Sobriety sucks

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Nexxis

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Zakarath said:
1) I don't like the sensation of being intoxicated
2) I see no reason to compromise my control over myself
3) I don't really like the taste of most alcoholic liquids
I agree with this. To add to it, I also don't like the idea of the horrors that happen once you are sober again. Hangovers and the like. I've lived with people who have alcohol problems and many of them wake up feeling sick to some extent. I hate feeling sick even when it's caused naturally, so I have no reason to cause it myself.

On a side note, I am a clinically depressed person and I did take medication during my undergrad years. Having such a condition doesn't mean that you're moping around sad all the time and the drug makes you happy. In my case, depression causes such a lull in energy that I don't feel like doing anything and sometimes, you recognize that happening. As a result, it can make you feel helpless since it's like you can control yourself and that can scare you or make you sad. Medication, at least the one I had, balanced out whatever it was that caused me to have those energy lulls, so I felt up to doing things.

Getting drunk doesn't seem to reveal anything about who you are except that you're drunk and that you might act differently when you're in an intoxicated state.
 

370999

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Aye, but unfortnately OP work and the like forces us to be sober. Kill joys, as a man working in a nuclear power plant I love to come in sloshed and then play with the equipment.

Nah, but yeah there are some times you don't want to be drunk. and there are some times you do.
 

Joshimodo

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Elcarsh said:
There is a difference between making a definite factual claim, like you did, and suggesting a possibility, like I did.
It is a fact that hiding and to some extent, suppressing your actual personality traits and feelings is not healthy and not "normal". Requiring booze to be yourself is a problem.

Elcarsh said:
What evidence?
See above. Apart from personal secrets and the like that everyone has, requiring inebriation to be yourself is unhealthy.

Elcarsh said:
What about clinically depressed people? Is it a logical error for them to take medication, IE drugs, to allow them to be themselves?
Entirely different situation. As someone already quoted and responded to - Clinical depression is a physical, measurable thing. A chemical imbalance and deficiency in the brain. Medication helps balance that, though therapy can alleviate the problem to an extent, but not cure it. I know this because I've had clinical depression most of my life and deal with it.

Being timid/shy/having minor anxiety issues is also treatable with drugs (medicinal or alcohol), but that does not solve any problems, only masks them with other effects.
 

michael87cn

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Jan 12, 2011
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I'll never understand why alcohol has been as long as it has. Especially now, when there's no need for it besides medical purposes.

It makes me feel tired, and sick. Sure... you have a blissful happy intoxicated feeling while you're buzzed, for a VERY short time, as your body fights off the poisons, but you have to KEEP ingesting it to KEEP that feeling, and you CAN'T. Inevitably you have to suffer through addiction and hangovers. Not fun. Not cool.

It can be useful after a hard day at work to calm you down and help you fall asleep, but beyond that, its best to stay away from it on a regular basis.

Btw op - you know about liver damage right? Your kidneys? Do you want to live to see 50? Tone it down on the toxic substances.

Btw there are other ways to have fun... ways that don't damage you.
 

sheah1

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In the last month I have seen some god awful things happening to people I love because of drink, weekly in fact. So yeah, no thanks.
 

Dogstile

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Sexual Harassment Panda said:
Yeh, see...this is the problem with discussing alcohol consumption on a youth orientated forum.

I'll happily have a drink with older people, I won't drink with the 18-25 crowd. You don't have a "cool and relaxed" attitude to life, no matter how much you insist that you do. "Keep up", "don't be a party pooper", "down it!", "what are you drinking red-wine for? You gay?".

What's with the rules? Fuck you! I'm trying to relax here.

As long as you have a ritualistic attitude towards drinking, you'll irritate the shit out of me. I don't want to compete to see who can get the most drunk, or do Sambuca shots, or vodka mixed with energy drink so that I can fight my natural urge to sleep.

A night out drinking is entirely predictable. It's not wild and crazy, it's organised and has obvious outcomes.

At 25, I don't drink much anymore, because I don't want to...I get tired of justifying this to the "cool and relaxed" drinkers. You know, those people who are completely about free-choice yet somehow get arsey when anyone doesn't do what they do.

... I have enough trouble self-censoring myself to the point where people find me palatable without intoxication being a factor. Since I've abstained from drinking, my relationships are less complicated and more rewarding, and my wallet is considerably fatter.

