Introduce yourself & your "reason" thread

Trail_Blazer · 06-08-2009 03:14PM

It was 23 years before I had my first real drink and got drunk. Between that and age 26, I could say I was drunk maybe 10 times if that. I simply didn't care for it at all. My father's an alcoholic, and I didn't care to follow down that path to be honest.

Each time I did get drunk, it wasn't really fun in the least. Didn't do anything for me. I also used to get stoned (a LOT more than drink) - But since March of this year, I've decided to live a healthier life overall and follow the Straight Edge Lifestyle. No drinking/smoking or drugs (including marijuana).

It's really worked out well for me. I could care less if I never drank or smoked weed again. The whole idea of being Straight Edge is to rebel against the societal standard that "We NEED to drink to have a good time". I think that's nonsense, I don't need to do any of that to have an enjoyable time anywhere.

Brolly · 09-08-2009 11:48AM

I'm 22...I have never bothered drinking...I don't need it to have a good night out so I just never bothered. I have mates who spend about €100 for a night out...I'd prefer to save it and go on holiday every year...Vegas next year!:D

jaycooper · 09-08-2009 12:43PM

nearly 26 havent drank in 3 1/2 years!!!

dont miss it 1 bit!!!

i was the nastiest angry drunk in ireland!!! just time to admit it an call it a day!! best thing i ever did!

angel01 · 19-08-2009 06:31AM

I am 31 and I don't drink anymore. I grew up with my mum who is an alcoholic (and still is) and it put me right off. It ruined my childhood and I love her when she is sober but when she is drunk, I just can't handle it

kelle · 21-08-2009 06:51AM

I wonder will this news item will be an incentive to people to give up alcohol, or at least give up binge drinking.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0820/andersong.html

angel01 · 24-08-2009 11:47AM

kelle wrote: »

I wonder will this news item will be an incentive to people to give up alcohol, or at least give up binge drinking.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0820/andersong.html

I highly doubt it

WesternNight · 24-08-2009 12:04PM

Haven't ever been drunk...can't say I feel like I'm missing out in the slightest. I never liked the taste of alcohol and I could never understand the attraction. Not to mention the insane amount of money getting drunk costs.

I went on a few nights out with friends a few years ago, but they were the worst nights ever. Pubs and clubs aren't my idea of fun...and while I'm happy to sit there with my soft drink, there's just no opportunity to actually have a conversation with people. I'd much prefer a meal out, or anything that involved actually talking to people who are coherent enough to reply.

If I had been interested in drinking before...having to practically carry friends to a taxi to get them home would have been enough to turn me off the stuff all by itself.

cathysworld · 24-08-2009 12:07PM

In order...

-Hangovers from hell

-Dont like the taste of it
-Too expensive

doledude86 · 02-09-2009 07:02PM

I won't lie on this one...Im 23 and been through college and I have my fair share of sessions,over time hangovers got too much and it continued when I left college...its only now since i was made redundant and have to watch my fund's every week that I realise that drinker is definatly not the be all and end all, our Irish culture is too intertwined with alcohol..Now in the last 4months I have drank a fraction of what I used to and think I'm happy with that I only now drink sometimes and even then wre talking one or two pints only on nights out..it used to be a case where every football match on involved heading to the local for a few quiet ones (I watch tonnes of football) but everything is coming together now,Im training for the Dublin City Marathon and have already raced in running races and find it much better, Im heading on my holidays to Bulgaria next saturday I'm sure Ill have some cocktails in the sun alright but it will nothing compared to wat I used to drink,Im very proud of myself, I see this side as a positive aspect of the recession, The Recession makes you think about your life when stuff you took for granted is taken away from you. Alcohol was always too important to me,thats not right

I applaud ppl who havent drank ever or have completely giving up I really do

Be proud of yourself

NTMK · 04-09-2009 03:27AM

im 19 never drank main reason being big family history of alcoholism. I just can't see the attraction.

Skittlers · 05-10-2009 02:56AM

angel01 wrote: »

I am 31 and I don't drink anymore. I grew up with my mum who is an alcoholic (and still is) and it put me right off. It ruined my childhood and I love her when she is sober but when she is drunk, I just can't handle it

.................................................................................................

