My dad died as a result of his alcoholism. I choose to never drink because 1) I have a heightened risk of addiction myself and 2) I still carry emotional scars from my relationship with my dad as a result of his drinking.

If you've never had a family member battle an addiction, count yourself blessed. And please don't presume to know what's best for those of us who have.

Good grief dude...you are assuming a lot. Yes, I've had family members have issues with alcohol including a cousin who hung himself in prison. I also never said anything about others who have been in families where alcohol was an issue. Go find a fight somewhere else, because I am not the right person to be preaching to.

If the OP wants to stop drinking, fine, but so far he has not had an issue with alcohol, and just because his aunt did doesn't mean he will for sure. You need to take a 13th step...down off your high horse.

I'm not looking for a fight and never would on this topic. Certainly didn't mean to mount any high horses - sorry if it came off that way. I was trying to build understanding for those of us impacted by alcoholism. The fact that you say a family member go through it should have prevented the comment you made. The op said he was thinking of quitting drinking and you seemed to try to talk him out of it, which is both insensitive and insane to me.

I know I'm oversensitive on this topic. I guess watching my dad suffer, wither away and die, and be verbally abusive along the way, helped make me that way. I really try not to be judgemental on this issue, but I know I fail at times. It's the "lighten up, man, just drink!" attitude that really makes me have to bite my tounge. I find that attitude both insulting and dumb.

Okay, I'all bite my tounge now.

ralphie wrote:

I should also add: I suspect runners are more prone to addictive behavior than non runners. I all but stopped hanging around people in a local running club because all they seemed concerned with was getting their run over with so they could drink. Definitely some problem drinkers if not alcoholics in that group. After watching my dad go down that road, I don't care to be around it anymore.

How can you be drunkard and run with any competence? You would think it would screw up your recovery from the run. I know I barely drink now. I don't see the point, it's too expensive for what you get and it is murder on your waistline if you tend to get husky.

I will say this on a hot day I do enjoy a cold beer(usually just one) or a cold mixed drink. For the life of me i can't tell you the last time I got hammered but when I have been I have been as stupid as the various other posters have talked about "friends".

Ps I had an incident with a friend that made me vow to never hang out in public setting with him again while he was drinking. He crossed the border into a border town in the US and nearly got 86'd from a casino and was so drunk he hugged total strangers and zig zagged across the street while trying to wander back to Canada. It was quite a scene that could have gotten expensive or worse tragic considering it was in the ghetto.