Life without alcohol in Dublin/Ireland

Uthur

Hi folks. It seems that I'm probably going to have to give up the beer
permanently because of medical problems. I am at a loss as to what
I will do with myself from now on for fun

I have been drinking in moderation (a few beers, a few times a week)
for the 13 years of my adult life.

Can anyone suggest things to do for a newly teetotal guy in Dublin?
I can't go to the cinema every night What else is good here?

Has anyone ever gone through this? How did you cope with it? Do
you ever go to the pub these days and stay sober? Any time I did
this before I found it somewhat disappointing

Please help! My life is changing for the worse and I don't know what
to do about it

garthv

I constantly say this to my girlfriend,
What the f*ck is someone to do in Dublin at the weekend without Alcohol?
It seems all of Irelands entertainment is centered around alcohol and theres not much left to do after...

There is the cinema but you can only go so many times a week......

mayordenis

a friend of mine had to give u for medical reasons,
and i try not to drink all the time usually 2-3 month intervals,
and i go out a few times a week during those times,
there are huge benefits,
1. you tend not to make a tit out of yourself,
2. you spend far less money,
3. if you're tryin to hook up you'll probably seem a little more charming if your speech isn't slurred,
4. Mornings are not a problem

there's many more.

Uthur

Do you think it would be worthwhile drinking non-alcoholic beer? I've
never tried it but I always heard it was rotten? Do they even sell it
in many pubs?

I suppose I could have a 7up/coke or something but that always seems
weird if your mates are all drinking

What am I going to do here?! My social life has been through the
ringer for a number of reasons already without giving up drinking :eek:

Ag marbh

I really find that there is very little to do other than drink in this country. You can go to the cinema/bowling/pool but thats only going to take 2-3 hours and then what for the rest of the night? All of those things can cost 30 euro or more too so there's no winning really?


The lack of things to do will probably be the decider in my relocation to a different country a little later on in life. I wanna be able to appreciate simple things like sitting on a beach and stuff(Not to sound like a hippy).

Ag marbh

Uthur wrote:

Do you think it would be worthwhile drinking non-alcoholic beer? I've
never tried it but I always heard it was rotten? Do they even sell it
in many pubs?

Non-alcoholic beer isn't bad but if it doesn't contain alcohol would you bother? Many pubs will stock non-alcoholic beer but don't expect it in any nightclubs.

Binomate

Sober life is great.

Uthur

Ag marbh wrote:

Non-alcoholic beer isn't bad but if it doesn't contain alcohol would you bother? Many pubs will stock non-alcoholic beer but don't expect it in any nightclubs.

Dunno - I feel weird when I am drinking a soft-drink in a pub. I am
self-conscious maybe? Also I'm not really supposed to drink sugary drinks
either cos I have panic disorder. I am so ****ed!

Uthur

Binomate wrote:

Sober life is great.

Please tell me more! How can I make my sober life great?

Binomate

Uthur wrote:

Please tell me more! How can I make my sober life great?

It's all about your mentality. If you go out try and keep the positive things in mind. If the thought of drinking enters your mind, just pretend you don't want a drink and try and take your mind off it. After a while you will start to value other things and alcohol wont even enter in to it. Just try your hardest to keep a positive mentality about not drinking. Also I must warn you, drunk people will be more annoying to you at first.

Uthur

Binomate wrote:

It's all about your mentality. If you go out try and keep the positive things in mind. If the thought of drinking enters your mind, just pretend you don't want a drink and try and take your mind off it. After a while you will start to value other things and alcohol wont even enter in to it. Just try your hardest to keep a positive mentality about not drinking. Also I must warn you, drunk people will be more annoying to you at first.

Do you go to the pub much and not drink or do you stay out of
pubs mostly? What is the best option at the start do you think?

pauln

I don't drink either, by my own choice.
It can be difficult in this country if you're going to pubs/clubs and the only one not drinking. So much so that after a few years of it I've just got sick of the whole thing and I've thrown in the towel on going out drinking with friends for now. If I have to go out now I usually can't stick it past 23:30 anymore.
Having said that I still think it has more pros then cons and I've had many a good night out.
As was previously said it really is to do with your own state of mind and the crowd you're with.

Ag marbh

Uthur wrote:

Dunno - I feel weird when I am drinking a soft-drink in a pub. I am
self-conscious maybe? Also I'm not really supposed to drink sugary drinks
either cos I have panic disorder. I am so ****ed!

