when you tell drinkers that you don't drink

[TurdBerglar]

they don't seem to know what to do with you anymore. especially when you're just getting know to know each other.


drinkers seem to always be stunned when you tell them you don't drink. when you're first getting to know someone and they start talking about getting fucked up at the club the night before and you really can't related to it so you just tell them that you don't drink, they seem to not know what to talk about anymore. it's like they use their drinking experiences as their only gateway to conversation and socialization. then they look at you like... this guy...am I right? then someone else says they don't drink either and then another then the drinker seems to have this look on his face as if the world is falling apart in front of him. it's like getting fucked up with a bunch of people is all they know.

he's also that guy that only cares about the "night life" when he goes to an amazing place on vacation. all he wants to do is bar hop and see what the club scene is like for that particular town. is it really that awesome?

[Bob]

that's kind of a narrow conception of "drinkers"

[TurdBerglar]

sorry


typical drinkers. people that go to clubs/parties and get fucked up on a weekly basis kind of drinkers. not the dudes that like to have a few at some nice casual bar.... or alone in their bedrooms?

[Bob]

...better

i don't get stunned at people who don't drink though. honestly i admire it, i wish i could do it. or i should say, i wish i wanted to do it more badly. it's such an easy crutch, an easy go-to for socializing, and it's absolutely everywhere, i honestly do have deep respect for people who can look at it say "nah, i'm good, no thanks"

[Dorothy Wood]

One of my best friends stopped drinking 4 years ago. It makes dating hard, people react in the same way you're describing. My boyfriend is in recovery and being sober was tough when he was single. He actually had a lady use his not drinking as an excuse to stop seeing him. Sometimes it's weird to be drunk and not have your closest people drunk with you...but after awhile you kinda just start thinking that drinking is stupid and poisonous. So I drink way less now. But I still like to drink sometimes.

But anyway, I think people get self conscious about their drinking around teetotalers because they are forced to confront the fact that maybe they're doing something unhealthy.

[abbott]

my friend is now 4 years clean and it was a strange transition for both of us. But what I realized now is he just wants people to do what they want.

But I can also say, He is happy to walk away when you start acting like a drunk dumbass. Sometimes, he watches the drunk dumbasses as entertainment and even as a reminder of what he does not miss.

He has become more into the local music scene and now a good DD.

[Guy Incognito]

I used to drink.

A lot.

I wasnt 100% dependant on it but decided to stop before it got anything like that.

Now i probably drink three/four times a year tops.

I have arranged to meet up with some old school friends i havent had much contact with for last 10/15 years or so, they all like a drink and have decided its out for beers in a few weeks. Am absolutely dreading it if i am honest, just dont want them to think i am some sort of girl nor do i want to just get hammered to try and keep up with them.

[Lex Diamonds]

I don't trust non-drinkers. Never have, never will.

[Lyman Zerga]

i feel uncomfortable being around drunk people

[Guy Incognito]

i feel uncomfortable being around drunk people

yeah, definitely, i sometimes just want to give them all a slap but that would be bad idea.

not really violently, just enough to get them to sort their shit out a bit, i.e stop talking bollocks

[cosmo105]

I don't drink terribly often, but my problem has always been that I just don't know my tolerance. I know that I can only handle maybe two or three drinks max before I'm a drunken mess, but drunk me doesn't know that and thinks she's invincible. So every so often I overdo it and of course have a terrible hangover - but then I'll go a couple of weeks without partaking because I just don't feel like it. It makes socializing at parties and such a bit awkward when everyone else has a drink in his/her hand, so I sometimes will bring a bottle of water or something. I find that I have more fun that way and it's nice being able to drive my friends home if they need it.

What with all my new allergies that have popped up this year I can't have beer, wine, cider, whiskey, pretty much anything fun - only vodka, rum, and tequila seem to be safe - so I more or less stopped drinking. And I've dropped a good 10 or so pounds in the process in just a couple months without changing my (already pretty regular and dedicated) workout habits much. Granted I'm also allergic to bread so I'm sure that's part of it too...anyway. Lately I've been having more rum on Friday nights due to an incredibly stressful class :o but I must say that as much as I miss wine and beer and other delicious drinks I do like waking up early on the weekends and not hating myself in the morning or feeling bloated. And I really like not worrying about whether or not I am ok to drive home. These days I kind of only drink at home unless my husband is driving and we're out at a nice dinner or bar or something. For most parties I stick to water or tea. This is a long post and I've had two drinks.

[ms.peachy]

not really violently, just enough to get them to sort their shit out a bit, i.e stop talking bollocks

Aw, but talking a load of bollocks is part of the fun of being a bit drunk.

Seriously though, maybe it's just my own experience but this changes a lot the older you get. Hangovers don't exactly get easier as you get older, and you have more things to do in the mornings (kids, home repair, business meetings or travel etc) so you just start to drink less and less often, and when you do drink, less in a sitting. And you meet more people who don't drink, either because they are on the wagon or have other reasons for eschewing it and it becomes no big deal.

