This was an enlightening read. Keep calm and carry on 
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I give up going this way and that way, always in moderationā¦ Iām past my sell-by date anyway.
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I am eternally grateful for my ability to drink when I want, and not drink when I want. Several friends I know both in Berlin and in the US have had such difficulty moderating their intake that they quit entirely. They donāt seem to know when to stop.
I enjoy alcohol far too much to ever consider giving it up forever, but have zero issues abstaining for days when I am simply not in the mood. If it shaves off a week or two at the end of my life?
Eh.
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Alcohol has a measurable impact on my blood pressure. That being said, my philosophy is āmoderation in all things, including moderation.ā Arbitrarily limiting myself if I am in the mood to have a beverage (or several) is not good for my blood pressure either 
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Yes, Iām too old to gaf about todayās research that will probably be refuted tomorrow.
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I find going online can have a similar effect on me on occasion. The booze route is more enjoyable by far
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Yes! And one should also be careful when mixing going online with booze. Or so Iāve been told 
I was reflecting on this article this morning and it occurred to me that a lot of socializing tends to focus on gathering for an activity. The most common, for adults anyway, is often drinking. Sure, there might be food, but even still itās the drinking that can be the looming presence for those who are trying to change their habits for whatever reason.
We donāt all just hang out to hang out as adults. Or, more importantly, it doesnāt always feel that way for many people. Itās hard to break the habit of making a different choice (not to drink) when other there are other factors someone might be more sensitive to than others (social anxiety that is buffered by the drink, either as calming factor or thing to busy yourself with in between interactions). And, it can be hard for some people to be in places where they might be tempted, even if they donāt have a drinking problem. If I was avoiding fried food and a friend wanted to go to a fried chicken place, Iād probably defer and be comfortable being upfront why. For whatever reason, probably the possible fear of worry that others may think you have a drinking problem, it takes a while to have the self confidence to just get that soda or seltzer (or mocktail, now that those are more prevalent) while others are imbibing. Socially, in some ways, we are still that 15 year old who doesnāt want to be different. Because drinking is so socially ingrained (at least for Gen X on up through Boomer. I canāt speak to the experience of millennials and younger.), it may be harder for some to be upfront with their friends - āIād love to hang out, but Iām not drinking. Want to do ā___ā instead?ā And then, hopefully, on the friendsā end they are also able to be thoughtful about what kind of activities they may want to lead with when reaching out to hang.
I say this as someone who was working with the frustrations of a friend who couldnāt drink due to a med interaction for a while (and added frustration that they just couldnāt be ānormalā). Itās amazing the ruts we get into. āOk, the bar we like is out. Well, here are some restaurants we like that are dry. Oh, ok then, wanna go see a movie? How about the Barnes and Noble? Want to just take a drive somewhere?ā
The article spends a fair amount of time trying to make the reader (who is presumably not drinking) feel good about their choices because HEALTH. Since these health findings could easily be debunked by some other report that shows that health improvements when imbibing next week, I wish the articles would just spend more time on making people feel good about making your own choices for yourself (assuming youāre not hurting yourself or others) and being ok with it.
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Two of my gal pals quit drinking, and yeah ā we donāt see them nearly as often, bc my lady posse does tend to meet at a bar / brewery / beer garden 9 out of 10 times. That said, Iāve hosted weekend afternoon clothing & jewelry exchanges where booze was theoretically available, but certainly not the sole focus (Iām also not a day drinker at all).
We mostly just get together to have girl time and catch up on stuff (but still within the confines of a drinking establishment of sorts).
I do like the trend of more N/A drinks & mocktails being available at bars for those who abstain for whatever reasons.
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I dunnoā. For medical reasons I havenāt been drinking alcohol for a while now. But gatherings with friends and family still have alcohol, and it doesnāt bother me to go places that have bars (some of my favorite local eateries are pubs). Maybe Iām old or maybe Iāve just drank my fill for the time being or maybe I just donāt want to experience the effects it will have with my meds 
That said, Iād like to think my family, friends and I could find other things to do if one was uncomfortable in situations where alcohol was present (especially if drinking was a focal point).
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I got together once or twice a months with Toronto Chowhounds to eat from 2006-2015. About half of us would have a cocktail or 2, and some were non- drinkers.
My other main social groups drank more, especially the skiers who like aprĆØs ski. I have always liked cocktails or pop/soda more than wine or beer, so I would usually give my free wine or beer tickets at socials to people who appreciated them more than me.
