Anyone else here a teetotaler?

Vincent Vega

Was a fairly infrequent drinker to begin with, but when I did drink I had a tendency to overdo it.

I suppose I would say I can be fairly anxious in larger social groups, so I would often drink more to compensate for the lack of fitting in or being able to perform as well as others in that area.

Other than that it'd be drinking a bottle of wine with dinner by myself every now and again. I'd almost prefer to shop after 10 so as not to get the urge to grab a bottle. Never really felt fulfilling and i'd always regret having wasted a tenner or so afterwards.

I 'gave up' one night about 3 years ago after an experience on LSD and haven't looked back since.

That said, I'm not particularly against drinking and probably wouldn't consider myself teetotal, though others seem eager to apply the label to me.

Would happily indulge if I found myself in a time, place or with company that I felt I could enjoy it. I definitely have far less desire to drink in general in any case.

Deja Boo

Never had a taste for the drink, nor the constitution.

Seen enough of it's devastating effects to last a lifetime.

.

NIMAN

Not, but for the amount of times I actually drink, I may as well be.

vixdname

Used to drink quite a lot as a younger man, sometimes every night.
I used to work in pubs and clubs back in the day so i saw both sides of the coin.
Eventually, I realised I was losing way to many days to hangovers and generally feeling messed up after too much alcohol the night before.
Dont get me wrong, I had great nights on the beer to.
Eventually the kids arrived on the scene and theres no point in having a hangover at 06:30am when theres a dirty nappy waiting to be changed.
Over time I just got completely out if the habit, and thats all it was, a habit, which, omce broken, didnt have any real appeal to me anymore.
I still have the odd pint now and again but Id probably be able to count those pints drank every year on my 2 hands.

NIMAN

As above exactly, circumstances change and your life changes.

I often think about all the craic I'm missing every Saturday night out the town, the music etc but when I do have a night out, I always find the realization that you aren't missing much at all. If anything.

All that partying, drinking, weekends on the lash, its a young persons game. And that ain't me.

Graces7

RhubarbCrumble wrote: »

I had a Godawful headache one morning after 2 bottles of strawberry&lime Kopperberg the night before. It wasn't the alcohol but the sugar.

yep; the dip when the sugar runs out ! only cure is.... more sugar

Graces7

Deja Boo wrote: »

Never had a taste for the drink, nor the constitution.

Seen enough of it's devastating effects to last a lifetime.

.

My illness causes a bad reaction to alcohol. Like frogs in the brain. Seems an auto immune thing? A lot of folk with CFS/ME are the same.

Uncharted

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

I’ve become an alcoholic in the past couple of weeks. Half bottle of whiskey every evening. Cheaper than the drug habit.

That's the spirit.

Adapt and overcome.
Well done.

celt262

My 5 year old said to me the other day that he can't wait till he is an Adult so he can have a good drink. I wouldn't mind i just get out maybe once a month now for a few pints my days of mad weekends are long behind me.

Have gone to a few parties and didn't bother drinking said i was driving but didn't stop people trying to force drink onto me.

HappyAsLarE

Uncharted wrote: »

That's the spirit.

Adapt and overcome.
Well done.

I need help. But can’t ask anyone.

r93kaey5p2izun

I've had three drinks in the last 13 years, none in the last 10, so I suppose I could be considered teetotal. It wasn't a conscious decision, my lifestyle just changed significantly and it didn't appeal to me anymore. If I felt like one I would have one though.

Raconteuse

Your doctor, HappyAsLarE? AA? I know it's not easy but there's got to be someone you can talk to. Personal Issues here? I know it gets slagged off for being full of people who aren't professionals but there are very helpful people too. Someone who battled alcoholism and came out the other side is as expert as any.

14dMoney wrote: »

I find it a poor reflection of our society that getting pissed is the national pastime. Again, getting pissed is something that has never appealed to me. It strikes me as low level escapism.

Getting absolutely wasted is stupid (although I did it when I was younger) but getting a little merry is just an enjoyable sensation.

looksee wrote: »

Why is it anyone else's business. I can understand someone with a drink problem deciding to consciously go tt, but even then it should not be necessary to have to explain yourself. And there is something a bit prissy about the Pioneer movement - don't drink if you don't want to, but you don't have to join a club and make a production of it. The rest of us don't care if you choose to drink or not.

Some here have experienced other people who actually do care if they don't drink though.

Not a teetotaller myself - three or four pints a week, or two or three glasses of wine a week. That's absolutely loads to me.

Sunrise_Sunset

I have one or two drinks about once or twice a year.
It started not out of choice, but now it is out of choice and I'm just not too bothered by drinking.

awec

NIMAN wrote: »

As above exactly, circumstances change and your life changes.

I often think about all the craic I'm missing every Saturday night out the town, the music etc but when I do have a night out, I always find the realization that you aren't missing much at all. If anything.

All that partying, drinking, weekends on the lash, its a young persons game. And that ain't me.

In my experience this isn't true. The two biggest boozing types you'll find in any pub late in the night:

1. Young people, with no kids or family
2. Older people whose kids are now late teens / early adults and are enjoying having their life back.

It's the people in the middle who stop going out or go out but head home early, because going out needs about 8 weeks notice and babysitters, and 5 year olds don't understand when you tell them daddy has a sore head at 6:30 in the morning.