I have no interest in drinking alcohol, suddenly.

22 comments

1. I had a similar experience, but with marijuana. As I got older, the yucky stuff like paranoia, overthinking, etc. that was always lurking in the background, just got up close and personal. The enjoyable parts of getting high were muted. It just wasn’t worth getting high anymore.

   Even though I used to love getting stoned, I now haven’t touched the stuff in over a decade.

2. Uhhh binge drinking 3-4 times a month is extremely unhealthy. Good for you for stopping

3. I think what’s more remarkable is the fact that you were able to keep it up at your age and with 3 kids 😂

4. Seems like it’s a bad after experience and maybe you’re unconscious/soul is trying to tell you something.

   Being drunk and binging regularly isn’t healthy.

5. I support you fully. I’m 99% alcohol free unless the “boys” are back together (once every two years).

   I don’t miss drinking at all.

6. I stopped drinking at the tail end of my 20s and it was the best decision ever. It was a sudden decision where I just suddenly lost interest and wanted to spend my money in more constructive ways. Also, having kids helps since parenting is hard enough without being hung over haha

7. I think that’s just part of growing up. I’m in my early 40s and haven’t drank since 2019. My partner worked in the beverage industry for 15 years and switched careers and decided to become sober in 2019, so I joined. It’s been great. I used to want a margarita or something when we would be out at dinner with friends but now I have no desire for it at all. Alcohol is weird and overused by a lot of people. It’s a numbing depressant as well.

8. It’s a good thing. Your liver and wallet says thank you.

9. Definitely. Zero interest anymore. For me it was around 30 it lost its appeal. Only drank one or two while out to dinner or at an event. After a couple more years, even that seemed ridiculous and a waste of time/money/energy so I went cold turkey. Never looked back. Sober is 1000% better.

10. In my early 40s with two young kids here. I recently quit and have close to 100 days alcohol free. It was affecting my health and my ability to keep up with my kids. I switched to weed for a bit, but now am 30 days off weed as well. Sobernaut life it is. While I’m sure I have no desire to drink anymore, I might smoke some weed time to time.

    Alcohol is poison. Good work deciding to give it up.

11. My introduction to alcohol was college binge-drinking culture. At 18 I would get the spins and/or puke after 2-3 beers at a weekend party. By 21 I was holding court at beer pong tables and closing down bars. It was a point of pride that I was “good at drinking.” You know how people say they like to get a buzz but don’t like being drunk? I very much enjoyed being drunk.

    I’d estimate that at least 70% of my nights and weekends I was at a minimum getting a solid buzz, if not tying one on just for funsies. I progressed my career, had relationships, did hobbies, etc, but I was pleasantly drunk for a lot of my free time.

    The logistical reason I began to slow down was the hangovers started becoming difficult to manage and only got more brutal. The existential reason was that it was boring. I’d danced with the dragon and it didn’t destroy my life. Maybe 4-5 years ago I saw/heard something along the lines of “I’ve won multiple gold medals in the Partying Olympics, I don’t need to keep doing it.” That resonated with me.

    The last 2-3 years I might drink 1-2 times a month, if that. Usually at a concert or social gathering. Two drinks is reliable, I get a little taste of what I used to love about drinking. After that it’s a crap shoot. Often I just feel tired, lethargic. Sometimes I get too deep into my own head, either social anxiety or “why am I here, why am I doing this, what’s the point?” The mildest hangover is still less optimal than no hangover.

    I’m sure the mechanisms of the change are entirely biological, but I couldn’t begin to be more specific.

12. I hadthis with cannabis and alcohol. The adverse effects stay and all the positives .. well, they just don‘t feel as good anymore. It‘s as if I played through it all.
    I‘ve seen what happens on (almost) all stages of being drunk/high so many times that all the wonder is gone. The hangover is still the same though, if not worse. That‘s what tipped the scale for me.

13. Of course. It’s normal, and healthy, to stop drinking as you get older.

14. Welcome to middle age, pops. In about ten years you’ll be going to bed at 9:00 like me.

15. i stopped 3 years ago, im turning 42. this was an eye-opener. especially to see people « having fun ». it consists in drinking 3 beers over the course of an entire evening discussing about the news.
    glad im off the boring gang seriously, but i miss the parties 10-20 years ago sooooo much.

16. I used to drink several whiskeys on the rocks and smoke weed at the same time…every night. For a dozen years or so, I drank until I was dunk just about every night. Then, one day, I just didn’t like the way alcohol made me feel when drunk or the hangover. And I quit immediately. I might sip a drink to see what it tastes like, but that’s it now. I think I quit alcohol around February 2018. I’ve been off it since. Feel pretty good. I didn’t give up weed though. Love that shit.

    Here’s the thing though, it turns out that my friends weren’t friends at all. They were just people I went drinking with. It’s no fun being around a bunch of drunks in a bar anymore when I’m not drinking. I find them obnoxious. I had to make new friends who shared similar interests and activities.

    When people learn you don’t drink they have different reactions. Either they don’t drink, and they understand somewhat. Or, they are drinkers and think you’re an alien. They’re insulted. They encourage you to drink. They’ll ask you why you don’t drink. They’ll ask if you’re an alcoholic or in a 12-step program. It just varies. But, I just tell them the truth which is I used to get cross-faded every night, and I quit because I just don’t like how alcohol makes me feel, but Snoop Dogg would say, “goddamn, that mothefucker right there smokes a lot of weed.”

    So, yeah, I know what it’s like to suddenly stop drinking.

17. Big waste of calories and money, don’t look back, put the savings towards something you value!

18. So don’t drink. Who cares. Who cares, I sit. See the point of posting to Reddit

19. > So suddenly, I have no interest in drinking

    Could it be, that you’ve finally come to your senses?

    Let’s hope your children don’t follow your role model and the same course.

20. Same here, it was weird. One day it was like the fun euphoric feeling just went away and I was left with only the negative effects and horrendous hangovers the next day.

21. I can relate to this. I used to be a consistent drinker. One or two drinks a night every night – and rarely more. This probably describes all of my thirties. (My twenties were more dry days, with a four to five drinks on Fridays and Saturdays.). Last year, I decided I’d cut back to five dry days a week. On days when I drink, I rarely have more than two drinks, and it’s usually one. I can tell the difference that one drink makes in my sleep, my productivity, and general feeling of well being. It makes me wonder why I was drinking so much before.

22. I’m honestly the same. When I go on motorcycle trips with buddies and we stop at breweries, I’m more interested in their craft root beers.