If Alcohol didnt cause, mental, health problems, would you of quit?
 

I thought id throw you all for a loop and wanted to ask you all a question i stated in another thread. Hypathetically speaking of course. If Alcohol caused no health problems and no mental problems (no brain fog, hangovers, etc) would you stop or of quit drinking? If so state why, im very curious to see all the answers and to get you all thinking. :)

I probably wouldn't have quit if there were no consequences.

Do relationship problems count as mental problems?

If alcohol didn't cause any problems, it probably wouldn't have had been a very good solution. Sounds like tap water to me, I would have passed for something that worked.

Alcohol was not my problem until it stopped being my solution.

I used to use alcohol to feel good about not dealing with life.

Now I use life to feel good about not dealing with alcohol.

Well i assume everyone is different, but i was never one of the "mad drunks" or people who change up when they drink, i always had problems afterwards and the hangovers. I cant really recall anytime that i actually acted out because i was so drunk.

Infact ive been around cops numerous times wasted and have had conversaions with them and they had no clue i even drunk at all. 99% of people can not tell im drunk, only family members. But getting back to the point, i meant that if alcohol had no effect on you mentally as in hangovers or health problems, not the overall effect it has on you while youre drinking of course.

Batman
I understand the question...But it does.. Bottom line..

I've been sober for a long time, my life is so much better today even going thru a divorce than if I was drinking.. Hands down.

To refine your question: in this hypothetical case, do we still build up a tolerance for alcohol? i.e. do we need more and more of it to get a buzz? And does it still impair things like driving?

Of course it does, it does everything is always has done. But the only thing different is this time there are no hangovers, brain fogs, migraines, or any health problems, once you start sobering up its done and over no more problems.

I guess some people arent understanding the question (or maybe they are im not sure) im just thinking outside of the box and asking myself and others a question. But i guess alot of people have had alot of bad things happen to them while drunk (which isnt the case for me fortuantely) it was always afterwards the next morning when i was hungover.

Then, yeah I would still try to quit.

Hangovers were never much of an issue for me. But being distant, flaky, depressed, irritable, and argumentative while drunk is.

i quit because it was killing me.

however, the relationships that have been repaired as a result of my sobriety are worth far more than i could ever drink...even with no consequences.

If it had no adverse health effects I would probably not stop.

But if that also includes the stigma of being a drunk / alcoholic - I would stop, simply to remove that stigma.

Also Batman - I also was never an out-of-hand drunk. I just wanted to lay back and do my own thing, usually at home and alone. But that's no way to live life if you ask me.

I've never thought about this particular question..


But I know the answer to this one.. And I bet all of you have the same answer...


"If you could go back to that first drink, would you have taken that FIRST sip?"

I guess we're coming from very different places TB - health problems and mental problems (brain fog, hangovers, etc) were the very least of my problems.

I was a quiet drunk, no police record, no drama - but I damaged a lot of relationships, and I was destroying my life, my body and my soul.

The decision I made to quit was probably the best one I ever made in my life.

D

A question like that makes me wonder if perhaps you are in the bargaining phase of the grief we all go through when letting go of something that was a big part of our lives...

Just a guess.

If only I could drink without any consequences.... ;)

If drinking didn't cause any problems then I guess I would have had no reason to stop, but it did, and therefore I did quit!

If I was still able to be drunk and stupid and useless without health consequences... I still would have quit cause it nearly ruined my relationship with my kids and destroyed my self worth and self esteem.:(

Ok...its an interesting hypothetical.

I didn't get hangovers, no Dui or any of the other "consequences" of drinking...it was effecting my health and I was suffering from anxiety and depression...those were the factors that played a role in my getting sober. That and I hated drinking with a passion at the end...I only drank at the end because I had forgotten how to live and was essentially committing suicide.

One of the cornerstones of my sobriety is to eliminate any nostalgia or longing for booze...so if You could give me a magic pill that did what you said I would say no...I would not drink again.

When I smell it today it makes me want to vomit.

I hope that answers your question:)

With no consequences of any type, I'm sure I would not have quit.

Grammar Nazi in me, I could not resist. I hate it when people say of instead of have.

