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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

'Getting drunk' - what does this mean?

56 replies

FlowerArranger · 18/01/2020 08:26

There seem to be a lot of posts were people refer to them or their OH being 'drunk'.

I'm just curious what that actually means, how often it happens and, most importantly why.

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but, even though I do drink alcohol fairly regularly, I can't imagine why I would want to get drunk.

What's the payoff?

OP posts:

Silvergreen · 18/01/2020 09:20

Alcohol is a social lubricant - reduces inhibitions, breaks down barriers, promotes honesty, allows us to have discussions and share feelings we normally wouldn't. Lots of drugs are the same. A fun little pocket of life that enhances the human experience.

Plenty of sad, miserable people take these things to excess or use them as escapism from lives they can't bear.

Fidgety31 · 18/01/2020 09:21

OP if you drink then surely you just get drunk !?

I get pissed on a shandy so I can never understand those folks who can drink and still be sober ?

CalamityJune · 18/01/2020 09:28

I enjoy drinking but I hate being "drunk".

For me, being drunk makes me a feel a bit woozy or dizzy and extremely nauseous. It doesn't take much beyond that to leave me retching every inch of my being up for the next 12 hours.

I like the taste of many drinks and I like the shared social experience. I like how it relaxes people and gets the conversation flowing. But no, I don't ever set out to get hammered and I've always wondered how it must feel to some other people, as I must be different.

Waiting1987 · 18/01/2020 09:29

I would class drinking anything over half a bottle of wine to be "drunk". Not that everyone would be visibly affected, but it would still impair your judgement. I would be quite drunk on a bottle of wine.

Casualbride · 18/01/2020 09:30

My partner would agree with you op, he does not thinks he’s ‘drunk’ unless he’s literally rolling around completely incapable. Whereas I think being drunk is when the effects of alcohol start to show, eg slurring, talking a bit more nonsense.

Sonichu · 18/01/2020 09:55

Having your drink spiked is not the same as being drunk.

Bluntness100 · 18/01/2020 09:59

What's the point of eating till you're stuffed.

You know the many answers to why people get drunk op. So what's behind the thread, do you just want to get all preachy, or is there something else?

titchy · 18/01/2020 10:18

I would not consider having a few drinks and being a bit merry the same as being drunk.

I think that's exactly what most people mean when they say they were drunk. Paralytic on the other hand....

Igotthemheavyboobs · 18/01/2020 10:30

I would see it as being unsteady on your feet, or actually staggering, throwing up, being aggressive (not necessarily either of those), being incapable. talking rubbish. Or actually passing out

Minus the agressivness, you have just described me pregnant

RainMustFall · 04/05/2020 20:34

I drink far more alcohol than most people on here. a) because I don't drink any hot drinks - tea, coffee, b) because I get bored with drinking water c) I would never drink an alcohol if I didn't like the taste, and d) I am never ever close to tipsy, let alone drink.

A lot of people on here think if you drink a glass of wine once a week, you're an alcoholic.

Drivingdownthe101 · 04/05/2020 20:36

Well when I say I’m ‘drunk’ I mean I’ve had a few drinks and feel merry.

SerenDippitty · 04/05/2020 20:44

It doesn't always taste as nice as a soft drink, so why drink it if not to alter your mood?

I love the taste of wine. If alcohol free wine tasted as nice as the real thing I would buy it.

Drivingdownthe101 · 04/05/2020 20:47

Agreed SerenDippitty, I love the taste of wine and if I found an alcohol free wine that came close I’d buy it.
I don’t like the taste of most soft drinks. I can’t stand the taste of artificial sweeteners and so many have them in now.

lazylinguist · 04/05/2020 20:58

Well, 'drunk' is relative. And how drunk someone is or appears depends very much on the person drinking and the person judging. OP, it seems as though the two experiences you've had of being drunk were very negative, but that's not true for a lot of people.

Plus lots of people can end up quite drunk without really meaning to. Partly because the same amount of alcohol can have very different effects depending on how much you've eaten, how you're feeling etc. And also, having a couple of drinks can make you less good at judging when it's time to stop.

A lot of people on here think if you drink a glass of wine once a week, you're an alcoholic

That's not even remotely true, but it's certainly something often trotted out by heavy drinkers, presumably in a bid to minimise their own level of drinking by ridiculing those who drink moderately.

Pixie2015 · 04/05/2020 21:01

To me drunk is an accident when I have had more than necessary as I am distracted

Maddiemoosmum0203 · 04/05/2020 21:05

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Samtsirch · 04/05/2020 21:09

I would consider “drunk” to mean unable to walk straight/ unable to speak coherently or without slurring, and also doing/ saying things they would later regret and feel embarrassed about; so not being fully in control of their faculties, both physically and mentally, and total loss of inhibitions.
I would consider “ tipsy “ to mean relaxed, a bit giggly and silly, but nothing that would cause any problem or future regret/ embarrassment.
I suppose people need to find their individual limits and know when to stop so that they don’t frequently cross over from tipsy to drunk.
( She says topping up her pinot...) 😆

Washyourhandsyoufilthyanimal · 04/05/2020 21:11

Being merry from having a few drinks is being drunk. You mean when people get completely out of control. If your mood is altered and you’re merry then you are drunk.

VaTeLaverLesMains · 04/05/2020 21:18

There's a scale
1Stone cold sober
2Not worried about what's for dinner tomorrow
3Things are funnier than normal
4Everything's hilarious esp me
5 that song is really meaningful
6 I can dance, sing and play instruments really well
7l love everyone a lot
8i don't know how much I've drank
9 kebabs taste great
10 walking is trickier
11 shit faced
12 rat arsed
13cant remember

Hth

ElbasAbsentPenis · 04/05/2020 21:24

I have an aunt who doesn’t understand why anyone would want to be drunk, and claims never to have been drunk herself. She drinks quite heavily from lunchtime onwards most days & every time I visit her she ends up what most people would consider ‘drunk’. But to her, ‘getting drunk’ is something common people do in pubs.

Voice0fReason · 04/05/2020 21:35

It doesn't always taste as nice as a soft drink, so why drink it if not to alter your mood?
I wouldn't drink it if I didn't love the taste.
I agree with the PP, if non-alcoholic wine tasted as nice as the real stuff, I would buy it.
If I could drink it without it altering my mood, I often would.

MissHoskins · 04/05/2020 21:37

even though I do drink alcohol fairly regularly
Is this the quarter thimble full of sherry you drink once a year?

Samtsirch · 04/05/2020 21:46

@VaTeLaverLesMains
You have perfectly described many student gatherings of yesteryear....
I’m becoming misty eyed at the memories 😂

VaTeLaverLesMains · 04/05/2020 21:52

Samstirch trouble is, my dcs are students and I still get to the kebab stage several times a year

RainMustFall · 04/05/2020 21:59

It doesn't always taste as nice as a soft drink, so why drink it if not to alter your mood?

The answer is you only drink the alcohol that you DO like, duh. I hate gin therefore I would have to be very stupid to buy a bottle, pour a glass and say, oh I don't like it, I would prefer a lime cordial

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