As some of you know I got off the bottle a few years ago

[madokie]

I will have a beer maybe once a month if that. A six pack will last longer than I can remember when I bought it so I'm pretty safe from that demon, :-)
Anyways my point is now that I'm about as straight as anyone can be I notice that when someone starts drinking any kind of alcoholic beverage they're whole being changes. It seems that the change starts with the first swallow, swig, chug or whatever, too.
Any of you out there that used to be drinkers that are now non drinkers notice that or is it just my screwed up perception?
Does pot or prescription drugs do that too, even when they're properly prescribed?
I don't know why I want this information this morning but for some reason I do. Something I noticed that happened yesterday has piqued my interest.

[HopeHoops]

1. That's kind of the job description for some of them (like opioids).

[OneGrassRoot]

2. I don't notice it with everyone...

but I definitely notice that phenomenon with people who have had any sort of dependence issue -- however slight it may have been -- in the past.

Maybe it's hyper-vigilance on my part though. :shrug:

Good for you to have kicked your demon.

:yourock:

[madokie]

13. Thank you

I love where I am concerning this

[NeedleCast]

3. I Think It's More Dependent On The Person

I used to be a moderately heave drinker. I've cut back to what I would consider "light" (5-10 drinks in an average week, most of that being wine). I still have friends who drink pretty heavily and for the most part I've known them long enough to know how they'll act when they're drinking. Since I and most of my friends are in their 30s now, there's only one I know who "drinks to get drunk" and she's a friend of my fiance. I guess most people I know who do drink have been doing it long enough that they're all pretty predictable even when they drink heavily. Part of it may be the fact that I don't really associate with anyone I'd consider a mean or dangerous drunk.

[madokie]

17. That in a lot of ways sounds like me and my experience

or the way things were

[Fumesucker]

4. I think most people drink because of the fact it does change your personality..

Alcohol certainly makes a lot of people more outgoing, at least in moderate amounts.

[madokie]

18. It did me at first

I was using it as a crutch for years as I wouldn't go get the real help I needed so I climbed in the bottle and stayed there for a long time. Sure was a long time wasted is all I can think of now looking back on it.

[tridim]

5. I can only speak to cannabis..

When I had a prescription I noticed a distinct reduction in my daily stress levels, which in turn helped me sleep better which came with significant health benefits. I never got colds or the flu.

As soon as I was forced to stop, my anxiety levels shot up, sleep suffered significantly and I started getting sick more often.

Needless to say, I can't wait for legalization. It is pure evil to not let some people use Cannabis as medicine.

I have a bad reaction to alcohol, so I don't use it. It feels like I'm drinking poison.

[backtoblue]

6. I can relate

I had a problem with "binge" drinking a few years ago and I would drink until I blacked out. Now I can limit myself to one or two drinks on occasion, but no longer feel the need to be drunk.

Once you stop any mind-altering substance and are around others who are doing it, you do notice their changes in behavior because you're able to see and think clearly yourself. Many, many times I have thought "did I act like that?".


Props to ya for kicking your beast and well wishes :hi:

[madokie]

20. Thank you

we still have friends who drink but I notice they're slowly drifting away and I, in some cases, miss them but I really don't miss the drinking part.

[ThomWV]

7. I quit drinking totally 14 years ago, I know exactly what you are saying

I see it all the time. A person changes with the first sip of that fucking poison. The change is never - NEVER - for the better either. If it were up to me every single drop of that evil liquid would be destroyed this morning and it would be a crime punishable by death to make so much as another drop of it.

And if you are drinking a beer maybe once a month and a 6-pack lasts you longer than you can remember then you haven't quit drinking at all. You've just slowed down.

I hate alcohol, I despise being around people who have been drinking, I won't even bother trying to have a conversation with someone who has had so much as a single drink, there is no reason to.

[Mimosa]

Yikes.

Thom, that sounds fairly fanatical.

What do you think about people who enjoy wines with meals? Cooking with wine? Do you think boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin make people stupid?

[Morning Dew]

15. As a drinker

of 1 or 2 beers a year - I'm glad you're not in charge.

Making alcohol would be punishable by death?

Good Christ.

[Lyric]

21. ...in your not-so-humble opinion.

I suspect most reasonable people would disagree with you on just about everything in that post.