You should try be comfortable doing what you want to do. I suffer with anxiety/panic too and never found soft drinks to bring them on or really higher my heart rate. Are you going through a rough few days with anxiety? I know when im quite bad I go through phases of not wanting to drink and trying to chane for the better in alot of ways.

Binomate

Uthur wrote:

Do you go to the pub much and not drink or do you stay out of
pubs mostly? What is the best option at the start do you think?

When ever I go out I usually drink but I never over do it and I rarely go out. I'd never drink any more than 5 pints any night anyway, most of the time I'd only drink about 3 or 4 pints through out the whole night. Since I rarely and can go a very long time with out drinking, I'm feel that I'm pretty much a non drinker. I havn't drank alcohol since about last September I think. I don't think you should stop going out with your mates to the pub or what ever, but don't feel that you need to stick around for the whole night. You could go out and not drink alcohol, then when everyone is at the stage where they're totaly locked and you get in to the mood where you want to start drinking you could maybe go home and enjoy a decent nights sleep.

constitutionus

me heart goes out to ya mate. life sucks without beer in this country. i know it makes me sound like a raving alcoholic but after a bout on the wagon when i was on antibotics i concur it sucks big time (incidently if your gonna drink soft drinks go for an orange juice instead, its cheaper and healthier )

there really is sod all to do beside that if your not into sports , but look on the brightside, YOU'LL SAVE A FORTUNE:D so maybe you should go out to restaurants for a feed instead with the money you saved

sobriquet

A friend of mine doesn't touch alcohol at all, and goes out a lot. He drinks a glass of orange juice or lucozade for every two to three pints the rest of us are on. Incidentally, said guy acts all the time the way everyone likes to think they are when they're drunk - charming, funny and witty, the life of the party. Doesn't need alcohol to fuel it at all. It's all about attitude, if you go out to have the craic you'll have it. The pints are a crutch for most of us I reckon.

Feck it, do it and look forward to it. You'll save loads, you'll be way healthier and you'll never have the, er, joy of waking up with a hangover ever again.

Captain Trips

GaRtH_V wrote:

I constantly say this to my girlfriend,
What the f*ck is someone to do in Dublin at the weekend without Alcohol?
It seems all of Irelands entertainment is centered around alcohol and theres not much left to do after...

There is the cinema but you can only go so many times a week......

Cycling in the mountains? Swimming?
Picnic in the Green?

THere's loads to do in Dublin, you just have to open your eyes. Problem is that most people presume that what they have done and do is what everyone does and this puts limits on themselves.

How about going on the artificial ski slope?

Binomate

Captain Trips wrote:

Cycling in the mountains? Swimming?
Picnic in the Green?

THere's loads to do in Dublin, you just have to open your eyes. Problem is that most people presume that what they have done and do is what everyone does and this puts limits on themselves.

How about going on the artificial ski slope?

Or walking around town in a panda suit.

magick

Originally Posted by Binomate
Sober life is great.

Sounds like a Bet to me !

LundiMardi

Uthur wrote:

Please help! My life is changing for the worse and I don't know what
to do about it

It's a sad state of affairs when this statement it made about having to give up alcohol:rolleyes:

chump

LundiMardi wrote:

It's a sad state of affairs when this statement it made about having to give up alcohol:rolleyes:

To be fair LundiMardi, I think anyone who was forced into giving up something they enjoyed and participated in for 13 odd years would feel this way. I know I would...

LundiMardi

it's hardly your life changing for the worse though, that's really pathetic! Granted I wouldn't like to give up something i liked, but considering it would be beneficial to me medically as per the OP, then it's hardly your whole world crumbling!!

chump

well a lot of people work hard all week and use the weekend to de-stress and have some fun - now it seems the OP drinks (like many) and is familiar with that social scene. It'll be a huge change for him that a whole part of his life, the fun part it seems in his eyes, is taken away.

It's bad luck and all that but my advice to him would be to play some ball

rediguana

Read that Allen Carr book - I forget the exact name but it's the sister book to his quit smoking book. I read it last summer and went three full weeks without having a single drink. Although I've since fallen off the wagon (I work in the drinks industry), it was the most productive three weeks of my life, though that isn't saying much!

My own experience of booze is that, although it's fantastic fun, for many people the negatives (money, health, injury, shame, ploice trouble) outweigh the positives. I think drink actually CAUSES many of the problems that people are tring to avoid by drinking it.

It's easy to not drink in this country. What isn't easy is meeting friends. Pubs are generally only fun when you're drunk. Drinking Fanta all night sucks.