Is there a joy in alcohol that im missing?

[the iguana]

Maybe i'm weird, i'm still unsure....

 

Allow me to introduce myself, i'm 22, a college student and currently dating a girl. I am also narcoleptic and i try to maintain heavy moral standards in my life.

 

That out of the way, i was curious as to why people find drinking fun, and getting fully drunk. I tried twice to get drunk, and each time i find the buzz i get very un-fun. People, including my girlfriend, love to do this every weekened, and tell me how much fun i'm missing out on. I tell people "i don't like to drink" but my problem really is "i don't like the buzz, so ill drink a small cup socially." Now, im not sure if my condition (narco) prevents me from acurately feeling what most college kids deem as 'fun'

 

And i really really resent dating a girlfriend who chugs down alcohol like its a prize winning contest.

 

what are your thoughts? am i weird?

[JohnnyRingo]

nah man, your not a weirdo. you just dont have an attraction to alcohol. nothin wrong with that. thats just you, and many people are the same way. if it doesnt appeal to you then dont worry about it. do what you want to do. i think its fun to drink. but at the same time i rarely do it and i dont mind at all. you dont feel the need to drink and you dont like the feeling of getting drunk. very understandable. your normal. just dont worry about it.

[ReadyorNot]

I dont think you are weird... .I find drinking very un-fun as well.. Im 24..... I have bever been into drinking really.. but maybe thats cause my mom abuses alcohol...... If anything... I like the way I feel after one or two drinks.... but I dont like getting "drunk"!

[cleverme123]

I see no point in drinking. Couldn't understand why everyone else did it. It takes more of a person to walk away than it does to sit there and drink your way to oblivion. All I can say is uphold your morals and don't let them pressure you into doing something stupid. Once your hooked it's a hard habit to break.

[tea]

you're not weird. More than 4 of my guy friends said "I don't drink," and "I don't like to drink." At occasions where there are alchohol, they just politely turn drinks down and sip on their soda.

 

I dislike alchohol too and I know a few girls who also dislike alchohol. I usually go to a party with my own drink, juice or something, so they'll know I'm not drinking. Sometimes I ask my bf to pick out a juice like alchohol with no more than 7% for me so I can carry that to the party and cut down how much alchohol my friends will be taking.

 

Bf was an alchoholic... now he still loves drinking, he just doesn't allow himself to be drunk...too often. Eh. Well, I don't resent dating him. I just make sure I take care of him when he's drunk.

[odysseus77]

stick to your guns buddy...it takes a strong person to not do those things and cave to peer pressure, drinking is the easy path cause everyone walks it...follow your path and dont give a ***if its the "normal" path or not

[Meow18]

I don't like to drink either. I never have before and I never will. I just think its so pointless. I can have fun without being drunk or drinking, so why do it? Also I hear so many stories, on here especially, about girls who get drunk and have sex with guys and later regret it and blame it on the alcohol.

 

My boyfriend thinks the same about drinking, that its stupid and pointless. Me and him are like the only people who don't drink at all out of all our friends. Its kind of weird.

 

Its fine if you don't like to drink. Not everyone does. If you can have fun just being yourself and not getting drunk then there's no point to it. If your girlfriend and friends think that you are stupid for not drinking, then thats their opinion. If you don't like it, you don't have to do it. It seems like they don't hate you for it, I mean they are still your friends and girlfriend.

 

If they question you about it, just tell them you don't like it and they just need to accept that and get over it

.

[sisterlynch]

I don't like drinking either, it is just an excuse to do things that you wouldnt normally do or tolerate people that you wouldn't normally tolerate.

 

Smoking and drinking are so bad for us, I wish that we would all commit to stop.

 

If the girl drinks so much, you should tell her that her drinking is making you uncomfortable. If she continues to drink -- she will be aware of the reason for you leaving her, I hope!!

 

I am in my late 30's and people around me are dying!! It is so weird. I can't believe that many people are dying that are either in their early 40's or even early 30's!!

 

Yo people, when you are a little older, you will start to notice that things are a little harder all of a sudden, it is difficult to understand when it happens, but it does make you regret the waisted days.

[OceanEyes]

Who cares what other people have to say about your personal choices - you choose what to (and what NOT to) put into your body. If you were my friend I would respect your choice.

