Comments on: How To Be Socially Unacceptable (or Why I Quit Drinking)

By: Karol

Karol — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:32:43 +0000

Thanks for bucking the trend Eric.

The dudes calling you names aren’t real friends. That doesn’t mean you can’t get drunk with them if you want, but they won’t ever be the people looking out for your best interests.

Since writing this post over a year ago I drink again. It’s not all that often, but I do. For example, I was recently in New Orleans for 4 nights and I drank exactly one beer. When I see other people making fools of themselves it turns me off. :)

“Drinking is terrific fun, but its like Im useless for days after even moderate drinking.” – It’s good to know that limit.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:37:30 +0000

As a male in my early 20′s, if you want your friends to be concerned about you tell them you quit drinking lol. You may as well have died to them. People actually get angry when they hear this. Its as if you’re no “fun” anymore. I decided to give up drinking after a few epic hangovers and found out that after about a week of abstaining (I was in a frat in college so would be a long time to go sober) I feel “electric” as you stated. I would go out with my friends and tell them I wasnt gonna drink, to their chagrin, and hear replies like “come on, have some drinks with the boys”,”live life”,”I think you’re gonna look back and regret this”,”you’re being a p*ssy,b*tch, etc.”. I think you’re perceived as taking yourself too serious by abstaining. My friend actually told me a story of his friend who read a book about the dangers of alcohol and thus stopped as if it were a terrible tragedy and said friend was brainwashed for doing so. I think its easier from the peer pressure side for women to stop, but that might be a generalization. Drinking is terrific fun, but its like Im useless for days after even moderate drinking. After abstaining for a week I feel awesome, optimistic, full of energy, more confident, sharper thinking as opposed to down, anxious, moody, irritable. Its puzzling because most of my friends go out to bars on weekends and while you can attend and not drink, its pretty boring. Im confident I can 30 days with relative ease, if i do fail it will be due to intense peer pressure because of some rare occasion, like a good friends wedding, rather than my desire to consume alcohol.

By: Nate

Nate — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:36:45 +0000

Not sure how old this posting is, but wanted to let you know that I am starting a 30 day challenge today! I have always felt like I could quit drinking any time I wanted, but lately, I am not so sure. I turned 21 a few months ago and its been a little rough since then. Anyway, time to see if I am just as mentally bad ass as I think I am. Thanks for your blog for inspiring this. Looks like you post some good stuff. Will read more!

By: jay

jay — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:44:26 +0000

currently ive been trying to stop drinking for a variety of reasons, and i’ve been surprised and annoyed by my friend’s resistance to it. my main motivation for not drinking is being able to drive (on my license you can’t have any alcohol) because its so much easier. i also really hate the taste of alcohol.
it actually makes me quite angry when my friends will keep trying to make me drink when i’ve said i dont want to, because i dont try and tell them to be sober. i dont see how it makes any difference to them whether i drink or not since its not like when i’m sober i sit in the corner alone and when i drink i become some sort of entertaining party animal. if anything i would have expected them to encourage me to stay sober so i can drive, since it is cheaper and easier for them to not have to catch the bus or pay for taxis.
lol maybe i should try the ‘socially unacceptable’ line next time they try pressuring me to drink and they will finally shutup.

By: Karol

Karol — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:15:54 +0000

That’s fantastic Bender! I went about 5 or 6 months. Now I drink if I feel like it, but it’s still pretty rare.

By: Bender

Bender — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:54:08 +0000

Hey Karol,
I just reread my post from 11 months ago. I couldn’t remember exactly when I gave up alcohol after reading your article on being “Socially Unacceptable.” So, yeah, it’s officially been over a year and I honestly do not miss it at all. I started with a month, then 2, then figured why not an entire year!? Now that I have done it, I really can’t think of a good reason to start up again!!
Still loving your site and appreciating your outlook on life. All the best to you!!

- bender

By: Karol

Karol — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:07:27 +0000

You can thank Phil Anselmo for that line. :)

By: Rosa

Rosa — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:01:57 +0000

“I feel god dam electric” I love it !
I was trying to explain to a friend how good I was feeling lately and was having trouble explaining this, but this sums it up!

By: Karol

Karol — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:44:37 +0000

Hey Christopher,

Kudos for being supportive and for cutting out animal products.

I’m assuming you’re asking about how I’m doing not drinking? I mentioned it elsewhere on this blog, and for the life of me I don’t remember where, but I am not a 100% teetotaler. That lasted almost 5 months. Now I say I’m not a drinker, but that doesn’t mean I won’t drink. I especially won’t drink if it’s the “cool” thing to do or if I’m out places where I’m expected to drink.

Example: 2 weeks ago I went to a restaurant with 34 other people. :) About an hour in we pretended it was my birthday (not to get anything free, but just to make a lot of noise and sing “Sto Lat”) … then someone decided we needed to do shots since it was my birthday. And 35 shots were poured. I grabbed an empty shot glass and pretended to do a shot with everybody then gave away my actual shot.

Cheers,
Karol

By: Christopher Cassada

Christopher Cassada — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:10:04 +0000

I have been a vegetarian off and on again since high school. Most recently, my wife and I gave up meat (ovo-lactovegetarians) and have raised both of our children with the understanding that a vegetable based diet is a better choice for your body mind and soul. 30 days ago, my wife confronted an alcohol abuse issue that runs through her family. Being a good husband, I agreed, unwillingly, to go through this with her. After a couple weeks sober, I felt awesome. She on the other hand had to deal with the demons that come along with alcoholism, the guilt, withdrawal, etc… and so I decided, I needed to give up something that would be difficult for me too. So, I gave up all animal byproducts (eggs, dairy, cheese, honey, etc). It’s been two weeks now and I feel even better. I have experienced some food enlightenment. By choosing to limit your diet whether for health or spiritual reasons, you are forced to eat better. I have to think about my meals in a way that I didn’t have to even on a vegetarian diet. So, stumbling across your blog, I am curious, how are you doing now after your first year?