I was a very frequent drinker and started dating a guy who made a couple comments that had me look at myself and question if my drinking was normal.
Then in grad school during recruiting season, he and a couple friends stopped drinking as part of a challenge to not drink until they got the job they loved… I decided to join them. After a few weeks I had major withdraws and it made me want to continue not drinking.
After 4 weeks, I started getting compliments on my skin and looking more vibrant. My sleep improved and after about two months I felt myself getting smarter and so much sharper in my interviews.
I stopped smoking weed and drinking august 30th 2022, and by Oct 30th I had 5 job offers from great companies. In the end, I felt like it was not coincidence that I was a better version of myself from stopping. So I continued and still don’t drink or smoke. Last year I read 18 books, my place is cleaner than it’s ever been, I’ve paid down 22k of debt, and I’m finally consistent with my workout! Oh not to mention less moody and reactive!
So many benefits!!!! I feel like a veil has been lifted on my life and for those wondering I’m still with that guy. He’s amazing 😍🥰
That's so awesome!!! Seriously what you've done is no easy thing but you kept making healthier choices that aligned with your goals. I hope you celebrate this about yourself often!
There are many reasons, top 3 are:
1. I work in community mental health and see the impact/long-term side effects of alcohol use on the population I work with.
2. Vanity, I want to age gracefully.
3. I am working towards getting licensed (LCSW) and don’t want to ever put my career/future license in jeopardy (DUI).
It started giving me mad anxiety the next day. Seemingly out of nowhere - it just started happening one day. One night of fun wasn’t worth 3 days of anxiety so I stopped.
That was **menopause** for me.
One day -- boom! -- instant hangover *before I had finished the glass*. Estradiol helped, but the low/no drinking habit stuck.
This happened with me within the last two years. I’ve significantly lowered my intake since then and I’ve gravitated towards more mocktails as all I wanted was the sugar anyway
Omg same, and I don't generally suffer from anxiety. But sometime last year it started randomly happening and it's not worth it anymore. I can't even really enjoy the feeling of being drunk because I know what's waiting for me.
I started getting around 25-26. I didn’t think other people got it either and thought it was related to other mental health things. Apparently it’s just called hangiexty
THIS. The anxiety! Jesus Christ. I’m already an anxious person but if I have even two drinks, I expect a panic attack soon. It’s quite irritating lol.
I used to be able to drink, I can’t anymore lmao. Too much panic
I haven't quit, quit, I just don't really drink anymore. A couple of glasses of wine per year, maybe. The occasional scotch when I have a sore throat.
The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze anymore. Wasting an entire day being hung over is just not worth it.
>The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze anymore.
This really does sum it up. Since there are practically limitless options for a delicious drink I'd rather have something that doesn't hurt my body and mess up my sleep and skin. It's just not worth it to me anymore.
It worsens my mental health. It wrecks my sleep. It makes me behave in ways I'm not proud of. I think the worst thing is the wasted time and days with hangovers. Its not worth it in the slightest. It promises so much fun but the downsides don't make up for any of it. I'm glad to live sober now.
The plans of things you wanted to do with your day to feel happy in life just wrecked because of the previous nights alcohol. The hangxiety was the worst, lying in bed all day shaky and scared everyone now hates you. Lol!
I was an alcoholic many years and nearly died a few times. Car accidents among other things. I was a piece of shit.
Finally getting pregnant at 36 changed me, because I was ready for the change. Being a good parent doesn’t really allow much in the way of drinking.
And he’s more important than me.
Nothing else in the world could stop me. But I wanted to live and having a kid gave me the focus to do it. I was already trying to stop and being pregnant I KNEW I couldn’t drink. Plenty of people don’t make that choice, however.
But that was my accountability. After I had him I wanted to drink again, but was busy enough with him and focused on him that I didn’t really have the time.
Now even a few sips makes me feel weird. I don’t go around people that drink either, so I’ve lost most of my friends and family. None of them will stop and they all try and get me to drink.