[Imajika]

22. Yeah, lets bring back prohibition...

...cause it worked so well last time around!

"If it were up to me every single drop of that evil liquid would be destroyed this morning and it would be a crime punishable by death to make so much as another drop of it."

So the death penalty for making booze eh? Not only do you want to ban alcohol, you want to kill people who make it. Prohibition and the Death Penalty together in one policy! You sound very progressive indeed.

"And if you are drinking a beer maybe once a month and a 6-pack lasts you longer than you can remember then you haven't quit drinking at all. You've just slowed down."

If someone is drinking a single beer a month, they are not an alcoholic and in fact have no problem at all. Casual, moderate drinking is not a problem. Most people can handle that without any issues.

I am thankful you aren't in charge.

[bluedave]

27. omg

a bleedin deacon

[Nye Bevan]

28. "Fucking poison"? Moderate drinkers live longer than teetotallers.

Health benefits of moderate alcohol use

Moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits. It may:

Reduce your risk of developing heart disease
Reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack
Possibly reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes
Lower your risk of gallstones
Possibly reduce your risk of diabetes


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024

[pipi_k]

33. There are a lot

of "mays" and "possiblies" in that article.

Too many to make an absolute claim that moderate drinking is conducive to longevity.

And the problem with alcohol...which I also see as "poison"...is that one can never know for sure beforehand whether s/he will become an out-of-control alcoholic.

By then, unfortunately, it's often too late.

I have seen too many of my family die from alcohol, either directly, or indirectly, so I figure I have a right to view it as poison.

[madokie]

31. I feel safe in saying I quit drinking

I know where you're coming from with trying to have conversation with someone who is drinking. I could imagine if I went to a bar now I'd be fighting to stay alive the whole time as someone would be punching me out because of taking me wrong because they got a head on.

I don't buy the I slowed it down meme though :hi: thats bullshit talking there

Anyways with you it sounds like you're either doing real well or shitty, which it is? I'm talking about the procedure you went through last week. My hope is you're doing well.

[WilliamPitt]

37. Wow

[Uben]

8. I don't know about the first swig.....

....but definitely shortly thereafter. I'm sure it doesn't take long for the alcohol to begin its mood enhancing effect. I used to drink a lot more, but I might drink two drinks a month, now, and I have not been intoxicated for a couple of years. As to the pot, that depends a lot on the potency factor. You can get almost an instant buzz with some high-grade stuff, and may not ever get a buzz on the bunkweed after a full joint. I stay away from prescription drugs unless I am writhing in pain.

My experience is that there are times when you become more "susceptible" to gratification than others. Whether it's an empty stomach, a blood condition, or something else, there is a difference.

[Iggo]

9. I've seen it a lot.

It's part of the ritual, even if it's not done consciously.

Kind of a put-on-your-game-face thing.

[Romulox]

10. Funny. Alcohol just doesn't "strike me", so to speak.

I can drink, and get drunk to be sure. But it just doesn't press any pleasure buttons in my brain. :shrug:

[brewens]

11. I'm celebrating 300 days of sobriety! No, not all in a row! LOL Seriously

also retired from competitive drinking. I had three shots of tequila last summer. All on different days at my buddies bar in a little resort town. That's all I've drank this year so far.

I still hang out with buddies at our Eagles Lodge and I know exactly what you mean. At first we're having a good time and I'm part of the conversation. They get drunker and louder and harder to communicate with. They aren't being nasty or anything. It's more like I'm not in the same groove, because I'm not drinking. Before long they are practically yelling at each other to get their point across. "NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYIN'". Stuff just like that. I realize I'm out of it and usually leave about then. It's really kind of funny.

[Old and In the Way]

12. I've self moderated my alcohol habits over the years.

While I enjoyed getting a pleasant buzz, it just wasn't worth the next day effects. It's not a condition conducive to doing much other than sitting and talking...and too much booze makes me talk too much with a escalating chance of saying some pretty stupid things.

OTOH, I do enjoy smoking a little pot and the creative energies that I get high. I concentrate better on the tasks at hand, enjoy repetitive tasks more, and do more creative analytical work. It's a shame that the stuff is so hard to come by while alcohol is so readily available.

