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On why I gave up drinking in my early twenties
- jkingsman 4y agoThere are many hyperbolic articles about quitting drinking, as there are, reasonably, many hyperbolically bad situations that people find themselves in due to drinking. I found that the moderate tone of this article spoke to me more than I've found hyperbolic articles tend to do -- much appreciated.
- oggadog 4y agoI'm glad you got something out of reading it! I was in a very similar situation as you where everything sobriety related I read made it out that quitting would turn me into the ubermensch overnight.
- Jorengarenar 4y agoThere is old, forgotten Polish tradition of coffee drinkers not drinking alcohol. It's not the reason why I never any alcohol, but it's a tradition I say I cultivate.
- Sebb767 4y agoTL;DR due to health issues (migraines from hangover). Still an interesting read, especially since the author needed to 'cope' with being sober in a different way than you usually hear.
- PragmaticPulp 4y ago> Those nights with friends I had known for years felt no different now that I was sober. As I didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable around them, and drinking together wasn’t the only activity or situation we saw each other during. Relationships with people who I only ever drank or partied with definitely started to fade away, but I never felt like I lost anything as a result of that. The nights where I was stinging for a beer to get through it, however, were the events I had no real genuine interest in attending, or with crowds that I didn’t fit in with. This is a common theme among my friends who previously drank heavily: They participate less in certain alcohol-centric groups, but they realize they aren't really missing them. Moderate to heavy drinkers seem to get stuck in a rut where it feels like everyone drinks as much, or more, alcohol than they do. Yet once they break out of that rut, they realize that a lot of people have no problem having a good time without heavy drinking. Alcohol is definitely a crutch for a lot of people.
- derekp7 4y agoI can say it helped me in my early 20's. I was "in my shell" up until I started going to bars and dance clubs once I hit about 21 to 22. Having just enough alcohol in me to not be shy helped build a social group, but it was still fun to go out even on nights that I would stick to soda or water. However depending on the bar I went to, some of them were more pleasant if I was drinking. When I was sober, I really couldn't stand to be around a bunch of less-than-sober people (they were no longer funny or interesting). But I had the opposite experience with other crowds. Weird how that works out sometimes. Now at my age (and without being a regular drinker), if I have one drink I'm ready to go to bed.
- oggadog 4y agoI definitely noticed this with a lot of people I worked with in engineering. They were quite shy and a bit hard to crack, but once they had a drink or two at a work event they were very sociable and easy to talk to. And outside of these situations they never really drank. So I think for them, alcohol was never really an issue.
- kitsunesoba 4y agoThis pretty closely describes how/why I usually drink as a dev. While sober I can function socially more than well enough to get along in the day to day without issue, but it’s much much smoother if I’ve had some alcohol (but not too much). I also tend to focus more squarely on my conversation partner when I’m buzzed, whereas sober my head is all over the place, plus I don’t get bored with the conversation or lose energy to converse as easily. Since beginning to work from home I’ve had very little to drink, averaging 0-2 beers per month. It’s really a social thing.
- gonehome 4y agoHumanity has been bonding over beer for thousands of years - I'd guess it's adaptive and selected for. The cultural signaling of whether it's cool to give it up or not just comes in waves imo (outside of people with more serious drinking issues). Right now it's cool to say you don't drink so there's lots of these blog posts, same category as people that tell you 'they don't even have a TV'. It's not that interesting, but generates a lot of commentary from people in both directions and I think it's mostly some form of social status thing. I've noticed a similar thing with young people thinking it's cool to be religious after a swing for a bit in the other direction. There's always some points you can get for doing the less common thing in certain circles.
- bluedino 4y agoI quit when I had kids. I'll have a beer here or there, but I don't "go to the bar". I still miss getting shitfaced with co-workers, but I managed to accomplish everything I could while drinking during the last 20 years. It guess it was fun, but I realize now I didn't need to go out every (or every other) day, and not for 8 hours at a time.
