Unpopular General Opinions • Page 161

I've gotten in the bad habit of having a drink with dinner most nights... which some nights leads to one or two more, and that I don't like. I'm trying to not drink on weeknights now, which I think is a step in the right direction for myself.

 

yay go Dustin go

 

You're absolutely right about this though; both my parents are alcoholics, my father was a horrific drug addict/alcoholic to the point of near death multiple times and I notice those tendencies in myself too - craving a drink at work and needing to immediately have one when I get home, drinking on the weekdays, etc. It's insidious because we can have this idea in our heads, especially if we grew up with it, on what addiction is, but how it starts is probably having 2-3 drinks every day of the week. I didn't even drink as teen/most of my 20's because I was scared of becoming my father, but the past 2 years I have started to drink and over time it has started to become a habit and I am not happy about that.

But that's awesome dude and you should be really proud!!!

 

I still drink but I’ve cut it down to one night a week and it cannot be a work night. It gets boring sometimes but it’s been almost this whole year so I’m getting used to it.

 

Exactly! And like even just now a few posts back I was still scared to call it my own alcoholism and referred to it as a "problem" but is it really just a "problem"? I don't really know. I don't think it's a dependency but like...I knew it probably would've become one. Even still there's just this massive gray area and I think it's because all of us see the same approach around us CONSTANTLY and we don't think anything of it. Looking back it's kinda terrifying. But I do think as long as we know that and recognize that and can self-evaluate we'll be okay! And not everyone has to quit drinking like I did of course haha that'd be absurd, I just know I have an addictive personality especially when it comes to beverages in front of me. I always have to be drinking something whether it's water or juice or whatever so with alcohol it was destined to go downhill.

 

I respect that you took the initiative and got ahead of it. I think the choice is personal for everybody, and we all need to evaluate our own limits and work within that. But you recognized that something was off and did something about it. You don't need a label for that, you're just doing the best thing for yourself and setting your own limits.

 

The last drink I had was with my friends, celebrating the end of classes for another trimester. That was two months ago. For me, alcoholism began by wanting to fill a void in my life, and needing to drown out the depression I didn’t understand. Then it was drinking on weeknights, hiding bottles in the house and hanging out with people who were bad news to get more alcohol. It’s so normalised to get home and have a drink after a hard day. It quickly spiralled into something much more sinister, something my brain and body won’t ever recover from. Even though I had drinks with friends recently without too much guilt, I do wish it was easier to hang out where there’s zero alcohol. Or to not feel like a downer when everyone’s ordering a drink and you order a soda. I wish concert venues stopped selling alcohol sometimes, simply because being around drunk men makes me so uncomfortable that I’m constantly looking at exit signs, preparing for the worst. They’re bigger issues though: venues needing the money from patrons to survive, and not enough of them protecting vulnerable people from being assaulted. I already have struggles with anxiety and the last thing I need is to feel like the odd one out.

Sorry for the vent

 

I do agree I wish it was easier to hangout with friends and there not be alcohol involved. Being in your mid 20s almost everything involves alcohol and it’s almost “awkward” to have friends over or go to a friends house etc and not have alcohol or the expectation to drink. I really do miss being free of that “pressure” sometimes

 

I think the normalization of drinking excessively is why the wine mom thing bothers me. The tee hee it's wine o clock! And all the wine puns normalizing drinking wine constantly. I don't think there's anything wrong with drinking necessarily but it's def used as a crutch a lot. Alcoholism runs in my family so I try to be careful with it. I won't drink when I'm upset or stressed for that reason. But it's so normalized I'm not trying to judge at all. Sometimes I feel like an uptight loser for not doing it more and letting loose and having fun, and it can be lonely. It's such a social thing to drink which can be dangerous, and ppl can be so weird when u choose not to do it. It's like a big awkward spotlight u didn't ask for

 

I never "fell off the wagon" persay, but I had to do a six month sobriety period during college to get my head back on straight. I drink about once a month now

 

tbf people don't need an excuse to be dicks to service workers

 

You phrased this like you think service workers deserve it

 

oh no haha they're braver than the troops

 

Definitely not, I just always thought it was funny that these people felt like they had an excuse...and voiced it to me with absolutely no shame.

 

I don't drink so it's always wild to me how big a part of our culture it is and also I wish more places had mocktails or other offerings because it sucks when it's like here's a 6 page list of all our alcohol oh you don't drink here's your Diet Coke you make me sick

 

I actually think you're right. Also because if a restaurant had SOME level of creativity, they can make good money off non drinkers if they tried. Instead of charging you $3 for a diet coke. They could charge you like $6 for a mango mint etc drink. Great margins

 

If you have Spotify, The Ringer puts out a short 8 min. or so thing called The Hottest Take...i love it, and they did one on Pets that's pretty funny.

 

on the coffee thing i tried to perform some mental gymnastics to twist it around, but this thread made me realize im 1 of those "dont take to me until ive had my coffee" ppl. i mean i dont act like a dick or actually say that to ppl after i wake up but i wish i could. in general im dependent on caffeine and nicotine and not a morning person at all and coffee is a pillar of my morning routine and i get irritable when i cant go thru my morning routine or when ppl try to antagonize me in the morning. fact is coffee wakes me up and helps me take my morning shit. i just want to have some peace to start my day off right before i get bombarded by the pressures of daily life i dont think thats alot to ask tbh.

 

Being irritable because you're in withdrawal (however minor) is not bad or your fault, I think its just that the "don't talk to me until I've had my coffee" has become such a cultural meme that people exaggerate or use it as an excuse

 

well i mean it kind of is my fault tbh for drinking enough of it to get withdrawal and i could stop drinking it if i wanted to but wont cuz im sleep deprived alot from work hours and need a boost. also i just really like the taste of coffee ha.

 

This is on my mind almost constantly tbh.

 

I might drink coffee once a week now, and I normally regret it after since I won’t be able to eat, and it makes me anxious. I used to drink it constantly though and tbh I sorta just stopped without thinking about it so I’m not sure what changed. I wish I could say the same about alcohol lol..

 

I tried to be a coffee drinker because i think it smells good and I'm intrigued by like the ~world of coffee and all the different roasts and stuff, but at the end of the day I am just uncultured swine when it comes to coffee, beer, wine, etc.

 

I can't tell if I'm just a dinosaur but I don't get the streetwear trend at all, like I think some people like Billie Eilish and Pete Davidson rock it but like wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt just seems kind lazy for the most part
also I know some of it is skater culture but it also seems kinda cultural appropriation/gentrification, because so must of it originated with POCs

 

I wouldn’t call it cultural appropriation, I’d just say it’s enjoying a style and wearing it.