[fascisthunter]

36. I concur....

...the drinking leaves me feeling a bit of the blues for a couple days if I over-do it, so I too moderate, especially with alcohol.

[get the red out]

14. I notice it

But I don't know if that's because the change is so noticeable or because I'm sensitive to the personality change since I no longer drink. I encountered someone who appeared "not right" recently, and while I believe it was drugs rather than alcohol, it struck me immediately.

I think anyone who has ever felt the need to stop altering themselves will notice someone else who's chemically altered very quickly.

[madokie]

25. I think you're right

I used to hang out in the bars with all kinds of personalities and now that I'm away from it I can even tell when someone is a tad buzzed in their voices even if I don't even see them.

[brewens]

16. One thing I noticed right away when I quit drinking heavily was the smell.

People that go on all weekend drinking binges have a particular odor. I noticed it frequently on Mondays when I worked for a beer distributor. It's not the smell of alcohol on someones breath but a distinctive post drunk form of bad breath. I hope I never was like that. I never noticed it really when I was drinking a lot.

[madokie]

29. I'm sure both of us were though

I drank daily so I know I did anyway. I worked with a kid and I could tell when he was on meth by the odor. a very offensive odor I might add. I'd have to tell him to go work on something else while I get this here and what you're doing now so I could get him away from me.

[pipi_k]

19. Do you find it difficult

at all to have the occasional drink or two?


The reason I'm asking is because I quit smoking in 1996. It wasn't easy, and it was actually the second time since 1983 that I had quit (the first time for five years).

Even after all this time, I know that I can't ever have even one cigarette again, or I'll be right back to my nicotine addiction. Sometimes I still find myself really wanting one, or dreaming that I've smoked a cigarette, then waking up and wondering if I really had.

Anyway, I've never had a problem with drinking, but I grow up with/spend a lot of time around alcoholics, so I'm very sensitive to the changes that happen when people drink. Because of my experiences, I get extremely uncomfortable around people drinking...

[madokie]

23. No the occasional drink just reminds me of why I quit in the first place

People who know me before I drank will be asking my wife will it hurt Dave if we bring some beverage with us tonight. Shes says no he won't mind and I don't.
I quit cigs in august of 77 and after I went three days without one I knew I'd never go back to smoking again. I did take a puff off a cigarette on a bet one night while I was drunk and best I remember it knocked me right out. Cigarettes or alcohol neither bothers me to be around them as far as me wanting to join in. I really hate ether one in the house as it takes a while to get the smell out.

[pipi_k]

34. You're very fortunate, then...

many drinkers just can't do that.

I once lived with a recovering alcoholic who got pissed off when I brought an empty wine bottle home from a friend's birthday party as a souvenir. I hadn't even drunk any of it.

The guy was so sensitive (or maybe unsure of his own ability to refrain from falling off the wagon) that I couldn't even enjoy a SIP of champagne during toasts to bride and groom during wedding receptions. I always felt like just having a sip would be like betraying him...

Not that I'm a drinker, as I said, but geez...one stinking SIP?



Anyway, I wish you continued good fortune in your quest for sobriety.

[Sal Minella]

35. I haven't had a cigarette for twenty years, but maybe once a year

now I will wake up after a nightmare that "I just had a cigarette!" I feel panicky and lost and doomed and terribly disappointed in myself -- fear of feeling that way stays with me for awhile -- and probably about the time it starts to fade, the nightmare happens again.

Self-preservation is a strange and mysterious thing.

[uppityperson]

24. It depends on the person but overall, no. Not a non-drinker, but don't drink much

Been around alcoholics, some recovered and some not. It dpends on the person, situation, etc.

[Zorra]

26. Interesting. I got drunk for the first time in a long time last week

I didn't like it, exactly because of what you just posted.

It changed me. And I like to be clear, and the wine made me foggy and dull. And it was boring.

I don't drink often, and when I do, it is usually very moderately.

But now, I am pretty sure that I'm just going to leave it behind altogether.

I'm done.
:hi:

[madokie]

30. Thats great news

I like that, 'I'm done' :toast:

[Locrian]

32. same here...

It's DIFFERENT if you've not drank for a long time (years etc).

It felt like it was poison, nothing enjoyable or "buzzed" about it, just a crappy feeling like when can I feel "normal" again?