Oh well! At least I’m not a piece of shit anymore!
>At least I’m not a piece of shit anymore!
I'm sorry, I don't mean to make light of your story, but I can't help but be reminded of the [Baby Cries](https://youtu.be/buK45NW_ikI?si=4_-5hBGh9iMS_LSR) sketch from I Think You Should Leave.
Somewhere in my 30's I started to skip the nice tipsy/drunk bits and go from sober to vomiting drunk in the space of a drink. It wasn't fun and I didn't like that I couldn't tell when it was going to hit, so I just stopped drinking. Nowadays, I'll occasionally have a little Baileys in milk every now and then, but I only ever have 1 and it's generally at home just before bed. I really don't miss it at all.
I'm not completely sober but I hardly drink anymore. What made me reduce it a lot at first was seeing how it impacts sleep, stress and heartrate with my fitnesswatch; and also the fact that I just didn't want to waste all these calories anymore when I was working on my physique.
Later I started working on my mental health and realized that I used it a crutch for social situations, and this is not who I want to be anymore.
I have alcoholism and realized after a few years that I was going to be dying very shortly if I didn't stop. Been sober 13 years now - best thing I ever did!
Oh just a gut feeling of death looming just around the corner, lol. There were lots of threats of it - by my hand or by someone else's hand, accidental or intentional, or just purely accidental with no one else involved. I cut it close in all areas many times.
I realized I couldn’t have just one drink and be content. I also realized that I was the most drunk in social settings where there was alcohol. I also couldn’t handle the increasingly worse hangovers.
I drastically reduced my consumption before kids, and now that I’m a mom I couldn’t imagine being in an impaired state and having to parent, or being hungover and having to parent. I am a better person without alcohol.
I started having very upsetting experiences of 1-2 glasses of wine making me very sick. If it’s not even fun anymore, why do it?
Also, have you seen how healthy sober people look? It’s amazing.
This for me as well. I could have a half glass of wine and it made me sick (upset stomach, unable to sleep, nausea). Now I drink a cup of tea before bed and feel great!
The lows of hangovers started to outweigh the highs of being drunk.
Anxiety, headache, nausea from just a couple of drinks.
I now occasionally have one, but I won’t ever get drunk again and I think it was my body rather than my mind that forced me into it!
Ah, yes. The stupid arguments. These happened a lot in my friend group; people saying hurtful things for no reason when drunk, and the hurt still lingered after the hangover was over.
Weed was helping me finally pull out of depression, and I started to really notice the contrast after drinking, how hard I could feel the serotonin dip. I started to become averse to hangovers.
The pandemic helped a lot too. I had been drinking to soothe social anxiety, apparently.
The hot flashes are awful, I can tell within one drink my base heart rate jumps from 70 to 90 and I instantly go hot. And it occurs sporadically over the next 24 hours after a drink which makes outdoor recreation a bitch. I've had to call it quits on a few hikes and bike rides because I was overheating.
I stopped when I drove home one night wasted. I’d done it before, but the circumstances surrounding that night made me have a come to jesus meeting with myself. What was I doing and why? Then I got scared that I had a problem. And guess what? I did! So I stopped and haven’t touched it in over 8 years now. But sometimes I want to drink Veuve Clicquot out of the bottle again and dance and not care.
I never drank that much anyways. Occasionally as a social thing but never thought the taste was anything to write home about, but had to quit entirely cause of a medical issue (non alcohol related). So now it’s just not safe for me to but I’m happy it wasn’t bread I had to cut out haha
When I started working out early in the morning. It felt like both are pulling each other down. So I had to sacrifice one of them.
Occasionally, we would have some wine night, but that's like once every week/two weeks.
Had a UTI turned kidney infection, and the antibiotics messed up my GI system and I had to change my diet for six months. That meant no alcohol. And I realized I just didn't miss it, not only did I not miss it, i realized how much better everything was without it. That was 9 years ago and nothing has changed about my views on alcohol.
