To ask if you don't drink, what are your reasons for not doing so?

[JustAskingForAFriend]

Chatting to a friend the other day and she was saying about a new wine shed tried and had I tried it. I said no, I don't particularly like wine or any alcohol for that matter.
She was like really? Why?
I said I just don't.
Then it got me thinking.
I used to drink.. A LOT. as a late teen early 20s. So to be honest I think it's the case of I feel like I've had 'my drinking days'. Coupled with the fact of a particular drink made me mega sick (. My fault for drinking more than I could handle lol) it put me off. So I think I've eliminated most drinks as th e thought makes me feel sick lol..
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I loved a drink pre kids but shortly after having dc1 I noticed that when I drank alcohol it made my pre-existing anxiety worse so I just gradually stopped.

I haven't drank any alcohol at all in about 12 years now and I don't miss it. I worry that if I had any it would make me feel panicky again so it's better for me to avoid it completely.

I like various alcoholic drinks, but several years of pregnancy then breastfeeding/being in charge of infant, then pregnancy again etc have got me so it if the habit I barely do even when I can.

Weight gain.

I want to be a healthy weight when I hit the menopause as I think it will be much harder to maintain then. Drinking alcohol is pointless calories and makes me eat more.

I've lost a stone by doing nothing else but not drinking alcohol or other calorie laden drinks.

I've never really drank alcohol, tried it a few times. Didn't think it was a nice enough drink for the money it cost. As I've grown up I've avoided it as my mother and her mother both "had" to have a drink every day and I don't want to end up like them.

Been in AA over 30 years!

I used to drink wine and vodka very regularly and in large amounts during my teens and twenties.

Nowadays I don't really like the taste of wine more than anything. Also heartburn.

I will sometimes have a Southern Comfort or a Rum and Coke, but only if there's some in the house.
In the summer I'll have pear cider or something.

Really don't get all the hype around Prosseco and Gin at the moment. Bleurgh.

Not mega keen on the taste, can’t be dealing with any kind of hangover, looking after a little one just makes the morning after not worth it!

DH doesn’t drink because it makes his depression and anxiety worse.

I was never a heavy drinker but went tee total when i was pregnant, since then i just never fancied drinking. I had a cider during the realy hot summer this year but didnt really enjoy it. I do love a lager shandy though so have that if out.

I don't like the taste. They all have that taste of ethanol regardless of the drink.

I have alcoholic relatives and its left me with a hatred of alcohol.( I have no problem with others drinking, but I'd struggle with having a partner who enjoyed alcohol at anything other than with meals.)

I've just never had any interest in it and I hate what it does to people so it holds no appeal whatsoever.

Yeah I never get the prosecco and gin hype either.

I don't drink much at all as the hangovers are just not worth it. 2 kids, FT job and a hangover? No thanks.

Also, I find I enjoy the first glass, but not the second.

After I had DC1 if I had an alcoholic drink my face would immediately go completely scarlet. i think it was a sign.

Makes depression worse.

I don't like the taste, and I don't like feeling out of control (been drunk twice in my life), live rurally and spent too many years ferrying kids. And tbh now I'm just out of the habit and couldn't be bothered to start.

I drink maybe 1-2 units a month or less. It's just not a big deal for me. I never drink more than 2 glasses of wine or equivalent at a time, because I can't bear the feeling of starting to lose control.

Never liked the taste. Would have a very occasional archers and lemonade but generally have been teetotal forever. Now am on a lot of medication for various things so wouldn’t be able to drink anyway but it wouldn’t have bothered me iyswim.

I drink a couple at weddings/toasts so that isn't very often and I just tell people I don't drink at all

Too many calories
Acid hurts my stomach
I am usually driving and don't think a hotel/taxi is worth it to have a drink
Hangovers are awful and waste a day
Kids

I would actually love a glass of wine in the evenings at home if I was child free and slim and healthy I would go for it

I don’t like the taste, I really can’t stand it but people would never accept that as a proper reason not to drink so they were forever pressuring me to “have just one” or to try several neon coloured concoctions as I “just need to find the right drink”. I have a chronic illness so now I just blame it on that & say it doesn’t mix well with my medication.

Since having DC I've been unable to metabolise alcohol properly. I get really anxious, shaky, my fingers swell and I feel terrible - and that's just after a couple of mouthfuls.

Great for my bank balance, but not great for my social life as people really are idiots when they're drunk and you're sober aren't they?! So I tend to avoid big evening get-togethers where alcohol will be flowing.

Both parents were functioning alcoholics. Me and my younger sibling basically raised ourselves and in later years bought them food as they’d spent their money on drink.
Have tried the odd drink here and there but never tasted anything I’d want to drink all the time. Most people are surprised to find I don’t drink alcohol and their next question is why, what is wrong with you? They can’t understand how I can enjoy a night out without taking a drink, which I find really annoying.
I don’t go into details out of respect for my parents.

I just dont enjoy it. There has to be an occasion for it then I'll have a glass or two of good quality wine. But other than that Its just not my idea of enjoyment.

I used to drink when I was out, but only in the evening I couldn't do lunchtime drinking. Never got into the habit of drinking at home, it just didn't occur to me or DH.

When we had kids I couldn't bear the thought of a hangover and so only used to have a cold beer with home made curry on a Friday or a few drinks if I went out and had babysitters.
Then after DD number 2 I developed migraines and alcohol can trigger them.
I occasionally have a glass of wine if it's a celebration eg anniversary dinner on the Eiffel tower 3 weeks ago I had a glass of champagne and a glass of red with my dinner and accepted that I would just have to take my tablet before bed.
I don't miss drinking at all Tbh. My parents and their friends are all drinkers and can't understand why I'm not devastated about this.
I have an alcohol free beer if it's a warm day or with my curry on a Friday (I live in Bavaria and the alcohol free beer is really nice here and all pubs and restaurants sell them). I don't mind at all.
Drunk people are quite boring but I don't get cross about it.
I tend to say I'm driving so I don't get the third degree about it from friends/acquaintances.

Alcoholic drinks generally taste foul, apart from soft drinks laced with alcohol. Why should I drink something or train myself to like something that has practically no benefits and lots of downsides?

I drank during my 20s and early 30s but then we moved to a rural location and had to drive everywhere. That coupled with becoming a mother meant I became designated driver and a non drinker. I don’t miss alcohol and very occasionally enjoy a few gins. I can’t drink wine as it makes me ill but have been known to have the odd lager shandy on a sunny day.
I also had liver problems due to a reaction to medication so alcohol is not a good idea. I think if I hadn’t had problems I would drink more often. People tend to be very surprised by my sobriety and I sometimes think they assume I am a recovering alcoholic ( drinking socially and often heavily is the norm in my profession a knock on from undergraduate drinking behaviour). But no I didn’t have a problem and do not miss alcohol.

-It makes me ill before it makes me drunk these days.
-I hate feeling drunk now I'm older.
-It makes my anxiety worse.
-I cba with hangovers and feeling like crap.
-I'm too tired and headachy at the end of the day to find it pleasurable.
-DH has a problematic relationship with alcohol and it's a pain in the arse.

I'm not tea-total but I can't be bothered on a regular basis these days.