I'm just waiting for my friends to get as thoroughly bored of it as I am.
18 here and i'm already about as bored as you are with "wild" nights. While I still do them on occasion (every month = occasion here) I get really, really annoyed when i'm having a quiet drink while playing pool and some dick will tell me to down it and get three more.

Fuck that guy, I will enjoy my whiskey. I drink because it tastes gorgeous, not because some prick wants to "go wild!".
 

Joshimodo

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Elcarsh said:
A fact? Why, then, you must have some evidence!

I'm still waiting for evidence, since you have provided none. At best, what you are saying is conjecture.

Read what he said one more time. He said that it was a logical error for someone to take drugs in order to be themselves, IE it's stupid for anyone to take drugs that enable them to be themselves when under the influence of them. That is EXACTLY what clinically depressed people do.

So, it corrects a chemical imbalance? Who says alcohol can't do the same thing? Maybe you're suffering from a dopamine shortage?
Who says alcohol can't do the same thing? Well, science and scientists, and anyone who knows anything about alcohol. It's a depressive drug. A downer. The rest is a result of other chemicals dulling areas of your brain.

If you want specific evidence for the suppression of personality/emotions, check Google. There's thousands of studies, tests and facts that will show you in detail.


If you actually knew anything about alcohol or medicinal drugs, you'd realise how ridiculous that statement is. Alcohol intoxicates the brain, and prevents clarity of thought and senses by affecting areas of the brain. This is not "fixing" anything, only masking personal issues that can be corrected by other means.

Clinical depression is caused by a lack of a chemical or chemicals in the brain, so they are not as they naturally should be. Medicinal drugs simply either add more, or stimulate the brain to produce more so that it is back in balance.
 
Apr 24, 2008
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dogstile said:
Sexual Harassment Panda said:
Yeh, see...this is the problem with discussing alcohol consumption on a youth orientated forum.

I'll happily have a drink with older people, I won't drink with the 18-25 crowd. You don't have a "cool and relaxed" attitude to life, no matter how much you insist that you do. "Keep up", "don't be a party pooper", "down it!", "what are you drinking red-wine for? You gay?".

What's with the rules? Fuck you! I'm trying to relax here.

As long as you have a ritualistic attitude towards drinking, you'll irritate the shit out of me. I don't want to compete to see who can get the most drunk, or do Sambuca shots, or vodka mixed with energy drink so that I can fight my natural urge to sleep.

A night out drinking is entirely predictable. It's not wild and crazy, it's organised and has obvious outcomes.

At 25, I don't drink much anymore, because I don't want to...I get tired of justifying this to the "cool and relaxed" drinkers. You know, those people who are completely about free-choice yet somehow get arsey when anyone doesn't do what they do.

... I have enough trouble self-censoring myself to the point where people find me palatable without intoxication being a factor. Since I've abstained from drinking, my relationships are less complicated and more rewarding, and my wallet is considerably fatter.

I'm just waiting for my friends to get as thoroughly bored of it as I am.
18 here and i'm already about as bored as you are with "wild" nights. While I still do them on occasion (every month = occasion here) I get really, really annoyed when i'm having a quiet drink while playing pool and some dick will tell me to down it and get three more.

Fuck that guy, I will enjoy my whiskey. I drink because it tastes gorgeous, not because some prick wants to "go wild!".
I've been to night clubs on 3 or 4 occasions in my life, being guilted into it on each occasion. It wasn't wild, it was mostly just expensive. I don't wanna dance, I don't want to hit on strangers, I can't converse with the people I came with whilst I'm in there, I have to pay a cover-charge at the door and then get overcharged for a bullshit amount of ale in a plastic cup at the bar.

Then I have to look after the drunks and resolve any petty dramas that might occur, then shell out for a taxi. They wondered why I wasn't having maximum fun.

I basically got new friends. I like my old friends, lots of good times with them, but they bore the shit out of me.
 

AwesomeNinjaPowers

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May 31, 2009
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I don't drinl or do drugs or anything like that ( and no I am not a holier than thou crusader I just choses not to do it) so I've never had a sistuation where I've felt that
 

Olas

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Dec 24, 2011
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The title of this thread makes me want to laugh. I've never been intoxicated and I have no desire to be.
 

ThatLankyBastard

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I don't drink and never have...

