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Original poster

To think alcohol becomes less fun the older you get?

97 replies

margotpotter · 27/02/2022 09:32

Granted I'm not old, I'm 30 but I've noticed, especially within the past year that drinking (getting drunk) is just not much fun for me anymore.

Last night I was at my friends and they were still up drinking at 3 am, all I could think about was how boring it was listening to their drunk chat and about getting home to my bed.

This seems to be recurring, whether I drink in the house, whether I go out, whether I go to someone's house, I feel like the nights are all very samey and am starting to feel just over it.

I've woken up this morning feeling utterly done in, sent some embarrassing messages last night, feel down in the dumps and really think my relationship with alcohol (which has NEVER been a healthy one) is coming to an end.

I've wanted to quit before but loved it too much to stop, difference being now, I'm not even enjoying it anymore.

Anyone else? Is this just an age thing?

OP posts:
MegaClutterSlut · 27/02/2022 11:01

I'm 40 this year, I stopped getting wankered around late 20s early 30s. Its just not worth the hangover imo and I'd rather stay at home then go out. I'm in the minority of my friendship group though, think they'd happily get pissed every weekend if they had the chance

MermaidEyes · 27/02/2022 11:03

I'm in my 40s and I still love going out, having a few drinks, socialising. The difference now is I know my limits, I don't drink until I'm shitfaced and I'm still aware of what I'm doing at all times. And I don't want to do it every weekend.

If you're finding your friends are boring when they're drunk then they're probably boring when they're sober too. I love being with my friends, whether we're on coffee or cocktails, we always have fun.

QuirkyTurtle · 27/02/2022 11:04

I haven't had a drink yet in 2022 and I feel so much better than I did last year, both physically and mentally.

Granted, I don't get invited to as many nights out anymore, but I also just much prefer getting home at a decent time.

PermanentTemporary · 27/02/2022 11:07

Yup. I'm 52. I still love the taste of alcohol and that feeling of lifting off the ground and away from everything for a bit. I have a strict 2 drink limit but quite often break it to 3, resulting in waking at 4am and feeling incredibly depressed for the following day. Actually the waking at 4amhappens even if I only drink one glass.

There's no need to drink at all but I have unearthed a tiny old wine glass (victorian glasses really show how huge our portions are) and that way I have the little taste without drinking more than I mean to.

Chrispackhamspoodle · 27/02/2022 11:09

Yes I've been sober 2 months now an didn't drink 2 months before Christmas either .I wasn't sleeping,was having palpitations when I had alcohol and it was giving me anxiety hangovers.I read some good sober lit an it turned my thinking around.Just wasn't fun anymore.I'm 49 and had been feeling this way for about 4 years .

ByHook0rByCrook · 27/02/2022 11:10

I never had a drink in my life until I was 39, and at first I didn't get hangovers or feel affected the next day at all. A few years later I felt differently- now I can't sleep properly that night, and white wine knocks me flat. I like a glass of wine now and then, but limit myself. Thr consequences are worth the enjoyment.

DistrustfulDinosaur · 27/02/2022 11:18

I agree, which is a shame as I love the taste of a nice real ale or glass of red wine. Had a couple of bottles of ale last night after not drinking for a few weeks and I felt so anxious that I was struggling to sleep. I think I'm going to knock evening drinking on the head as I sleep so poorly anyway that it's just not worth it. I'll just have the odd afternoon holiday drink now and again so I'm not missing out completely.

stripeyflowers · 27/02/2022 11:28

" I was getting an elevated heart rate last night. I had to go and splash cold water on my face and run my hands under tap to try calm down, felt on the verge of a panic, my pulse was 100 at rest. Usually between 55-62. Never put it down to the alcohol, interesting."

Margotpotter

Yes, this reaction to alcohol started about 12 months after I had my last period. My heart rate was over double its normal and stayed that way for almost 24 hours. I actually went to A and E as advised by 111. In the end it just came down on its own.

Now if I have more than the equivalent of 1 medium wine it starts it off again. It's not worth the worry. It was just a shock when it happened because, in the past, I've always been able to calm myself and slow my heart with music or meditation but this was just out of my control.

Livebythecoast · 27/02/2022 11:48

I was very much a party girl in my day - thankfully before phone camera's and social media! I drank socially in my 30's and 40's then did dry January 2020 which actually lasted 3 months before I had an alcoholic drink. I'm ñow 50 and know my limit. I can't bear being hungover and having 'beer fear'. I'm not teetotal but I don't drink much and when I have a glass of wine, I enjoy it a lot more than just for the sake of it. I must admit there's nothing worse than being with annoying pissed people when you're stone-cold sober!

JimmyShoo · 27/02/2022 11:53

I pretty much gave up drinking 10 years ago. I have one or a couple every now and again but probably only consume 10-15 units a year.

Hangovers got harder to tolerate & ‘the fear’ got worse making me anxious all the time.

It doesn’t bother me being around people who are drunk but it makes me pleased with my decision to quit!