 

However, I also don't like people who come down on me for drinking; preaching and having self-rightgeous "advice" makes me feel judged. If I respect someone's choice for choosing not to drink, I would also like my choices respected to have a couple of drinks over the weekend. I do not see anything wrong with moderate amounts of alcohol taken responsibly (no drunk driving or aggression).

 

I don't like drinking either, it is just an excuse to do things that you wouldnt normally do or tolerate people that you wouldn't normally tolerate.

 

If these things are destructive and dangerous in some way, then I would consider it a bad thing. However, if someone who is normally shy has a couple of drinks and ends up being able to talk to people and be more outgoing, what's the harm? Life is just too short to try and analyse all of our little insecurities. If someone who is socially withdrawn has a hard time approaching people, but after a couple of drinks feels more confident and actually can start 'getting in there' and making some friends, I really see it as being a positive, not a negative. Responsible people with non-addictive personalities shouldn't have problems having a couple of drinks on weekends.

 

It's not right for people to judge the fact that you choose not to drink. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to stay clear and sober. But, it's also not fair to judge people who do choose to have drinks at parties with friends - it works both ways in my opinion. If you really don't like drinking and it offends you that much, it would be better to hang out with people who feel the same way - nobody is judged, there is no pressure or preaching, and everyone would relate to and get along much better.

[the iguana]

Its also great to be LEFT out of parties where all your friends are at but they know you don't like alcohol - so they leave you out. Such is my case. I always say 'why not me, i'd be the person who keeps everyone out of trouble or from driving home but *nope*, they don't like that, either i drink or i'm left out. So i choose to work late night shifts so i can't possibly go to parties ANYWAY. As for designated drivers, i'd volunteer, but being left out of it leaves just the drunks to fend for the flock: i have friends pick the LEAST drunk friend to drive and it pisses me off. Dangerous.

 

Lately parties i go to are only because of my girlfriend dragging me to them. She won't drink when i'm around. But if i let her go off with her friends w/o me, she goes chug-a-lug...

 

Oh well, i take pennance that i'm finishing my degree and moving to greener grass in less than a year...

[xbox_modding_freak]

I hate the smell and taste of beer (apart from baileys)

 

Its not weird....Beer tastes like acid and all your doing is poisioning yourself

 

Alot of the times i refuse to talk to my dad or uncles if they have had some beer they're breath stinks!

 

 

-XmF

[odysseus77]

i just hate people who are fake preachers...people who all along had preached about how drinking was stupid/immature, and then when they get with a group of people who do it, they just go along with the crowd, that is weakness..but if you have done it from the start and never waver from your beliefs i aint got no beef with you

[drahcir]

For me, I don't drink either. I don't have any moral objections to drinking, as long as that drinking is responsible. But I just don't see the fun in drinking.

[69_king]

I drink for two reasons:

 

1) I like the taste of whatever I'm drinking. I don't like the taste of most standard North American beers so I don't drink them, but I do enjoy the taste of many other alcoholic beverages.

 

2) I'm a little shy but after a couple of drinks I tend to loosen up a bit and I definitely enjoy myself more.

 

 

BUT I never (well, almost never) get totally drunk. AND I never drink and drive. When I do have a drink with friends I rarely have more than 3 or 4 standard drinks in one night. And I don't drink every day. But I am in control of myslef and I can get the positives out of it without the negatives.

 

There are positives in drinking alcohol if you are responsible. Unlike smoking, of which I can't think of any positives.

[ShySoul]

I've never had any desire to drink and never will. I've seen drinking mess up peoples lives and seen people make complete fools out of themselves while drinking. Those are not things I want to happen to me. Plus, I just don't see any point in it. I've ran down every argument that people have made to try to get me to drink and can't find one that's convincing.

 

1. Everyone does it - Well that's not a smart excuse. Obviously not everyone does it. And even if everyone else did, that doesn't mean I should. You need to stick to your beliefs and not just follow the crowd.

 

2. I like the taste - Juice tastes pretty good to me and its a lot healthier for you. I'll stick to that.

 

3. For the experience - Not all experiences are good ones that we should try. If its an experience I have no desire to live, there's no point in me trying it.

 

4. To have fun - Yes, acting like an idiot is fun. So much fun, I forgot to laugh. Really, I can think of a 1000 ways to have fun and none of them involve alcohol. I'll stick with them.

