What's the fun in getting smashed?

[Icimoi]

I have absolutely nothing against alcohol and social drinking, I like the odd glass of wine or G&T at home and will drink a bit more if I go out socially. I also completely understand that sometimes people will go over the top and drink too much and do things they may regret later. But I do find it difficult to understand people who talk about how they specifically plan to go out and get totally rat-arsed, and how they do it every weekend.

So could someone explain it to me? I just don't understand what is the point in planning to go out and spending a fortune on drink, getting so drunk that you throw up and can't remember anything about it the next day but have a horrendous hangover? I could understand it if you remember feeling that you were having a good time, but frequently people can't. And is it really a good time if you are totally embarrassed by what you remember about your behaviour?

I think that adults who regularly get pissed may well have a drink problem, or a life problem they are papering over with drink

Regularly going out with friends having a drink and sometimes getting pissed doesn't equal drinking problem

No - but it may affect your liver.

Eatshit I dont do it anymore, its not appealing if I had a toddler to be legally responsible for the next day
But pre ds...
Laughing til I cried with loony friends
Dancing on tables/cab stands/bars
Kissing random fitties
Wearing dresses that were waaay too short and not giving a fuck
Making best friends everrrr with whichever girls happened to be in the toilet the same time as me
Eating chips and cheese and gravy without feeling like a total scumbag
Recounting it all over a greasy brunvh the next morning

Can you tell I miss my mad single days?

It is very sad seeing all the people that need to get drunk to lower their inhibitions enough just so that they can dance and have 'fun'. In other cultures people can do this without needing to use drugs.

Also Gralick:

It's not uncommon for people to get blasted because they can't stand themselves and/or their lives. It's a relief to literally forget about all the constraints for a few hours. I wish people were more compassionate than judgemental.

This may be true but if you were talking about any other substance other than Alcohol this would not be accepted as normal. Many of the same people talking about needing to go out and get 'wasted' on a Saturday night would be horrified if a friend said to them "oh yeah, I need a couple of puffs of weed / a bit of H to chill me out on a Friday night".

I think there are a LOT of "functional alcoholics" in this country and an awful lot more that are drinking to dangerous excess on a regular basis. Of course it is all harmless fun until your liver packs up.

Having seen enough blood samples where the liver has been fucked because of alcohol, it kind of makes me wary of drinking too much. The liver is a great organ. If it gets destroyed, it's a horrible way to die.

Same goes for drugs. I know enough about how they work to not want me take any. I value my brain.

If we only did things that wee good for us life would be shit

Yes - but alcoholic liver disease at the age of 35 is a really horrible way to die.

"In fact, this level of drinking is a major cause of the 25% increase in deaths from liver disease in England over the last decade (from 9,231 in 2001 to 11,575 in 2009) (2). Overall, alcoholic liver disease accounts for well over a third (37%) of liver disease deaths. And figures show victims are getting younger – more than 1 in 10 of deaths of people in their 40s are from liver disease, most of them from alcoholic liver disease (3)."

www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/effects-on-the-body/alcohol-and-your-liver

And some more stats

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/20/alcohol-rise-liver-disease-deaths

"Health experts have described death from liver diseases in the UK as a growing epidemic. It is the fifth “big killer” in England and Wales, after heart disease, cancer, strokes and respiratory disease. Between 2001 and 2012, the number of people who died with an underlying cause of liver disease in England rose from 7,841 to 10,948 – a 40% increase.

While about 5% of liver disease is attributable to autoimmune disorders (diseases characterised by abnormal functioning of the immune system), most liver disease is due to three main risk factors: alcohol, obesity and viral hepatitis.

And you normally don't realise you've got it untill it's too late

"Verne said: “Liver disease develops silently and obvious signs and symptoms may only appear when changes are irreversible, therefore the identification of people with risk factors for liver disease in primary care is a critical first step in the pathway. Most people who die of liver disease don’t realise they’ve got it until a very late stage. While their life can be prolonged, they can’t be saved.”

I was always the first on the dance floor without having a drink. I have friends who need to drink to feel confident enough to dance etc but I have just as much fun as they do drinking my coke. I certainly let my hair down often without drinking.

Each to their own and all that but many people have tried getting me to drink on a night out as they think it is fun but i'm having just as much fun as they are without spending a lot money or having a hangover the next day.

And yeah, I hate our binge drinking culture.

Going out socially and drinking doesn't mean you will die from alcoholic liver disease

I'm afraid it increases the risks significantly.

Sometimes I'm smashed and sometimes I'm not

Going out socially and drinking doesn't mean you will die from alcoholic liver disease.

Do you think that going out and getting smashed is social drinking?

You don't need to be an alcoholic to suffer the damage of binge drinking though.

I guess it depends on just how much a person binge drinks.

The thing is - many people aren't aware - and then by the time they do realise that their social drinking has given them a death sentence, it's too late.

They think that it's alcoholics who will get ALD. Not social drinkers.

Personally I can't understand why people smoke.
It's their choice. But cancer is a horrible way to go. And to see your parent die of cancer through their actions is horrible.

I lost my mum to a stroke. Probably not helped by her smoking and her regular sherry and wine drinking. She was 49. Oh - and she'd lost her breasts to breast cancer.

I'm with you OP.