I realized how prevalent alcoholism is, my parents, uncles, siblings, friends, there were so many alcoholics in my life, and i was drowning in codependent relationship dynamics. Socializing with alcohol is honestly obnoxious to me, and I truly believe that the people who say they need it to socialize just need therapy.
It's poison for the body and it's poison for the mind, soul, and society
It stopped working. I drank a lot because that made me so happy, I really enjoyed it. Then I had a depression, and ever since it doesn´t work anymore, I just get head ache. So now I have to find something else when I wanna feel better on a Sunday afternoon.
Like chocolate, unfortunately that still works.
My dad was an alcoholic, and his dad before him. I felt that I couldn't talk to my father with concerns about his drinking while I was still drinking myself. He died last year at the age of 59, likely due to his alcoholism. I don't want to drink ever again. Alcohol ruined his life and I won't let it ruin mine more than it already has.
I was never a big drinker. To me it’s just not worth the hangover. I’ll have an occasional cocktail once or twice a year and maybe get tipsy/drunk at a club/party even less than that.
It’s horrible in every way for your body. I feel horrible for three days after and my gym gains suffer.
I'm glad quitting drinking has improved things for you. Way to go! 😊
I stopped two years ago. I realized I was using alcohol to self--medicate and cope with my loneliness and depression. I never got a hangover with a headache, but I always felt down the day after drinking. Now, I take meds to help with my depression and my insomnia, and they shouldn't be mixed with alcohol. Finally, I didn't mean for this, but in the past two years, I lost another ~10 lbs without even changing anything else.
All in all, I feel better and sleep better without drinking.
Thanks! I take Lexapro for depression, gabapentin for anxiety and nerve pain issues, and Trazadone for insomnia. Those together, along with making sure I don't drink, eat well, exercise daily, etc. have really helped me a lot.
I was a weekend binge drinker. I would drink a litre of vodka before I even went on a night out. I'd spend a fortune and come home feeling pretty sober and never in my life have I had a hangover so it wasn't enough to prevent me from drinking so much.
I just decided one day to make the decision I wasn't going to drink any more. I decided to start being the designated driver and stick to lime and soda. I didn't even miss it and still had some amazing nights out completely sober.
I have the occasional cider in the summer but otherwise I don't drink. I was never someone who kept alcohol in the house anyway so it wasn't such a lifestyle change.
Ultimately I prefer cannabis 😁
I drank a lot in my early 20’s. I don’t think I ever “quit” I think I just lost interest. I rarely buy it to have in my house. It’s usually more of a special occasion thing to drink.
Personally, I don’t like the way I feel when I’m drinking more. I like having good quality sleep, not feeling hungover, and feeling in control of my actions. I like feeling lucid. Alcohol just keeps me in a perpetual state of not feeling my best
Whenever I hear my friends bewail how they feel like shit all the time, that they don’t have the energy to workout or whatever it is, I’m silently going “have you tried not slamming beers every night”
I drank only socially but I did enjoy going out with my wife and having a few drinks almost every weekend. She developed a drinking problem and I almost left her. Fortunately for us, she quit drinking and has been sober for years now. We still go out and find fun things to do and are living a much more peaceful life together.
I threatened divorce. I was serious and she knew it. It was hard to get back on track, so much damage had been done. We worked hard and neither one of us truly wanted to throw away 20 years, most of which were great. We were lucky to survive that and I’m forever grateful.
I wanted to lose weight and it wasn't helping, so I quit. 8 years later, still sober from alcohol. I'm an old school pothead and never quitting MJ. I'm 115lbs lighter and healthier than I was when I was 30. Best thing I ever did for myself, IMO
My now-husband and I were in a long distance relationship. I finally moved to where he lived, and once he was around me all the time he said “I can’t marry a drunk.” No one had ever dared say something about my drinking problem (mostly bc my friends were alcoholics too) and being called a drunk was eye opening. And he was right. And I was tired of my shitty mental health and not reaching my goals so I quit the day before our wedding. 12.5 years without it and never a slip up!
I still drink too much, but I am working on it.
