Cheers

Josh said:
There are plenty of ways alcohol can affect ones life negatively without being a certified "alcoholic". It's expensive, it's full of empty calories, it's literally a toxin. Maybe it messes up your sleep, or you make terrible decisions after even just a beer or two once in a while, or your partner can't drink, or it interacts with medicines you take, or you get awful hangovers no matter how easy you take your night out.
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Agreed. I take a month or two off from time to time for these same reasons. Slim down, sleep better, save $, or because my wife is and she likes the support.

The influx of solid NA choices over the last few years is pretty awesome IMO. Certainly helps for those times when you decide to take a break.
 
Long_Rod_Silvers said:
The influx of solid NA choices over the last few years is pretty awesome IMO. Certainly helps for those times when you decide to take a break.
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Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Athletic brews. They hit the spot when I want something cold and bitter but don't feel like having actual booze at that moment.
 
Good for you Billy! My story is similar…

I’m am nearing 7 years without a sip. I used to go to the brewery after work all the time. Have some IPAs with my “friends” and get pretty buzzed on a Friday and Saturday. I never got into any trouble with the law. I stopped because I was always tired and groggy and spending too much money on beer. Leaving the scene really put things in perspective because a lot of people I thought were my friends don’t want to ever do anything other than sip at the brewery or bar and I now realize they probably aren’t really my friends. Misery loves company as they say.

Nowadays I just hang out with my son and fish when I can and am 100% sober, not even coffee. I don’t know if I will be this way forever, but it does feel like the entire world is slowly going to hell and it’s a lot easier for me to cope being sober. I think a lot of people reach for a buzz when the going gets tough and I would rather just feel it and be pissed off and sober than numb.

P.S. I might be addicted to ice cream.
 
@Billy - KUDOs to you! A great path to follow... I am transitioning to that path also --> operative word transitioning.

What @HauntedByWaters included in his post resonates with me for sure. Drinking buddies are rarely your true friends. The pandemic changed my drinking habits a lot. So easy to grab another one from the refrigerator knowing I am not driving and not a lot to worry about since I am retired and would not impact work. I was so wrong! It has been eye-opening for sure.
 
HauntedByWaters said:
Good for you Billy! My story is similar…

I’m am nearing 7 years without a sip. I used to go to the brewery after work all the time. Have some IPAs with my “friends” and get pretty buzzed on a Friday and Saturday. I never got into any trouble with the law. I stopped because I was always tired and groggy and spending too much money on beer. Leaving the scene really put things in perspective because a lot of people I thought were my friends don’t want to ever do anything other than sip at the brewery or bar and I now realize they probably aren’t really my friends. Misery loves company as they say.

Nowadays I just hang out with my son and fish when I can and am 100% sober, not even coffee. I don’t know if I will be this way forever, but it does feel like the entire world is slowly going to hell and it’s a lot easier for me to cope being sober. I think a lot of people reach for a buzz when the going gets tough and I would rather just feel it and be pissed off and sober than numb.

P.S. I might be addicted to ice cream.
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I actually make ice cream for a living so I just can't seem to get away from it o_O
 
That's quite an accomplishment, you should be extremally proud of yourself. I have not had any today either, so that makes a few of us. Cheers indeed. You're the man!!!!!!!!!
 
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Josh said:
Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Athletic brews. They hit the spot when I want something cold and bitter but don't feel like having actual booze at that moment.
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There are more and more great options out there. There is a spot by my house that carries 8-10 different options.
 
Billy, congratulations!

I do love these threads. I’m 3 months in as of today. I come from an alcoholic father and drug addict sister (both clean and sober over 10 years). I definitely did a fair amount of binge drinking in my 20s but 30s was 2-3 a night. It was always on my mind if I had a problem, well I finally admitted it around Christmas. The way I describe it is that I have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. A lot of people get it, some don’t and the ones that don’t tend to lead to a distressing conversation. I don’t think I’ll be ready for na beers for awhile, but we’ve been getting a lot na mixers which are all herbal bitter stuff which I love

For anyone interested, look up “grey area drinking”
 
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Congrats Billy on the personal journey and of course on the fish.

Noticed you were drinking a Budweiser zero….out of curiosity how close do they taste to your memory of what the original Budweiser tastes like?
 
Congratulations on your perseverance, and thank you for sharing.

I think sharing personal stories like this can normalize these kinds of decisions and may make it easier for others and also hopefully make it seem less of an “oddity” that there are folks who choose not to drink alcohol.

I imagine you don’t need to be told, but it it’s amazing how common and unconsciously ingrained into our culture are “Let’s grab a beer sometime” and the expectation that at an adult function there will be alcohol consumed. For folks who don’t or shouldn’t consume alcohol that can make it awkward or difficult to voice their choice—and it shouldn’t be that way.



Edit: Caught myself. Originally I said “folks who choose not to drink” when it’s that they choose not to drink alcohol. There are, of course, myriad nonalcoholic things out there, and it’s silly that drinking should imply alcohol by default.

I had someone explain this to me once, and since then I’ve endeavored to make a simple change and say things like “I owe you a beverage”. The idea and intent are the same and I’d be just as happy spending time over water, root beer, or whatever—for me it’s about the camaraderie and time and not what is consumed.
 
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