Anyone not drink and NOT an alcoholic?

nahboisk

I dont drink I did for a bit as a teenager but even before my 18th birthday had given up. Does anyone else not drink just to not get the hangover or feel like crap?? People always seem to ask me "have u a drinking problem" if I say I dont drink!!

sunflower09

im the exact same , hate the feeling the next day depressed, eating junk, theres nothing better than waking up on a sunday with a fresh head and loads of energy!

whats the point waste of money, fair enough now and then and for special occasions!

Thomas_S_Hunterson

If you pick what you drink carefully, you wont get a hangover.

For example, I never get a hangover when I drink decent rum or decent beer.

InReality

Yeah thats mainly why I gave it up.
These days I think i'm a bit alleregic to alcohol since then, as I get a bit of a headache if I have the smallest taste of it.

Anyhow defo don't miss it.

WesternNight

Nope, not an alcoholic. Just really don't like the taste of alcohol. Not worth the money or the headache.

metaoblivia

Yeah, not an alcoholic, just never into drinking. Hate the taste.

tbaymusicman

Not an alcoholic just terrified of drinking:(:(

Must Have Music

i dont drink and never really did!

Roar

i love the way people react when you tell them you don't drink. It's like you've told them you've got a fatal disease. they immediately get uncomfortable and try to change the subject.

it's actually quite amusing to see!

WesternNight

Roar wrote: »

i love the way people react when you tell them you don't drink. It's like you've told them you've got a fatal disease. they immediately get uncomfortable and try to change the subject.

it's actually quite amusing to see!

Heh, indeed. It's like you're no longer fit to be seen with :P

TanG411

Roar wrote: »

i love the way people react when you tell them you don't drink. It's like you've told them you've got a fatal disease. they immediately get uncomfortable and try to change the subject.

it's actually quite amusing to see!

I always get that awkward stare when I tell somebody I don't drink.
Some girls go 'awwwww' as if I'm an adorable puppy. Others say 'What do you do for fun?'. Christ, just because I say I don't drink, doesn't mean I can't have a good time :mad:

Slugs

I don't not drink, but I've never felt the need to drink to a point where I'm drunk. Just don't see the point in it. Alcohol along with tobacco are the worst drugs you can get, there're better things out there for you. Though if anyone asks, I don't drink, saves me the explanation... And aye, I love the stare you get as if "are you ****ing mad o.O?" :P

SupaDupaFly

Larkin91 wrote: »

I always get that awkward stare when I tell somebody I don't drink.
Some girls go 'awwwww' as if I'm an adorable puppy. Others say 'What do you do for fun?'. Christ, just because I say I don't drink, doesn't mean I can't have a good time :mad:

People cannot seem to grasp the idea that I don't like alcohol. Had my fair share of it up to about two years ago, the usual teenage stuff, nothing exciting, but now I don't see the point throwing money down the toilet basically! In exchange for a headache the next day! When I go out with friends and don't drink some look at me like I have cancer, others say " If your stuck for cash dont worry I'll sort ya out"

Too funny.

Davidius

Just don't drink, think it smells awful and was a bit put off by seeing what it does to people in large doses. Which wouldn't be great as I'm apparently known for having an addictive personality. Not into the idea of losing any bit of control over myself either.

I'm a bit annoyed because the people who bother me about not drinking are the very ones that tell me that I have addictive tendencies.

RealEstateKing

go in much for the word 'alcoholic'. Its a word that lets a lot of people off the hook, particularly in Ireland.

In Ireland an 'alcoholic' is somebody who drinks in the morning and pisses blood and passes out in a pool of his own wazz outside the train station. Everyone else is 'grand'

In reality there is a whole spectrum of alcohol-related behavioural problems. There isn't just "Alcoholics" and "Non-alcoholics".