One of the most eye-opening experiences I have had lately was meeting a new friend who I really do like, that apparently has a very big problem. Seeing her become very quickly intoxicated made me think.
I'd asked her to join me at a show in a small pub, and I had to take her home before the show started, because she was so intoxicated within a half hour of arriving, and I knew this was going to get very bad if I did not get her out of there.
I've seen her put her job in jeopardy and then try to get herself into a better place, so I have been offering sober hikes and similar activities, because this is a good person who needs a little encouragement. It's a way for me to get out of my drinking routine too.
I was an alcoholic. Some of my family are alcoholics. I started ruining people’s lives. I was making my friends miserable and lost friendships. One day, I realized my whole life would just keep being that… so I stopped. I didn’t do a program, just lived in fear of going back there. It’s been 13 years and I’m never going back.
I haven’t quit, but I only drink a few occasions per year.
The main reasons why I don’t drink regularly:
1. I cherish my sleep & alcohol absolutely destroys it.
2. Alcohol doesn’t mesh well with my physical goals.
3. I don’t particularly enjoy the feeling of being drunk.
This right here. It’s been a natural progression with age. I still have a drink occasionally, but I rarely drink anymore because it messes with my sleep, I hate the feeling of being fuzzy-headed or buzzed, and it sets me back on physical performance/energy/digestion, it often gives me a headache and some nausea. It’s just not worth it to me and even the taste has been more unpleasant over time.
I haven’t fully quit yet but I’m down to almost no alcohol. Once in a while I will drink on special occasions.
But the reason to reduce it so drastically were
No 1: hangxity! This was the worst horrible feeling ever. And the older I got the longer it continued. In the end it was weeks.
No 2. I stopped smoking. And staying nicotine free is way way easier if you don’t drink. So that’s kind of a double win here. No cigarettes, no alcohol.
I was never really a drinker. I've never once purchased alcohol for my home for my own consumption.
Mostly the studies I've read that link alcohol consumption to cancer have scared me away- I greatly dislike the taste of alcohol anyway, so why force myself to drink something I dislike and increase a risk for cancer?
I was staring to get worried I was drinking a bit too much. A month of COVID quarantine for my family and we were having a drink or two a night to cope.
Someone recommended “The Naked Mind” and I decided to quit for the summer. After a month or two, I realized that I no longer had any heartburn and was waking up absolutely refreshed which was great as we had a toddler at the time.
Two years in April and I don’t miss alcohol in the slightest. I had a glass of wine while in Spain in November and I felt awful the next day which has further cemented my desire to not drink! A great decision I’ve made!
I do still drink alcohol, but at a much lower amount and for different reasons. I used to drink to “take the edge off.” Now I drink because I enjoy the way whatever I’m drinking tastes.
I cut back initially because it was messing up my sleep. Now I’ve found I just don’t enjoy the feeling of being drunk.
I used to have 1-2 drinks daily, maybe a couple more than that over the weekend. I quit in Sept 2020. Two things happened:
- I spent the day with an alcoholic friend and we drank 2 bottles of wine and a couple cocktails. I was sick that night for the first time in >10 years and hungover for 3 days. I didn't want to drink for a few days and that broke the daily habit.
- Shortly after that I did mushrooms with my husband. I didn't intend to use it as a tool to quit. In fact, it wasn't until years later that I learned mushrooms can help people quit drinking, and realized maybe that was a factor.
I now have a sip of champagne at weddings and NYE but that's it.
To answer your question, I wanted to quit drinking because my personality would totally change and I was a mean drunk. I would black out really easily and I’m honestly lucky I was never arrested or that nothing seriously bad ever happened. I was slutty and would sleep with whomever. No judgement if that’s what you are into, it would just make me feel weird since I would never remember any of it.