Apart from a few times when I attempted a glass of red wine at home to keep myself from snacking after dinner while dieting, I have never been someone who drinks alcohol at home unless I have company over.
My social life has changed a lot in 4 years. I havenāt hosted a house party since 2018. I gave my friend most of my open bottles from my liquor cabinet 2 years ago. Right now, all I have in my apartment is a bit of dark rum, some creme de menthe, an unopened bottle of Amaretto, and an unopened bottle of Triple Sec, all for baking. I will probably give those to my friend this fall, as well.
For cooking, I keep port, vermouth, screw cap white wine and screw cap red wine around.
My circle of friends I see now is a little smaller. Iām still seeing the ones I used to do drinks with. I go to patios with them for food, or I go for walks and coffee, or live music.
I had a margarita last weekend, which was my first drink since last summer. Maybe Iāll just drink occasionally daiquiris and margaritas going forward.
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Iāve read a variety of articles on drinking, mocktailās comeback with NO stigma attached as well as asking my Dr. about it.
Making a lighter alcoholic drink is my moderation. Having worked in a music culture where drinking is a given, and overdoing it a right of passage, a buds ritual and a rigg workers meal, Iām way past thinking itās all that necessary. But- a well made cocktail doesnāt need to be super dosed to be enjoyable.
I measure my buzz of choice with a mindset of relaxation.
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I was surprised that the Museum I frequent had 2 mocktails and no cocktails as the drink features for the exhibition opening last night. One featured Seedlip Gin.
The Museum still has wine, mainstream beer and craft beer available for guests. I have never seen mocktails offered before. Usually openings feature a cocktail with various local distilleriesā liquor.
One of the mocktails was so popular that the bar ran out of Seedlip Gin.
My drink last night? Club soda with a squeeze of Grenadine from the squeeze bottle of Grenadine. The mocktail that was available contained orange juice, and Iām not too fond of lost orange juice, so Grenadined Club Soda it was!
My drinking has been very minimal over the past couple of years, butā¦
About 2 months ago I had a meeting with an acquaintance and it didnāt go well. When I got home, I dug all the way to the back of pantry and found the emergency bottle of vodka.
Sunshine came into the kitchen and saw the bottle of vodka out and me opening it up. She said āShould I assume your meeting didnāt go wellā and I acknowledged that was a correct assumption.
She asked if I wanted to talk about it, I said āNopeā and I proceeded to have vodka for dinner.
Although I had a hangover the next day, I was glad to have that emergency bottle of vodka in the house.
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Mocktails are very popular. The definition is also fairly broad now that brand name spirits are also being made alcohol free. Initially, a mocktail was made without any reference to a brand name spirit.
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After seemingly a string of non-stop social engagements that didnāt revolve around but certainly entailed the consumption of various alcoholic beverages, my PIC and I are so ready for a break from it.
We never got together with our Berlin buddy whoād just gotten out of rehab in Wannsee this summer. Heās still pretty sensitive about being around other people drinking, so next year heās hopefully in a stronger place (or weāll meet for coffee). My other buddy whoās been talked into rehab by his GF I think has much deeper-lying issues (ADHD at the very least) that should probz be addressed before putting him in an inpatient clinic. Itās not a good scenario.
He needs help, but a different approach.
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Interesting. As always, many thanks for providing us a gift link.
Iāve been saying for a long time that Iām going to quit because it interferes with my ability to lose weight (which I seriously need to do). Due both to the drink calories and to the midnight binge eating that often accompany the drinks.
The study results mentioned in this article are another reason, for me at least.
ETA on this -
Iām similar but a bit different. If I donāt drink, I donāt miss it or have any cravings, or any w/d symptoms. But when I do drink, if I go past a certain point, then I will over-indulge.
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Just curious but most bars and breweries here in California have started over the last 2-3 years to have good NA options (and they are continuously improving - some of the mocktails for our daughter are impressively good). Does the bars and breweries in your area donāt have good NA options.
Oh, they do, but if youāve ever stayed stone-cold sober while those around you are getting tipsy, you may have felt out of place. People vibe differently.
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Great insight. Iāve noticed the food with alcohol frequently, which is a good thing. I think the enjoyment of alcohol goes hand in hand with food and water. As a jailer, weāve experimented with this, and the inclusion of food/h2o makes drunk driving much more unlikely for a person who imbibes alcohol. Doesnāt mean you can bolt down a 6er in two hours and drive home because you had a cheesy cracker. Food and water allow to be in the perfect zone when consuming alcohol; as opposed to progressive stupidity through greater consumption.
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