In Ireland many, many people have a damaging relationship to alcohol: One where their emotional growth is stunted and they never learn to be properly developed human beings , because they are drunk for most of the defining moments of their lives: For many (or maybe most) Irish people alcohol intoxication defines the very parameters of their humanity: Joy , celebration, romance, sex, friendship, self-worth, relaxation, all are sublimated into one thing: Being drunk.

This is an extremely unhealthy way to spend your life as a human being, but in Ireland its the norm.

So in answer to the question, am I an alcoholic? In Irish terms no. In the terms of more mature cultures, yes I was, so I gave it up.

DM_7

Larkin91 wrote: »

I always get that awkward stare when I tell somebody I don't drink.
Some girls go 'awwwww' as if I'm an adorable puppy. Others say 'What do you do for fun?'. Christ, just because I say I don't drink, doesn't mean I can't have a good time :mad:

Yeah I have been there.

After tasting drink it never appealed to me.

I also avoid it as it has the power to change peoples mind set. 95% of my best conversations with my dad were when he took beer. 95% of my worst conversations with my da came when he flipped our for no reason after taking drink. I never want any part of things that could make me that manic.

PeakOutput

im not an alcho and i recently gave up drink again no idea how long it will last

there is a big history of alcoholism in my family and addiction in general so im well aware of this and tend to be cautious in that regard

weeder

Im 18, decided recently to stop drinking after about 2 or 3 years getting drunk. I dont have a problem or anything like that i just dont like being drunk all that much and theres no point drinking if your not going to get drunk. about 2 months ago a friend of mine had a session and was thinking of giving up at the time, i went up anyway and within 2 hours got myself so drunk that i forget the whole night but was told i puked all over the place and had to be driven home(unusual for me as i drank a lot less than i usually would but drank fast). friend had another session there last week , hadnt drank since the last time i was there, drank 5 cans, didnt really enjoy them all that much and didnt feel very drunk either, so after that i pretty much decided to give up the drink since ive better things to spend my money on,

_Roz_

I'm 22. I drink occasionally, I've been drunk maybe 4 times since I hit 18 and there's no reason other than that I don't like the taste! Never gotten used to drinking, I hate not being in control of my faculties and when I see people reducing themselves to even less intelligent versions of themselves with copious amounts of alcohol.... it's kind of depressing.

lostdesign

Used to drink alot in college but had a love hate relationship with it, I enjoyed it too much and it hated me, It just didn't aggree with my body. I get a hangover whether I have one beer or ten and its very difficult to explain that to your friends, they just think your pulling their chain.

Decided it was time to give it up, friends still dont understand but I dont care anymore, its such a waste of money and ruins the following day. I have the odd drink, but that just puts me off evenmore.

The day when the average Irish person doesn;t get scared when a friend says there not drinking tonight or dont drink will be a defining moment in our culture!!

unreggd

I only start drinkin when I was 17, not much, but outta boredom / to be a rebel

I never drank much when I start clubbin

Been drunk like 2ice, and wasnt bad at all

Never been hungover

I don't drink as I dont want or need to

Theres too many benefits to not drinkin, and Zero for actually drinking

ardinn

So do all you guys still go to the pubs much?? Or what?

Just curious as to whether you go out and have a mineral or go to the cinema or whatever!

_Roz_

I'm personally more than happy to go to a pub of an evening for one or two pints of cider, if I'm going for a chat with friends. I'll do the same at a house meet. I avoid clubs like the plague, though house parties can be a laugh (and are the only time I'll drink excessively). I'm happy to go to the cinema, I love it actually, but am quite content to go alone so it doesn't matter whether it's a social thing or not. I'd rather meet people for lunch, coffee, dinner, and early drink, a late night in or a cinema trip. Most people aren't into lunches and dinners though.

Whippersnapper

I'm 26 and I've never drank. My parents both battled with the booze while I was growing up and spending weekends in the pub as a kid put me off for life.

I don't go to bars as much as my friends would but if I do go out I'll have a mineral and then water for the rest of the night. Doesn't bother me what anyone else thinks. Luckily, I've gravitated towards company who don't tend to drink to get drunk and might have one or two. I have quite a few friends who don't drink at all.

