Anyone else gradually stopped drinking alcohol?

I stopped drinking alcohol some years ago. Before that I hardly consumed any alcohol at all for many years, but in my college years and maybe some years after that, I drank socially like “everybody else”. But I gradually kind of got tired of dealing with the bad feelings (physical and emotional), so I drank less and less.

And maybe because I drank less and less, even one beer often just made me feel kind of bad, so then I just stopped altogether. Anyway, I’m curious if this has happened to anyone else? And how do you go by it socially? What do you order at a bar? Maybe I’m a little afraid to go to places that has an “alcohol culture”, even if there are some places I would like to go. I don’t want to drink, but at the same time I don’t want to appear weird about it either.

guyrocket,
guyrocket avatar

I intentionally stopped drinking about 10 years ago. I found that post divorce me was drinking more that I was comfortable with. So I stopped.

I do not think I was an alcoholic, but there seem to be many definitions for that word. I may start drinking again someday. But we will see, no plans now to start again.

I am not at all opposed to people drinking. I will even go with you and be the designated driver. But many bars really do not even try to accommodate non drinkers. I have had some fucking awful spicy virgin marys.

I do think that THC gummies are healthier than drinking. But I have really slowed my use of them because I think they were affecting my already bad memory.

mryessir,

Any adult pushing you to drink alkohol is weird (when not yet drank any, I shall prepend).

The coolest thing to do is your own thing. So just pass with a smirk and tell them right out:

I don’t need a drink to think you are fun!

droidpenguin,

Wasn’t a huge drinker, maybe like 1 beer a night at home. I lost my appetite for it once I started hitting the gym regularly. Just didn’t get the craving for it like I used too. Will still occasionally drink socially.

afraid_of_zombies,

One beer every Friday night. A glass of wine if it is offered to me at a wedding or something.

Cannabis is so much better. Just about every sat afternoon.

TenderfootGungi,

I have never really enjoyed alcohol. If I’m at a social event and someone hands me a beer I’ll drink it. Or, if I’m in 500 year old pub in London I’ll order one. But the last beer I brought home my wife cooked with after it sat in the fridge for months. And I have never let myself get drunk.

BilboBargains, (edited )

The safe toxic limit of alcohol is half a glass of wine per year.

Alcohol is implicated in 50% of reported sexual assaults.

Alcohol is a leading causal factor of vandalism, violence and death.

There is no lethal dose of LSD.

LSD is known to be therapeutic for people suffering from PTSD, OCD, anxiety and treatment resistant depression.

LSD is known to produce effects similar to meditation and bring people closer to their environment.

Which one of these drugs is banned in most jurisdictions?

2d4_bears,

I stopped drinking about six years ago. My university had a very “party” atmosphere, and I faced a lot of social pressure to drink during most outings. Being an oddball nerd, I drank for the first time alone in a basement so that I could understand how it felt before doing so in front of others. After some vaguely pleasant spinning about the room I ended up vomiting and had a rough hangover the next day. And that pretty much summed up my relationship with alcohol for the following decade. Have a mildly good to mediocre time, followed by regret. Even with just a small amount. Eventually I had a moment of clarity in my late twenties where I realized “this is not for me” and just stopped. I wish I had possessed the self awareness and bravery in my late teens to take the stand then.

RBWells,

Not really, I used to drink a lot on weekends, stopped when I was 22 or so, because the drunk was not worth the health problems it was causing. Drank about once a year till I was 40 or so, then picked it back up as my social circle changed and more opportunities to host parties, and I am a good cook and enjoy flavors so just got into making drinks as part of food culture. Now I drink a little on weekends - like one drink two or three days a week, not every week, and always take a month off in July, sometimes October as well. This pattern feels good to me. Moderation, I’d call it, intentional drinking of intentionally made, delicious drinks. I never drink anything just because it’s got alcohol, I drink the things I find delicious.

LanyrdSkynrd,

I was a binge drinker. I would buy a big bottle of whiskey and drink until I fell asleep, then wake up and start drinking until it was gone. Then I’d be sober for a while and eventually binge again.

I had a sort of similar gradual experience with quitting. I was enjoying it less and less, mostly just getting depressed and feeling sick from the constant changes in body chemistry. I went from being blackout drunk 2 days a week to 2 days every other week, and then every month or so. At one point I realized I had been sober for 50 days and decided I needed to be done with it forever.

Now I’m at 200 days and almost never think about drinking. I have basically zero desire to drink, all I can think about is how bad it made me feel.

I don’t go to bars or really socialize in person at all. I would recommend trying to find other ways to socialize that don’t involve bars, but I have known sober people who can happily hang out with people who drink.

iamdisillusioned,

My body stopped responding to alcohol like it once did. I was never a big drinker but through my 30s, I’ve slowly stopped feeling any sort of buzz and instead get anxiety and insomnia. I’m also having a harder time handling cannabis, a little bit can send my heart rate through the roof. I’m sure I’ve got some health issue contributing to these changes but haven’t figured it out yet.

Mutelogic,

Hey thanks for writing this out. I noticed these exact changes a few years ago, but I don’t have enough self-awareness or articulation to have expressed it the way you did. I am relieved that my bodies reactions are not unique.

exohuman,
@exohuman@programming.dev avatar

Drinking only makes my health problems worse and to be honest I don’t miss it. I never was a big drinker anyway.

brilokuloj,
brilokuloj avatar

It wasn't gradual, but I didn't make a deliberate choice either. It was during 2020. My fear of covid (I did get it, it was hell) outweighed my desire to go to the liquor store. By the time places were opening up again, I realized my life was a lot more livable without the blackout binges. I've felt really weird about it ever since then, that I don't really have an inspirational "I chose to do this, it was my strength and willpower to get better" quitting story since it was purely from literally not being able to, but I try to just be grateful because it really was destroying my life.

eighty,

similar thing happened to me. i think it’s important to remember it’s literally easier to can’t do something than choose not to do something.

lemmyshmemmy,

Yup. The cons heavily outweigh the pros in most situations.

JimmyDean,

I had way more fun drinking when I was a minor than as an adult. It’s not even about it being “taboo” but just not being as enjoyable to me anymore; now that weed is legal in my state I’ll smoke weekly but only drink maybe 5-10 times a year. I had a couple drinks (for the first time in ~3 months) at a BBQ this past weekend and it didn’t have any positive impact on my evening.

I rarely go to bars anymore but when I do I’ll have 1-2 beers and buy a food item to go with each one. It’s wild to remember I used to have like 6-10 drinks during a night out and eat nothing until I got back home and made a sloppy quesadilla or something.

thesingingcrow,

I stopped drinking about 35 years ago. I wasn’t a big drinker. I was living in London and after a night out preferred to drive home rather than get the night bus or a cab so I just stopped. I would have a glass of lemonade or a coke when out with friends. It only took about 5 years for my friends to stop trying to cajole me into having a drink.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • asklemmy@lemmy.world
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • khanakhh
  • InstantRegret
  • Youngstown
  • ngwrru68w68
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • tacticalgear
  • mdbf
  • kavyap
  • modclub
  • megavids
  • osvaldo12
  • ethstaker
  • cubers
  • normalnudes
  • everett
  • tester
  • GTA5RPClips
  • Leos
  • cisconetworking
  • provamag3
  • anitta
  • JUstTest
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •