I didn't drink often, not more than once a week. But it was usually a binge episode, having at least 10 drinks.
Has anybody stopped? What were the benefits? I am thinking that the reduction of stress on the body might lead to clearer thinking during work, etc.
Never drank in my life till 25 due to growing up in India and luckily finding myself among folks who didn't drink most of the time. I then had a chance to decide without baggage and never drink in my life.
The voluntary reasons are several, but the primary is the fact that I respect my authority over my mind too much. Even if you're slightly drunk, you're legally not allowed to drive. Neither are you considered "able" to give consent for things. Suggests to me (rightly?) That we momentarily don't consider people who are drunk as human, but as some mentally challenged being that is incapable of good reason. I personally feel like voluntarily becoming a mentally challenged person just to get a buzz is just too demeaning, so it encourages me to stay dry.
Why completely dry? It's always easiest to draw the line where it's absolutely clear, and with "addictive" things like drinking it's easiest to draw it at 0.
Just fyi, i think most people would consider having 10 drinks in a single session, once a week, to be "often"
I used to go to parties, drink too much, and then act like a jerk.
My brother-in-law kicked me out of his house. After I stopped binge drinking and atoned I get along better with my brother-in-law, which is a real benefit.
Otherwise:
The worst immediate consequence of overdrinking is that you feel worse the next day. Alcohol can mess up your sleep and also feed into the metabolic disorder behind insulin resistance and Type II diabetes.
I don't think you will notice a difference between 2 beers a night and no alcohol at all, but if you drink more than that you probably will perform worse the next day.
- neurotoxic.
- carcinogenic.
If that's not persuasive, I don't know what else could be.
I didn't notice any difference other than it completely resets your tolerance. After the break it only takes one beer to feel buzzed, whereas before it was 2-3. In a big city, I'd recommend trying it once regardless of the benefits because it is challenging from a social POV. A surprising number of events center around alcohol, and people think it is strange that you're not drinking.
I mostly stopped, not particularly by trying, but just by sort of growing out of the lifestyle and almost like, "forgetting" to drink, after a while. I'm big on the forgetting thing. When I failed to quit smoking dozens of times, it was by paying close attention to what day/time I was going to stop, how long it had been since then, etc. In other words, thinking a lot about smoking. The time when I finally succeeded, was the time when I just sort of forgot to smoke. Although note that there was undoubtedly an "infrastructure of forgetting" in place, without which it wouldn't have been possible to forget. For example the band I was in (with two smokers) broke up, so I stopped being reminded so often of smoking. So set yourself up for success by going through and trying to get rid of things that remind you of drinking. And don't make a big deal of it or count the days. Certainly "Only 5 days left until I can drink again" is a sign of failure, but in my opinion so is "Alcohol-free for 12 days! ... 13 days! ... 14 days!" Makes me thirsty just typing it! The biggest indicator of success in my book would be that the thought doesn't enter your head, and you're not paying any attention to it. Fill the extra time that you save, especially at first, with new or neglected activities that are more interesting & pleasant, yet not too demanding, so that you have better things to do and experience and think about.
* Ability to drive places. Not worry about being "DUI" the same or next day.
* You'll exercise your ability to say no! In the UK for example it is sacrilegious to not drink unless you have a good excuse, which apart from religion (along with appropriate ethnicity to make that believable) there seems to be no acceptable excuse. So you can say "fuck you, I'm not drinking that shitty poison" and be an outcast for a while, then find people worth hanging out with.
Australia is not as bad because of the sport culture. "My personal trainer said no" is acceptable and most places I have work have had a mild to zero drink culture.
Not sure about the US, but I get the impression that like Australia and unlike UK, Russia, etc. it more acceptable to not drink.
I did not find much difference in how I feel, but at least this disgusting feeling in your mouth in the morning has gone too.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/bi...
Good luck! I'm trying to rein in my affinity for craft beer (I love the beer but hate the empty calories that come with it).
There's no "can" about it, you'll do it, and you'll enjoy it. Whether it has to be a whole 2020 thing is up to you.
Personally I do dry months during the comparatively quieter social periods at the start and near-end of the year (leading up to Christmas), and I find that I both enjoy the months where I allow myself to drink and those that I remain dry all the more because of it. YMMV.
To be honest, my life hasn't really changed as a result (socially), but I definitely feel healthier, have a clearer head and my skin has never been better.
Friends from college that kept drinking 4-5 times a week (2-7 drinks per outing), especially women, appear to have aged years more than me.
> What were the benefits?
The benefits are that I look younger and I'm definitely smarter and sharper than people that binge once a week at my age. Alcohol dehydrates you (which makes you look older) but it also destroys your brain, especially in binges.
The downsides are some people try to peer pressure you or try to make you feel bad for not drinking in social situations.
My $0.02 are - if you can't do a dry January, for whatever reason, then you probably have a drinking problem and need help.