The culture in Ireland saddens me and it is so refreshing to go abroad and see the healthy attitude toward drink there.

Ruu_Old

I've never drank, I find other things to do. I used to go to clubs but just got bored of them after a while, same old thing. Don't see the appeal of going to a packed room where you have to shout to hear your friends and deal with people who can't handle their drink. Go ahead and get "locked", just don't bother me. Bowling, pool, a film and many other fun places to go.

leahyl

I drink very little also. Just not into pubs and clubs at all really - except if it's a nice quiet cosy pub and not noisy! I feel like i'm old before my time sometimes! I have never been drunk - i just don't see the point. I like to have a drink at home at Christmas or whatever or if i'm out for a meal but that's it really. I've agreed to go out Stephens night with friends but am kinda dreading it as Stephens night is one of the busiest of the year - people converge on the city as if the pubs have been closed for a year! Unfortunately Ireland is not a good country to live in if you aren't into drinking till you can't stand up anymore!:mad:

AARRRGH

Larkin91 wrote: »

Others say 'What do you do for fun?'. Christ, just because I say I don't drink, doesn't mean I can't have a good time :mad:

I get that one a lot. They don't believe me when I tell them I can have fun and happy times without alcohol!

Same with drugs. I don't take drugs yet often get hit with "what makes you happy so?"

I am always soooo close to saying if you need alcohol or drugs to make you happy, you need to see a psychiatrist...

DarkSeraphim

I drank when i was younger like 15 but i haven't drank an alcoholic drink since the age of 16. It was nothing addictive just your regular experimenting as a kid. I am now going on 25 now and i am still not interested in drinking alcohol and i can honestly say i am sure i never will.

I can't see one good condition to drinking. I know some people say they need it to be social and get up dancing but it shouldn't cause you to damage your health just to do these things.

I Hate the feeling of being sick.. fever.. chills.. head ache.. bad stomach.
No energy.. dehydrated etc so there is no way i would willingly bring that upon myself.

I go out like everybody else, i dance the night away. i leave the club on a natural high. i get food. i go home or to a house party. i always remember everything and i am totally in control and the most that will happen is i have a great night and wake up feeling tired.

I wish Ireland had more social events that didn't include alcohol. I mean i think most people drink due to bordom and the fact that pubs seem to be the most accessable places for people to get together and social.

Anyway i'll stop ranting on lol.. Hope everybody is enjoying the christmas holidays

hawkmoon269

RealEstateKing wrote: »

go in much for the word 'alcoholic'. Its a word that lets a lot of people off the hook, particularly in Ireland.

In Ireland an 'alcoholic' is somebody who drinks in the morning and pisses blood and passes out in a pool of his own wazz outside the train station. Everyone else is 'grand'

In reality there is a whole spectrum of alcohol-related behavioural problems. There isn't just "Alcoholics" and "Non-alcoholics".

In Ireland many, many people have a damaging relationship to alcohol: One where their emotional growth is stunted and they never learn to be properly developed human beings , because they are drunk for most of the defining moments of their lives: For many (or maybe most) Irish people alcohol intoxication defines the very parameters of their humanity: Joy , celebration, romance, sex, friendship, self-worth, relaxation, all are sublimated into one thing: Being drunk.

This is an extremely unhealthy way to spend your life as a human being, but in Ireland its the norm.

So in answer to the question, am I an alcoholic? In Irish terms no. In the terms of more mature cultures, yes I was, so I gave it up.

Great post.

emzolita

nah i dont drink either. did all the knacker drinkin I could when i was a teenager, but when I go out Id be first one on the dance floor, and have a deadly night, without needing drink at all. so just dont want to!
Its crazy the difference in price of a night out too!
Plus, I love the taste of Coke so for as far as taste is concerned im sorted there, I dont like the taste of drink.