OhWhyNot · 27/02/2022 11:58

I went out with a friend at Christmas nice dinner few drinks a bit of dancing and that was enough for me over by 1130

She wanted to carry on I have absolutely no desire to carry on like I used to I no longer think might I be missing out on something thankfully everywhere was closing

JustJam4Tea · 27/02/2022 12:03

I’ve been reading the bottomless brunch thread with some horror. I just can’t do it anymore….50s

Minfilia · 27/02/2022 12:04

I’m mid 30s.

I started declining shots on nights out from about 27 onwards, I don’t like the feeling of being drunk or massively hungover. So I lost interest in recreational drinking around that point. Then I started alternating soft drinks with alcohol so I wouldn’t end up tipsy or dead the next day.

I did enjoy wine to wind down after work, but I had to consciously stop drinking in the week… then I used to look forward to wine on a Friday, but I had 2/3 of a bottle and it gave me the hangover from hell the next day! This weekend I had two glasses and it still left me feeling shit.

Now I just don’t want to bother anymore, the pain really isn’t worth it.

gracedentssketty · 27/02/2022 12:06

I’m 43 and finding I have much less tolerance when it comes to alcohol now - palpitations also. It’s rubbish as I actually love the taste of red wine but I don’t sleep well either. So I think I’m really going to cut down

FirewomanSam · 27/02/2022 12:08

You sound very much like me a few years ago, just before I gave up drinking for good. Getting drunk stopped being fun for me in my early 30s. The hangovers got worse, the anxiety massively increased, and I found I was thinking about alcohol far more that I should have needed to. Some people can just have a couple and be fine, but for me that meant doing constant maths and bartering with myself in my head: ‘Should I have one now or later? Should I skip this round? Do I say no to a top-up? Will one more really hurt?’ I can’t tell you how freeing it is to just know that you’re having none and give it no more thought!

Ponoka7 · 27/02/2022 12:10

I was just about to say that I advise people to get their drinking done in their 30's, but I see that you are there already. Late 40's was when I started to feel it and it affects how you look. Now I have a small list of what I can drink and not feel it, luckily Southern Comfort, my favourite sweet wine and Bailey's are on the list.

TimeToMakeACupofTea · 27/02/2022 12:18

In my case it’s not the drinking that’s changed per se but rather the activity that goes with the drinking that changed.

When I was in my 20s and early 30s it was all about a pub/bar crawl and a nightclub at the end of it. Now I’m in my early 40s it’s drinking but a bit more sedate - meal and a cocktail bar afterwards or somewhere we can get a table and hear each other chatting.

I actually find my hangovers are better, maybe because I’m drinking at a slower pace and not mixing drinks as much. I also tend to stop drinking earlier and always drink a good quantity of water before bed.

I also never drink in the house and confine my drinking to one, very occasionally two, nights per week.

RosieRoww · 27/02/2022 12:20

Yeah, I often wish to be rather home in my pjs and watching some crappy movies and sipping tea.😊
I'm early 30.🤨

Oblomov22 · 27/02/2022 12:23

Why are you all getting drunk? I enjoy drinking. I don't get drunk. I don't get hangovers. More fool you if you do.

PookieHook · 27/02/2022 12:27

@Margotpotter I gave up drinking last year, I'm coming up to 9 months alcohol free now. I'll be 50 this year and the change is immense. I feel so much better, I don't get the hangovers from hell and I have lost weight without trying.
I really recommend reading This Naked Mind by Annie Grace if you are having trouble kicking the drink, it was an absolute gamechanger for me.

stripeyflowers · 27/02/2022 12:34

[quote PookieHook]@Margotpotter I gave up drinking last year, I'm coming up to 9 months alcohol free now. I'll be 50 this year and the change is immense. I feel so much better, I don't get the hangovers from hell and I have lost weight without trying.
I really recommend reading This Naked Mind by Annie Grace if you are having trouble kicking the drink, it was an absolute gamechanger for me.[/quote]
I'm going to look into this. I am finding it hard to let go of totally.

CaMePlaitPas · 27/02/2022 12:38

Stopped drinking when i was 24, nearly 10 years ago now, never looked back.

Nidan2Sandan · 27/02/2022 12:45

I spent my early 20s having weekends of getting shit faced and hung over. By my late 20s I had settled with my husband, had kids etc and so no longer did this.

Now, I enjoy a wine or two of an evening. But make sure I have 2-3 alcohol free evenings a week (usually more, for example I havent drank in over a week). I never get hangovers though. I know prosecco I can drink a lot of and still feel fine, but wine I know a third glass can be a gamble as to if I feel tired and affected.

JellyfishandShells · 27/02/2022 12:56

My DH went on a quite extreme health kick a few years ago and realised that still drinking was a bit of a contradiction to his ‘ my body is a temple’ trope. So he gave up and I did too, quite happily , as I hadn’t been able to drink more than 1 glass without after effects since the menopause. Don’t miss it at all and have not the slightest inclination to have any again.

I’m really glad we started this before lockdown. My female friends seem to be divided into enjoying having given up, once socialising was off the cards, and not bothered about starting again and those whose intake has increased hugely.

LaurieFairyCake · 27/02/2022 13:07

Yeah it's shit

I would LOVE to get properly pissed and wake up with no hangover

Yet another thing to envy young people for HmmGrin