- philliphaydon 4y agoI quit the day my wife said she was pregnant. My dad gave up smoking and took up alcohol and after an incident one night which made him stop drinking. I took that as an experience I don't want my kids to experience. I'll have a beer sometimes if out at dinner, but never more than 1 or 2. Majority of the time I don't even have that. This year I've had 2 beers total and that's it. Don't miss it at all.
- jemmyw 4y agoI quit after I had kids and fucked up a couple of times getting inappropriately drunk and not being functional the next day. I didn't drink often but when I did it was a problem. I can now have a tipple when I'm away from the family. As long as I really restrict it to 1 or 2 drinks.
- chihuahua 4y agoI 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.
- gsich 4y agoThis is normal, especially with beer/wine. That's why some people switch to cocktails or mix stuff with Red Bull/Coke, the sugar keeps you awake.
- chihuahua 4y agoOK, but presumably other people experience some kind of positive/pleasant effect? I don't get that at all.
- pcurve 4y agoEverybody also gets the tiredness and narrowing field of vision. How much do you drink? For an average 175lbs male to feel buzzed, he would need to drink 2 pints of beer (or close 1 1 liter) on relatively empty stomach quickly. To feel drunk, it would require at least double that amount if not more.
- chihuahua 4y ago> How much do you drink? These days, a single sip of wine when my wife is having a glass of wine with dinner. When I was younger, I'd have a glass or two of wine, or a pint of beer. But I always concluded that I'd feel better without the alcohol, so I cut back to the minimal amount.
- fanso99 4y agoYou have most likely done that already… but have you tried many different kinds of alcoholic drinks? Beer affects me exactly as you describe it so I almost never drink it. Single malt scotch, on the other hand, has a very different effect - gives me energy, makes me more sociable, lifts my spirit. Red wine affects me differently from white wine, cocktails also have a different effect (can’t have sugar with alcohol!). Basically, at least for some people different kinds of alcohol have a very different effect.
- chordalkeyboard 4y agoI gave up drinking in my early twenties, not because I chose to, but because I was forced to. I replaced it with drinking in my mid-20s.
- embit 4y agoOne martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough. James Thurber
- preommr 4y agoA martini is what ~$15, with taxes + tip ~$20? RIP my wallet if I spent $60 on like a cup of alcohol.
- mjklin 4y agoI like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, after four I'm under my host. — Dorothy Parker
- NoNotTheDuo 4y agoMartinis are like boobs. One isn't enough and three is too many.
- ausbah 4y agoone tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor
- justinator 4y agoI gave up drinking in my early twenties because of cycling. By the end of my 20's, I had visited 9 countries by bike and crossed the US by bicycle three times.
- kingforaday 4y agoWow, nice accomplishment! If you have a blog on your travels, I'd be interested to read.
- uxcolumbo 4y agoWow, must have been quite the experience. How long did it take to cross the US? And how were the other 2 times different? Different routes? What bike did you use?
- prawn 4y agoHave you documented the US trips anywhere?
- colechristensen 4y agoLots of people have a “problem with” x for various values of x, usually something socially prevalent. Respect to those who recognize this and can help themselves by refraining. It seems like a key to overcoming is recognizing negative effects and having a strong desire to avoid them… but I can’t talk much about it because I have almost the opposite of an addiction problem in the inability to form habits regardless of the vice or activity. Besides perhaps a concerted effort to correct the beginnings of a weight problem I’ve never had to try to “give up” anything but more like just forgotten about doing the thing for extended periods.
- prettyStandard 4y agoTime to plug "The Sinclair Method" again. https://www.google.com/search?q=the+sinclair+method https://www.google.com/search?q=the+sinclair+method
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- kblev 4y agoThis literally changed my life
- oggadog 4y agoHave heard of the Sinclair Method having pretty overwhelming success, however I haven't seen it in use much in Australia yet.
- jolmg 4y agoThis being the first time I read about this, I wonder if the same idea can be more generally applied to other bad habits.
- smeej 4y agoI 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.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jolmg 4y agoYeah, 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.