...although it's a personal choice, my family has a history of Alcoholism and I've seen what it can do. I don't want to give it a chance...

...so I oprefer it sober I guess...
 

Ragsnstitches

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Elcarsh said:
BiH-Kira said:
I used "normal people" as sober people. They are normal. Being intoxicated isn't being normal.
Normal people can get drunk, I never said they otherwise. But as soon as the get drunk, they aren't normal until they get sober.
As I said, the normal state of a person is being sober.
Says who? Ever met an irishman?

Jokes aside, maybe it's when we're drunk that we're truly normal, IE the people we really are, as opposed to the masks we wear when sober?
Might be worth noting that you, as a person in life, are judged by others (when it matters) in your entirety. Your doubts and inhibitions are NOT a mask, but a facet of your character. Removing those NATURAL safe guards diminishes your character, it does not enhance it.

You are the sum of all your parts... good and bad.

The real testament of a persons character is to be able to control those safeguards... not drown them.

]Just as an FYI, I'm Irish (100%, living in ireland and all), and that stereotype you mentioned isn't a joke anymore (fair use though, I have no issue with stereotypes). The Irish have the WORST drinking culture in all of Europe. Not because of the amount we drink, but because of the single minded goal of getting wretched drunk. People here claim to know this or that about about drinking, but I've already seen plenty of people, both friends and relatives, commit social suicide due to reckless drinking habits.

My mother (and most of her sisters), my sister, most of my cousins and a fair few of my once close friends have all come out as alcoholics (though my mother resists any form of help at this point). What's funny is that no one could ever tell this was the case until the recession hit and the wallets dried up, yet drink was still regularly consumed in large quantities, usually sacrificing crucial expenses like bills and even basic groceries...

My mums relationship with my dad fell through recently for numerous reasons... most of which could be associated with their combined drinking habits (though there are more nuances to this then I can possibly get into, or even want to). My Dad confided details about their "casual" drinking sessions they had EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK. It was only when my Dad was out of the job and forced into sobriety, did he realise how much they actually spent on alcohol on a weekly basis (it trumped all the monthly bills, combined, in one week of drinking). My dad has made an active effort to change his drinking habits (with an impressive degree of success), as he describes his old habits, upon reflection, as simply "disgusting" and "unimaginably depressing". He admits that it was a critical flaw in his and my mothers relationship.

I have a friend who was adament that he was aware of everything and was fully in control of himself on his nights out... few blackouts not withstanding. This was, of course, until a video showing some of his drunking antics ended up on youtube... and linked ad nauseam on facebook. Safe to say this was social suicide at it's finest (or worst, depending on the point been made). Within a week of this event, he lost his girlfriend of 2 years, lost his part time job (got linked to his bosses FB wall, and the companies FB wall as well), lost a good few of his "drinking" buddies and as a result, took a massive knock to his self-esteem and couldn't even face his family (who also got the video). 3 Years later, he has a new girlfriend, me and a good few other long term friends stuck around and supported him (we knew his sober self was a better person) and his self-esteem is back to it's former glory (which is actually saying something, the man has limitless confidence even when sober). He also DOESN'T drink, but for special occassions and he limits himself when he does so.

I can't stress this enough... the effort he had to exhaust to change their ways was mentally and emotionally draining, on him and his friends. The "drinking buddies" all bailed on him pretty rapidly due to his new found "buzzkilling" view on his life. While his core FRIENDS stuck by him, with varying levels of compassion and scorn, but ultimately in a bid to help him. He's better without the stuff.

I drink, but I don't get drunk. I didn't start drinking until I was 19, and even then I have never drank more then 2 pints or 1 liquor a night (2-3 liquors on special occasions). If I go out to a pub, I usually spend 3 or more hours with my friends, sharing stories, having the craic and generally just being sociable... but the drink is not the catalyst, the quiet locals are just a great place for mellowing out and chatting. Those who want a wilder night, I leave them to it and go home, content with the night I had. A few of my social nights are down at the pool/snooker hall cum pub or the bowling alley, other nights is the Cinema, mostly though, we crash in one or the others gaff, open some cans or grab a pizza (or both) and catch a film. The nights we have in, the most drink we have is 2-3 cans each. We never get hammered in other peoples houses, that's just simple courtesy.

