Do you drink?

[Frogger]

DJjazzyGETH said:

spemanig said:

I kind of feel like most of this is not true lol.

I was talking about this to a coworker who has never drunk before about this. Drinking, being tipsy, and even getting drunk gets a really bad rep that I think scares people off from trying alchohol.

The biggest thing is that how being drunk feels largely depends on your personality. If you're someone who constantly worries about impressing people in social situations, or classically freezes when they see an attractive person they want to talk to, or is stressed out about things constantly, drinking can dull those apprehensions and give you a confidence or a worrilessness that yeilds positive results.

And that wave of confidence is more fun. And the fact that most people enjoy drinking is evidence that most people need that boost. The problem is that too much of anything is bad and fear, much like pain, surves a purpose that can have detrimental effects when numbed too much. But that all comes down to being responsible and having reliable friends to make sure you're not overdoing things. I've gotten drunk plenty of times without being ridiculous. Most people don't act ridiculously when they're drunk. And sometimes they do. People act ridiculously sober too. I think that a lot of people who don't drink would be much happier if they did once in a while.

I've heard this explanation quite a bit from people and my only concern is that sounds like a dependency. Needing to find a drink in order to get self confidence is a potentially damaging excuse, though personal moral barriers on dependencies will always vary person to person. I, for one, am trying to kick a coffee dependency, as I've gotten worried I can't get any work done without it. That might not matter to most, but I'd like to avoid it.

As for social stuff, I feel like I'm better off building my own confidence rather than needing something to make me confident, especially something that's damaging in excess. I can't imagine spending my whole like feeling like I need alcohol just to have a good time around people.

I don't think being dependant on anything is ever bad until it is. I don't think most people are in situations where the benefits of that alcohol bump are necessary most of the time, and I don't think drinking in moderation often is detrimental either.

With coffee dependancy, the problem is that you need to be working like all of the time, so you can get in situations where you literally need coffee all day and every day. Again, too much of anything is bad so I understand that. If you're so stressed out or self concious or anything most hours of every day to the point where you can't function without alcohol, then yeah, you probably have issues that alcohol can't fix. But most people who drink don't have that issue and don't need to drink alcohol multiple times a day every day. They drink on social gatherings on weekends, and maybe will have a glass of wine or a beer to wind down after work or with a nice meal at a nice resaurant.

Also, I don't want to misrepresent what alcohol does. It doesn't magically make you confident. It just removes of layer of thought to everything that you do. So those nagging voices telling you you shouldn't do something? Now there are less of them. That can be good, because most people overthink things that they shouldn't. And obviously it can be bad when you should be thinking more about something, like driving or consent. But that's not an issue to anyone who drinks responsibly, which is most people.

I think you're mischaracterizing how people who drink think about drinking. No one drinks thinking they need to drink alcohol just to have fun around people. It's a +1 effect. You have a better time around people, unless you're the type of person who get's anxious that drinking makes themselves lose control or something. In that case, you'd obviously have a miserable time because the alcohol would only be amplifying those feelings. I'm a very social extrovert without alcohol. I always have been, and I started drinking much later than most do. Drinking only amplifies that. If you really think that you're this amazing social butterfly, you'll only be better when you drink alcohol. If you're a already a super saiyan, you'll just go super saiyan 2.

I totally respect people who don't drink, my best friend doesn't due to religion, but you're not having an equal or better time than us. And if you drank, you more likely than not would. (and if you don't, that's obviously okay)