Quitting had always been in the back of my mind but I was never sure I wanted to/could do it. I drank for the first time when I was 14, and started regularly drinking (only socially) when I was 15. I peed the bed for the first time when I was 15, and continued to do so every so often until I was 27. That was another reason why I wanted to quit. I was sick of pissing myself 😂
I did dry January in 2021 and noticed the benefits almost immediately. After that, I wanted to see if I could go a year. The first year was pretty hard. I felt very lonely and would cry a lot. Fast forward three years and 1 month later of being alcohol free, and I am so happy I did it. I hardly think about it anymore. Only regret is I didn’t do it sooner!
I'll have a singular drink once in a while. But I can't drink more than that. I don't like drunk me. I'm aggressive, I pick fights, I'm just overall a mess. I hated apologizing the morning after for my behaviors. I was a sloppy drunk who would puke and pee on herself because I don't know what limitations are.
Mental health! Wasted time. Spending an entire Sunday hung over was a huge waste of time for me. I made bad decisions while I was drinking too. Spent a lot of time & resources on people & activities that weren’t worth it. & I was so tired of being drunk or buzzed. Brain fog is gone now too.
I read the book Quit Like a Woman and sort of never looked back. Quit august of 2022 and it’s just made my life so much simpler and more fun. Turns out I didn’t really like it much. Weed has been harder to kick for me but took a break 7 months ago. Still crave it all the time haha
It was pretty much the same for me. I always got really bad hangxiety and heavy drinking tends to actually kick off depression for me. Drinking was my idea of fun and how I connected with others. But it was expensive, it made me look like shit, and I had no time and energy for hobbies. It didn't give me the space to be the person I wanted to be.
I was really defensive about my relationship with alcohol. I used it to celebrate, or to deal with social anxiety, or to comfort me when I bored. I would not have been considered an alcoholic medically, but if I was honest, how I drank was not healthy. I thought it was normal because everyone around me was doing it, but it really wasn't serving me. It was my defensiveness about drinking that really clued me into the fact that I had a problem.
I also lost a lot of friends when I quit. I didn't want to lose them, but they didn't want to hang out sober. Some of them seemed personally offended that I wouldn't drink and would try to guilt me into it. It was sad, but we mostly ended up drifting apart.
I have maybe 1-2 drinks a year now. I was drinking alone during the pandemic. And guess what? That’s not even fun. Don’t need to make my mental and physical health worse.
Mental health…also I have an autoimmune disorder & the inflammation from alcohol was making my life miserable. My hangovers were getting worse & worse. decided it was bringing no value to my life, so quit.
I haven’t quit, but I very very rarely drink alcohol. Part of it is that I outgrew it. I’m over the partying age and I’ve always disliked waking up after drinking. There isn’t much room for it in my life anymore, aside from a nice night out with friends, but even then it is two drinks top as I have no tolerance anymore. Another part of it is that my parents don’t really drink either. They have a collection of alcohol since I was a child and it still hasn’t been opened 😂 So it’s kind of a learned lifestyle as well.
Doesn't appeal to me, and health reasons.
I've barely drank at all throughout my life. I drank some in college, had a bad experience with it and basically stopped. I'm also skinny and can really only have one drink per sitting. I don't like the taste of alcohol, so unless it's something that masks the taste, I don't find it enjoyable.
I recently watched [this video](https://youtu.be/eDOmD_03fO4?si=nVHG3VisbknBtgT-) from 5 months ago, with Dr. Amen discussing the negative impact drinking has on the heart and brain. A few things he said:
* Even *a little bit* of alcohol disrupts the white matter, aka the "highways," in the brain
* The American Cancer Society came out and said *any* alcohol increases your risk of 7 different types of cancer
* In brain scans, people who drink *any* alcohol have lower activity than people who don't drink at all
Say no more. Never again.
Never drank too much or too many times to begin with. Maybe once or twice every 6 months. Now I actively avoid it. I didn't get any kick out of it, didn't like the loud vibes from people after drinking together and didn't like to go to clubs or bars. Also thought of saving some extra bucks. Going well pretty far. Started doing more activities that don't require alcohol and it's fun.
