Drinking.The highs and low of inebriation

[v]

from a subjective standpoint many users find alcohol harder to quit than heroin and cigarettes harder than either. I think the chart is comparing them on a per-unit rather than per-dose scale, which is misleadingly making heroin have such a high spot. or it may be comparing the intensity of withdrawals. there are too many potential axes of comparison that could be considered "dependence potential" for that chart to be valid without some elaboration

 

[noobcubed]

While medical alcohol addiction is a serious problem in Western cultures, it was never the point of the OP. The point was that alcohol is a social/cultural addiction, that many people, possibly the majority of some demographics, feel the need for alcohol in certain situations, regardless of whether or not they have a dependence on it in general. Thus as a society we depend on alcohol for the ability to socialise and/or relax, even though we are not all alcoholics and binge drinkers.

Incidentally, if we are discussing cultural drug addictions then I may as well bring up caffeine. That's surely an equally serious cultural addiction - how many of us could honestly face getting up in the morning without a hastily-made instant coffee? The friend I mentioned in my previous post who recently renounced his teetotal ways still doesn't drink coffee - he clearly sees it as a far more destructive force than beer, and I'm inclined to agree, principally because while alcohol is only socially acceptable in evenings and at weekends, there is never an inappropriate time for caffeine, so it can influence a far larger proportion of your life.

As for medical addiction and comparison to other drugs, how habit-forming a drug is is, to some extent, unmeasurable, but alcohol seems about mid-range on that scale. Of course, how addictive a drug is is not the same as how harmful it is. Alcohol has short-term physiological effects but they are rarely dangerous so much as embarrassing. The long-term damage to the liver and the brain are more troublesome but only an issue for addicts. It is in the personal repercussions that the dangers of alcohol principally lie.

 

[Kinneas]

"Here are some simple pieces of advice for the young:

Don't drink on an empty stomach: the main point of the refreshment is the enhancement of food.
Don't drink if you have the blues: it's a junk cure. Drink when you are in a good mood.
Cheap booze is a false economy.
It's not true that you shouldn't drink alone: these can be the happiest glasses you ever drain.
Hangovers are another bad sign, and you should not expect to be believed if you take refuge in saying you can't properly remember last night. (If you really don't remember, that's an even worse sign.)
Avoid all narcotics: these make you more boring rather than less and are not designed—as are the grape and the grain—to enliven company.
Never even think about driving a car if you have taken a drop.
It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't ever be responsible for it."

Some words of wisdom from Hitch that I try to stick by when I'm drinking.

Fact is, that without alcohol people feel like they aren't really having fun at these parties/gatherings, so they drink some booze and then all of sudden people feel like they can behave so much differently than before. My problem isn't with what this new behavior consists of, my problem, and their problem, is that they can't act or engage in this behavior WITHOUT ALCOHOL.

I'm not sure why you think people who don't have fun at parties sober have a problem. Fact is, that without alcohol most people find large groups of other people incredibly dull. Alcohol makes other people less tedious, food less bland, and conversation much more interesting.
I can't think of a single time in human history when a party has been thrown that wasn't accompanied by alcohol. The Greeks had that shit locked down 2000 years ago, they even had a name for it. Hell, if you aren't drinking at a social gathering you're the one with the problem.

 

[Snkz]

I dont think its that bad that we drink at all social events. If it helps everyone chill then w/e. We arent all naturally charismatic

 

[Sapientia]

I started getting shitfaced today at 10 am

#beimirläufts

 

[Hipmonlee]

Havent read this thread but here is a story about the time I decided to cut back on drinking:

Basically I got sick of saying stupid shit that I regretted the next day, so I tried drinking way less but my rate of saying stupid shit didnt seem to reduce at all so I reverted to previous levels of consumption.

 

[hard]

I had a problem with alcohol in my early twenties as well, more as a result of drinking to compensate life while trying hard to get into party mood.
And that´s the real problem: Take drugs to enjoy yourself and maybe to enjoy hanging out with other people. Don´t drink if you feel awkward, just move away or go to sleep, sleeping is the best drug for mental downs :)

And on the subject of social drinking: I tend to not care for what others drink and most other people are the same way (here in Berlin/Germany anyway). I mostly start my parties with a beer bottle full of water and only drink a beer or more likely some vodka in the later times. No one cares about it. Never had a problem with not drinking. Just try it if you feel like not drinking but still having party.

Some last statement about the substance alcohol: It´s a weird drug. Quite a diffuse and hard to anticipate effect on our brain, very unspecific, and so on... but I´m weird, you are weird, so everything is ok as long as you chill while taking drugs.

 

[Stallion]

I remember someone else telling me this when I was growing up, and it has stuck with me:

"Drinking is a great accompaniment to other entertainment. However, drinking should never be the entertainment."

I think this is more or less a good guideline. If you are hanging out with a bunch of friends, or you are having a meal out, or whatever, then a few drinks is fine and probably even healthy, although I agree with the posts above that it should never be required (if you can't enjoy your friends' company otherwise, what kind of friends are they?)

