Notices

Drinking in society

Old 06-12-2012, 09:23 PM
  # 1 (permalink)  
lillyknitting
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Loughton, Essex, England
Posts: 638
Drinking in society

Having just come back from a short holiday with friends who are "normal drinkers" quite honestly I am amazed at the amount that so called normal people do drink. Perhaps not so much the quantity but definitely the regularity in which peeps have to have their "fix", and the whole lifestyle, chat, etc surrounding the booze. Ie "oh well it's my first drink of the day" etc. There was never ever an evening when anyone, except for me of course, that did not partake in a bottle of booze or whatever with varying degrees of hangover or functionality the whole holiday through. One guy even ordered a bottle of wine which he DIDN'T LIKE and still continued to drink it. It seems I live in a constantly alcohol soaked society. Any thoughts or comments from you peeps please.
lillyknitting is offline  
Old 06-12-2012, 10:15 PM
  # 2 (permalink)  
Member
 
Nepsis1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 6
I read somewhere that if alcohol were to be discovered today, it would be illegal straight away.
Yet this powerful drug is widely accepted by society. I don't understand why, but then again I don't understand people who are able to have 1 glass of wine and then quit.
Guess my alcoholic brain is a bit warped and biased when it comes to this subject since controlled and enjoyable drinking has never been an option for me from the start.
Nepsis1 is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 06:05 AM
  # 3 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada. About as far south as you can get
Posts: 4,768
Originally Posted by Nepsis1 View Post
Yet this powerful drug is widely accepted by society. I don't understand why,
Money. Same as tobacco.

All the best.

Bob R
2granddaughters is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 06:21 AM
  # 4 (permalink)  
Guest
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 557
Money, as someone else said, is definitely the reason.

An interesting experiment that I did, with my AA sponsor close, was to go to an event where there was lots of drinking, but instead of watching how much they drank, I had to watch the changes in them. I picked a table to watch, and then observed the people (without being weird about it) from the time they walked in sober, until towards the end of the event. This was to show me the changes that I went through when I drank.

Just think of this holiday experience as a case of "There but for the Grace of God, go I" or however else you choose to look at the makeup of the Universe.
FredG is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 06:50 AM
  # 5 (permalink)  
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
 
CarolD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Good to know you came home with your sobriety still intact..

Gee I don't know anyone who is a normal drinker...according to the US Center for Disease Control..
..a moderate drinker is a male who has no more than 2 per day...and it's 1 for women

A drink is a 12 oz. beer-5oz. wine and or 1 1/2 oz. spirits

My opinion....why bother?

The point of media slant is to sell a product..to make us feel
part of a group....search for something "special"

Well...I am a part of a special group...we don't use alcohol
I live with purpose and joy each day....
The natural high of life with a clear head works great for me
and it can for anyone else willing to do the work.
CarolD is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 06:55 AM
  # 6 (permalink)  
Member
 
Someguy23's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 328
I don't think money is the reason alcohol is socially accepted, or in any case not the main one.

Some of it is social inertia but I think the main reason is that, for a relatively strong psychoactive, alcohol is extremely easy to make using ingredients which cannot be controlled.

I did homebrewing for awhile. All you really need is some form of sugar, a few chemicals (all of whom are contained in grapes or raisins) and yeast (bread yeast is fine, even wild/airborne yeast can do). Leave it alone a month, strain and you're done...
When you think about it, I should be in favor of prohibition. I'd make a fortune.

In fact, in the Balkans (where I come from) there's a long tradition of homemade hard liquor.

I think society's approval of alcohol is just a case of "if you can't beat it, join it".
Someguy23 is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 07:17 AM
  # 7 (permalink)  
Member
 
DarkDays's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: London
Posts: 1,384
Uk, sinking in alcohell. Domestic Problems/murders/violent assaults/sex attacks/Death by Drunk driving, the list is endless. Only have to read our Tabloids, every day there's stories of destruction caused by this dangerous drug, yet the same newspapers carry full page adverts advertising it.

I am starting to think its a conspiracy to keep the masses Drunk and drugged and feed them a diet of c/list celeb television and Football so they wont start questioning the real world around them.