I think I probably would have, mainly because I was becoming a friggin' slave to it. It sucked up all my mental energy, caused me to isolate and become a virtual hermit except for when I was at work.

I had completely lost myself in the bottle. Hell of a way to "live".

I have said this before as a response to a different post..but it applies here. For sure hands down I would have quit. I was no longer in my body when I was drinking. Hard to explain but looking back at pictures I have this blank stare. Almost shark eyes. I don't care if you take out the hangovers..the zombie effect would still be there. I will never get back some time periods..can't remember some of them. And I have so detached myself from alcohol ..I believe it was another personality that was drinking. I know that is hard to understand as well but this is the first time I have been sober in my adult life and what I am now sober cannot even compare to my drunken self. I don't miss it. I abhor it. I don't want to smell it or be around it. But..thanks for askin.

I have to add this Batman. Never mind. I will save my hypothetical speech.

If I'm understanding this question right then no I would not have quit, because I never had a hangover, brain fog, or migraines you speak of, and my health is perfectly fine.

I was a crazy, reckless, out of control person, with multiple DUIs and I was tired of ruining my life along with other people's lives.That's why I quit, if I only had to worry about the other stuff I wouldn't have quit, because it was a non issue.

The health issues, although they were starting to be a problem, where a secondary reason for me quitting. I realized the only times in my life I ever got into major problems with the law or in relationships were all due to my drinking, then throw in the fact that all I had ever looked forward to in the last 27 years of my life was the next drink, then toss in I was spending over $500 a month on booze, and I was drinking in the mornings a couple of times a week, I feel lucky the health issues were secondary. When I quit I wasn't enjoying it anymore, so no I wouldn't drink if there were no health concerns.

If you still keep building up a tolerance and needing more and more, and it still impairs your functioning when you drink it, then eventually you'd have to be hooked up to a booze IV to keep the high, and you'd be in a constant state of drunkenness. This would make it impossible to earn a living.

Since inability to earn a living would lead to starvation, and starvation is a physical problem, is there some compensating benefit in this alternate universe, that inoculates you against needing food?

If not, I'd still quit.

No way would I quit if there were no deleterious effects. I love salads and eat one almost every day. There are no ill side effects and I am not giving them up... nobody stops anything unless it is detrimental in some way.

I am 11 days sober and I quit not because I wanted to, but because it was hurting the people around me. Now that I have a few days and clear mornings I feel as if I am doing it for me. I would be surprised if I don't have liver problems. The reality is that you can not drink heavily, everyday for 30 years without some reprocussions. If you had asked this question 11 days ago I would of said absolutly I would not quit I like it. It is my thing, but now I am not so sure.

Well for drinking 30 years at least your in one peace. You can walk correct? You can type and react, because there are alot of people right now who are either on Dyalisis, peeing on themselves, ulcers, etc because of heavy drinking, and you are not one of them.

Sorry Batman, I don't think this is the answer you want, but I would quit again in a heartbeat.

For me it's not just about being healthier, it's also about being happier. I'm free. I'm in control. I'm living in the moment, or at least trying to, instead of looking at my watch to see how long I have to wait for that first drink.

Why would I miss being a slave—even if I could be a healthy one?

I am with the others in that I would have quit just the same without the physical/mental piece. The physical problems and anxiety/panic attacks came at the end when I was binging on a regular basis and well....drinking 24/7.

I don't remember how I really felt when I drank since I was - well drunk. It was afterwards how I was ashamed, embarassed, depressed over living the lies and the constant hiding. Working so hard to keep my little secret. It was the lack of self-esteem, drive, ambition. I isolated, dwelled on things and was just a hide in my house drunk. Was no longer a productive person just wasting away looking to restock the supply to keep me sedated from reality. Just a horrible horrible place to be.

Drinking robbed me of who I was. I was not the same person I was prior to my years of drinking as I am no longer that person who drank. Difference is that now I am alcoholic and I no longer drink and have had to do quite a bit of work at getting back to me again and continue to improve myself. I really like who I am so yeah......I would have done it....I hated myself drinking just didn't know how make it stop and change my life...ya know?