tnman1967

I know, I know not everyone will agree but I have to get it off, of my chest once in a while. I need to vent, everywhere I go it's centered around drinking. Went on a business trip a few weeks back, boss recommending a certain hotel because it has free drinks. In the evening everyone wanted to know if I will join them in the bar for drinks. Going to restaurants, the first thing the server says: Can I get you something to drink with that and begins rambling out the days drink specials. Going camping with friends, and everyone brings out the flask. Can I just say that I think it's just pathetic. Yes I know people can handle alcohol, and yes not everyone is abusing, but honestly why is everything centered around alcohol.

ChloeRose63

I get fed up with all the commercials on TV where everyone is happier and everything is more fun and exciting when you are drinking!

LadyBlue0527

Just had lunch at Olive Garden. They now come to your table with a bottle of wine and set it down and offer that you can pour your own. It's changed from that to going into great detail of their wine sampling. I just laughed to myself although it kind of turned my stomach.

Same here, there are many people who don't have a problem out there and I recognize that. Still amazes me how romanticized alcohol is.

tnman1967

Exactly my point, I also recognize the profit behind it all, but it is sad indeed.

aasharon90

Yes, I know alcohol is alive and well and
doesn't seem to be going away anytime
soon. Maybe that's why there is such a
concern to many of it's affects, whether
it be the alcoholic themselves or those
associated with the recovery of it.

I often turn a blind eye to it where
it is available because for me living
my life within recovery, seeing it, being
around it is of no concern for me.

My life is simple, easier, healthier where
alcohol is not a part of it. One major beast
that has been put to sleep and will remain
that way outside sturdy walls and strong
foundation of recovery I built over the yrs.

Time2Rise

Timely topic, as today, May 21st, 2016 is World Whisky Day

polaris

It can get a little annoying, but remember we are seeing in through the Alcoholic lens as well. They shouldnt feel guilty for enjoying some drinks, because some of us cant.

When it crosses the line into glorifying hardcore drinking and alcoholic type behavior, then I agree with you.

least

I don't "go out" much so don't notice it much. And don't have TV so don't see commercials for it.

But the times I do see it advertised, I just ignore it cause it's no longer my thing.

Dave42001

Never knew this! Every day was national whisky day when I was drinking! Don't miss Jack at all!!

frankster

Fact is alcohol is a poison. It is not a food or even a drug in that sense. It should have the poison label on it when you buy it. No one would consider drinking a little ammonia at a party. What's the difference? I'm sick of the cultural propaganda machine as well. Selling the illusion that any amount of drinking is normal or even healthy. I don't know how many times I've seen articles claiming that a glass of wine a day is good for you. What horse****. It's a poison, it's a toxin. Let's call it what it is. I'm not telling anyone what to do, but stating the truth on a matter is surly preferable to the lie. Not one of us would think that sniffing gas is normal. Why? Because it's a poison. I'm taking the hard line here. I have to. I'm not judging social drinkers or going to brow beat anyone, but if they ask i'll tell them how I see it.
That **** is nasty.
I feel much better. I'm glad I got that off my chest. I missed my AA meeting today cause I'm in pain and can't move to well right now. Thanks for letting me share.

entropy1964

Hi lady blue
But don't they also have all you can eat breadsticks? Red robin, all you can eat French fries? Our horrid food culture and how it is relentlessly advertised and targeted at kids? That bothers me a whole lot more than alcohol and frankly has a far bigger impact on individual health and cost to society than booze.

Yeah I get the alcohol 'thing' but most people don't even notice it. I of course can't miss it. But that's because I'm an addict. Those that are overweight/obese probably are very triggered driving down a major road that has a horrid food choice, drive through, every third building.