[Guy Incognito]

i know and if i was drunk i would join in but when i am not and they are its tough to stay on same wavelength

[checkyourprez]

Aw, but talking a load of bollocks is part of the fun of being a bit drunk.

Seriously though, maybe it's just my own experience but this changes a lot the older you get. Hangovers don't exactly get easier as you get older, and you have more things to do in the mornings (kids, home repair, business meetings or travel etc) so you just start to drink less and less often, and when you do drink, less in a sitting. And you meet more people who don't drink, either because they are on the wagon or have other reasons for eschewing it and it becomes no big deal.

for sure.

i still like getting loaded at festivals or a planned party when i get together with my best friends; we all don't get to see each other as much these days.


but looking forward to getting shitfaced every weekend is behind me. my free time is too valuable. i'd rather be up at 6 on a saturday getting shit done then up drinking until 6 ya know.

plus the day after a binge comes with it the hangover. im usually a complete waste of life. and i aint got time for that.

[cosmo105]

^agreed 100% i hate hate hate losing a day to a hangover. years ago i had a hard-partying friend that loved hangover days. she and i went wild one night and the next day after i got back from a hellish nausea-filled morning at work she was still in bed cuddling with my cat and said YAYY HANGOVER DAY LET'S RENT A MOVIE AND GET SHITTY FOOD and i realized she was not the best influence.

[M|X|Y]

hangovers are like nausea induced rainy days that you've brought upon yourself(y)

[Dorothy Wood]

Yeah, I can't believe how destroyed I used to feel so often. I used to like to go to a diner with my best friend and eat a huge greasy breakfast and drink cokes and smoke cigarettes the day after a binge. Sounds awful to me now. Blech.

[checkyourprez]

it was appropriate for a time in your life. it just does not suit it now.

[b-grrrlie]

*stands up*

My name is T**** and I'm an alcoholic. I don't drink to get drunk, I drink by my computer until it's time to go to sleep. I usually drink wine and I can easily down a bottle in an evening. Usually I buy a BIB and it lasts less than a week. I try not to buy one every week as now my income will be very uncertain. (so I've got 25 liters of apple wine brewing......). When I'm out at gigs I usually have a beer or two, not much more as it's very expensive to drink out here, but if I have company (which is rare) I might drink more, but never to get drunk.

[russhie]

I stopped drinking for about 6 months about 4 or so years ago, while I took a particular kind of medication. It was an eye opener in a couple of ways -I found excessively drunk people to be very annoying, and my sense of self righteousness even more so.

I think beyond a certain point it's quite difficult for a sober person to be on the same page as someone who has been drinking to excess, but I also find that people who don't drink can make themselves less accessible - almost as if they are 'above' the drunken masses.

Anyway, now I'm slightly older and getting married alcohol doesn't figure in my life in the same way, but I do still love to socialise with a drink in hand. I just don't want to be judged by those who don't :-)

[afronaut]

I could never stand drinking, I don't know why. I seem to have a natural high tolerance and it takes too much to get to where I want, I suppose. And I hate the taste of all alcoholic beverages. I mean, I like drinking sometimes (like once every year or two), and I have had a few really fun experiences while drunk. But not many.

Some of my best friends back home were alcoholics (legit alcoholics), and it became challenging to be around them sometimes.

I much prefer heroin.

Not that I do heroin, but being 100 percent honest, if someone put a gun to my head and told me I had the choice to get totally smashed on some booze or some smack, I would take the smack any day of the year.

lol but srsly, if you're going to get fucked up on something that is completely toxic to your body, there are substances out there that are waaaaaayyyy better than alcohol could ever hope to be.

[Lyman Zerga]

I much prefer heroin.

that made me laugh

[Burnout18]

If you were my drinking buddy and you told me you quit, immediately I'd think "designated driver"


In all seriousness I have had friends go sober.... I respect that, I let them be. My friends are my friends because we get along, not because we drink until we puke. Have yet to lose touch with any of mymsober pals, in fact my sober friends probably keep me from complete debauchery.

[roosta]

I love beer, and i like going to the pub, but i'm becoming increasingly less fond of being very drunk/hangovers. Oddly, since i turned 30 i have found that i accidentally get very drunk more than i used to, cuz i think my tolerance has dropped.

I mainly hate losing a day to a hangover, which happens more and more the older you get. Even if its not a full on hangover, the general listlessness is annoying.

Oh, and being a non-drinker is pretty hard in Ireland, where drinking is our national past time. Non-drinker's are treated with extreme suspicion, sadly.

I go off booze completely from time to time, and it can get head wrecking in a pub, as the same conversations go around and around and around, etc. You are actually better off ordering a pint (or a non-alcoholic beer) and sipping it, as it doesn't attract attention from the goons.

I think i'll always drink beer, as I love beer, but yeah, trying to wind down the drunkeness.