Both my parents were alcoholics.Father died when i was 12..Mother died when i was 27..My mothers drinking affected me most i couldnt handle it either..I tried to psyically stop her and psycologically but to no avail..
When she died i suffered from a guilty conscience as to why i couldnt understand her drinking problem..I loved her when she was sober, but hated what her drinking was doing to me and her..I was in hospital 5years later been dried out for alcohllism...Angel01 at least you are stopped and thats good..Try Al Anon_ Alateen..I wish i did..By the way, im sober a few years now..

robbie100 · 06-10-2009 04:55AM

Hi all , i m 23 and have been drinking since i was around 15.

Started with drinking in fields etc then the pubs and clubs as i got older and then sometimes at home.

I know that alcohol is something that doesnt benefit me , as many have pointed out here already , its something of a confidence boost and allows you to get away with things that if sober you wouldnt think of doing!

Over the past year ive found that instead of being something that i used to enjoy its become something that i just 'do' the weekends now , a habit thats formed over the years.

I also get very aggressive at times , ive lost count of the amount of fights ive been involved in now and a court apperance.

Also drugs that i wouldnt dream of taking when im sober are part of the scene as well , but wouldnt go as far to say ive a problem i can easily go without.

Its hard to give up the alcohol , as its so socially accepted to go out and get legless , fall around the place etc and th price of booze is never an issue , its getting cheaper by the month.

When i look back at the amount of 'good nights vs bad ones' i realise i can only remember a handfull out of 100s!

Anyway hope everyone here that wants to quit does so and wish them the best of luck!

Rob

themusicman · 15-10-2009 10:23PM

Never really enjoyed it when I did, not that I was ever really a drinker. Was something that made me sad( well sadder than normally) Find life is better without it and the way it made me feel about myself

Nati · 22-10-2009 05:41PM

Hi everybody, have you seen the post I wrote in the Non Drinkers Group?

As I said, I’m French and I’m a film student in Griffith College, Dublin. I’ve spent hours reading your testimonials and I’m really amazed to see the challenges of being a non drinker in such a nation of drinkers. I’d like to make a documentary about 3 or 4 individuals who made the respectable choice not to drink. I hope it could enable better understanding and respect from those who drink.

Please get in touch with me via PM or email if you would like to take part in the documentary.

gilmour · 23-10-2009 05:30AM

Hey...im 28 and for most of my late teens/early 20's i was the typical heavy binge drinker, so heavy that i ended up in hospital on a couple of occasions. The reason for my binge drinking wasnt so much that i loved alcohol or loved the affect of getting drunk, it was because i suffered extreme anxiety as alcohol was leaving my system, so i was caught in a catch 22 situation of calming the anxiety with alcohol which of course only made matters worst.

I touched my last drink sometime in January 2003 after spending the whole of 2002 trying the old "moderation drinking" routine. Have never ever missed it nor needed it, i'm still acting the idiot and chatting women up in nightclubs without it.

Smuckie · 24-10-2009 12:29AM

Can't drink because of dodgy kidneys. One night of falling around like an eejit isn't worth being sick as a dog for the next week or so!

Acoustic · 26-10-2009 05:52PM

im actually only drinking as pubs seem to be the only way to meet women , me being a single bloke have to go to pubs to meet women

yes i know i dont have to drink when i go out , i only have 6 pints anyway

if i had a gf id gladly go to a restuarant and cinema etc instead of the pub

susiej1981 · 01-11-2009 08:17PM

I did the typical Irish thing of binge drinking through my teens and early twenties and I did a lot of backpacking too which involved heavy drinking most nights.

Now I've been on and off it for the past two years. I was hospitalised with pancreatitis because of binge drinking almost 2 years ago, at 26! Doctors said I should stay completely away from it and I would be perfectly healthy. I did for a while but fell back into it and ended up in hospital again. This time I really need to cut it out completely and change my lifestyle. I'm hoping to meet people who are interested in more than getting hammered at the weekends and spending the rest of the week getting over the hangover...Must be more to life!

