Am I missing out by not drinking?

[SandyCat]

Semi serious question for once. I dont know any drinking fans to ask this question in person so im hoping my fellow drunk kiwis can help me out. And I'm not talking about Ethan ralph levels of drinking, im referring to drinking in general.

For context I never drank before in my entire life. Just never felt a reason to. I've also had the worry of becoming reliant on it as a way to drown out my constant passive anxiety which caused me to shy away but I've always wondered if I'm mising out

Or do I just skip straight to injecting whole marijuanas?

 

[Skitarii]

Yes and you should feel bad

 

[Retink]

You're not missing out on much. I'm probably a very mild alcoholic, and I mean VERY mild, but it does fuck you up and it you end up in situations where you just feel like shit constantly so you want to drink more. I've actually started really dialing it back after a couple years of binge drinking at a bit of a crazy job where it devolved into myself and a couple other higher ups leaving for extended liquid lunches that lasted until night time.

The hardest part is returning to normal, as there's always the question of "why am I not drunk now?" when watching shows or doing other stuff. The obvious answer is because despite believing it's more fun or insightful, it's actually just more shit.

 

[Divine right to rule]

"Missing out" is a concept you should let go.
Life is not a checklist to be filled, and neither is anybody who has more ticks than you better at life.

If you want to try it, why not? There is no real harm in it. Drinking a bit of alcohol relaxes and opens you up in social situations, which is how most people use it.
Just don't start drinking alone during the daytime to drown out the pain of existence, and you will be fine.

 

[Weed Eater]

I don't like drinking, I don't like the taste of alcohol and there aren't a lot of times where I've had a truly balanced drink to save my life. Getting drunk isn't very fun either, considering you have to push yourself to your drinking limits, at least for me personally. I dunno, just do what you feel like, moderation and having fun is key.

 

[JethroTullamore]

As someone who drinks every day, I do wish I could quit sometimes, but I’m a pretty big fan.

But yeah I’d say your missing out by not at least trying it, hell I got drunk for the first time as a teenager.

Blackouts are the most fun, there’s nothing like waking up with one shoe on, on your front porch trying to figure out if that was a dream you had, or if you really did try to fight the ballon clown that was at the bar I’m not allowed in any more.

 

[Afinepickle]

Eh, depends on how you look at it I guess. The biggest drawback I noticed is that if you develop a palette for good booze and can't go back to the cheap shit then it'll definitely take a hit on your wallet but man is some of that shit good.

As for dependency that is honestly a potential risk to consider particularly if you have depression because in all honesty NOTHING kicks depression's ass better than booze does. However, the problem is that unlike medications it is a very temporary salvation with a big downswing and if you start getting used to that feeling of simply not being sad anymore that alcohol gives you then you can very easily fall down a rabbit hole of drinking basically constantly to maintain that state of being.

I'm blessed by genetics with an enormous tolerance so I can't get blackout no matter how much I drink but from what I've seen from other people they run the gamut of either becoming sloppy absurd and fairly entertaining if you're in the right mindset to angry, violent and dangerous on the other end of it. Dunno what causes that to be honest but I've met people in my life who if they drink heavy go straight to the latter and as a result just cannot be around booze or they simply become dangerous; it's rare though.

All that said some of my fondest memories from my youth involve a bottle of whiskey in the middle of the woods with me and a bunch of lads acting like jackasses but I'm an oldfag and I have no idea if you Zoomers even do shit like that anymore. It's good fun though.

So I guess my advice would be try it out to see if you enjoy and if it turns out you REALLY enjoy it then just try not to get addicted. Also do yourself a favor and don't go down the rabbit hole of Scotch Whisky, Wine vintages and Microbrews unless you don't mind never having any money.

 

[RollerGator]

Just smoke weed. I like to get high and exercise or read books. Can't do that so well with a belly full of booze sloshing around.

 

[I fucking love Cocaine]

Don't worry about it. If you don't feel drinking alcohol you aren't losing anything.

