Alchohol and you

[BrionJames]

I currently work at a liquor store and have drank my far share well before that too. Alcohol can be a crutch, something that can sneak up on you if your not careful. Drinking with friends, with girls, it's a dangerous substance socially. You can do a lot of stupid things you never meant to simply because of your lack of clear mental focus. Now, I don't drink large quantities, except on very rare occasions. Mostly, a beer or a small glass of whiskey after work, maybe a cocktail after dinner. Sounds boring, but I've been on the other side of the line and I know what that's like.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

One of those morally questionable types who purely drinks to get drunk. If I'm going after taste, I'll drink something else. I appreciate being a bit tipsy, but the fact that the following day is usually wasted and I feel like a sack of shite means it usually isn't worth it. Also not worth it financially -- and especially won't be if the UK gov't goes on to introduce a minimum pricing per alcohol unit. I think I'd just give up ...

 

[Lucifiel]

In my opinion, what really matters is making the distinction between drinking and getting drunk.
I see nothing wrong in having however many glasses of whatever you like, as long as you know your limits and your purpose is enjoying your drink and its taste, not losing your mind in it.

At first I didn't like any type of alcohol but I soon developed a taste for it. As capper42 said, it really is an acquired taste. Some drinks have great aftertaste and the whole pleasure is taking your time to savor it. I did realize that I don't like beer, though.

This doesn't however mean that I like getting drunk. I think that only once in my life I drank a bit too much but it only ended in me getting into bed afterwards and just falling asleep immediately. Other than that, I guess I know my limits and the moment my vision gets even the slightest blurry (meaning I begin to get tipsy), that's my cue to stop drinking and start sobering up. At those times, nothing can persuade me to take another drop. It's soda and water for me from there on, along with salty snacks, no matter what others say. I still remember the parties during college and high-school, when, by the end of them, I was one of the few sober people there. Also, I never drink strong beverages on an empty stomach.

 

[Mr.Cynic88]

Alcohol is cool, but it's a shame that out of all the mind-altering substances on this world, alcohol is the one that is legal.

 

[In Search of Username]

I only drink when I'm socialising, personally. It feels a bit pointless to me otherwise, I don't enjoy the taste and the main effect of it is to make me more sociable, so it seems stupid to do it alone. I'm not that big on partying either, I'll only go clubbing if it's with people I like or in a place with music I like. But that's when I drink, anyway. Never alone for me. To each their own though.

 

[DeimosMasque]

*sips his wine* Okay so normally this is how it goes. Friday we (me and wife) eat dinner then go to the local liquor store. We usually get either rum and soda or gin and tonics. Occasionally we get stuff to make martinis.

Regardless we then spend Friday night, Saturday Night and Sunday Night drinking and either roleplaying or playing video games.

Then sometimes,like tonight for example we get wine for during the week when we won't to have another fun little night.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I'm not too crazy about the sauce myself, but I will tend to drink when I feel like it. This could be anything from having a cool light beer at home, watching Chef Ramsey on TV, to going out with friends and getting some cool imported beers and a few shots for good measure.

 

[Orphillius]

I don't think I would like drinking with people I don't know, and hearing about drinking games like beer pong just sounds unappealing. I do drink sometimes with a few of my friends and then we just fuck around how we do when we aren't drunk, except we're a little more slurry and unbalanced. It's fun, I think.

 

[Biosophilogical]

I don't drink. (I'm 19, which is legal in Australia, as I'm not entirely sure on the age-expectations for us Escapians). There's a few reasons, some more superficial than others. I'll put them in spoilers, because some of them are probably not the most popular views in the world.

Spoiler: My superficial reason: Safe to read

I really despise the taste and smell of alcohol. I can taste it in most drinks that have alcohol in it, and I'd rather not have to resort to finding the most obscure possible drinks that don't taste like alcohol, when I'd much rather just have a non-alcoholic drink. I mean, if you drink something alcoholic, but deliberately avoid any that actually taste like alcohol, then the only point would be to get drunk, not because you like the drink.

Spoiler: My financial reason: Safe to read

Alcohol is expensive. That's fairly accepted in most cases, and quite frankly it seems excessive. I'm more than capable of having fun without getting drunk, so it seems like a waste of money.

Spoiler: My health: Safe

I have an erratic diet, though it is rarely healthier than not. I can get away with it because I'm young, and I tend to not put on every ounce of energy I metabolise as fat, which is nice. However, I've seen entire grades of people go from slim mid-teens to chubby, beer-gut-straddling almost-20s, because they drank every other week, and most alcohol is full of calories.