P.S. Just started reading a book called Wasted by Brian O'Connell, really good book on our attitudes to drink in this country..

caster354 · 16-11-2009 01:48AM

Im an alcoholic so I just look at alcoholism as a disease of the mind and body but mainly the mind and drinking would kill me if I went back so thats why I gave up in the first place. My quiality was life was bad, paranoia, anxiety, depression and after drinking all these problems were worse. After stopping and waking up with clear head and peace of mind it reminds me why I gave up and must never drink again. The clarity in my head and the feeling that Im "well" now is enough to keep me away from it. Alcohol caused total destruction and devastation in my life, personally, financially, mentally and physically ill, not to mention the destruction it caused in my home. Im 26 and Im the eldest so younger ones had to watch me go down that path too which still wrecks me with guilt. I can honestly say that Thank God I do not need or want a drink or drug today and that to me is a miracle and I am forever grateful for the chance at a second happy life. prob rambled on there a bit, sorry

josh3 · 16-11-2009 09:48PM

much like you i gave up about four weeks ago and have never felt better.i am attending aa meetings three times at least a week and find them absolutely brilliant.i was on the same road as yourself castor,binge drinking taking drugs after a good bit to drink and the same depression,panic attacks ect.......im 27 and lucky i hung on to my job,but caused a lot of hassle at home,spending hundreds a week on drink and drugs,for the first time in eight or so years have saved nice bit of money and wake up now with a clear concience.i will never go back to that horrible feelings i had,as its a different world without drink.

D2D · 16-11-2009 10:19PM

Heya, I'm 19 and have never drank and prob never will.

I'm in the minority of teens who haven't drank and it's something I'm very proud off.

No one that I know is an alcoholic. The reason that I don't drink because I don't see the sense in it.

I'm not that sociable but when I go out, I get bombarded by "friends" saying that drinking is great and so on. I don't really have any self-confidence but I have very strong willpower. I believe modern Ireland has gone completely commercialised by drinking. I used to go to the C.I.T in Cork and I overheard a lot of people saying collage life is great as you get to on the p*** everynight.

To all recovering alcoholics, stay strong and have belief to kick it altogher. It could be very difficult, I don't know how, but you can do it. Just keep it at and the best of luck

cyberwolf77 · 27-11-2009 03:28AM

My father was an alcoholic and it destroyed my parents marriage. I choose not to drink because I have no desire to wander down the same path as my father

cazmcco · 28-11-2009 09:33PM

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Heya, I'm 19 and have never drank and prob never will.

I'm in the minority of teens who haven't drank and it's something I'm very proud off.

No one that I know is an alcoholic. The reason that I don't drink because I don't see the sense in it.

I'm not that sociable but when I go out, I get bombarded by "friends" saying that drinking is great and so on. I don't really have any self-confidence but I have very strong willpower. I believe modern Ireland has gone completely commercialised by drinking. I used to go to the C.I.T in Cork and I overheard a lot of people saying collage life is great as you get to on the p*** everynight.

To all recovering alcoholics, stay strong and have belief to kick it altogher. It could be very difficult, I don't know how, but you can do it. Just keep it at and the best of luck

+1 im the same as you, never drank, strange as it may be but never even tasted drink, have never seen the point of it, im now 22 and will never drink.

it really annoys me though when people ask why you don't drink? is there a medical problem why you don't? and cant quite grasp the fact that i really have no interest.......:rolleyes:

mattblacktiger · 28-11-2009 10:59PM

quit drinking 14 yrs ago
in my middles 40's now and having a blast with life
just got fed up with it and felt it was holding me back in achieving my goals plus I was starting to act up while under the influence.
Haven't looked back and my life has been my own, in control and making good decisions.
Achieved one of my life long goals and rode my motorcycle to the arctic ocean in Alaska. next trip this december is a ride down Mexico to Belize, wouldn't be doing it if I was sitting in the boozer
Best of all is the peace of mind.