- issa 4y agoThis sounds very strange to the uninitiated, but I grew up in a part of the punk music scene that was rebelling against drugs and alcohol. As someone who has never had a drink, I've never seen the appeal, and I always wonder why more people don't give it up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge
- kyleyeats 4y agoYour comment made me try this URL which works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sXe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sXe
- issa 4y agoeven better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/xvx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/xvx
- mattl 4y agoWikipedia Straight Edge is the link bellow
- oggadog 4y agoThis is actually pretty big in Sydney, and I was inspired by a few people I'd met that were in hardcore / punk bands that were all straight edge!
- rufus_foreman 4y agoI love straight edge music. Some of my favorite memories of the early 90's are from living in a squat where we would get some money together, get a keg and get trashed listening to Fugazi's Repeater. Which also might sound strange to the uninitiated: we rebelled against straight edge people.
- holler 4y agoSame reason people don't give up their morning latte, a relationship, food, behavior, or anything else that brings them pleasure.
- Cloudef 4y agoAlcohol helped me to gain social wisdom (did not drink before that at all, which I think is the reason I got bit outcast from people)
- more_corn 4y agoIt’s possible to gain social wisdom without alcohol. Here’s one for free: Surround yourself with people you like. Be the friend to them that you’d want for yourself. That’s all the social wisdom you need.
- archagon 4y agoIf you have social anxiety, this is essentially a Catch 22.
- thefz 4y agoThat's like going to a depressed person and saying "come on, cheer up!".
- boppo1 4y ago>Surround yourself with people you like. This can be exceedingly difficult in many areas. If you're in a big city it's probably no problem, but elsewhere it can be challenging or impossible to find people you really enjoy sober. I don't mean that I can't get on with just about anyone while sober. But I find I'm 'faking it' and simply giving them the idea I'm having a good time. People who I'm genuinely excited to spend time with are few and far between.
- dcw303 4y agoI love a drink but have found it very difficult to stop after a couple. Like the author, I haven't destroyed my life, but it has caused me all number of problems. The typical high functioning problem drinker. The one thing (and I tried many) that has worked for me is The Sinclair Method (TSM). After doing it for a couple of years, now I can still drinking socially without worrying about blowing up the night. It's not a new thing, but if you are in a similar situation and looking for answers, I can high recommend looking into it.
- more_corn 4y agoI’ve never been a problem drinker (I never had behavioral problems when I drank) but it was killing me. I was drinking a significant amount every day and after a while I had a two week hangover. I think that was my body’s way of calling uncle. I didn’t need to see a doctor to know something was very, very wrong. I simply decided to stop, to never experience an hangover again. And that was it. I just firmly and with certainty decided to stop. Alcoholics call it rock bottom but I think it’s just knowing that you don’t want to do it ever again. That certainly has been with me for years and I see no reason it should ever leave me. Get there and you’re done.
- yieldcrv 4y agoAlot of psychadelic-friendly communities don’t use alcohol In case anyone here needs inspiration on where its normal not to drink alcohol (Those communities arent about psychadelics, nor are they a replacement or addicting, its just the only common theme I see amongst various communities that will also not be into alcohol)
- rufus_foreman 4y agoYou can't dose every day. The saying when I was growing up was, "if you can't trip, you might as well drink".
