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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

185 replies

JustAskingForAFriend · 29/11/2018 15:34

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..
.

OP posts:
starkid · 29/11/2018 16:36

Lightweight - can't handle my drink, so usually end up being stupid/falling asleep/not remembering all the stupid things I've done
Expensive
Don't like the taste of most alcoholic drinks
Don't go 'out' out to clubs or whatever anymore, so don't need to drink for dutch courage anymore
Hangovers suck
Feel a bit childish being tiddly

I'm not against it, and will still have a nice cocktail every now and then when out. Like someone else said, my drinking days are over (were over after I was maybe 20 to be honest)

RoseMartha · 29/11/2018 16:39

Intolerant to it, even cooked in gravy makes me ill.

IBSworriescanitbe · 29/11/2018 16:57

My ex was an alcoholic!

Huntawaymama · 29/11/2018 17:01

I like the odd glass of prosecco but in fond in general my IBS is much worse after drinking. I used to be able to cope with that in my early 20s but since I had dd1 I've not fancied having a hungover day where a good chunk of it is spent on the toilet. These days my view is that life is for living and hangovers are not what I class as living

DuckofDoom · 29/11/2018 17:03

Like you, I used to drink a lot. I had a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol. I wasn’t an alcoholic, but I definitely had problems with moderation and I drank as self-medication.

These days I don’t drink because
a) I’m always a bit worried I may go back to how I used to be
b) I’m a terrible person when I’m drunk
c) I don’t like feeling out of control
d) I don’t like the taste of alcohol
e) It’s far more expensive than just a Diet Coke

Euphemism · 29/11/2018 17:08

My ex has a drinking problem. After we split up when my daughter was about 6 we were out shopping and I put a bottle of beer in the trolley (just one!) and she said that daddy drinks too much beer and so she’d like it if I just got juice instead of beer. I haven’t really ever had alcohol since. I don’t miss it. My family think I’m weird as they all love to have a drink.
Recently my daughter told me that she was really happy I didn’t drink as she hated it. It was 10 years since that day in the supermarket.
Her dad is at the point that he has to take 2 can of beer with him if he’s going to walk the dog...
No regrets from me about not drinking or about LTB!!

Sweetpea55 · 29/11/2018 17:11

Im Diabetic. It makes me feel ill

larry55 · 29/11/2018 17:15

After I had my third child I started going very red and sweaty after a sip of red wine and that then developed into all alcohol. The last time I drank wine I went red and my neck started to itch so I decided it wasn't worth drinking.

I think it might be related to the fact that I have type 2 diabetes.

citiesofbismuth · 29/11/2018 17:17

I'm allergic. The only stuff I can drink that doesn't make me hot and itchy is organic white wine and it's quite expensive.

I have the odd small gin and tonic, but my allergy still plays up with it, so I don't do that very often.

Kpo58 · 29/11/2018 17:19

I don't drink as I can't stand the taste of alcohol and yes it's still really obvious even in drinks where others say that the alcohol in them.

Strippervicar · 29/11/2018 17:20

I was 18 and my 'friend' got me so drunk I was hospitalised. I was so sheltered I didn't realise what being drunk/limits was. I have flashbacks of wanting to go home at 8pm before we went to a club then vomiting all over and being carried outside by a bouncer. They had to phone the police because I couldn't remember my phone number and none of my 'friends' had it. Police sent for an ambulance.

That put me off until I collapsed in a pub aged 21. Again, cos I tried to keep up.

