Anyone here not drink alcohol at all?

[L A Woman]

This thread is going to sink like a stone. :-)

I haven't had a drink of alcohol in quite some time and don't really want to take it up again because I have a very bad family history of alcoholism and I was starting to display some of those patterns. But this will be the first football and holiday season without it and I am worried about handling some of my social and family events. I will likely be the only non-drinker.

Anyone have experience in this area?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. Just drink soda.

IF anyone gives you hell, tell them how man carbs there are in alcohol and change the subject. Most people don't care if you drink or not. I don't drink anymore. I really don't like the way it makes me feel anymore.
Duckie

[GalleryGod]

17. I'm with you.

I like a glass of GOOD wine on a special occasion...but drinking lost it's appeal to me when Reagan was in the White House.

[AlCzervik]

2. i don't drink much, about 3 times a year i have a vodka and soda

my standard reply if anyone asks me why i'm not drinking is "someone needs to stay sober"

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. Me.

Not for that reason, but mostly because I've never liked the taste.

You can do this L A Woman. From your posts you seem a very strong person. Put the emphasis on the season. Make fancy alcohol free concoctions for yourself. And, most of all, be proud for believing in yourself. :hug:

[RetroLounge]

4. I qualify...

Haven't had a drink in 16 years...

:hi:

You can do it...

RL

[femmocrat]

5. Me.

It interacts with my meds. I haven't had a drink in years. Don't miss it either... very high in calories and causes migraines.

[oneighty]

6. Life without alcohol

is much more fun and real and sweet. Cheaper too.

180

[lizziegrace]

7. Very rarely, if ever

It's not advised with some of the meds I'm on and like Mrs.G, I don't like the taste much. It's no big deal to me. I order what I want (non-alcoholic)and the people with me usually don't even notice.

:hug:

[L A Woman]

8. Thanks you guys...

I think the hardest part is feeling like I'm the only one. Now I know better.

Thank you. :loveya:

[last_texas_dem]

9. I basically don't drink

I haven't had a drink since I had a couple back in June, but before that I went for almost two years w/o one. (I'm twenty-three years old, which I guess makes it even weirder.) I don't have any real moral objection to drinking, but it just doesn't appeal to me. I hate feeling like I'm doing something just because everyone else does, which it seems is the reason for drinking for far too many people. I enjoy the mellowing-out effect of a couple of drinks, but I hate the feeling that I'm not really being myself, and letting alcohol influence how I act. I don't like alcohol's effect on me overall, in that it lifts me up temporarily, but often makes me feel depressed on the way down. Plus, I don't like being around people who don't know when to stop, and drink to the point that they become rude, angry, obnoxious, etc.

[hippywife]

10. You're definitely not alone.

Neither my husband or I drink anymore at all and haven't for years. :hi:

[retread]

11. It gets easier. Eventually one learns to assimilate all the input that

was previously filtered and blocked by alcohol-dulled senses. I have found I much prefer the warmth and closeness I have with my cherished ones that alcohol had prevented.

When you see how the drinkers look and behave and get over the embarrassment of knowing that was once you, you will have to work hard to suppress the feelings of superiority. Not that the alcohol impaired will notice, but for your own sake.

Good luck. I am rooting for you.

[Nikia]

12. I haven't drank any alcohol for a couple of years

With my family it isn't an issue because my family is non drinking, at least at family events.
Here, in Wisconsin, it is a drinking culture and some non drinking new aquaintances don't seem to get it, that not having a drink with them doesn't mean that you don't want to hang out with them. In this case, the best thing is to address the issue.

[hfojvt]

31. drink, drank, drunk; sing, sang, sung; sink, sank, sunk:

think, thank, thunk

Sorry that is a pet peeve of mine, and EVERYBODY gets it wrong, just like the pronunctiation of Uranus.

Plus, I do not drink alcohol either, but it is not a social issue since I never get invited either to parties or to go out drinking etc. I guess it was in high school, but I do not regret not being a part of that. However, you'd think they would have wanted me around, if only to serve as a designated driver.

[xchrom]

13. 20+ years.

the best i can tell you -- try not to trip on it.

just do it.

and DON'T feel victimized by family bullshit.

cause really it's just that -- bullshit.

they can't make you feel bad if you don't want to.

lastly -- i make the holidays about ME - not about what my family expects.

they are my holidays after all - i celebrate and do what i want -- which is mostly make plans that don't include being around the family.

most people though don't seem to be able to do that -- but it's my way.

[Lareina1970]

14. Hi, L A Woman!

I don't drink *at all*. I've had about three sips of alcohol in my entire life. I just didn't like it. :shrug:

[billyskank]

15. I don't

[zanne]

16. Um...I think you have to decide something.

I don't mean to offend you, so please don't take it that way. I only see things through my eyes, and I'm an alcoholic with 28 yrs. sobriety. I think that you have to decide whether or not you're an alcoholic, because to really stay sober, sobriety has to be the most important thing in your life. It has to come ahead of your family, social life, profession, etc. It even has to come before your happiness. (You'll have to trust that happiness will come). Now, if you really think you're not an alcoholic, whether or not you stay sober shouldn't bother you. Sorry if I sound harsh.:hug:

[L A Woman]

19. good point

i have decided that it is best for me not to drink at all, BUT i don't have any intention of going to AA or anything like that. i simply want to devise my own strategies for dealing with the people in my life who drink as a way of life, especially during certain times of the year.

i quit smoking a couple of years ago after many failed attempts. i finally succeeded by coming up with very specific ways of dealing with each craving. same thing here - i need to figure out how to deal with all the specific things that make me want to drink. in my case, those things are actually people!

i feel pretty good about it now, though, after reading these answers!

