Pressure to Drink

[Latinidiot]

Count yourself lucky mate. I question if todays hangover might be too high a price to pay for last night.

By God, can those death metal guys drink...

I was in my country of birth, in Central america, and my cousin is unbelievable. the guy drinks beer like it's water. He can't even get drunk from beer. The guy drinks two liters of whiskey in one night. And still simply drives home.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

Tell them to fuck off. It's none of their business if you're going to drink or not, and they should know that.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Not really, I guess if I was against to drink it would be different though!

 

[omega 616]

So I'd like to start off by saying I'm not a teetotaler, and I'm most definitely not under drinking age, but lately I've not had much of a desire to drink, and my annoyance with my friends over their "have a drink already" attitude boiled over on New Years eve after three hours of "it's new years, drink something".

I can likely count the number of times I consumed alcohol in 2010 on both hands with fingers left over, I just seem to have lost my affection for drinking; well drinking cheap crap I suppose, I like a good wine, and I love a good whiskey, but it's too expensive to indulge often.

It's the middle of Summer here in Australia and it was high 30s well into the evening on New Years eve, the very last time I wanted to do was to consume a drink that I knew would make the heat worse, even if I felt like it, but after hours and hours of being annoyed to "at least have a beer" I snapped and wondered off to watch the 10pm fireworks on my own, and then went home.

I should point I wasn't give any disapproving looks, nor making any comments about other people's drinking habits, I honestly didn't care, I just didn't want to bloody drink just to get drunk.

So anyone else have a similar new years? being pestered to drink?

And yes I know I either need new friends or move back near my old friends who knew when I said something I damn well meant it.

The last time I drank was over 3 years ago (it was 3 years on the 1st of november) and I have never been more than slightly "tipsy". I can count the amount of alcohol I have consumed in my life to be about 20 pints and I am 21 years old. (I have had scrumpy, Guinness, grolsch, stella and newcastle brown)

I think there is a large pressure to drink, even without people people offering you a drink all the time. It's being the only sobre one means your not as easily ammused as the rest of them, so while there laughing and something boring, you just seeing the boring thing.

 

[RicoADF]

So I'd like to start off by saying I'm not a teetotaler, and I'm most definitely not under drinking age, but lately I've not had much of a desire to drink, and my annoyance with my friends over their "have a drink already" attitude boiled over on New Years eve after three hours of "it's new years, drink something".

I can likely count the number of times I consumed alcohol in 2010 on both hands with fingers left over, I just seem to have lost my affection for drinking; well drinking cheap crap I suppose, I like a good wine, and I love a good whiskey, but it's too expensive to indulge often.

It's the middle of Summer here in Australia and it was high 30s well into the evening on New Years eve, the very last time I wanted to do was to consume a drink that I knew would make the heat worse, even if I felt like it, but after hours and hours of being annoyed to "at least have a beer" I snapped and wondered off to watch the 10pm fireworks on my own, and then went home.

I should point I wasn't give any disapproving looks, nor making any comments about other people's drinking habits, I honestly didn't care, I just didn't want to bloody drink just to get drunk.

So anyone else have a similar new years? being pestered to drink?

And yes I know I either need new friends or move back near my old friends who knew when I said something I damn well meant it.

Its the Aussie culture, most love a drink and think its weird for an Aussie not to want one too. Dw I cop the same bs about it as well, I have little if any interest in drinking and often have to tell people to bug off for pestering me about it.

 

[WestMountain]

New Years Eve is for most people an excuse to get really really *really* hammered, even more than on a normal party, and I can understand how it's a buzzkill to have someone sober walking around at a party probably judging the really really *really* hammered people because they do stupid shit.

 

[Zarmi]

You could be my new best friend. Got the same problem here. Felt pressured to drink, but however, I got no problem with telling people (including friends) to shut the hell up and leave me alone with that shit, so... Yay for not drinking.

 

[Josdeb]

Yeah, I don't drink and all of my friends know it.

