Posters don’t drink alcohol

[HannaYeah]

What is it like?

Did you ever drink?

Would love to hear from all perspectives; people that never did, only do very occasionally, used to drink but quit.

I gave up drinking when I went on a health kick before ttc. Ds is nearly 2 now and I just never felt the desire to go back to having a drink so I didn't. I love being teetotal, over 3 years now

Gave it up nearly a year ago. Used to drink regularly (above the recommended limit) and just liked it a bit too much. From time to time would get in a right mess. Just decided that cutting down absorbed too much bandwidth (is this glass OK? what if I have another one but then don't drink again until Saturday? I should probably measure out properly, oh, sod it!) and that feeling thinner, looking well, sleeping better, having a better memory and mood and more money was worth the effort of stopping altogether.

And it's fine. I have got through Christmas and the big celebratory family meals without booze. I have curtailed my social life (I guess I didn't care that much about it, to be honest) to help me avoid drinking, and that will eventually stop, as I do want to see my friends again when lockdown ends! I will miss great restaurant meals with good wine, and I plan to go to Lyon asap, and not drinking gorgeous bloody wine then might feel like a deprivation. But I know as well it will only be a passing pang, and that the benefits of not drinking vastly outweigh the pleasures.

Also, my husband thinks I'm God for packing it in, and I really love the approbation.

I used to love a drink but sadly I have suffered for migraines for years and alcohol brings them on. They are so bad that I've given up alcohol completely. It helps keep them at bay so entirely worth it in my view. DP doesn't drink much - maybe a bottle of craft beer on 3 nights of the week so it works for both of us.

I used to drink quite alot from 18 to 23, then met my husband and he's never been a drinker really. Where most people would unwind with a glass of wine, we wind down with a cup of tea! I've also started getting migraines when I very rarely drink so that's put an end to that 😂

Pretty much tee total now having been a keen drinker in my youth. I like the odd tipple with a meal but since having DC 2yo really only limited to birthdays and special occasions and even then just one or two... really don't miss it though. Definitely a lot to do with having to be compos mentis the next day!

Not sure if I count, but I quit for a year, lost 3 stone just by doing that (nothing else changed with regards to diet and exercise)

I did start again, but have come to the conclusion, that I get to a certain point and I just don't stop, so its better if I don't do it, although I have noticed it is starting to creep back up again, while we are in lockdown.

I am going to quit completely again, but this time not set myself a limit and just do a day at a time

I was a real binge drinker from about 17 - 30. Lived for Saturday night, going out, dancing and drinking my own bodyweight. I was always last one standing at a party etc. Rarely a good drunk however and just got to a point where it held less interest and I really didn't like who I was when drunk. Met my husband around same time and he has no interest in alcohol or being drunk except in a blue moon. I am now almost tee total (I was never one for a glass at home anyway, I've always preferred soft drinks) and so much happier - plus I do NOT miss hangovers, I actively enjoy not having them!

I like it.

But I also like chargrilled artichokes in olive oil and lemon, moules marineres, organic grass fed beef and strawberry mochi, along with many other luxury and seasonal foods. I don't have those every day, week or month either.

I don't drink and never have. I really don't like the taste of alcohol. Beer will make me want to throw up (as I drink it, not afterwards!).

I do u derstand what brings people to drink to get that relaxing, I don't give a damn effect, however, I hate the way it makes me feels the next day even more (the rare times I had a few during a celebration or needed to drown my sorrows).

I am also very conscious of keeping healthy and my weight down. When I see a glass of wine, all I see is the 300 calories that come with it for something I'd have to force down my throat! Makes it very easy to say no!

I was up to a bottle of whisky a day and stopped - cold turkey - after realising I was turning into my dad. He started drinking before lunchtime and didn't stop till he went to bed. It's been 18 years now. I know I'm one of those "One is too many and two is not enough" guys. It took me years before I could say "I am an alcoholic" and it's still hard.

I'm so glad I did stop. My kids have never seen me drunk. It feels responsible and good to know I'm not re-enforcing any genetic disposition they have to drinking.

I don't drink...not entirely tee total though. If I went on a rare night out to a nice restaurant I might have one nice cocktail or a glass of wine. If I went to a wedding, I'd have a glass of champagne to toast the couple. But that's about it. I used to drink when I was younger...lots of nights out and getting drunk on a weekend.

Now I'm older I don't think alcohol would have any benefit to my life. It would just make me poorer, fatter, increase my anxiety and speed up the aging process.

Usually only drank on social occasions. Only once about every ten years would I go OTT. That would be enough to put me off! Occasionally used to have an evening drink. Now not had a drink for nearly two years with the exception of maybe half a lager.

I only drink occasionally.
Mostly when going out, sometimes at home.
It's not something that I feel a need for at all.