Floppybits

Im 36 now and I have never touched a drop of alcohol and my mates never put pressure on me to have a drink. they accepted that I didnt want to drink and that was that. When I meet other people and they find I dont drink they ask why? do you have a drink problem?, they cant seem to understand that I just dont want to drink. As a bloke what I find most interesting is the attitude of some women when you are in a pub or club and you tell them that you dont drink, they then distrust you, thinking that you will try to get them drunk to have your way with them. I actually had on ex break up with me because I didnt drink, she said she couldnt handle it that I was sober when we were out. :rolleyes:

Bull76

I for one was never really into drinking, done the usual stuff early on. Then found an activity I really enjoyed. Drink and it didn't mix. Also alot of issues in my family have been around drink, so for that I'm not pushed on it. I have been diagnosed a Coeliac and can't have beers. Can have cider but not pushed so I rather be a tee-totaler. Got the usual replies when I was younger oh your not drinking, ah go on you'll have one. Am No I won't. People realised that If I said No that was it, end of. Can have more fun and enjoy oneself with out been drunk. Don't see the appeal of it. What a waste of the next day as you die of a hangover.

Luluk

I'm 29 and I've never drank alcohol. Seeing the effect of the stuff on people I care about has turned me off it for life. Even the smell of alcohol makes me queasy.

I've had people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I don't drink. One guy even asked me if it was for religious reasons. People here just can't seem to grasp the concept. I worked in the Middle East for a few years and it was such a relief to get away from the pub culture, to live in a place where people find activities other than drinking to entertain themselves, where people enjoy good food and conversation etc. Now I'm back in Ireland I go to the cinema, theatre, concerts, bowling, pool, play videogames etc. You don't need alcohol to have a good time.

lee_arama

Never spotted this forum before. Quit about a year back but purely for health reasons; I'd had a bad flu and wasn't handling even a mere pint well. Decided to knock it on the head and I'm flying for it. No intention of ever going back either.

Certainly had my wild nights out but never had a drink problem, but as with many here I do get odds looks when I say I don't drink.

site

how are ye all keeping?

I am in my mid 20s and have never touched drink. When I was at secondary school everyone in my class was drinking and the mentality was you were queer if you didnt, as a result I didnt go out. This left me in a situation where you were excluded from social circles in the class because you could not talk about what happened "the other night".
I avoided going to my debs because of this. The pattern in Ireland is you either go with the flow or get out of the river. Its not that anyone says it to you but you know people have issues with you not drinking. Ireland is very small minded, it is only when you go abroad that you see this.

Work parties are the worst for me because you have to get on with the people you work with. I am an engineer in the construction industry but the Christmas parties are a fever of drink. The company pays for it so no one holds back on what they drink. You have a meal and then you watch a sight of chaos as drink after drink is consumed. meeting girls is tough too because after a while you are talking to yourself they get so drunk. What has happened to the human race that we need to get into this state to be one with people?

colblimp

I used to drink a lot, mainly before and after football matches, especially on European trips. However, since I started running seriously in October '08, I stopped and I have to say, I don't miss it one bit. I feel it's a waste of money, it's definitely useless calories and I just couldn't cope with the hangovers any more. I have no intention of ever drinking again, water is my tipple of choice now!

Thomas828

The only time I encounter alcohol is at Holy Communion. Other than that, I leave it well alone. I tried different wines and cider in the past but I just didn't like them. What's more, being drunk was such a drag. And reading this forum I see I'm not the only Irishman who doesn't drink.

anymore

A lot of people who know they drink more than they should, despite their best intentions, tend to feel uncomfortable drinking in the company of non- drinkers. Its as if they feel they will be judged by the non drinker whereas drinkers will not judge or notice their drinking.

jay93

im only a teen and i hate drink yuck i just smoke more feck the drink fights depression hangover and its a poison 2 so no tank you dont want to put that crap in2 my body :D:D

jay93

Luluk wrote: »

I'm 29 and I've never drank alcohol. Seeing the effect of the stuff on people I care about has turned me off it for life. Even the smell of alcohol makes me queasy.

hav to agree there seeing people get in the state they do isnt nice at all ill never go 2 a pub cos i hate even the taught of them

mink_man

jay93 wrote: »

im only a teen and i hate drink yuck i just smoke more feck the drink fights depression hangover and its a poison 2 so no tank you dont want to put that crap in2 my body :D:D

yet you smoke?

catiny

I did drink till after my debs in '07.. but regardless of how I say it " I've not had a drink in nearly 3 years"... It always sounds like I was in AA!!!

