About alcohol and fun
About alcohol and fun
The last weeks have been busy with social activities for me, all of which would have been heavy drinking occasions in the past.
I said in a previous post that, by truly not waiting to have a drink, I was able to enjoy these experiences a lot more. Now I’d like to share some insights I had since writing that post.
I used to think drinking was an essential part of social experiences, that it was part of the fun. I was wrong, It isn’t.
I’d be a hypocrite if said I didn’t have fun drinking , but the point here is that drinking was a cause of “drinking fun”, not fun per se.
What I think is that alcohol (and other drugs in general) were replacing the true meaning of my experiences with “drinking fun” (and eventually “drinking not fun at all”). The occasions were formalities, they became opportunities for me to chase drinking fun at any cost. Alcohol was hijacking my moments!
The mistake I made was to believe “drinking fun” was real fun. I don’t know if because of addiction, or because I just always drank so couldn’t dissociate the two, but the effect is the same.
By ruling out the possibility of drinking I was forced to look at social situations in a different way. They have their own intrinsic fun, not linked to drinking at all, and all I needed to do was let myself enjoy things for what they are.
This was hard to do when drinking was still an option (even if a subconscious one).
I hope this can help others enjoy their sober life a bit more, it’s surely helping me enjoy mine!
I said in a previous post that, by truly not waiting to have a drink, I was able to enjoy these experiences a lot more. Now I’d like to share some insights I had since writing that post.
I used to think drinking was an essential part of social experiences, that it was part of the fun. I was wrong, It isn’t.
I’d be a hypocrite if said I didn’t have fun drinking , but the point here is that drinking was a cause of “drinking fun”, not fun per se.
What I think is that alcohol (and other drugs in general) were replacing the true meaning of my experiences with “drinking fun” (and eventually “drinking not fun at all”). The occasions were formalities, they became opportunities for me to chase drinking fun at any cost. Alcohol was hijacking my moments!
The mistake I made was to believe “drinking fun” was real fun. I don’t know if because of addiction, or because I just always drank so couldn’t dissociate the two, but the effect is the same.
By ruling out the possibility of drinking I was forced to look at social situations in a different way. They have their own intrinsic fun, not linked to drinking at all, and all I needed to do was let myself enjoy things for what they are.
This was hard to do when drinking was still an option (even if a subconscious one).
I hope this can help others enjoy their sober life a bit more, it’s surely helping me enjoy mine!
What a great insight. I never thought about that before, but when you articulated it, it hit home the way someone "nails" a thought that hasn't been expressed before.
In a related thought, I think this is why alcoholics get caught in chasing the high. There is this memory of fun, or maybe the absence of fun driving us to the next drink, but Dee drove that home by pointing out the difference between fun and chemical euphoria. Except toward the end of my drinking, there was never euphoria, just a vacant dullness, but I did keep chasing the high, anyway.
In a related thought, I think this is why alcoholics get caught in chasing the high. There is this memory of fun, or maybe the absence of fun driving us to the next drink, but Dee drove that home by pointing out the difference between fun and chemical euphoria. Except toward the end of my drinking, there was never euphoria, just a vacant dullness, but I did keep chasing the high, anyway.
A very interesting chain of thought from MrPL -
Chemical Euphoria - I like that phrase Dee
Why did we chase that Chemical Euphoria - was it because It absolved us of all responsibility? We could do what we wanted in total freedom from any constraints at all, feel free from all our inhibitions and insecurities? - and who wouldn't want that feeling - Well of course there is the downside - the consequences when the chemical euphoria was over. Some of those consequences were small and insignificant, maybe could be brushed under the carpet, other consequences might be far reaching and have implications that alter our lives, or other peoples.
Fun at a price? The price is ultimately too high and the fun is only a chemical thing, not fun at all.
Really useful thread!
Chemical Euphoria - I like that phrase Dee
Why did we chase that Chemical Euphoria - was it because It absolved us of all responsibility? We could do what we wanted in total freedom from any constraints at all, feel free from all our inhibitions and insecurities? - and who wouldn't want that feeling - Well of course there is the downside - the consequences when the chemical euphoria was over. Some of those consequences were small and insignificant, maybe could be brushed under the carpet, other consequences might be far reaching and have implications that alter our lives, or other peoples.
Fun at a price? The price is ultimately too high and the fun is only a chemical thing, not fun at all.
Really useful thread!
Part of my problem was drinking was fun in the beginning but I couldn't see those days were over. I kept going even though I hated it because I had gotten myself trapped. It took away my ability to enjoy anything anymore.
That pretty much sums it up for me. It started out fun, and then slowly turned mentally brutal, happening so slowly that I was unaware of where I was headed.
with exactly this:
1) we think that it s possible to experience drinking fun again (might be true for a short period)
2) we think there s no fun without drinking in certain situations (absolute lie)
It came as a complete shock to me that I was an alcoholic. I heard my brain say "I don't care, I just want to get drunk and stay that way ". That's not who I am.
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