I like fizzy wine or martini and soda but don't drink to excess (my excess is stupidly low) and stopped altogether for a long time. I've learned the hard way to have one or 2 and to refuse offers of more. I also make sure that the people I am with are not the kind who will pressurise me. I have had an ED for a long time so of course alcohol is going to affect me more than someone with a higher BMI.

pisspawpatrol · 29/11/2018 17:22

Gumbo that's interesting, yes I agree it can depend on the character of the child. I have two sisters, one of whom drinks quite a lot and thinks nothing of getting absolutely smashed (although mostly in social situations) and the other sister drinks more moderately. I'm the only one who doesn't really drink much and arguably whilst we were all affected in different ways, I think i witnessed it more and have been left more scarred so to speak.

blondeemily · 29/11/2018 17:23

There aren't many alcoholic drinks I like, and I very rarely drink the ones I do because alcohol seems to aggravate my IBS.

moreofaslummythanyummy · 29/11/2018 17:25

I am toying with the idea of giving up . Mostly because of hangovers and beer fear the next day !

DobbinsVeil · 29/11/2018 17:25

I used to really only drink to get drunk, never been a fan of the taste. Life has changed and I just don't go out and get smashed any more. Also had a weird reaction to a fruit cider, face went all red and hot and couldn't breathe properly!

KayM2 · 29/11/2018 17:26

I got a bit drunk a couple of times when I was a teenager. I didn't like the feeling. I was very sick once, on a Church Youth Club weekend, and took part in a spear fishing game in an ornamental pond .I was so drunk that I flukily hit one , and it died slowly and publicly over the weekend.

Ever since then I have avoided drink because it is clear that drink makes people do stupid things. And, tbh, I don't like the taste. Except port, which tastes nearly as good as Ribina.

MsAwesomeDragon · 29/11/2018 17:29

I've never really drunk much. In my late teens I would go for a night out occasionally and drink then, but never more than a few, never more than merry, and I only had nights out maybe once a month as I needed my parents to come and collect me (no public transport after 8:30 and a taxi cost about £30 to my house).

Once I fell Pg with dd1 (20 years ago), I really disliked the taste of alcohol (and coffee), and I've never gone back to drinking. I think in the past 20 years I've maybe had a drink once or twice a year, and I wouldn't care if I didn't have that. It's just not my thing.

lolaflores · 29/11/2018 17:30

Because I tore the arse out if alcohol for 30 years and then it bit back. It won every time so I walked away.
I was losing days on hangovers and time with people who mattered more.
I look back and cringe at the things I'd done drunk but also had some magnificent moments but the bad side was getting a bit too much to handle.
Feel much better. Look better.
Gave up cigs too...now that was a real battle.

BettyCrook · 29/11/2018 17:30

it tastes horrid and im allergic. sure some may not trigger allergy due to histamine and sulfur or whatever but im not bothered to find a booze that wouldnt trigger it.

its fattening, it makes you do and say things you later regret, disrupts my sleep, makes me feel down, anxious and ill. It's very expensive. Just not worth it. literally paying to destroy your body. from teeth to liver to skin to cellulite to hair and nails. awful stuff.

JellyBears · 29/11/2018 17:30

I hated the taste, it’s only the last few years I’ve found a liking for a gin or a Prosecco and occasionally red wine.

stevie69 · 29/11/2018 17:30

I have a general 'all or nothing' attitude to things: most things Blush It's caused me problems with food (and hence weight) over the years. I've had to learn to manage that as I can't take a 'nothing' approach to food, unfortunately.

As far as drink goes, it's perfectly simple for me to take a 'nothing' approach, so that's what I do.

I think that's why I don't drink.

BettyCrook · 29/11/2018 17:31

and its very aging. cancer risk too.... i could go on.

Lollypop27 · 29/11/2018 17:31

I just don’t like the taste. I don’t think I’ve had any since I was early twenties.

easyandy101 · 29/11/2018 17:33

Was teetotal for 14 years

It was because by age 21 I'd developed a pretty bad problem with drink that was more self control based than alcohol dependency

I started drinking again at about 35, with a different outlook and attitude, I sometimes get proper drunk but not often

Can feel that self control slipping away sometimes, have been considering going back to teetotal

itsthemenopausenotme · 29/11/2018 17:34

I don't like the feeling of being drunk
I don't like losing control
I don't like hangovers
I don't like feeling sick

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