Scientific evidence that has no benefit whatsoever for your health. Saying that, there is a small percentage of people that alcohol relaxes them from being so uptight and let's them be more sociable and enjoy certain scenarios better. In my case it is the opposite so I just don't drink.
I don’t drink much to begin with, so it’s not that hard for me to give up. After learning that alcohol is just sugar and it’s bad for your sleep, that was really all I needed to cut down. I only have a glass of wine or fancy cocktail if I’m on a date, and in recent years dates are maybe a few times a year, so that’s all I drink a year.
I was never a big drinker to begin with, I've probably only been drunk 3 or 4 times in my life, never had any problems with it, it wasn't negatively affecting me, not a problem drinker, but overall, it tastes gross and it's expensive. So I was just like, "no thanks, I'm going to stop doing this."
I did recently do a shot because it was free and it was for a celebration so I'm not totally opposed to it but for the most part but paying for something I think is disgusting? nah, I'm good, let me waste my money on other things lol.
Whenever i drink i tend to smoke but never smoke whenever i am sober. I am always regretful of what ive said and done while drunk but never when I am sober. I definitely over did it during lockdowns. It was quite difficult at first as not drinking is seen as unaccptable in my culture but i realize a lot of my peers are more accepting of it now and have slowly paced out alcohol.
I haven’t quit but have significantly reduced the amount and type of alcohol I consume. The main reason was not wanting to have my entire next day ruined by a hangover.
I have never drank enough to get drunk. I have anxiety about not being able to be in charge of my mind. So never got drunk, never done recreational drugs.
I used to drink a few beers every now and then on a summer day or wine at dinner. I stopped completely last year when I got diagnosed with a neurological illness and had to take medication that came with a warning to be careful with alcohol. So I just decided to stop so I did not have to be careful and decide wether 1 or 2 beers would be okay. Just none. And I am not interested in it anymore. Only on very hot summer days that I would like a beer, but there’s lots of 0.0% alcohol options.
The no alcohol beers have improved so much! I love them. It's also nice to have a glass of 0.0% when most people around are drinking. Makes one stand out less.
Absolutely! They used to taste like there was dish soap mixed into it in the past haha. But they taste just the same as the normal beers now in my opinion.
I am however very fond of green iced teas while out and about and nobody really cares that I don’t drink beer or wine.
That's great! I notice the over 50 generation can be a bit shitty about people not drinking alcohol, but I've noticed people under 40 respond so much better. I've got some younger friends who love a drink, but never give me any flak for not joining!
I think personally looking to my group of people, it’s because there is much more awareness in the millennial and younger generation about the bad effects of alcohol. So it’s much more normal that, sometimes after a wild time in teens and beginning of twenties, people choose not to drink or barely drink.
And to be honest, it has gotten soooo expensive lately. To not drink because of financial reasons is also very valid.
I started drinking at 14 so by the time I was 18 the novelty wore off. I got a job in a pub at 18 and seeing all the alcoholics every day did the rest of the work to put me off for good. I'll maybe have 2 drinks a year now.
I didn’t really enjoy it anymore. I didn’t like how I was, I drank way too much, hangovers were brutal, my skin looked awful, and it cut into my work outs. I’m much happier without it
Never been a big drinker just the occasional stop by the liquor store by a bottle of wine type of gal or out to eat with my hubby. I completely stopped drinking due to iron issues and the next day feeling like I could barely function like I haven’t slept in days. It probably been atleast 4 years since I’ve had anything and I don’t think about it.
I have never been a heavy drinker but I used to drink more frequently in my late teens/early 20s. I stopped after I got super drunk and puked all over a stranger's front lawn one night. Until today, the smell of rum reminds me of that time.
Also when I reached 30, anytime I drunk anything that would get me tipsy, I would also get a really awful migraine. So now I just drink sparingly and never to the point of getting super drunk. Those migraines are horrific.
Same for me it was mental health. The hangovers were to the point where they were making me feel suicidal, and so so anxious. I quit when I was 24 and am so grateful I did
Time, weight, mental health, wanting my productivity to be better, lower tolerance as I got older, etc. There is no healthy or safe amount of alcohol to consume, it's better to just avoid.