I suppose that peer pressure is important. I will drink with others, but always with non-alcoholic drinks in between and with food.
I just don't like feeling tipsy, even, let alone drunk. But I don't need it to let my hair down, iiswim.

Used to drink a lot regularly as a student. Then couldn't cope with hangovers plus job and then children. Never went back to it because it started giving me horrible palpitations. Rarely think about it these days.

I can’t remember much between 18 and 23. My first boyfriend was a big drinker so I copied. I then fell pregnant and lost interest in alcohol all together and realised the only thing we had in common was drinking. Since then I’ve probably only had about 5 drinks in 15years as I don’t like it anymore.

I don't like the taste of alcohol. I've tried to. I've tried wine, beer, cider, spirits, cocktails, alcoholic cranberry lemonade, you name it. Never found one that I could stand to take more than the odd sip. Foul. So have never drunk enough to feel the effects.

Frustrating, as I'm a bit of a foodie, and miss out on all the "what drink goes with what dish" stuff.

I used to drink moderately but on an upward trajectory- e.g. increasingly having a glass of wine on a weeknight to unwind. I stopped about 3 years ago.

The main driver was I realised I really negatively impacted my mood- in particular driving up my anxiety and insomnia. Not whilst I drank, but after.. even just a glass of wine would give me more mood swings the next day without even being hungover.

It's amazing. Honestly, I'm a much better person. I have energy, I sleep well, I fret and worry less, I use my time better and I'm more resilient to stress and anxiety. My confidence and enjoyment comes from me and not a chemical. I thought I would miss it, but I don't at all.

Why don't I drink alcohol?
Not mad on the taste, and didn't want to do anything that could possibly make me throw up. I can be quite silly enough without it!
My skin is very un-wrinkled for my age, which I attribute to being pretty much an alcohol-free zone for decades.
And I have known approaching 10 people who have died of alcohol related things.
And I still remember the staff teaching session in a hospital decades ago that told us it was brain poison.

I was a right boozer. Then I realised one day that alcohol is poison. As soon as you pour it into your body, every cell goes into overdrive trying to get rid of it. That's a sobering thought.

It's expensive, it's fattening, it fucks up your sleep, health, brain cells. That whole thing of sitting there pouring this stuff into myself ... something just clicked in my brain and I just thought this is stupid!

Someone bought me some red wine on my birthday and I thought ok, it's a gift, I'll have a glass, and I really wish I hadn't. It was ok, but I'd lost the taste for it and something that I always thought delicious - really wasn't. You go a few months without drinking and then taste wine. It's rank. Not to mention I felt like absolute shit the next day, so straight back on the wagon.

I come from a family of alcoholics. Three of my grandparents were, and an aunt is, and my parents are both very much dependent on it. I've always hated how it changes the way people behave, whether they get sillier, or louder, or more aggressive. I just always want to be 'me'. The only time I ever have alcohol is in desserts, like tiramisu or rum gateaux.

I gave up Alcohol 17years ago.

I don’t mind being with people having a glass of wine,or a pint.But cannot stand being around drunk people,I leave,nothing so boring.

Drank a massive amount in my twenties and early thirties, lived for the weekends and going out. Then I had children. Trying to look after a baby and a toddler with a hangover was utter hell and I knew it wasn't fair on them. They deserved the best of me, not some barely functioning hungover person slumped on the sofa doing least they could get away with, so I just stopped. Their Dad has a drink problem too and I felt like they deserved one of their parents at least to be able to manage without alcohol. I probably drink two glasses of prosecco a year, if that. I had a glass of rose on my birthday a few months ago and that's it. Just can't be bothered with it.

Before I had kids (had my first at 18) I drank most days, which is why I ended up pregnant at 17. I still liked a drink after k had my first. After I had my second ds, hangovers became unbearable and still are. Now we will have a drink once every couple of months, if that. I still like to have a drink with friends, or on a night out, but the fear of the next day holds me back a bit now.

I have drunk alcohol in the past but I wouldn’t say I've ever been drunk. I've not had a drink in at least 10 years. I use alcohol in cooking regularly and DP drinks when out and occasionally at home. There was nothing that happened, no bad experience and I have no issue being out with people drinking or anything like that. I don't like the feeling of being out of control so I don't enjoy the effects of alcohol and I actually don't like the taste of it so never felt the need to push past the taste to get the effects.

I don't really get comments anymore because everyone is so used to me not drinking it's not even a thing anymore, it was a bit of a thing to begin with but I'd newly passed my driving test so was always driving which meant I couldn't drink and I just never did again.

My religion stopped me and then a neighbour lamented my feelings towards alcohol. I don’t mean I think I’m smarter, he scared me enough from it. It used to have such a hold over him, I didn’t want to give it a chance to do the same to me.