- n0mn 4y agoI stopped drinking about 7 months ago. I will second the author’s recommendation for “This Naked Mind” by Annie Grace.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- PakG1 4y agoBack when I was first attending university, I attended this national entrepreneurship convention with fellow peers from my university's local chapter. There was a social night where they rented out an entire bar and we were all socializing. I was with a female friend from my university, who was pretty and obviously a magnet for all sorts of men. She asked me if I could get her some water, so I did. I brought a bottle of water to her, from which she sipped. Some obnoxious dude comes up to us, wanting to know her. She's a magnet. He discovers that I gave her the water, and he looks at me incredulously, loudly saying, "You got her WATER? WATER???" Not being a heavy drinker back then, plus being your standard computer nerd, I was of course uncomfortable. I felt shame, but I couldn't figure out why it was justified. I also felt resentment because I had done nothing wrong. Years later, I've discovered the shame was never justified, the guy was just a douche (for whatever reason), and I was quite happy my whole life without ever getting piss drunk. I did get buzzed at least three times in my life, so I don't know what it would take to make me really drunk. Guess I'll never know though, because I quit drinking after meeting my wife because she doesn't like to drink. But I'm fine with it. I do wonder if society would be more civil if there was no pressure to drink. I don't think non-drinkers should judge people who drink, and drinkers certainly should not judge people who don't drink. But it is an awkward truth that alcohol is often associated with misbehaviour or worse, and I'm not sure how society deals with that and also avoids going down the path of the US prohibition era and the backlash that is Al Capone. I've lost faith in society's ability to engage in nuance and not be judgmental. Bleh.
- sva_ 4y ago> I do wonder if society would be more civil if there was no pressure to drink And I sometimes wonder if drinking has a noticable effect on population growth.
- tastysandwich 4y agoNot 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...
- bluedino 4y agoWait until you add in the recreational drugs, gambling with darts/pool, getting midnight pizzas delivered, drunk drivings...
- joshuamorton 4y agoWhat 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)
- listenallyall 4y agogone to in 2010
- joshuamorton 4y agoI literally can't find anything on a menu of any bay area cocktail bars that is more than $17. Trick dog, true laurel, pagan idol, smugglers cove, house of shields, etc. Most are $15 or less. I can find the occasional $18 drink in Manhattan.
- listenallyall 4y ago15-16-18, does it really matter? You were all "gold and gemstones" Anyway, you're going to tip, right?
- 4y ago
- briga 4y agoI stopped drinking regularly once I realized how many empty calories are in alcohol. It’s diluted poison that ruins your sleep and makes you fat. It’s just suboptimal to be consuming on a regular basis. The psychological effects can be fun but the negative health impact does not seem worth it
- sylens 4y agoSeveral years ago, I decided to push myself a bit further than before in my hobby of running and decided to train for a marathon. Knowing that it would take an unwavering dedication to getting up early and going for long runs, I swore off drinking for that entire year to ensure my body would always have the rest and recovery it needed. Much like the author, it was not too hard to go to social events that I wanted to attend; but work functions and outings where I only knew maybe one person became much more painful to get through. I also realized that a bit part of my socialization in college and afterward was reliant on having some alcohol in my system to lower my typically introverted inhibitions. It was during this year that I felt like I really learned how to be social and extroverted without the crutch of some form of alcohol. Now, even years after the marathon, I don't drink nearly as much as I used to. I may have a drink or two when I see friends or when out to dinner, but I feel no need to have more than two on any occasion.
- mattl 4y agoI don’t mind drinking. I grew up in the UK where the culture around it is different. I moved to the US in 2008 and it’s different. What really opened my eyes was when I broke my hand in 2022 and spent a month unable to type effectively. I’m happy to drink much less since the summer.
- TrispusAttucks 4y agoTo everyone out there fighting for sobriety: Keep it up! Stay on the path! You can do it!
- divan 4y agoI 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 somehow was a sign of being cool for them), but I didn't care - I knew how it works, and I didn't want it in my life. The same goes for any other drug, of course. The whole concept of using poisonous chemicals to alter your brain state was and still is very alien to me. I just don't get it. Willingly disrupt your body's functions on a cellular level hoping for something good, while all the scientific evidence points only to the bad? Still don't get it. I do get the social benefits part, but I think it's hugely exaggerated. 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.
- artificial 4y agoBeyond 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?
- divan 4y agoYes, 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.
- kortilla 4y ago
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- cachecrab 4y agoTracking my sleep (via Apple Watch + AutoSleep app) has helped me drink a lot less. It's very noticeable if I have more than one drink.
- katbyte 4y agoI noticed the same, and seeing the calander with red yellow and green days makes it easy to see how well I’m doing (plus drinking or not getting a good nights sleep is super important)
- npteljes 4y agoDoes the AutoSleep add to your sleep tracking experience, compared to Apple's built-in Sleep app?