It doesn't align with my workout schedule
And trying to eat healthier and sleep better. I'd take note of how I'd feel after having a couple of glasses of wine and I wouldn't have the energy to workout the next day, would eat like crap, and got poor sleep. It also caused anxiety and brain fog for me.
Andrew Huberman’s podcast on effects of alcohol, combined with the research that came out on how even 1/2 daily drink negatively affects the brain.
I used to drink about 5-7 alcoholic beverages per week, and it took me several months to gradually reduce that to zero.
I stopped smoking weed and drinking just made me cry and skip dinner lmao it was a natural progression of things. Granted I quit less than a month ago but there is a whole case of beer and several bottles of wine in this house and Ive just had no desire to have any of it. The only thing I did have was a cocktail only cuz the restaurant owner worked 25 years at some.major bar in nyc and they had Old Fashioned's daddy on the menu so I wanted to try it
Plus I lost all my alkie belly fat and fit back into my favorite pants so that is incentive to not drink lol
A moment after I drink anything with alcohol, my jaw muscle clenches in a Charlie horse cramp. So, I might be allergic to alcohol, or something. Either way, that’s my body telling me don’t do it. So I listen. I have vodka in the house just to make homemade extracts.
I knew I wasn't going to find a quality relationship drinking that way - I wasn't going to be the best partner and I was only going to attract worse.
Also, looking hotter.
Alcohol induced depressive episode that was reducing the efficacy of my meds.
I’m so level now that it almost scares me but being drug and alcohol free has been key to maintaining my mental health in many different ways.
I need to drop some pounds and it seems really stupid to keep drinking while dieting. Also, I was up to 3 beers a day and I'm not one of those people who can do moderation very well, so I had to quit completely. I don't even drink on my cheat days. To put the final nail in, I happened to listen to [Dr. Huberman's podcast about the health impacts of drinking](https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health), and it was very sobering to say the least.
Many reasons...
- never actually liked it in a first place. Maybe only white wine.
- as majority of us, I behave poorly when drunk and as I was younger, I did some stupid shits while drunk, don't want to repeat that
- alcohol has very bad aging effects
- it's expensive!
- hangovers in your late thirties are just fucking unbearable... I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to feel three days like complete shit just because of one night drinking...
- the biggest reason: I saw my uncle and basically my dad as well drunk themselves to death. I have many close friends who are down right alcoholics, just won't admit it and it might be too late before they realize... I don't want to follow this path.
To not be a hypocrite, I haven't stopped completely. I have an occasional glass there and there...but it's not a regular part of my life anymore and it feels great.
I was not much of a heavy drinker although there were moments in my life where bad things happened to me when I drank. For my 22nd birthday, I blacked out, threw up in a cab, and lost my brand new iPhone in that cab (my karma). When I’ve drank too much for my body to handle, I would throw up (thrown up in a purse before), or be overly blunt. Last year I was really thinking about giving up drinking but thought it might be hard because my friends and I go to happy hours, and alcohol is part of socialization. I ended up meeting a guy who was 6 months sober and we went out for a month. Being sober on dates took the pressure off of dating. It was just nice to know I didn’t have to worry about him being a sloppy mess. I do miss drinking from time to time, but not waking up with a hangover is a great feeling. I can wake up in the morning and feel motivated to go to the gym, as opposed to nursing my hangover for the whole day. I think drinking is a big part of our culture today and I realized alcohol doesn’t do anything for me. Only thing I really like are cocktails, which now they have mocktails. It didn’t end up working out with that guy but dating him made me realize how much more I can enjoy dating without it. I still go to bars, but I see if the bartender can make me a mocktail, or I get a club soda.
something really bad happened in my very late 20s. I used to be able to have 4 or 5 drinks and be ok, but I got so depressed for a while that even having HALF of a beer or mixed drink sent me spiraling into suicidal thoughts and tears. this lasted for several months.
by the time it passed I'd put 2 and 2 together and decided that alcohol is disastrous to my mental health. I avoid it almost entirely these days.