They'll occassionally offer me a beer or drink or whatever out of regular courtesy, but know I'll refuse anyway.
I don't get pressured by them at all, but sometimes it does suck a bit when the only drinks at a party are beers or whiskey or something, so I have to resort to leaving to get something for myself (Those are the kind of "spontaneous parties" or "hey, don't worry, we have everything" get-togethers. I always try to get something on the way there)

 

[Weslebear]

I tried it, disliked it entirely. Just ain't my thing and it never will be, just goes against who I am.

I have been pressurised to drink which is replied to with a swift, shit off, I'm having a cup of tea ;3.

I refuse to bend to the will of the alcoholic mass that is everyone my age. At my college I know of 2 others that don't drink, every single other person seems to go out and get wrecked every week for the sake of it. Some of them declaring that it's needed to have fun.

In my opinion if you think you have to be at least tipsy to actually have fun then, 1) You are not someone I will be around for any period of time, 2) You are a very bland unimaginative person.

 

[Limie]

I share your pain. This is part of why I don't 'go out' with anyone anymore. All they seem to do is get drunk.

I totally understand and this is really sad. I recently went out with some old friends of mine and they had a "prelash" session at one of their houses. Three of them were drunk before leaving the house to go to a club. We had to send one of them home after he puked everywhere and this is before going out. It's supposed to be cheeper to buy your own booze but I don't see the point of getting drunk before going on a night out . Especially when I, the only sober one, has to look after them for the rest of the night.

More OT: I've refused to drink on many occasions to the point where my old friends don't force me to drink anymore. For New Year's I had a glass of champagne and it was revolting, so I did't finish it.

 

[Please delete this account]

I don't know your situation, but I stop getting flak from people for not drinking if I tell them I am going to be driving later. Or just state up front that you don't drink, most people in my experience will drop it if you are clear and resolute with them.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I had to deal with this for about 3 years before my 19th birthday by "friends" offering me bottles in the back alley on the way back from Highschool. My real friends offer me drinks now but I still make the decision and they respect that.

While I enjoy drinking I don't have the time or money to do it regularly. If I'm going to be drinking, I've already planned what's going to happen when I need to crash. If I have no arrangements for where I'm going to sleep, I don't drink.

If you don't feel like drinking, damn well don't!

 

[tkioz]

I don't know your situation, but I stop getting flak from people for not drinking if I tell them I am going to be driving later. Or just state up front that you don't drink, most people in my experience will drop it if you are clear and resolute with them.

Unfortunately in my case I wasn't driving, I was walking, it was only three streets over from my house, and while that is sometimes a little far with my dodgy leg (I walk with a cane, I'm 31, so not an old fart either), it hasn't been that bad recently.

Actually that reminds me, booze doesn't help (me) with the pain from my leg, so I wish they'd stop suggesting it, drinking while in pain just make me want to throw up.

 

[Verp]

Alcohol itself tastes awful, people add ingredients and mix drinks so that the taste is more pleasant or it may even form an interesting sensation with the drink intself, I've never noticed the latter and when I ask for advice on a drink that "I might like" people always end the sentence with something along the lines of "...you won't even taste the booze", to which I respond "Then why mix fucking booze into it? Why not just mix the rest of this shit in with water or buy a fucking coke?!" there's no response.

That's how I feel about alcohol and I often ask that same thing from people when they drink out of habit rather than the good taste.

My sisters and their husbands have often tried to get me to drink something alcoholic, sometimes discreetly. However, I'm so sensitive to the smell and taste of alcohol that they haven't succeeded. I can't stand it -- the other day I agreed to taste a steaspoon of red wine and it felt like my mouth was invaded by raw berries, paint thinner, and extra horrible cough medicine.

When I feel alcohol in my mouth, it works like a mint except in reverse, if that makes any sense. It makes my mouth and nose feel unfresh and... Dull. Dilute it enough and sure, I can probably tolerate it, but I don't see the point.