- cachecrab 4y agoAre you talking about the Sleep section of Apple's Health app? AutoSleep seems to track more data than that does. It estimates my deep sleep, takes into account my HRV and heart rate, and gives me a sleep rating for the night (e.g. 90 out of 100). Apple's Health app just tracks total time spent asleep which ignores my heart rate. My heart rate is always much higher if I've drank alcohol or ate something too close to bedtime, which AutoSleep uses to determine that my sleep quality is lower.
- aussiesnack 4y agoI'm a drinker in principle, as in not being a teetotaller, but am just not attracted to drink very often. I probably have less than a bottle of wine and half a dozen beers a year. Same with drugs. I've tried most of the common ones, including those considered very addictive, but was never tempted to make a habit of any of them. Likewise food - I'm not an over eater and am in my late '50s the same weight I was 3 decades ago (though a little fitter since taking up running, which along with other sporty activities I abjured with exaggerated horror in my youth). None of this has taken the slightest effort or even any consideration to be honest. Neither is this easy sobriety a consequence of some sort of well-managed successful life (au contraire - it's a mess). Perhaps some of us just have naturally temperate temperaments.
- rufus_foreman 4y ago[flagged]
- aussiesnack 4y agoCan't argue with that.
- dang 4y agoHey, can you please stop posting unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments? You've done this repeatedly and we eventually have to ban such accounts. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Edit: we've warned you about this quite a few times already: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30042980 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30042980 (Jan 2022) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30035598 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30035598 (Jan 2022) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27410796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27410796 (June 2021) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25270433 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25270433 (Dec 2020)
- holtkam2 4y agoI think my New Year’s resolution is going to limit my alcohol consumption to 3 units / week. I think of it as a tool for building relationships… for me 1 or 2 drinks goes a long way to opening up and having a good time with someone I’m trying to get to know (going on a date for example, or maybe catching up with a long lost friend). But outside of that application, I find that alcohol has no place in my life.
- braingenious 4y agoTL:DR; Author got severe migraines from consuming alcohol and stopped for that obvious reason. I am glad OP isn’t medically endangering themselves any further.
- rafaelero 4y agoAlcohol is great if you can keep it moderate. It helps socialization quite a lot and I don't think I would keep going to clubs and parties if I didn't drink. But I try to only drink once a week and not go beyond 4 beers.
- more_corn 4y agoI gave it up in my 40s a couple years ago. I can’t say I miss it. I certainly don’t miss the hangovers and the feeling that I was killing myself. I plan to never have a hangover again and that probably means never drinking again. I thought I would miss the social aspect, but I don’t. I’ve gone out with some friends and the places had mock tails or NA beer so it was just normal hanging out. Of course not being drunk I called it a night after an hour or so, but that’s probably sane and healthy. The recent meta studies of the health effects of alcohol indicate that the health number of drinks per day is zero. Maybe you can have one or two a WEEK without negative health effects. Anyone who drinks more than that is needlessly lowering their lifespan and increasing risk of heart attack and cancer.
- apricot13 4y agoAs someone who can take it or leave it when it comes to alcohol I've made some interesting observations about alcohol and drinking culture! I've found that for some its less about the alcohol and more about the ritual and the way it makes you feel. pouring that glass of wine after work or sipping the fancy cocktail before your meal in a restaurant. It's the ritual people crave and having something unusual to taste. I find alcohol has very little to do with it and if your not able to switch your after work wine for low or non alcoholic I would guess there's a bigger problem there that is being self medicated by the numbing effects of alcohol! I've never had anyone call me out for not drinking. I'm able to stop drinking at any time, this includes half way or even two sips into a new drink. If I feel it's gone or going too far I stop. If someone insists on including me in the round after I've said no the drink doesn't get drunk. This was the hardest thing for me to learn but I've never been called out on it! I also never drink if I'm in any form of bad mood and I won't drive if i've had even a sip of alcohol. I'm lucky to be able to follow these 'rules' as I've gotten older I've found alcohol affects my blood sugar quite severely so it's a helpful incentive as it's very scary when it happens! The non and low alcohol selections now are brilliant. enough variety to have that ritual or make a fancy mocktail! Best part is sipping on them during meetings during the summer!
