teetotal Discussion thread

[raleighnut]

I must admit I've cut down a lot in the past couple of years, the smoking ban reduced the appeal of pubs and the leg has led to a big reduction in income but going TT.......................never.

But if that's your choice then OK, nobody should coerce you into anything you don't want to do though.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Not a drop for me since September 22nd 2004 (not that I'm counting etc etc ). Drinking had become a necessity, no pleasure anymore. Go for it - best decision you'll ever make - and you will be £thousands better off

 

[ianrauk]

I must admit I've cut down a lot in the past couple of years, the smoking ban reduced the appeal of pubs and the leg has led to a big reduction in income but going TT.......................never.

But if that's your choice then OK, nobody should coerce you into anything you don't want to do though.

Yet for me it's the other way round. Since the smoking ban I go to pubs more often. The smoke & vile stench used to make me feel physically sick after a night out. It's far more enjoyable now to have a drink in pubs then it ever was.

 

[Smokin Joe]

This annioys me too: if I don't want a drink, I don't want a drink: it's none of your business why either. You can imagine how hard this is for my 'clean' clients: you rebuild your life, build a whole new social group, sometimes change city so you won't slip back into the old ways, and some prat starts playing 'Mr. Life and soul of the party' and singles you out. It must be immensely annoying.

I have great respect for 'my' reformed alcoholics, especially in their patience with people around them.

And that's why it is potentially dangerous to try and force alcohol on people. You can have no idea why someone has refused, it may well be because they are struggling with an addiction and are only one drink away from falling off the wagon.

 

[Milzy]

Yet for me it's the other way round. Since the smoking ban I go to pubs more often. The smoke & vile stench used to make me feel physically sick after a night out. It's far more enjoyable now to have a drink in pubs then it ever was.

Yeah I totally agree, I’ve been out more since the ban.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I went for perhaps 10 days without booze and I didn't miss it. I then had quite a bit yesterday whilst wrapping all of my presents, and this morning I feel rubbish. I think since I'm happy and sound of mind, I no longer like feeling out of control. I don't want to say I'll not drink again, but perhaps will only drink on special occasions.

It was a little strange when my partner was drinking and I wasn't. She got quite tipsy and was on a different wavelength to me. So I can't really say I'd enjoy going for a night out if everyone else was getting smashed

 

[Salad Dodger]

A couple of observations to add to this thread:

1) I go out three or four nights a week to sing and play at local folk nights or open mics, but as I drive I limit myself to just one beer and no more. Now, I just don't feel like drinking more than one beer a day. I think I would miss beer if I were to stop drinking it, but equally I am sure I could do it, our it were necessary for some health reason.

2) A couple of times, I went to a new years eve concert by Eric Clapton, which he holds each year in support of Alcaholics Anonymous. It is held at a sports centre in Surrey, near his home, and for obvious reasons, is a drink free night. It's great to be in a concert crowd where everyone is sober!

 

[s7ephanie]

Gave up years ago, best thing I ever did. I may have a drop of Bailys in my Christmas coffee though years ago before husband died we used to go for weekends away with another couple, and had to look at the photos afterwards to see what country we had been to

 

[Slick]

Gave up years ago, best thing I ever did. I may have a drop of Bailys in my Christmas coffee though years ago before husband died we used to go for weekends away with another couple, and had to look at the photos afterwards to see what country we had been to

I suppose we all did. It's an age thing.

 

[Saluki]

This annioys me too: if I don't want a drink, I don't want a drink: it's none of your business why either. You can imagine how hard this is for my 'clean' clients: you rebuild your life, build a whole new social group, sometimes change city so you won't slip back into the old ways, and some prat starts playing 'Mr. Life and soul of the party' and singles you out. It must be immensely annoying.

I have great respect for 'my' reformed alcoholics, especially in their patience with people around them.

I was polite but my tone sent a message. I asked him if he would keep on at a diabetic who didn’t want cake or on at a non-smoker who didn’t want a cigarette. Would he try and demand a coeliac had a bit of regular toast? He left me alone in the end. It probably wasn’t the smartest reasoning but I felt under pressure. I was sober, he had had a skin full.
I was prepared to leave the party and go back to my hotel room. I had teapigs and good hot chocolate on tap there. I am not an alcoholic, my mother was. I just don’t really drink. I like a glass of wine from time to time but that’s about it. I never drink at social events.

