frances2011

LOL! For women of the right age, a knowing smile that leads them to think you might be pregnant could get the same response!

Ranger

For folks I used to drink with, one of my faves is "I retired".

Depending on how well I know them, I have also used "after a storied drinking career, I have retired".

In professional situations, I stick with "I'm breastfeeding".

WritingFromLife

I agree that a simple "No Thanks" should be good enough--but I understand why sometimes it's not. You don't owe anyone more than that, however.
Why is it that if someone offers us dessert or a side dish we don't particularly care for, "no thanks" suffices and we don't feel the need to explain, but with alcohol, we feel we need to spill reasons our "no"?

pinkgurl87

Just say no thank you, my parents don't drink and they always say no thank you to people or say i don't drink ( but if they have seen you drink before that might not work). Lots of people decide not to drink who are not alcoholics.

boston019

Public reasons to not drink. I call them public because they may not be truthful, but sometimes you need to just shut people up and send their attention elsewhere.

1. I'm going to get checked out for an ulcer on Monday.
2. Taking antibiotics.
3. Conversion to Islam, Mormonism, or Jehovah's Witness-ism. (Your friends won't believe it, but these take the pressure off of you).
4. Running a half-marathon in the morning.
5. NASA doesn't allow you to drink for 72 hours before the Space Shuttle takes off.

Jokes send their drunken pressure elsewhere, depending on how pushy they are. I have fun with these, as well as with the "So what do you do?" question about my current career (which is actually non-existent). I'm a med student, architect, circuit engineer, you name it.

Seth84

I love that one.

Carrie36

If these are people you used to have drinks with, frequently, saying 'No thanks' is going to seem quite out of character and inevitably raise some questions. I dont think it is intended to be rude but just friends or family noticing a change and wanting to know what it is about. Is this a for now thing? Will we be having drinks again in the future?

I will say though in the beginning I was so worried about telling people, or explaining myself but I received a lot of support and found it easier to be honest about my alcoholism with those that mattered to me

TheTinMan

I've used

I'm alergic to alcohol.
I feel great right now, I want to feel the same way when I wake up in the morning.
I've stopped drinking.

Reset

Thanks. Of all of them it's the closest to the truth.

daviddocum

I can't, I'm now working for NASA and the shuttle is landing tomorrow.

Reset

lol

I have to go kill Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a few hours. Don't hold back on my account though.

FreeDance

In restaurants, at receptions, at formal parties, with people I don't know well, I have no problem skipping the wine. It's just three days in a row, hosted by friends at their house, who I know through my work but still shared many a bottle of wine with... Don't know them well enough to feel comfortable talking about things like this.

It is easier for me to say that I struggle with depression, and alcohol doesn't help my mood. Or yes, that I'm taking meds and alcohol is contraindicated -- people don't ask what the meds are for. (It's true though -- I take anti-depressants that I am NOT supposed to have alcohol with, yet I did, for years. My shrink pointed out it really doesn't work to take anti-depressants and then cancel them out by drinking alcohol, a depressant.)

Chops

Great question. I don't really have an answer except to say that in my first year of sobriety I would say no and voluntarily provide some further information as to why not, some true and some untrue. I was always nervous at the quality of my answer and peoples opinion of me.

In my second year of sobriety I would say no and then provide an explanation if asked. I was somewhat nervous about peoples opinion of me.

Now that I have finished my third year I am able to say "I don't drink" and if asked, the most detail I go into is "because I don't", and I don't care at all what they think.

I agree with other posters, I am continuously surprised at just how little people are really concerned with what I do. I am just not that important.

Good Luck!

artsoul

Usually a "no thanks" is sufficient, but for people I know and have drank with before, I don't mind telling them why. I don't make it all dramatic or tell them I'm an alcoholic - that is something I reserve for this forum/AA/therapy.

I just tell them "I felt like I was starting to drink too often and didn't want it to become a problem." I just say it casually, no "woe is me." I was invited by a couple girlfriends to go out for a drink after a concert 2 weeks ago, and that's exactly what I said. They totally understood and commended me for it.

That's just what I'm comfortable with (and I hate feeling put on the spot to come up with some excuse and then have others say "aww, just come and have one!" so that I have to expand on the lie)........ But like I said, that's just me.

EmeraldRose

It's kind of strange that only an alcoholic worries about what to say or not drinking in a situation. I don't think I'd make any excuse except that I'd prefer soda.
Fortunately, I have yet to be in that situation...I don't get out much. LOL But even still, I don't feel that its their business if I prefer not to drink or prefer salad over steak.
Don't sweat it...our worries are amplified in our heads.

LaFemme

When I quit I told my friends (who knew me as someone who liked my wine) I had quit. I did it as it came up. They asked out of curiousity why and I said I no longer cared for it.

maz09

When I first started not to drink, I actually brought non alcoholic sparkling wine and pretending I was still drinking as I was worried about what people would think when if I said I wasn't drinking alcohol.

I then would make up things like I am on antibiotics, I am not feeling well, I have to get up early tomorrow.

Now I just say no, because I don't see the need to make up an excuse. Also if they are real friends they will understand. When you go through your sober road you learn quickly who is your real friend and who was just what I call your drinking buddy.
And then you realize it's time to move on.

LexieCat

I usually just say, "No thanks."

On the rare occasion when I'm asked why I don't drink anymore, I simply say, "I've decided it isn't good for me."

StayStopped

I notice that after a relapse, I usually have very high blood pressure.

So I've decided to just say, "no thanks", and if anyone quizzes me for details, I'll just say it affects my blood pressure, so the doctore has advised me not to drink.

(Not entirely true, doctors have certainly advised me not to drink, but for more than just my BP).

Enoy

I haven't had to yet....

But my planned response is the truth.

" Thanks but I quit drinking a while back... "

If they prompt for more

"Look... drink does some crazy **** to me, if I start then I'm going to be up on that stage singing and dancing to the DJ and you are likely going to have to carry me out of here and put me to bed... or bail me out of jail for a fight or drunk in public... It's just not a good idea for me.... but thanks."


More or less tell the truth in a humorous way .... ( and yes , I've done all of those things and much more... even strip danced on a speaker for free drinks one night ... didn't help that the bar owner encouraged it )