Off-Topic Questions Thread - closed. Open new threads for specific questions please.

[BigJag]

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them. I'm probably quite unsympathetic with a few people who I know, that clearly have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. For me it is quite simple. You shouldn't be doing it. Pack it in.

It is ruinous physically, mentally, and socially. Can cause financial difficulties. Yet these glaring issues do not push these people to move away from the poison.

Keith made a great point earlier about finding another activity to supplant the drinking. Was that a eureka moment for you or did it take experimentation?

[tiger_rick]

1 minute ago, BigJag said:

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them. I'm probably quite unsympathetic with a few people who I know, that clearly have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. For me it is quite simple. You shouldn't be doing it. Pack it in.

I'm amazed you haven't conquered addiction by now. Thought of buying a TV advert with that on?

[Tommy!]

2 minutes ago, BigJag said:

 

It is ruinous physically, mentally, and socially. 

The only thing that gets me talking to people and out of the house is drinking. 

The below says you're talking about any drink, not just in excess. 

4 minutes ago, BigJag said:

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them

If it wasn't for regular days out in the pub I wouldn't leave the house at times, which is far more dangerous for me than a few pints even given the risks of me drinking. 

[SpursRiot2012]

25 minutes ago, BigJag said:

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them. I'm probably quite unsympathetic with a few people who I know, that clearly have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. For me it is quite simple. You shouldn't be doing it. Pack it in.

It is ruinous physically, mentally, and socially. Can cause financial difficulties. Yet these glaring issues do not push these people to move away from the poison.

Not to be a dick (and it's not like you're alone in thinking this way) but you don't know what you're talking about. If someone was addicted to heroin, would you also say, "well, why don't they just give it up?" With something that's physically addictive, it's not as simple as that. 

And that's before you even consider the mental side. I was never physically addicted to alcohol, but I could never not drink to excess. And drinking to excess led to other bad decisions, and I'm also a horrible, mean drunk. I also have a huge family history of addiction and drink and drug abuse. All these factors need to be considered. 

And what about the societal pressures? Alcohol is everywhere. It's on TV, it's sold everywhere and - when you've got a problem with alcohol - it seems like everybody is drinking, all the time. It's incredibly difficult, even if you're not physically addicted, to avoid it. 

You don't need to be sympathetic - though it'd be nice if everyone was - but you also shouldn't talk so forthrightly about something you seemingly don't know very much about. 

[BigJag]

Why does the pub need to be the go to place? How about somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol? Personally I despise the pub and drinking culture. Its something I actively avoid. 

I don't know if it's the same around the rest of the country. However Leicester has a number of dessert/coffee shops where the atmosphere is inviting and pleasant. You need to be careful about the calorie intake. There are other places to go to than the boozer.

[SpursRiot2012]

10 minutes ago, BigJag said:

Why does the pub need to be the go to place? How about somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol? Personally I despise the pub and drinking culture. Its something I actively avoid. 

I don't know if it's the same around the rest of the country. However Leicester has a number of dessert/coffee shops where the atmosphere is inviting and pleasant. You need to be careful about the calorie intake. There are other places to go to than the boozer.

OK, but you're in the minority. And that's the problem people with drink issues face. What do I do when all my friends drink? When the only time anyone meets up, it's either in a bar or at someone's home, where drinking is rampant? I can't honestly expect all my friends to change how their live their lives because I've got a problem with booze. So it means I either carry on drinking - to my detriment - or remove myself from those situations until I can cope being around booze without wanting to drink. Until I can be a social person, sober.  

Again, you might think that's a simple thing, but it isn't. 

By the way, @Undefeated Steak, sorry to hijack your topic a bit. If you wanna chat, my PMs are always open. 

[BigJag]

Thanks for the insight. Best of luck with any struggles you may be having. 

[Tommy!]

22 minutes ago, BigJag said:

Why does the pub need to be the go to place? How about somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol?

 

In my experience people will talk to other people in the pub even if they don't know them, that doesn't happen very much else where,  It's also somewhere I know acquaintances will be. 

 

[Kamaras-Tash]

56 minutes ago, BigJag said:

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them. I'm probably quite unsympathetic with a few people who I know, that clearly have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. For me it is quite simple. You shouldn't be doing it. Pack it in.

It is ruinous physically, mentally, and socially. Can cause financial difficulties. Yet these glaring issues do not push these people to move away from the poison.

Keith made a great point earlier about finding another activity to supplant the drinking. Was that a eureka moment for you or did it take experimentation?

 

I don't know why anyone has never thought of that, cheers for the advice I'll just stop now it never occurred to me before

[Keith Houchen]

59 minutes ago, BigJag said:

I find it hard to understand why anyone would even drink when it is clearly something that is bad for them. I'm probably quite unsympathetic with a few people who I know, that clearly have an issue with excessive alcohol consumption. For me it is quite simple. You shouldn't be doing it. Pack it in.

It is ruinous physically, mentally, and socially. Can cause financial difficulties. Yet these glaring issues do not push these people to move away from the poison.

Keith made a great point earlier about finding another activity to supplant the drinking. Was that a eureka moment for you or did it take experimentation?

Because, for me at least, being drunk was better than all the options. I knew it was bad for me in every way but it was better than being sober because that meant I had to face up to life.  

[King Pitcos]

I don't like drinking, except in social situations. Solo, I just abuse Night Nurse when I can't face being conscious. You never feel rested after it, and it gave me a bastard of a nosebleed the other week, but it can kill twelve hours at a time.

[SpursRiot2012]

If you are going to do that, Pitcos, just from a harm reduction standpoint, better to get yourself a pack of Sominex. You'll get the same effect without all the liver fucking paracetamol. 

[Carbomb]

3 hours ago, King Pitcos said:

I don't like drinking, except in social situations. Solo, I just abuse Night Nurse when I can't face being conscious. You never feel rested after it, and it gave me a bastard of a nosebleed the other week, but it can kill twelve hours at a time.

Man, I feel that. Between NN, Zopiclone, Kalms, Phenergan, etc., I can't seem to find a single thing to get me to sleep without feeling hungover in the morning, apart from weed, and that has its own complications. My insomnia's been a particular bitch recently.

[Loki]

Insomnia is a real bitch!  The only thing that worked for me was removing all stimulants from my diet - particularly coffee.  Also alcohol which although it made me sleepy, also makes me wake up later in the night.  And putting down the laptop/phone an hour before bedtime and reading helped as well.  I find listening to podcasts quite soothing as well.

It's really hard to move from taking things to go to sleep to removing stuff from your routine, though. It kind of feels counter intuitive and a bit wishy-washy, but for me at least it's worked wonders.

 

[Carbomb]

I stopped drinking anything with caffeine in it before 4pm. That did help some. And switching off all screens does help (although, obviously, me posting here at this time of night certainly isn't helping). But it's not just the insomnia - it's also the fact that, when I do get to sleep, I don't get good quality sleep. I often wake up feeling like crap, as if I shouldn't even have bothered. 

Only one time in the past eight years have I had a genuinely good night's sleep, and that was seven and a half years ago, when my doctor first gave me the prescription for Zopiclone. That very first time I took it, I slept perfectly, and woke up feeling like Superman. All subsequent times taking it, however, I woke up feeling either ridiculously tired or just hungover.

I think, however, my biggest problem is that I'm just unfit. I need to get back to my old regimen of exercise; I'm certain it would help. Getting together the motivation and mental wherewithal to keep going has proven to be harder than I thought.