 

5. To build confidence - If you need alcohol to loosen you up, isn't that more a sign of insecurity? You are not really facing your shyness or fears, you are letting the alcohol cloud your judgement. Alcohol affects your brain and you loose your inhibitions. But thats not necessarily a good thing. If you really want to work on your confidence, you need to work on yourself without having some crutch to lean on like alcohol.

 

Add in the dangers and there is no point in having alcohol. Stick to your guns and do what you believe is right.

[69_king]

Its not like drinking automatically means acting like an idiot.

 

Having a single beer with my friends after a round of golf does not mean I am suddenly going to go and make sexually gratuitous remarks to the drink cart girl and then start doing a funky dance on the 18th green and then go and crash my car into a telephone pole!!

 

Yes, juice tasted good too, but for me nothing beats an ice cold beer after a day in the hot sun!

 

 

What I'm getting at is that there is a difference between simply having a casual drink or just getting totally wasted.

[Caldus]

I go out and drink once in a while but rarely. It's definitely not something I do every weekend. I do it because it loosens me up a lot more than ever and we all have a great time for the rest of the night. maggie is right though, you don't need to drink in order to have fun. So that's why I rarely do it. In fact, the last time I went out drinking was in November. To answer the original poster's question, no you aren't really missing as much as you think you are.

[MetalJoe]

I started drinking when I was about 17 and stopped when I was 19, because I cut out a lot of things in my diet that might be agitating my severe panic attacks. I never went back to drinking because I realised that it made me very shy and quiet and that I was having more fun sober.

 

For the record, I couldn't stomach the taste of beer - I used to stick to cider and the odd glass of red wine.

 

Interestingly, over the years more and more friends of mine have either stopped drinking or will only have the odd glass of wine.

[ShySoul]

I meant specifically when people get drunk they act like idiots. But even a few drinks can cause people to say or do foolish things that they wouldn't want to say or do if they had been thinking clearly. And how do you think it starts? Do you think that alcoholics start off with the intention of getting drunk or is it usually that they have the occasional casual drink and then find themselves having it more and more? There are plenty of things that are more fun then drinking. I'm actually going to make a list of all the things I'd rather do than drinking, I'll get back to you when its done.

[Caldus]

Yes, most people act like idiots when drunk. I know I do. Like I said I rarely do it and only drink with other friends. I never go out to some random party and drink with random people. Never a good idea. If I drink with friends, then it's much safer and actually more fun too. Most of the time we end up not drinking anyway. You're right, there are plenty of other fun things to do.

[the iguana]

Once in a while i will have a glass of marsala or pinot grigio at the table with my parents, depends on the type of meat that's prepared. I have been getting small amounts of wine for supper since I was of illegal age: since 8 . But not once did i break into the cabinet to get wasted. Personally that gallon of Poland Springs water does it for me, quenches my thirst and all, no aftertaste, good healthy feeling.

 

At 22, I already feel I have no control over my life, why would i want to lose any MORE control of it under excessive alcohol abuse?

[Ghost_ape]

I drink for two reasons:

 

1) I like the taste of whatever I'm drinking. I don't like the taste of most standard North American beers so I don't drink them, but I do enjoy the taste of many other alcoholic beverages.

 

2) I'm a little shy but after a couple of drinks I tend to loosen up a bit and I definitely enjoy myself more.

 

 

BUT I never (well, almost never) get totally drunk. AND I never drink and drive. When I do have a drink with friends I rarely have more than 3 or 4 standard drinks in one night. And I don't drink every day. But I am in control of myslef and I can get the positives out of it without the negatives.

 

There are positives in drinking alcohol if you are responsible. Unlike smoking, of which I can't think of any positives.

 

Too true, 69 king. Too true.

There are many positive aspects to drinkign that are sometimes just overlooked, as young people in this day and age tend to drink in excess, expecting it to do what considerably less could have done for them.

 

Alcohol isn't called the great social lubricant for nothing, heheheh.

But if you're even a little over your limit, it's nothing but poison.

 

Now, as for limits...Well, we all learn our limits either through seeing someone learn the hard way, or learning the hard way ourselves.

 

(I, for one learned the hard way.)

 

My regards to the original poster:

I don't know much about narcolepsy, but I'd wager it is affecting your ability to enjoy drinking....at least beer.

Have you ever tried anything else alcoholic?