Good luck to all in their personal journeys and follow your instincts and don't listen to the naysayers , after all there's probably a good reason your reading this section of Boards.ie

jake59 · 29-11-2009 04:48PM

mattblacktiger wrote: »

quit drinking 14 yrs ago
in my middles 40's now and having a blast with life
just got fed up with it and felt it was holding me back in achieving my goals plus I was starting to act up while under the influence.
Haven't looked back and my life has been my own, in control and making good decisions.
Achieved one of my life long goals and rode my motorcycle to the arctic ocean in Alaska. next trip this december is a ride down Mexico to Belize, wouldn't be doing it if I was sitting in the boozer
Best of all is the peace of mind.

Good luck to all in their personal journeys and follow your instincts and don't listen to the naysayers , after all there's probably a good reason your reading this section of Boards.ie

Well said Matt.. i'm at the start of those 14 (and hopefully longer) years of not drinking. it does nothing for me at all except cause hassles for me and my family and i'm bored with it it all now. i'm comfortable with not drinking and i'm looking forward to doing all the stuff i want which i probably wouldn't if i was still drinking.

redenemyjoe · 29-11-2009 08:03PM

Hi, thought I may as well start posting here.

I stopped drinking on the 1st September when I was admitted to St. Pat's for dependancy etc.

I've just turned 21 and I'm so glad I did what I did. Had I continued drinking I doubt I would be able to walk at this stage.

Life is better now, for the most part.

segaBOY · 08-12-2009 06:25PM

Mine are as follows:

-Don't like having impaired senses if I can avoid it
-Hate not being able to drive
-Can't stomach beers, stouts or whiskey
-Can think of better ways of spending, especially since the Government take about 50% of what you pay for alcohol.
-Think it's time to move on from the drunken paddy image, we can still be mighty craic without it.

PeakOutput · 08-12-2009 06:34PM

been off now for about 7 weeks. well it was my sisters 18th at the weekend and i did a shot with her but other than that havnt drank in 7 weeks

got tattooed and didnt want to drink for a few days in case i messed them up somehow lol went out those nights and didnt really have any less of a good time so just havnt drank since.

i have given up for a year before but that was before i went back to college and i havnt been able to replicate that since

i do feel better iv saved alot of money im probably eager to go out even more if im honest and i did go out almost every 2nd night for the first 2 weeks as it was literally costing me no more than a fiver a night

also it helps you having fun when you realise everyone jsut assumes your drunk anyway so you can do the same things you would do when drunk like dance stupidly act the maggot or whatever and no1 is gonna know your not drinking unless you tell them

ill probably drink again i like wine but have no money as s student to buy nice wine so not going down that route.

my birthday is coming up this weekend and i was gonna get hammered for it with the lads but now im not really too sure what i want to might try and go paintballing or go karting.

there are a few things i dont like

1)people who are drinking change how they act around you when they find out you are sober
2)bar men giving you wierd looks or comments when you ask for water what the **** business is it of theirs
3)people calling me dry because im not drinking when im doing the exact same thing they are ie sitting around chatting or being on the dancefloor dancing

Rocky77 · 09-12-2009 01:36AM

I'm 27 and never drank. I waited til I was 18 (wanted to keep the pledge, you see) and when I got to that stage I just really really disliked the taste. 'But you're not supposed to like the taste,' I was told but that to me seems impractical. I don't like the taste of cabbage so I don't eat it, despite the many benefits in doing so, and I apply the same logic to booze.

Does it hold me back? Slightly. It never used to in college to be honest, people seemed to accept it more readily. I was, earlier in the year given the flick by a bird and part of the reason was that I don't drink and she as worried I'd ruin her nights out.

Thing is, if she had seen me in action, she wouldn't have cause for concern. For me, drunkeness is a state of mind almost, and regularly I pick up on other peoples' behaviour and almost become drunk via osmosis. I'm certainly no shrinking violet when I'm out, that's for sure.

Trashed · 17-12-2009 04:48PM

was on medication for 4 months where I couldnt drink and I can honestly say its the best thing that ever happened. I can still go out have a laugh have a dance etc without the effects on my body or my purse. I would have a few quiet ones sitting in with the OH, but wouldnt go out and get drunk.

Id like a 2 week holiday in france more then a whole loada friday or saturday nights i cant remember, thanks!

Introduce yourself & your "reason" thread

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