 

[Sora-Livana]

I do feel like a large number of teenagers my age are always going out and getting drunk (at least, if you listen to their wild tales it feels that way), but never have I felt pressured by that overwhelming number of friends who live with that sort of attitude. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to drink something like cider or Lambrini on a special occasion, but I can't stand most forms of alcohol (doesn't help that I have a super low alcohol tolerance).

Take last night, for example. I went to a party at the friend's house (for family and friends) - by the time the new year came around most of them had had several drinks and were quite rapidly storming from tipsy to full-on drunkenness. I, on the other hand, had not even managed a quarter of my can of cider and was already giggly enough to go on with so simply stopped. Slightly tipsy is alright - anything more just doesn't interest me.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I found Coke's version of Red Bull (Relentless) quite useful as it comes in a half litre size and kinda looks like a beer can, and not many people know it, unlike rockstar or red bull. So I can generally have one of those and get left the hell alone by most people, but yes, I agree being pushed into it is annoying, because people can't imagine someone not wanting to drink.

I don't like salads, but people don't come up to me and go 'ah come on now, won't ya just have yourself a radish or something, just to perk you up'.

 

[tkioz]

When I feel alcohol in my mouth, it works like a mint except in reverse, if that makes any sense. It makes my mouth and nose feel unfresh and... Dull.

Hangover mouth I call it, I don't get it just from drinking, but even if I haven't got a hangover (even when I did drink more often and occasionally got drunk I never had "real" hangovers after the first few times, because I learnt to drink 4 glasses of water before bed), the next morning I'll have that feeling in my mouth, it's unpleasant.

 

[Faine']

I share your pain. This is part of why I don't 'go out' with anyone anymore. All they seem to do is get drunk.

I totally understand and this is really sad. I recently went out with some old friends of mine and they had a "prelash" session at one of their houses. Three of them were drunk before leaving the house to go to a club. We had to send one of them home after he puked everywhere and this is before going out. It's supposed to be cheeper to buy your own booze but I don't see the point of getting drunk before going on a night out . Especially when I, the only sober one, has to look after them for the rest of the night.

More OT: I've refused to drink on many occasions to the point where my old friends don't force me to drink anymore. For New Year's I had a glass of champagne and it was revolting, so I did't finish it.

Sounds familiar. The sad fact is that I now don't have any close friends offline for the simple reason that in order to maintain 'real life' friendships I'm expected to spend what little money I earn on booze and get myself utterly wasted.

Outside of my family, out of all the people I know, I know only one. single. person. who doesn't drink. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind drinking - though it's not really my thing - but drinking for the single purpose of making yourself so drunk you're puking everywhere and hung over the next day, seems to me, completely counter productive when it comes to having a fun evening. Come morning and they're all groaning about how awful they feel and don't even remember most of the 'fun' they had the night before, but give it a week or even a few days and they're at it again. People don't seem to know how to enjoy themselves without alcohol, and for someone like me who would rather not touch the stuff, it means a great big 'FAIL' stamped all over your social life.

Anyway, as people might have gathered, no I didn't get pestered into drinking this New Years because I wasn't even at a party. If I had been, I'm absolutely certain I'd have been hounded about it though, yes.

 

[Napierdalac]

I can relate to your pain mate.. I dont really drink, not that i dislike the taste or anything like that, it's just.. I have inner demons that sadly show them selfs when im drunk.. Never been drunk without getting into a fight. So i just stopped getting hammered, because i dont want to be that guy.

My real friends understand this, and wont push me further, probably because they know they will be the one's trying to get me out of the fight, but i often do come across people pressuring me into drinking, if they are not drunk i try to explain it - if they are, dont bother.

The last year or so i have just been drinking beer as i cant get drunk on beer. Im full and sick waaaaay before im drunk. So that gets people to leave me the hell alone

 

[NeutralDrow]

I can sympathize. I actually don't drink at all, and basically never have (barring experiments with certain alcohol to confirm my distaste; basically anything but plum wine and sweet sake nauseates me), but the one time I was under pressure to do more annoyed the hell out of me.