To think life is actually better with an occasional drink?

[Boxthemup]

I appreciate some people can't have an occasional drink and I absolutely support their efforts to stay away from it altogether. I wouldn't dream of trying to persuade someone who doesn't want a drink to have one.

However, for the rest of us there is something lovely about being mildly tipsy. It's not that I can't enjoy myself without a drink, I can and do on a daily basis, but having a drink makes everything that bit more relaxed.

My perfect world is maybe 3-4 pints of beer and a putting the world to rights session with intelligent friends in a lovely beer garden or 2/3 bottle of wine and dancing.

I do one or other of these perhaps once or twice a month and thoroughly enjoy it/look forward to it.

I think this is a good thing?

Or maybe we're just all different?

I'm not even close to menopausal and feel like shit after a drink.

Yes, love a drink!
moderate drinking doesn’t cause any problems.

Oh yes, of course, thanks I misread 🤦🏻‍♀️ probably due to the 2 glasses of sauv I've had 😂 I was thinking, cor OP you are hardcore sinking 2/3 bottles and only being tipsy!

Yea I love to sit and pass the time of day with like-minded people, getting tipsy and having a laugh but rarely get to do so because I'm always driving. I don't have many friends either, which puts a bit of a limit on it! Dh doesn't drink and it somehow feels wrong drinking by myself so I just don't often bother.

Yes, love that tipsy feeling. Usually comes from afternoon drinking or drinking a bit too quickly. Love it.

I agree, OP.

About to shake myself up an espresso martini.

Same here. Even a couple affects my sleep and just makes me feel lethargic and tired even if I’m not hungover. I have so much more energy now I no longer drink and sleep is glorious, my skin is better too

Oh no, I couldn't have coffee this close to bed 😆

I don't have an issue with drinking or feel the need to stay away from it for any reason but I don't especially like feeling tipsy or drunk! So not for everyone. I think I'm the exception, though.

No it isn’t. Alcohol is a relaxant.

It doesn't seem to affect me that way. And I don't even drink ordinary coffee, or tea, so it's not as though I've built up a caffeine resistance (if such a thing is poss).

"great for stress management"
"helps me relax"

^ just a couple of quotes from this thread. Alcohol is a drug, let's be completely clear on that. Some people can take it or leave it, but others can't. It's not "fun" for those that can't.

“I don’t need alcohol to have a good time”

Why do teetotallers always says this? Those of us who enjoy a glass or two don’t generally need it to have a good time. It’s just something that’s pleasant and can be a nice communal experience (sharing a bottle with friends).

Non drinkers can sound incredibly judgemental and resentful towards drinkers - it’s frankly bizarre.

Great. The OP isn’t using it as a crutch either.

I don't drink, but enjoy the company of others who do, (not to falling down pissed level, but I've no friends like that lol).

I'm old now, well older than most of you here I reckon, and I keep saying I'm going to try a cannabis cake or a gummy thing one day. What do y'all reckon? I'll wear purple and a big yellow hat too.

Every Fri, Sat & sun night, I have 2 glasses of Prosecco each night & I honestly absolutely love it, really really look forward to it.

They say it because we often get pressured to drink it! “Oh come on, don’t be so boring”, “surely you can just have one?” Etc It’s staggering how pressuring those who drink can be to those who don’t so judgement goes both ways I’m afraid. No one pressures people to smoke so why do it about alcohol? It baffles me.

But no-one on this thread is pressuring anyone to drink?

People who can't moderate always seem to have a hard time imagining that many can. I personally wouldn't have a lovely meal without a glass of wine to complement it. I also never drink soft drinks and recent science on UPFs suggest they may well be worse for us than wine/beer in moderation.

We are living in quite a puritanical age. I think people forget that humans have been trying to alter their brain chemistry almost forever! Only a few decades ago, it was pretty standard to depend (to a lesser or greater degree) on nicotine or booze, for example.

A glass of wine on a summers evening is a beautiful thing. (Currently preg and could murder one!).

Go for it, although be aware that eating cannabis gives a much stronger reaction than smoking.

In real life they do, often. Hence why people say they don’t need it to have a good time. It gets really tiring/tedious after a while.

Really interesting replies in this thread. Alcohol isn’t a magic stress reliever with no consequence. It might help you immediately decompress but it’s a depressant and if you find yourself waking in the night (which I’ll wager after 3-4 pints, you do), with anxious or negative thoughts the next day, you can’t exactly say you’re cured of stress.

Giving up was the best thing ever and I laugh way more and stay out much later than I used to. Not to mention significantly lowering my risk of certain types of cancer.

But alcohol is so normalised that to not drink is seen as abnormal somehow.

Yes and I read recently that c
15% of theb UK population are currently altering their brain chemistry with anti depressants. Is that really so different?

Yes, it’s totally different. It’s the opposite 😂

Me too actually. I’m 43 and used to love a few glasses of an evening.Now I just feel awful afterwards. I did dry January this year and just never restarted.