TL/DR If your reading this first then you have no interest in hearing the flipside of your whimsical and carefree approach to social drinking. But the general gist of my post is this: Drinking is a social crutch and a double edged sword. It's virtues are in the minimal. Where you think it's making you braver and building your esteem, it might, in fact, actually be making you stupid and crippling your social image.

Also, a few Honest questions... I presume you have friends you made through drinking right? Tell me, how many of those friends would you invite over to a non-drinking event? How many would trust with confidential or private matters? How many of them would you go to when your in a pinch? If you answered no in regards to any such "friend" then they are NOT friends... they are ambience to your drinking.

OP: I drink, but I have no delusions as to what drunkeness entails. Sobriety is not socially crippling if you work at it. Inebriation is a temporary and flawed substitute to genuine courage and confidence.

EDIT: By all means, get drunk if that's what you want. I still have good friends who go out on a binge every so often, with no ill effect bar the morning after. Just be careful... the damage caused by irresponsible drinking is variable, infectious and is not easily remedied and sometimes catastrophic to your life (and to those who associate with you).
 

Ragsnstitches

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Kendarik said:
And while clinically depressed people do correctly take drugs, you will note that I didn't say they didn't or shouldn't do that. I pointed out that there is therapy needed if drugging is the only way you can "be yourself". Also clinically depressed people don't actually get to feel like themselves with drugs, it just takes the edge off of things so they can use the therapy and other life skill tools like CBT to get back to themselves. Pretty much all psychiatrists will take that position, find me some that say self drugging with booze is an equally valid therapeutic treatment.
I'm with you on this. Even ignoring the Clinical aspects of drug use, social drinking/drugging is not a character enhancer. As I mentioned in the post above, a person is essentially, the sum of all his/her parts. The doubts and inhibitions are as much a part of you as your sense of humour, your personal interests and even your sexual preferences.

The "de-masking" effect of drinking/drugging is actually a loss to ones character, not a boon. You are essentially numbing natural safeguards when you drink to the point it has an effect on you and when your hammered you've likely shut them off entirely, along with a loss in motor control and cognition. In the wrong environment this can be very dangerous.

Drinking (and drugging) in social scenes are crutches, while simultaneously being Double Edged swords. While they may give temporary gratification, or make you seemingly braver/stronger and more confident, the reality is you are simply suppressing core aspects of your person and likely making you stupid.

EDIT: As I also said in my above post, the true testament to a persons courage and a far greater boon to their confidence, is the ability to control their Natural Safeguards so that it doesn't interfere with your normal everyday life. It's harder for sure... but drink is a false solution.
 

SilentCom

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I rather like being clear-headed and being able to remember things. Of course, I wouldn't know how it feels being drunk because I tend to stay away from alcohol.
 

crazyarms33

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Nov 24, 2011
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Jack the Potato said:
I think this is the first time I've seen someone SERIOUSLY campaigning for people to "be drunk more often." Nothing wrong with getting drunk in an appropriate place at an appropriate time, but most people think people who think being at least a little drunk most of the day a good thing, well, are bad people.

As someone who's never been drunk before in his life, I can safely say I never wish to be drunk, ever. "Oh, how can you knock something if you haven't tried it?" Well, I've seen what it can do to people, and how it affects others, and I don't consider it worth the risk. It probably helps that I'm a loner type, though, so there's little pressure to socialize.

So if you want to get drunk, TC, then by all means, that's your business and your legal right (... you are 21, I assume). But there's no way you'll ever convince me that sobriety sucks. That's basically saying "being conscious sucks" and the only way to be happy is to be drunk.
I agree with the principles of what you're saying, if not the fine details. I agree that being drunk isn't and shouldn't be an every day event and it should only happen in certain places where it is socially acceptable. But comparing consciousness to sobriety is a stretch, to me at least. I do drink and I have been drunk. You're just as conscious drunk as you are sober. You just act like a fool or jackass instead of "normal" for you.
 

Talshere

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Jan 27, 2010
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Well Im pretty much teetotal and have now been for some years.

I used to drink a fair amount but Ive come to the conclusion that by and large drunk is a state of mine. I dont need to be pissed to try and fit myself into a tiny hole under the stairs because my mate didnt think I could. I dont need to be drunk to headbang and I dont need to be drunk to spew ridiculous philosophy at 4am.

It helps if your a reserved person but once you learn to stop caring what people think and just go with the flow its not a hug deal.