Personally, I could never have imagined I would be writing a blog post like this. I love going out with my friends and getting drunk on the weekends (and occasionally during the week). Drinking is great for allowing you to feel confident and relaxed enough to have a good time on a night out but there are definitely some side affects.
I’m going to run you through my situation then take a look at how you can follow my lead and deal with the social consequences that drinking brings.
My Situation
I always like to be able to get personal with an author so you will probably see this section in most of the blog posts on this site. Currently, If I’m completely honest, I do drink. However, in the last 3 weeks that I have started following this plan, I have been out 4 nights in a row and drank only red bull.
The benefits:
- I was able to drive me and my friends home safely
- I felt great the next morning
- I’m able to push myself to become more confident and social without needing alcohol
- I knew what I was doing on a night out, and didn’t get involved in anything risky
There have been times in these 3 weeks where I’ll just have one or two drinks, but never a time that I’ve been hammered like usual, and I’ve felt so much better for it.
I think the best way for people to quit is of course to want to quit, I understand the benefits and I want to push myself to do something that I didn’t think would be very possible. First and foremost, do it for yourself, not to make others proud or have something to brag about if you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished much.
I also don’t agree with going cold-turkey i.e. if you quit you quit, and that is it, no off nights where you have a couple of drinks. I’m doing this steadily to gradually get myself out of the habit until there becomes a time when I feel like there is no need to continue to drink. Others may disagree with me on this and have their own thoughts but I guess what matters is what the best solution for you entails.
Why People Drink
Allow me to ask you a quick question; if that alco-pop or that beer was non alcoholic, would you still drink it? I’m pretty certain the answer would be no. When it comes down to it, alcoholic drinks don’t really taste that great, that’s why Coke, Sprite and Fanta are much more popular then people drinking cans of non-alcoholic beer or non alcoholic vodka and juice.
The reason most people drink alcohol is to allow them to feel confident, relaxed and it also allows us to enjoy ourselves more in a certain situation that may otherwise have not been that exciting. During the course of this blog I’m going to look at ways in which you can get these feelings without needing to be drunk.
Dealing with the Social Pressure
Although deciding to stop drinking alcohol has a lot of health and social benefits, theres also a negative side in that to most people it is not normal and it might make certain social situations difficult. Following, I’m going to outline some of the best ways to deal with the social pressure from others:
1. Be the Driver
Nobody argues with someone that is driving and isn’t drinking, even if you aren’t that confident in your situation you can say to the random people you meet on a night out that you are the driver and they probably won’t think anything of it.
Of course, this is a sign that you are not fully calibrated with your non-drinking decision but when you are just starting out this can work well.
2. Be Confident in Your Decision
If you have the will-power to quit drinking in the first place, then I think that you are probably able to hold your own when your buddies are insulting you for not drinking (this really happens if you’ve never experienced it).
Be confident in your decision, don’t make excuses for yourself; you will be surprised how normal and friendly people can act when you are assertive and confident about your actions.
3. Buy an ‘Alcoholic looking drink’
One of my personal favourites is brandy and coke, I could simply buy a coke and my buddies would be none the wiser about the liquid in my glass.
If you want to stop and aren’t really confident enough to tell people, you might want to buy a drink that looks like it could be mixed with vodka / rum / brandy. Another thing I like to do is get a red bull or similar energy drink, people will often think it is mixed with vodka and it can help give you the energy to last late into the night.
In Summary
If you don’t want to quit drinking then don’t, I hold nothing against people who like to drink alcohol. However, I would suggest that you don’t make it difficult for those who choose to lead a healthier life.