Spoiler: My less than regular reason: May be mildly controversial

I like my head space to be my head space. In other words, I tend to avoid drugs as a general rule because from observation, and second-hand accounts, it seems like most non-prescription drugs have an effect on your cognitions, whether it be alcohol making you more impulsive, or illicit substances inducing emotional states and hallucinations/delusions, or some drugs causing addictions (I still have caffeine, but not often, not because of the caffeine, and never enough to impact upon my cognitive abilities, and I'll still use things like Panadol or Sudafed if I'm ill). I'm more than capable of choosing to be impulsive or spastic, or 'spacey' or whatever, but the point is that they are all my choice, made using my own reasoning, and delusions, degraded impulse-control, addictions/etc all compromise my ability to make appropriate decisions, so no thanks.

 

[manic_depressive13]

I really like sitting around the house playing games and getting drunk with my boyfriend. When I drink alone I tend to get really depressed and self harm.

 

[Fearzone]

"Fuck the water! Bring me Wine!"

 

[The Hero Killer]

I only drink when I'm depressed and want to take my mind off of something, or want to lower my inhibitions enough to go talk to that girl or get on the dance floor.

 

[O maestre]

Red wine for dinner with my girlfriend and that's it.... sigh i have become a real bore as time has gone by.

Oh man when i was younger though, every Sunday was dedicated to hang over recuperation.

and that damn whiskey was fantastic but oh so dangerous. The stupid things i did, and the adventures it sent me on were beyond chaotic

 

[Akimoto]

I love alcohol and I had my first taste at 15 but not till a trip to the Asahi beer factory in Japan I fell in love with it again. My dad did a good job of making me drink in moderation. That and I have Asian Flush so before I get drunk it gets really uncomfortable.

I prefer beer and sake. Just not tiger beer, I can't stand that stuff. Hard liqour is fine.

 

[Strazdas]

and "suddenly liking it" is a sign of addiction if anything.

A lot of the harshness of some alcoholic drinks isn't caused by the alcohol at all. Hops provide the bitterness to beer, tannins are responsible for the astringency of wine, and don't even get me started on herbal liqueurs like Campari.

yes, pure alcohol is tasteless. but that does not negotiates my point in any way.

 

[Mordekaien]

Beer, Mead and Whiskey for me.
I used to drink a lot, when I was 18 (in Slovakia, you can legally drink when you're 18), but now I'm more of a casual drinker. I sometimes drink, but no so as to get completely drunk. But I rather enjoy the taste of those beverages that I drink. The fun thing is, I don't feel the need to socialize while drinking, so I rarely go to parties to drink, I'm either alone while having a drink, or with a couple of friends, we chug like 3 or for 4 beers and go home.

Also, I don't like drunks. My brother for example is heavy drinker, to the point where he can drink 12 Beers and still be drinking vodka and other stuff, but he is is not a very charming company then, I tell you. Not at all.

 

[Korolev]

It's a psychoactive, potentially harmful drug that I don't ever want to take. That's my attitude towards alcohol. While most people abstain due to religious reasons, my reasons are all quite secular and personal.

1) Alcohol is potentially addictive. Many people claim that they can handle their alcohol. Stats show that quite a few are fooling themselves. A lot of people can't handle their alcohol - and even if they can handle it now, that's no guarantee that they'll be able to handle it later. Many people start off with a moderate drinking habit, but then personal crisis strikes and they turn to the bottle for comfort. I've had many stressful periods throughout my life that would have driven me to drink... had I ever started to drink. But because I have no alcohol habit, I have never succumbed to the temptation to get drunk to avoid personal problems.

2) Alcohol is a toxin. Ever swabbed bacteria or a petri dish or a cell layer something with 100% alcohol? I have. And the results are not surprising - Alcohol kills things. It is a toxin. The Wine Industry and the Beer Industry are very eager to publish papers highlighting some of the health benefits of moderate drinking - but it's all nonsense. Wine is only slightly healthy because of the grapes that make up the wine - not the alcohol. You get EXACTLY the same health benefit drinking GRAPE JUICE. The health aspects related to beer aren't related to the beer themselves - they're related to the socialization that comes with drinking beer that lowers stress levels. Provided that you have other ways to socialize, you don't need to drink beer.

Alcohol is BAD for you. It is, quite literally a toxin. It's one of the biggest causes of cardiovascular problems, metabolic problems, mental health problems - it's bad. It's just... really bad.

3) It changes who you are. Alcohol alters (temporarily) your brain chemistry. You are your brain. Alcohol, thus, alters who you are on a fundamental level. Even if it's only temporarily, it does, and I am not going to do that. I am not going to lose control, I am not going to become "someone else" in order to have a "good time". I will have my good times on my own terms.

4) It's bloody expensive.

 

[lacktheknack]

I don't drink, but I've no objection to others choosing to do so.

However, people who seem to think it's their duy to convince me that I'm wrong and should start drinking piss me off no end.

What this guy said.

I've had someone threaten to take me down with karate if I didn't have a glass of beer, which only cements my opinions that drunk people should not speak. It's extremely prevalent, too. What, do people who drink just have a guilt complex or something?