At work today I overheard a few of my office saying how boring I was and how they were ‘disappointed’ that I never left a drink unattended. Charmers, some of them.

 

[Slick]

I was polite but my tone sent a message. I asked him if he would keep on at a diabetic who didn’t want cake or on at a non-smoker who didn’t want a cigarette. Would he try and demand a coeliac had a bit of regular toast? He left me alone in the end. It probably wasn’t the smartest reasoning but I felt under pressure. I was sober, he had had a skin full.
I was prepared to leave the party and go back to my hotel room. I had teapigs and good hot chocolate on tap there. I am not an alcoholic, my mother was. I just don’t really drink. I like a glass of wine from time to time but that’s about it. I never drink at social events.

At work today I overheard a few of my office saying how boring I was and how they were ‘disappointed’ that I never left a drink unattended. Charmers, some of them.

A bit concerning.

 

[Andy in Germany]

All these posts are a reminder how much booze flows in the UK: I'd forgotten about this. Germans can knock it back a bit but generally seem happy (and possibly more moderate) drinkers by comparison

Gave up years ago, best thing I ever did. I may have a drop of Bailys in my Christmas coffee though years ago before husband died we used to go for weekends away with another couple, and had to look at the photos afterwards to see what country we had been to

Thank goodness for autofocus eh?

... I am not an alcoholic, my mother was...

Well done you for breaking the cycle then: Many of my clients' parents were drinkers and drug users: once it's in a family it seems to take a hold.

I can't help wondering if some of the 'pushy' drinkers are from similar backgrounds and are either confused by, or envious of non-drinkers, which is why they push.

At work today I overheard a few of my office saying how boring I was and how they were ‘disappointed’ that I never left a drink unattended. Charmers, some of them.

I went to school with people like that. Graduation day was the best day of my life: they were the sort of people who seemed to view other as a source of entertainment, and found bullying and humiliating other people to be entertaining.

As @Slick said, it's a bit concerning though, I suppose forewarned is forearmed et c.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

[QUOTE 5465580, member: 9609"]My wife suffers badly from this -

Will you have a glass of wine
No- I don't drink, I will have fruit juice
Just a small glass of wine ?
No- I'm teetotal, a lemonade will do.
How about a Baileys then?
[/QUOTE]

I've had variations along that theme, & usually found that something similar to "Sod Off" works

 

[Fnaar]

I haven’t drunk for nearly 2 years. It has been great. The invites out with my drinky mates have stopped. No great loss. No lost days on the bike or work. The savings have been astonishing. People still offer me a drink. When I decline, the wise ones don’t ask again. The alcoholics or brainless carry on pestering me. They only stop when I humiliate them. It’s not comfortable but I haven’t found another method to shut them up.

I witnessed the destruction of my biological parents. Yes they were probably dysfunctional anyway, but they shouldn’t have been drunks either. It destroyed them. My children’s mother drank way too much. She was either not sober enough to be sociable or too hungover the next day and grouchy.

I stand back from it all now and see that actually our whole society is beleaguered by alcohol which is entrenched in our culture. If you are happy, have a drink. If you are sad, have a drink. If you have just been paid, have a drink. If you have just run out of money, have a drink. I listen to some of the parents at the school gate, boasting about how wasted they got and spent the weekend in bed and can’t remember what fun they had. And they can’t understand why they can’t shift the weight.

Alcoholics exist at all sorts of levels. I guess even though I am sober indicates I have my own issues with booze.

I'm almost teetotal right now, and working towards not drinking at all. I stopped altogether, but have been tempted a couple of times with it. I saw my mum destroy herself and her remaining family with it, and my sister is doing the same. I've had issues myself, but hopefully am sensible enough to step away from it. I know some people can drink happily (and healthily) but for a lot of my family members, that doesn't seem possible. I want to be different

 

[postman]

Six years now,i nearly did myself in Gallbladder exploded.It creeps up on you.It started i think we went on an all inclusive holiday i was chasing whisky with coffee or a pint three and four times a day.Then i came home and drank wine while on here and continued to drink Guinness and a whisky.Bang i was really bad 13 nights in hospital.Tomorrow i will have a wine mixed with lemonade at our lads xmas dinner but that's it.