Ha! This wasn't really in response to your post....just a thought. I remember being in a small town in Austria for meetings with Philips. We got there around 2pm and were starved. There literally was not 1 restaurant or cafe that was open. No 24/7 fast food options. Blew us away. Anyway, rambling here

Priya5

It's too much even when you're not seeing it through the lens of an alcoholic. I can take or leave alcohol. I enjoy cocktails when away on vacation and the very occasional cold one on a hot summer's day, but I'm really just as happy with my usual drink of sparking mineral water! Why am I here do I hear you say? �� My husband is an alcoholic. We have been together 8 years, married 6 months. Prior to retirement, I worked in mental health, sometimes with alcoholics. Therefore, I suppose I don't look at our culture's celebration of alcohol without being sensitive to the issues, but as a very light drinker, I do feel that it is pushed at me. Illegal drugs (despite common belief) are not pushed, but alcohol is! In the UK when I was young and into partying (I'm just coming up to 57), we just went out and drank when we got there. For the past 20 years, pre-loading (where friends get pretty pissed/buzzed at home before going out) is the norm in the UK! When they get out, young adults have already drank the equivalent of at least a half bottle of Vodka, then they carry on. We are actually seeing severe liver damage in people in their 20s!

Cannabis is so much safer than Alcohol and the traditional stuff's (not the skunk) only problem is the potential for psychological dependance in a small number of people. Yet alcohol is such a dangerious drug that it wouldn't be legalised if discovered now, but the multinational, multi-billion pound alcohol industry have our Governments sown-up. Like the Tabacco companies before them, they will have their way due to the mighty pound/dollar. ��

JeffreyAK

What I notice the most is trying to get decent service at a nice restaurant when you don't order drinks. Automatically, the bill and therefore the waiter or waitress tips get cut in half, so the tendency is for them to pay zero attention to you and hope you go away.

behindblueyes

I can't hit thanks on the mobile phone here so I just wanted to say thank you. It's bad in music lately especially country songs. Seems like every song is about beer. Changed the station and they don't even bleep out the word "vodka" anymore.

There is also a very large Bud Light truck that passes my childs bus stop every morning and has beer on the side pouring out of a bottle. I despise that truck every morning.

Mountainmanbob

Maybe it's the places in which we hang around ?

Many drink in a non addictive way.
Does that stand out to only us and mainly bother us in recovery ?

The longer that we are sober the less we notice
or even think about ourselves or others drinking alcohol.

True, addictions to drugs and alcohol has been going on since the beginning of time. Many were blowing it even in the early Bible days.

The main thing today is that I don't drink.
Wouldn't matter if everyone else was drinking, I still would not.

MB

Ken33xx

Because many people find it helpful when socializing and personally I find nothing wrong with that. However, I am happy I can do without the drinking part. I like knowing after an hour or so when the drinks are flowing that I still have a clear head.

Jack465

I agree. It took me a long time to realize I had a problem, and I think this is partly why. It seemed like everyone drank... I just didn't notice how much more than them I was drinking.

NoelleR

Like many here on SR, I'm a believer in NOT romanticizing alcohol, but I'm also a firm believer in NOT demonizing it either.....................:

These may be your beliefs/opinions, but they're not facts. Alcohol is not a poison/toxin, no more than water or salt.

(o:

MIRecovery

The alcohol culture is what it is and like so many other things in this world I may not like it but I have to deal with it.

For me I try to minimize it. I have a dry home, seldom go to anywhere there is a lot of drinking, have a circle of sober friend who I socialize with, engage in activities where alcohol is not present or is minimal.

Yes, alcohol permeates our society but I have learned to ignore it for the most part because I don't drink anymore

Time2Rise

Small amounts of ammonia would make a person very sick or possibly cause death, and ammonia won't light up the pleasure centers of the brain. Alcohol will light up those centers like the Fourth of July and it isn't toxic in smaller quantities; that's the primary difference.

Yes, like many substances we use every day, in large quantities alcohol is poisonous, but in smaller quantities it won't kill a person in the short term, and it has utility because it does create pleasure in human beings.

Pointing out that alcohol can potentially be poisonous is a little simplistic and knowing that fact alone won't stop anyone from drinking IMO. Humans learn from experience, and from experience humans know that drinking smaller quantities of alcohol will not cause harm in the short term, and it will provide utility in the form of extreme euphoria.

We know that alcohol is dangerous and very damaging in large quantities and with repeated use. However, it's important to understand the reality of alcohol's relatively moderate toxicity and why many people see utility in its use. In my experience, using hyperbole to stop certain behaviors is largely ineffective.