[pscot]

20. I quit a few months ago

AA is not for me either. The hardest thing, apart from the craving, is the boredom; what to do with the time I used to spend drinking. I've been catching up on my reading. Just take it one day at a time. It's a great life, if you don't weaken.

[distantearlywarning]

18. I don't drink

I have maybe 3-4 drinks a year, at most.

I just don't like it. Also, I have a pretty serious family history of alcoholism so I try to avoid doing things that might potentially be addictive.

[Opusnone]

21. I've developed a strange allergy to alcohol

so I stopped drinking. The only thing I reall miss is red wine.

[eyepaddle]

22. I don't drink

I'm not in recovery or any such thing. I now abstain for my health (I've had pancreatitis--and while in none of the cases had I been drinking--which is a typical cause I am now 100% dry. Just to be on the safe side side y'know!

Generally speaking I don't miss it, but I was a home brewer and to just tank a hobby entirely, well, that kinda hurts a little.

[Haole Girl]

23. My Dear Dad...raised Southern Baptist...has never touched a

drop of it-- in his entire life. I believe him, too! At my sister's wedding, he put water in a champaign glass for the toasts. He's 73 and has never been hospitalized or had any kind of surgery!

I can't say the same...I always was a bad Southern Baptist! ;-)

[ghostsofgiants]

24. I don't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge

[u4ic]

25. I don't

Alcoholism doesn't run in my family; I just find it makes me depressed. If I want to make myself depressed (which I don't), there are far cheaper ways to do it.

There are times I'm the only teetotaler; I guess I've done it too long to have even noticed or cared. I've never felt strange or left out, but perhaps it's just the people I'm usually around. :hi:

[puerco-bellies]

26. Not a drop for about 3 1/2 years

I stayed loaded for over thirty years. At the age of 45 I embarked on a new career and decided that I'm too old to continue to smoke pot, snort coke, and in general party all weekend and expect to successfully compete with the young wolfs with their Cornell MBA's(I was a Geo major). I have never regretted the decision to get "clean". In social situations I just decline if offered anything mind or mood altering. If pressed I will just say I don't feel like a drink/hit/snort and leave it at that. You don't have to explain your choices to anyone.

My S.O. (the lovely Alison) usually has a Martini after work and marvels that after using for so long I don't miss getting a buzz. My head is much clearer. My spiritual growth has really taken off (I native american and will be attending a Bear Dance this afternoon/evening) In general, my quality of life has improved in all aspects, especially in totally unexpected ways. Keep to your guns, and your life will get better.

If issues surface that using masked then a 12 step program will give you the tools that will help you resolve, or cope with them.
I am a member of NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and could not have gotten this far without the guidance I found there. No matter your method of abstinence your life will improve, that is a guarantee.
May the Creator light your path,
Puercobellies

[spindrifter]

27. No ETOH here.

The only bad part is when people bring wine as a gift. Of course, it isn't bad for them--I usually just open it and let them drink it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. Yup

Not for — well, in 23 days it'll be 17 years.

The first "traditional drinking season" is always a bitch. I was really lucky in that I had a bunch of friends who were drinkers, but still gave me a lot of support — no doubt because they'd seen what a mess I'd become.

I'd enlist such support — tell a trusted friend or relative that you really don't want to drink because you don't like what it does to you. Ask them to be your "guardian angel."

If anyone gives you grief, they're not worth making excuses. Just tell 'em you'd rather stay sober so you can watch them act like fools. :7

[Common Sense Party]

29. Haven't touched it since 1988.

Religious reasons, yes, and I never had any great experiences with it before.

I don't miss it at all--especially when I see how much it costs.

[ccjlld]

30. I don't drink

My family has had a few alcoholics including my ex-husband. I just got to the point where I even hated the sight of alcohol. Besides when I was younger, I had a tendency to not know when to quit and would drink myself sick. Plus, I can't drink with my meds.

[Mutley]

32. I drink occasionally

but I've quit other stuff. It's good to have at least one supportive person who can help you out if the craving gets bad.

[idgiehkt]

33. I don't either.

I hestitated to post here because it is purely by the grace of *whomever/whatever* is on my side in the universe...I don't want to jinx myself but so far it's been a good few years...I had a minor relapse in 2001 on some pills and really bought myself some pain with that and I hope I learned my lesson. At this point in my life it's habit not to but I have to say it's easier for me to be around people who are falling down drunk than social drinkers; I don't care to be around social drinkers at all so have always socialized with people who are clean/sober or my family who are religious and don't drink although now we have some burgeoning alchoholics in the younger generation unfortunately. I have nothing against people who can drink but when I'm around the ones who can handle it for too long my mind tells me 'I could do that', so I'd rather be around the ones that obviously can't.

[Blue_In_AK]

34. If I drink twice a year, it's a lot for me.

Alcohol just makes me feel groggy and out of sorts. I prefer the herb.

[Joey Liberal]

35. I gave up drinking a long time ago

Life is much better now. No more hangovers, no more senseless bar-room brawling, etc.

[CJCRANE]

36. I've been through a few

holiday seasons alcohol-free.

The hardest part is that "drinkers" will often want to stay at a social event longer than a non-drinker. So, it's best to decide before hand how long you want to stay at a social event and have a convenient excuse prepared or be with a friend/partner who needs to leave at the same time as you.

The great thing is that you can get home with a clear head and have a good night's sleep and then get up early and refreshed the next day.