Actually, by not drinking alcohol, like I do, it's going to healthy for ya - as it doesn't make you look like an old fart while you're actually in your 30s (hint: see Ralph) and it doesn't give you the classic alcoholic belly which is just gross, IMO

 

[Professor G. Raff]

I have a very recent and relevant account.

I myself had never drank into adulthood for basically the exact same reason in not seeing any real point, even mentioned it in some thread before. However, just earlier this month my brother who is a heavy drinker was having his bachelor party and as a fun gift I told him I'd have my first drink at his party since he never really understood why I didn't. So, during the 4 day trip I drank and fully expected to get easily smashed due to zero tolerance.

So, first things first alcohol is mostly disgusting when you have no taste for it. First day I had a Corona (gross) and a rum & coke (semi-gross). The next day I hit really hard for a non-drinker with 3 margaritas (pretty good), 5 mixed fruity rum drinks (REALLY good on the fist one... the next 4 ranged from bad to pretty good, the mix must have been messed up by the bartender) and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon (Barf). Day after that I had a couple Red Bull + whiskey drinks (average) and what was basically a long island iced tea milkshake (very good, but only because the alcohol taste was completely covered). I also had a glass of very expensive wine on the 2nd day which I wanted to give it's own section because it was one of the worst thing I have ever tasted... just getting it down my throat was a challenge, but my bro's father-in-law's rich friends who got it all commented on how good it is... I think this speaks to the differences of non-drinkers and drinkers pallets.

Here is where I think things go to being less useful, I might need to make a thread about this to query drinkers if it's unusual... but I did not get any kind of effect from the alcohol at all. The first day I only had the two drinks which I thought would do something since it was my first time, but it wasn't too much. The next day is when I drank 3 margaritas, the glass of wine, the 5 rums and the Pabst beer all within a few hours and got nothing from it. At that point it just seemed like reaching an actual drunk state would take excessive amounts so I gave up the next day only drinking the things my bro directly insisted on.

My overall experience, because I didn't even get a buzz, is that it's not worth drinking stuff that tastes pretty bad for no reason. If I wanted to get drunk, the price it would cost in harder stuff would just be too much. So, at least from a similar starting point person I would say you didn't miss out.

Though, if the opportunity comes up I'll try weed at this point just to see if that works and to experience an altered state at least once.

 

[Book Thief]

I've never drank, and never plan to, so while I can't say whether or not you're missing out on some wild bingers, you aren't alone in your thinking that alcohol is a waste of time and money, as well as a potential liability.

If you want to, go right ahead. You're (presumably) an adult, so you can make your own choices. We're all just a bunch of faggots on the internet. We're not your dad, and we aren't your party buddies peer pressuring you into doing a hand-standing chug challenge.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Getting drunk is really getting a form of poisoning if you think about it.

 

[Spud]

Yes you are missing out by not drinking

 

[Shig O'nella]

No. You're not really missing anything.

 

[Grinrow]

Yeah theres nothing better than getting drunk with the boys after work and then waking up for work and doing it all over again

Just smoke weed. I like to get high and exercise or read books. Can't do that so well with a belly full of booze sloshing around.

Weed is gay, boring and just makes you tired theres better more fun drugs todo

 

[Moths]

No

 

[UncleFezziesPantsPuppet]

Besides wet brain, not much.

 

[The Southwest Strangla]

no, alcohol is a depressant/carcinogenic. unless you really want to have impaired muscle movements/thoughts and increasing your chance in developing cancer/heart disease, then don't. also, the same goes for weed, don't do drugs. just take care of your body since once you're gone, you're gone.

Spoiler: Your Brain on drugs/booze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UimsGPv-SX8&t=187s

 

[scallion]

Don't start it sucks when you can't stop

 

[Niggaplease]

no its fun in the moment but at the end of the day you always have to pay the piper, hang overs are hard to wake up with. Like you feel like death warm over, then again I drank to escape my shity existence and to not acknowledge my problems.