To not really understand the need for people to drink alcohol all the time?

[BusWankers]

I really don't understand why people socialise and drink alcohol all the time, or go out specifically to get drunk and have fun, or all the "LOL Prosecco time!" At 11am in a Sunday. And people buying boxes if beers and 4 bottles of wine as part of the weekly shop.

I do drink, very rarely, sometimes for weddings or whatever.bit I really don't understand the normality of everyday drinking.

I know I'm in the minority, bit
..what gives?????

It's very tedious when people start threads going "I just don't understaaaaaand, i'm so very confused, whyyyyy do people do this????" when actually they understand perfectly well, they just don't approve. That's obvious.

Your OP reads as though it's a choice between limiting yourself to a glass of champagne at weddings or being permanently rat-arsed.
Most people do not drink alcohol every day, and lots of people who drink regularly don't actually get drunk. It may make you feel superior to think you're "in the minority" for not drinking every day but you're really not. You're just making assumptions about other people's lives. Just because you see someone buying 4 bottles of wine in a supermarket that doesn't mean that's what they get through in a week. For all you know it could last them weeks, or even months. But if you're the sort of person who peers into strangers shopping trollies and feels superior then you're bound to make assumptions.

I really enjoy a glass of wine, and have been known to indulge in a glass of prosecco during the daytime (gasp) at a celebration with friends or family, but I absolutely hate the feeling of being drunk. I've never enjoyed it. But because it's not really very complicated, my brain is able to comprehend that some people enjoy it, because not everyone is the same. I also understand that just because someone enjoys feeling tipsy that doesn't mean they're drinking "all the time". Again, it is not that complicated.

People giving the OP a hard time (‘can’t you understand people like different things OP?’) are sounding a bit defensive. I know what you mean totally OP. Those of you saying you don’t like running, or rock climbing, or whatever are missing the point - when you go out with friends they don’t ask you REPEATEDLY why you aren’t going rock climbing, why not, do you not like rock climbing, have you ever liked rock climbing, what about at Christmas - would you go rock climbing then, ooooo I definitely couldn’t go without my rock climbing , hahaha… honestly, as a non-drinker it is never ending, like you’re some kind of weirdo and ruining everyone else’s fun if you just order a Diet Coke. It’s very very irritating and I think says a lot more about the drinkers than it does about the non-drinkers (why are they unable to socialise without booze? Why do they pressure other people into drinking too? Is it because they’re threatened by sober people? Personally I think it is)

Lucky you. I had that when I was in uni so teen - young adult years.

I don’t understand why people want to have children, go camping, hold parties, listen to Taylor Swift, holiday with anyone beyond their own partner, eat raw tomatoes, climb the corporate ladder or meditate.
However, I don’t need to understand those things because they’re none of my business and have no bearing on how good or bad a person is. I simply accept that different people enjoy different things. Not so difficult, is it?

I don't know anyone these days who drinks all the time. I did know someone but he was an alcoholic and has now completely stopped, which was the best possible thing for him to do.

There's quite a lot of ground between someone who reaches for a drink at every possible opportunity and someone who only ever has one glass at a wedding. So many people don't drink these days and most people who do drink do so in moderation because they have jobs and families and lives and don't want to have hangovers, it's hardly unusual. OP, I think you just want to be sanctimonious.

Some people drink to unwind, take the edge off social anxiety, among many many other reasons. Some may just enjoy the taste, the ritual of it. It is a mind altering substance. I drink maybe once a month, in moderation, as I cannot stand feeling hungover. I couldn’t drink every day, as many people I know do.

Our county has a really screwed up weird relationship with alcohol with my generation 30s upwards.

Thankfully I think it's dying out.. younger people don't have the "going out" "getting on it" mentality that I, my parents and grandparent grew up with.

The pubs in my village have dwindled down to 3 from 7 in about 15 years. The regulars are slowly dying off and the price of a pint is too expensive now.

Absolutely this! You also get accused of being pregnant.

You see on here all the time women asking for advice on excuses for not drinking because they are in early pregnancy. It's simply not acceptable to say I don't want a drink. Pregnancy, being on antibiotics and driving being the only acceptable reasons not to drink (even then you get some trying to push 'just one' on you).