However, I despise clubbing. When I ask people who are regular clubbers the reasons for the habits they always reply "Oh, you just didn't like [insert name of club], because you weren't drunk enough". Which begs the question: if you have to be drunk to enjoy a situation, why are you even there? You could be having a lot more fun somewhere else without slowly pickling your liver.

Then there are those people who claim they can enjoying clubbing while sober. I suspect that they are lying.

I go clubbing sober quite regularly, especially when working, and legitimately enjoy it...

 

[Stallion]

I started getting shitfaced today at 10 am

#beimirläufts

 

[Sapientia]

View attachment 8957

http://www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/lrn/mel/enindex.htm

They will help you.

To stay on topic: alcohol also improves language skills

 

[Navy]

I rarely drink anymore. The times i do drink, are the times i go out to the Bar with my Friends and have a few beers. Just enough beers to make me feel Nice. The moment i start feeling that smooth feel around me, I just stop.

The last time i got insanely drunk, to the point where i actually puked and passed out. Was when FOURLOKOS first came out. I drunk 3 cans, and mixed it with Bacardi Lemon. I ended up alcohol poisoned for about 4 days...

It's Good not to constantly wanna drink to have a good time. You save Money, you can probably save yourself from any worst case scenario...

 

[Sapientia]

If you know what you are doing you won't end up alcohol poisened. I drink a lot and never puke or pass out or sth.

 

[junior]

If you know what you are doing you won't end up alcohol poisened. I drink a lot and never puke or pass out or sth.

if you've never puked or passed out, then you're definitely not drinking "a lot"!!!!!! like i mean we all have fall from graces, i can't imagine someone drinking a lot but have never been remotely sick unless your alcohol tolerance is absolutely insane.

i hate drinking at clubs because it's so expensive and once you get going, you just don't stop. you end up doing rounds and so thats already like $50 minimum gone in a minute, and by the end of it everyone is fucked and you don't thinka bout money and you start a new round all over and it keeps going and it's fun. until the next morning when you're hungover and you're piss poor.

in the younger australian culture, we tend to share bottles of spirits and predrink at home/at a friend's place/even on trains lol (even tho it's illegal) because its so much cheaper and we tend to get drunk enough to last the night but sober enough to get into clubs. and then buy drinks at a slow pace while in there. it easily cuts back expenditure from like $150-$200 a night to about $30-$50

 

[Sapientia]

sure i´m from bavaria

 

[Moriarteh]

I'm that idiot that starts drinking because everyone else is, then ends up drinking far more than anyone else for no reason whatsoever. I get the whole social lubricant thing, but people tend to go overboard as they get into the swing of things. I think that's a solid reason for why drinking alone is better

not sad at all, nope

Recently landed myself in hospital after drinking too much, climbing on a roof with my friends, slipping, and falling on a couple of bins next to the house :[

If that didn't stop me from having a drink as soon as I got out, nothing will.

 

[Fishy]

drinking socially is fun; i personally prefer riding a buzz rather than trying to get shit faced and forget where i parked my car, and dignity

i cannot stand people that get so intoxicated they need babysitters. my last shared proximity with some 40s, a dude drank too much, barfed in a totem-pole order of:

KITCHEN SINK
GARBAGE UNDER THE SINK
A PLASTIC BAG IN LAP
CARPET

and then proceeded to fall asleep atop his vomit. ""sighs heavily""

it's difficult for me to get "drunk" and not also get "toilet-cuddling sick," so i don't attempt to do so very often!

 

[Abra Kapocus]

drinking socially is fun; i personally prefer riding a buzz rather than trying to get shit faced and forget where i parked my car, and dignity

i cannot stand people that get so intoxicated they need babysitters. my last shared proximity with some 40s, a dude drank too much, barfed in a totem-pole order of:

KITCHEN SINK
GARBAGE UNDER THE SINK
A PLASTIC BAG IN LAP
CARPET

and then proceeded to fall asleep atop his vomit. ""sighs heavily""

it's difficult for me to get "drunk" and not also get "toilet-cuddling sick," so i don't attempt to do so very often!

Reminds me of the time I had to babysit two roommates when I used to live in a collegiate housing program. They both got royally drunk off their asses. Not sure how, I sure as hell didn't buy it (even though I was the only one of age who legally could). They got in a fight, and a book hit the floor in the hallway of the apartment complex, causing some neighbors to thing they heard a gun go off, so they called the cops. That was NOT fun.

They each had their girlfriends over, too. One of the guys' girlfriends was afraid he would catch hypothermia or something due to the way he passed out and slept. The other was damn near despondent as he was supposed to take a shower. His girlfriend asked me to undress him. I shook my head hard with an emphatic "FUCK NO."

I also remember it was either New Years or St. Patrick's day, and one of them pleaded for like 20 minutes for me to buy them some booze. Sad, sad, sad.

I say this after having about 9 shots of Kraken Rum as I speak, so maybe I'm not one to judge. Also, one St. Patrick's day I had 6 Jager bombs followed by about 5 beers, after which... well, it wasn't pretty. I also had a shot and a half of Everclear before. Never messing with that stuff again. Not even if you paid me.