One guy even ordered a bottle of wine which he DIDN'T LIKE and still continued to drink it

Of course he will, hes addicted to a Hard Drug .
DarkDays is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 07:18 AM
  # 8 (permalink)  
Member
 
tomsteve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
i went to my 1st concert in sobriety a few years ago. crosby, still, and nash. yup, there was drinking, but i chose to look around and see how many poeple there were NOT drinking. quite a few!
if i look for alcohol consumption wherever i go, i will see it. if i look for people not drinking and having fun, i will see it.
tomsteve is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 07:23 AM
  # 9 (permalink)  
~sb
 
sugarbear1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,951
Drinking something they don't like is more along the lines of alcoholic drinking. A real normal drinker has maybe half a glass and doesn't look forward to the first one, at least the people I know don't make a big deal of drinking. And rarely do they have a hangover from drinking, when they are a "normie."
sugarbear1 is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 07:29 AM
  # 10 (permalink)  
Member
 
SOBERINNEPA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Near Scranton PA
Posts: 424
I think it's like buying a Volkswagen. You never notice the other ones on the road until you're driving one. But in reverse. You never really notice how other people drink until you stop.

And really, is it any of my business? Not unless they ask for help. I have plenty to worry about on my side of the street.
SOBERINNEPA is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 07:34 AM
  # 11 (permalink)  
1000 Post Club
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 2,284
I don't think drinking like an alcoholic or the way I drank is accepted in any society. Stumbling around town drunk in the middle of the day is not accepted. I've been refused alcohol when I tried buying many times by the clerk because I was too drunk. Driving drunk and getting multiple DUI's is not accepted in todays society anymore either.
Justfor1 is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 01:18 PM
  # 12 (permalink)  
Laozi Old Man
 
Boleo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by lillyknitting View Post
...I am amazed at the amount that so called normal people do drink.
Perhaps your idea of "normal" has been jaded by years of excessive drinking. Looking back on my experience, I called everyone "normal" who drank less than I did. Including the ones who were on the same road to alcoholism as I was on. Just at a different mile-marker.

Don't be surprised if the majority of them end up in recovery, rehab or worse.
Boleo is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 02:15 PM
  # 13 (permalink)  
Member
 
hypochondriac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5,678
I think there's a really fine line between normal drinker/problem drinker/alcoholic. Bear in mind though that these people were on holiday and this wasn't necessarily their normal drinking habits. When I went out with friends I rarely drank more than anyone else but then they probably didn't carry on drinking when they got home.. my social drinking was only the tip of the iceberg. Don't let other peoples seemingly extreme drinking habits make you think yours were normal too. I still slightly obsess about other peoples drinking habits a bit and they're all potential alcoholics to me right now. I find it's best just to focus on my own relationship to alcohol.

That said, I think that the way drinking is normalized in society is a major problem, especially in the UK. I really don't think being sober for longer is going to make me stop noticing that.
hypochondriac is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 04:25 PM
  # 14 (permalink)  
Member
 
kittycat3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,308
hi lilly, I can sympathize. I am recently divorced from a family of major drinkers where I frequently was the ONLY one not partaking. Even though I wouldn't call any of them alcoholic, some of them were very alcohol dependent and eventually could become alcoholic. I agree with the other posters about noticing the non-drinkers, in sobriety I am sometimes still amazed at how many people just don't drink. Ideally I would be able to take all of the drinking in stride, after all they are the ones harming their bodies, etc, not me, but I also think it's important to find friends / camraderie with non-drinkers or non-abusive drinkers. It never bothers me to sit at dinner with a friend having a glass of wine, but to sit with friends having bottles and bottles of wine gets old. Eventually they are all not just tipsy but drunk.
You can't always avoid hanging out with heavy drinkers, but do your best to find some people you can connect with or you may be likely to start abusing again.
kittycat3 is offline  
Old 06-13-2012, 05:12 PM
  # 15 (permalink)  
Member
 
Sudz No More's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Poconos PA
Posts: 1,544
I find it awkward when I encounter friends at work that talk about how they got ripped the night before or just that they drank two bottles of wine. I always play along but don't offer too much back. They might say they like a certain type and I will agree or disagree based on my actual knowledge but I won't divulge my past drinking to them.

If they mention a hangover I will suggest things that help but I never tell them it is from direct experience. I have never bothered to tell them that I am an Alcoholic although my closest work friends and my Boss know.

We live in a society of addicts, whether they are addicted to Alcohol or cigarettes, Snacks or Soda or Coffee there is more than enough addictive things to go around.

I am trying to get addicted to healthy habits but I am nonetheless participating in our addictive society when I do even healthy things.
Sudz No More is offline  

Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off




All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:12 PM.