Also the threads of spouses moaning that they’re annoyed their significant others have lessen or stopped drinking and seeing it as a personal slight against their own habits and/or it makes them uncomfortable even though the non-drinking spouse isn’t judging them or mind that they continue drinking.

"Those of you saying you don’t like running, or rock climbing, or whatever are missing the point - when you go out with friends they don’t ask you REPEATEDLY why you aren’t going rock climbing, why not, do you not like rock climbing, have you ever liked rock climbing, what about at Christmas"

I get asked about music festivals and concerts pretty often, especially to go and watch someone I know performing. I hardly ever go, but it doesn't stop the asking!
Rock climbing is a bit more niche and you need skills.

"It's simply not acceptable to say I don't want a drink."

Have you tried saying you don't want a piece of cake? That gets you even more pressure! Most people respect t-totals more than people watching their weight/health.

I've never met anyone who would judge me for not drinking, or maybe its just who i choose to hang out with

Me either. I went to a leaving do a few weeks ago. The only person I knew there was the one leaving. I got chatting to lots of people as the event went on, some of whom offered to buy me a drink. No one batted an eyelid when I asked for a soft drink. No one.

But also the soaps feature characters who have serious issues with drink. Like Phil and Linda on Eastenders and I’m sure there are similar in the others.

You sound judgemental

I agree with an earlier poster who said that everyone needs one coping mechanism

It’s the alcohol lovers who have something to say when someone doesn’t want a drink who annoy me. So most of them then.

Why do people eat chocolate? Or go out for nice meals? Or stop for coffee? Or eat takeaways?

Some things that aren't great for you are enjoyable enough to do anyway.

I don't drink weekly (or even monthly nowadays), but I enjoy it and I can see why others do too.

I think the people who feel lots better after giving up must either have overindulged, drank too often for too long, or have bodies that don't cope well with alcohol. I don't really notice any difference in my general wellbeing when I've drank that week compared to when I've not had any alcohol for a month or two.

I used to drink a lot more but the older I got, the more I realised it wasn’t helping me as I age and I felt crap a lot. I don’t care if people say they don’t drink enough to get hungover, it’s not just that, even without a headache it isn’t until you have a long period of no drinking that you see the pretty dramatic effect. Even down to your skin looking better. Less aches and pains. More energy. Less dehydration. Less bloating, weight loss. Less brain fog. This is why alcohol is dangerous as all these little things go unnoticed for so long. People I know who drink a lot in my circle are ageing quite rapidly and if it’s been a while since I have seen them I am often quietly shocked at the changes

Now this is an interesting line of thought… that pubs are no longer where people meet & socialise. I wonder what has replaced this? This could be why some feel lonely and disconnected. Same might also be said about fewer people going to church. These places were where communities would meet.
Ive gone slightly off topic here, apologies!

Apart from it being addictive, socially acceptable, readily available and well marketed it actually tastes nice. It gives you a legal buzz and helps you to loosen up. Obviously some people "loosen up" too much and some people should never get anywhere near alcohol. But for most people it's a very pleasant social facilitator with a culture dating back thousands of years.

We passed an Ember Inns pub this morning and it had some advertising posters outside. One showed people with glasses of alcohol (beer/wine I think) and had a caption saying something like 'the fun starts here', implying that it's not possible to have fun without alcohol.

I think that's so wrong! It is perfectly possible to have fun without alcohol.

Why do you need to understand it?

Everyone is different. It is pretty simple really

It tastes nice. It relaxes me. It makes me more sociable and the rest of the human race more enjoyable to be around.

and yet I have never seen a thread aimed at people who don't drink, with page after page of faux hand-wringing and "I just don't understaaaaaaaaand". It's always the non-drinkers with their false sense of superiority and pretending they pass out and throw up after one beer or "glass of fizz".

I think the worst part about alcohol is the smugness of those who can ‘handle’ their drink or enjoy it in moderation. It’s highly addictive and many, many people cannot. Many drink in a relatively controlled manner but it still makes them feel anxious or depressed. Many don’t know how much better they would feel or what they might achieve if they gave it up. Said as ex- party girl / almost 3 years sober