I gave up because I got sick in the K club...

It's not required to have fun or give confidence in the slightest!

jay93

mink_man wrote: »

yet you smoke?

i do yes but in my opinion drink does more damage mentally aswell and damage to other people i dont smoke a whole lot just a bit even when i did drink even younger than now which was not good just the taste smell everything about it turns me off now ..after drinking not alot im left with a spinning head then i have to puke surely not good for the body:(:(

jay93

site wrote: »

What has happened to the human race that we need to get into this state to be one with people?

i have to say the same what has happened to us that we reck havoc of our bodys just for the sake of fitting in with people there are other alternatives to this poison i find it funny all the damage and money drink costs every1 i tink the world would be a better and happier place witout it

QuiteInterestin

I don't drink, never have, I just never started. In school most of my friends were a bit older then me, and as they started drinking, I thought I was too young. However as time passed and I reached 18, I hadn't any interest in it and still don't really. I might have a sip of a drink the odd time, just to see what it tastes like, but I've yet to find one that I actually like.

Does anyone here find it frustrating that they have to justify their reasons for not drinking (not on this forum, just in life in general)?? If alcohol was invented today and manufacturers tried to get a license for it there is no way that it would be passed. Imagine trying to introduce a product onto our shelves that can affect your central nervous system enought to cause confusion and coma, blurred vision, memory loss, as well as damaging organs such as the liver and increasing the risk of certain cancers, it'd be a hard one to sell! Yet it has become such a part of our society that we have to justify our reasons for not having a drink! Sorry rant over

gonnaplayrugby

never have but i wouldnt be that outgoing on nights out. out of habit at this stage, i just find it boring most of the time and talking to people who are drinking to get tough is hard, my sister and a friend of mine both have no problem being non drinkers and going out(maby its easier for girls )

booksale

i dont drink and i am not an alcoholic.

i used to drink a bit, but always in control. i like beer and wine.

i did drink a little bottle of white wine on the plane to get myself to sleep but not really effective.

no problem to drink 7-up instead of alcohol in pubs (though i dont always go). i am a female.

i think manhood is showed by knowing your limits, controlling yourself and be responsible for your behaviour.

scudzilla

I don't drink and i'm not an Alcy

Used to drink but stopped about 5 years ago, probably had about 10 pints and a few glasses of wine in the past 5 years.

I worked on the doors for 12years and after that, seeing how people reacted when drunk totally turned me off it, also seeing what drink did to a very close family member turned me off it.

I've no bother at all in going into a bar and ordering a coffee or a coke

sciff

scudzilla wrote: »

I've no bother at all in going into a bar and ordering a coffee or a coke

Very healthy attitude towards booze, scudzilla. Keep it up!

I'm also a teetotaller and not an ex-alcoholic. I quit completely and forever 5 years ago, and had no single drink since. No intention to have one too.

When you meet the right kind of information about alcohol and compare it to what you see in life, you simply can't continue to literally poison yourself and get only an illusion of benefit. It's not the alcohol that makes people happy, it's those occasions themselves that are enjoyable, but which for the reasons unknown by most people are being associated with alcohol.

To drinkers: If you are curious enough, read the article I've attached below. It gives an explanation why we feel "highs" after having a drink. What actually happens in our brains.

I also recommend reading a book called "Easy Way to Control Alcohol" by the famous Allen Carr. It's not for alcoholics, it's for those, who start to doubt their drinking patterns and want to gain full control over them.

Best regards

Yan