Drinking

Tiglath

Hazel - I applaud you. Enjoy your clear head and the extra money in your account Saving your booze money is an excellent idea.

marisco_2

Hazel_ wrote: »

I mentioned it to my friends and they said that I would become boring and I wouldn't have as much fun on night out.

The hangovers are getting worse and I'm starting to go away from "lets get hammered on a saturday night" school.

I think you need to find yourself a different class of friends. If they are only able to have fun by getting as legless as possible they lack imagination. Aren't most nights out with them a bit of a blur the following day whilst you nurse a hangover.

Dont get me wrong, I have done the whole going out and getting wrecked stint. Trying to piece together lost hours of my life. I outgrew it all though as most of us do and discovered that you can have far more fun enjoying alcohol sensibly. It doesn't have to be cut out completely just not be the be all and end all of your socialising.

Northern_Princess

marisco wrote: »

I think you need to find yourself a different class of friends. If they are only able to have fun by getting as legless as possible they lack imagination. Aren't most nights out with them a bit of a blur the following day whilst you nurse a hangover.

Dont get me wrong, I have done the whole going out and getting wrecked stint. Trying to piece together lost hours of my life. I outgrew it all though as most of us do and discovered that you can have far more fun enjoying alcohol sensibly. It doesn't have to be cut out completely just not be the be all and end all of your socialising.

I agree with this.

I can't remember the last time I had alcohol to be honest as I don't like the taste of it. I live out in the sticks so my friends always accept that I drive when I go out as no taxi would get up the road to my house. It never bothers me if my friends are drinking and it would never cross my mind to comment on who is or who isn't drinking. As a few people have posted before me any friends that do comment are only putting peer pressure on you. You don't need a drink to enjoy yourself

szam_

marisco wrote: »

I think you need to find yourself a different class of friends. If they are only able to have fun by getting as legless as possible they lack imagination. Aren't most nights out with them a bit of a blur the following day whilst you nurse a hangover.

This, pretty much.

I'm only 24 (nearly 25) and i gave up about 2 years ago. I had a year of partying every friday night, blowing half my part time wage on nights out and 3am ventures to Tesco buying random junk. I had a few after that year, but to be quite honest, my friends have started families, moved on to new areas of the country, and i can have fun with the friends left around without the need of Alcohol. And i also do the, only drinking at special events, thing.

My ex and her friends couldn't stop making fun of the fact that i choose not to drink, she later split up with me because i was not 'social' enough, not sure how making the choice of not to drink is being unsociable.

My present girlfriend wishes i didn't drink at all, but she's just worried i'll hurt myself, but i never get drunk even when i do drink at events.

My advice would be to ignore the naysayers. There will always be people who feel that doing something should be mandatory because they do it and feel everyone else should therefore do it too. The real people are the ones who accept your choices and who you are.

SmallL

Im 21 and have never been drunk, i simply don't like the taste of alcohol and neither does my OH.
Its been hard over the last few years, losing 'friends' at uni because all they want to do is get drunk. I appreciate i could go to clubs and simply not drink, but i don't fancy all the drunken antics, getting drinks spilled on me and getting hit on-just not my scene.
I would much rather stay indoors and play video games and meet up with proper friends for a coffee!

sulkisu

You would only be stupid if you allowed your friends opinions to stop you from doing what you want/feel you ought, to do.

I stopped drinking about 7 years ago. No big drama, I just realised that I couldn't remember the last day that I had not had a drink. I wasn't a big drinker - just a glass or two of wine (ok, yes they were big glasses). I didn't get drunk or even tipsy, but I was doing it every day out of habit. So I stopped.

Initially the plan was to abstain for 3 months to give my liver a break and then only drink at weekends or special occasions. However 3 months became 4, then 5 and eventully I went a year without drinking. I then decided to have a drink and found it tasted awful. I had half glass of wine, which I was forcing down and woke up feeling sick and hungover - the way you feel when you first start drinking. I haven't touched it since.

The only thing that I would say, is don't make a big deal out of it. I rarely mention that I am teetotal. When I go out I just order/ask for a soft drink. If I am specifically asked the question, then I answer but otherwise it's nobodies business. Non-drinkers only become boring if they insist on lecturing others at every opportunity.

sharnad

Sometime I drink on a night out sometimes I don't fancy it Snd have just as much fun. You don't need to drink to have a good time

VestanPance

Much like the OP's boyfriend I'm not much of a drinker. I'm not tea-total, but I only tend to drink on special occasions and even then I don't drink to get drunk.

I have found that many people will view you as being weird or boring for not drinking. Many assume you must have had an issue with alcohol in the past. I just learned to laugh it off. I don't need alcohol to have fun and worry about anyone who does.

Lilith1980

It sounds like your friends are the ones with the problem. You do what makes YOU happy.

I have struggled with drink for years, in that I went through a bad time in my 20s and drank a lot. Life has settled down for me and although I don't drink as much as I used to, I do tend to drink at home more than I did before...I don't go out much as it's too expensive.

This Christmas, my OH and I totalled up the units we'd had...I was shocked and pretty ashamed really. I have put on a few pounds over the last couple of months and am certain drink has played a huge part so I am hoping that in the new year I can get back on a healthy regime. I run and go to the gym so I want to really get back into this.

I don't think I could give drink up entirely, but would like to get to a stage where I can have a few drinks a week rather than a couple of bottles of wine. One problem I have is that if there is a bottle in the house, it's not like I can have a couple of glasses and then leave it, I have to drink the whole bottle. Which makes me wonder whether I should just have none in the house. I think it really has become a 'habit' for me to drink at home. Unfortunately, OH likes his drink too so I think I am going to have to try doubly hard.

Good luck with your challenge

Hazel_

Thank you for all your nice words

I'm really looking forward to it, the fresher me. The cash in savings.

I got all the alcohol I had in my house and poured it away. Made me happy doing it and my partner gave me a big hug (hugs are better than vodka and cokes )

I'm not going to make a fuss over it, I will have a coke when I go out or a mocktail. If any of my "friends" spike a drink, I'll walk away.