- sys_64738 4y agoThe age for drinking in the USA should be reduced from 21 to 18.
- maria2 4y agoQuitting alcohol seems to be in vogue these days. I'd like to offer a counterpoint: I love to drink. By the government definition, I'm a very heavy drinker. I have 1 - 3 glasses of wine a night to relax after putting my child to bed. Of course, I do go many days without drinking when life gets in the way. But I certainly enjoy my night time ritual. But what I really love about drinking is socializing over drinks. No, I don't mean the physical effects of the alcohol. What I like about socializing over a drink or three is that you're almost entirely focused on your conversation partners. People aren't focused on a board game, activity, or food. A group out drinking has made a commitment to one another that they're going to socialize in raw form. I like that.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Shindi 4y ago> I have 1 - 3 glasses of wine a night to relax after putting my child to bed. I'm sorry but I have to acknowledge that 1-3 glasses a night by yourself is a lot of drinking. I was the same way with weed. It didn't have any major affects on my life until I quit smoking and I realized my life was way better without it. I'm some random idiot on the internet so feel free to ignore my take, but finding ways to relax without alcohol will make your life so much better.
- herbst 4y agoWe are going slightly off topic here, but may I ask how your life turned better without weed? When Corona made availability a bit harder I quit last year for several months. But to my surprise I wasn't more productive, wasn't more focused all I got was getting more moody and easier to distact. I came to accept that weed is self medication against my ADD and depression that works better than I actually expected.
- Shindi 4y agoNo worries, this really depends on the person and their smoking habits. I know for me I was smoking almost daily, using it to cope with founder stress in unhealthy ways, using it to run away from problems. For me personally, weed has the effect that it makes me super lazy, and that effect lingers for a couple of days, which made me more stressed. Cutting weed definitely made me a ton more anxious for the first month, but after that I felt more motivated, more linguistically fluid.
- pbhowmic 4y agoDrinking, much like smoking, starts in the teenage years, not as an act of rebellion but as an aspirational goal of adulthood. It's something adolescents will frequently see as a marker of adulthood and reach for the marker as a way to bridge the difficult years where they are too old to be children and quite there as adults. Of course, these markers take on a life of their own, even when they have outlived their original purpose.
- lamontcg 4y agoWhen I got into my 30s I just found that it screws with my sleep too hard and it is just too much of a commitment. I really have a hard time getting past a drink or two once or twice a months these days. The calories really start to pack on as well.
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- _noxd 4y agoShort answer: because alcohol is alot harsher on the body than eating pot.
- patrick451 4y ago> My drinking was never outwardly a major issue, in fact, in Australia, it probably wasn’t even noticeable to anyone else around me and would’ve been considered pretty standard early twenties behaviour. It seems rare for people to claim that their homeland doesn't have a heavy drinking culture. Reading through these comments, you see it claimed of the United States, New Zealand, Ukraine, South Korea. In general, I can only remember hearing of Italy having "healthy" drinking culture. What are the others? I also wonder the extent to which the British empire spread the drinking culture of the British isles to much of the rest of the world (e.g., USA, Australia, New Zealand etc).
- RickJWagner 4y agoI stopped drinking over 20 years ago. One of the best decisions I've ever made.
- jtotheh 4y agoI haven't had a drink in forty years. From the age of about 18-20, I fell rapidly into getting blackout drunk several times a week. I don't miss it. I did AA to get away from it but I ended up leaving that. I don't mind if people like having AA in their life, or even making it their life. It wasn't the answer for me though. One thing I've eventually realized is that I am not comfortable around a lot of ordinary people. I was using alcohol to try and force myself to be around people. Now I would say there's no reason to do that, it's a sign that you're in the wrong place.