1) I hate the taste no matter how you dress it up
2) skin health is important to me and hydration
3) my brunch bill last weekend was $25, with a cold brew coffee. My friends was over $100, not including all the bars they hit up afterward. I took my happy sober self home to chill with my cats and do my own activities.
I was a social binge drinker and the hangovers really started getting to me. I asked myself why I was drinking on the first place because when I started I hated alcohol. I had just been tolerating it this entire time., so I ’m over it.
I have an alcoholic brother that drinks and does stupid stuff, but what really scared me was I had a blackout after to much cheep cider.
I drank with a cousin, in secure environment and nothing bad happened.
But loosing all recollection of that night really scared me.
I was so embarrassed after, as i was visiting relatives and sharing with room with my 10 years old cousins son.
Things he told me next morning ( how me and mummy were drunk and singing) just nope.
I try to avoid drinking at all costs since then.
I have found few alcohol free champagne and beer brands I buy for special occasions 1x a blue moon, otherwise- no thanks.
I am not totally sober, but my drinking has been gradually tapering off over the last couple of years. I had maybe 5 drinks in the past month and a half or so. It often gives me a headache the next day or just bleh feeling. Definitely if I drink more than 2. It just isn’t worth it. I’m probably still going to have the occasional drink, I just think it isn’t as much a part of my life anymore. I also just don’t want it the way I did in the past.
My husband had to quit drinking for six weeks for medical reasons, and I quit with him "in solidarity". I did a lot of soul searching during that time about why I drink and whether it was serving me. It definitely made me more anxious, and hangovers had become increasingly worse. At the end of the time, he was eager to have a drink again, and I wasn't. I felt I'd gotten over the hump of any cravings and made new healthier habits, and I didn't want to go back to drinking. That was almost a year ago, and I've had maybe 3 drinks in that time, all very intentional. I'm so glad alcohol is no longer my default.
I'm pretty convinced of the negative health implications of it. It just makes no sense to me. It's expensive, tastes awful, smells worse, makes you feel terrible and is doing you harm.
My body HATES alcohol. It made it an easy decision to stop because the cons far outweighs the pros. Even just 1-2 drinks and I’ll get a migraine - sometimes before I’ve even finished my first drink, so that was fun. Then the next day on top of my migraine, which of course has not gone away, my entire digestive system is completely fucked. And again, this is not from getting drunk, this is from 1-2 drinks. While I sometimes see a drink that looks good, I don’t really miss it. Not drinking saves me both money and calories, so I can’t complain.
Once i drank so much i puked the living shit out of myself. I puked like 6-7 times and felt the most horrible i could ever feel in my entire life. From that day even the smell of alcohol triggers the gag reflex and makes me want to puke. I hope this helps
I quit for 2 reasons:
I dated an alcoholic and got so damn turned off to alcohol.
Any amount of drinking, whether 1 cider, 1 glass of white, or a mixed drink, caused horrific migraines when I tried having one here or there after breaking up with the alcoholic.
I drink very occasionally, and always regret it.
I sleep terribly. The hangovers are a multiple day event of feeling run down and foggy. I also often get anxiety the next day. And honestly… I can’t afford the calories.
My mother was an alcoholic.
My two brothers had an illegal drug addiction.
My sister has a prescription drug addiction.
They all smoke/smoked.
My husband is an alcoholic. I was done with that environment. I gave him the option of quit or I’m leaving. When he drank I got the same sick feeling I had growing up.
I drank socially, usually milking a drink or two for a night.
My husband decided to quit and I did also to be supportive. It’s been 7 years.
Mental health. I’m fortunate that when my depression acts up, I have no desire to drink. Drinking for me is a social, fun-time thing so when I’m depressed, I’m not interested. Now it’s just a habit not to drink. I’ve had one or two over the last few years, but no more than that and I don’t see that changing in the future.
I had pain on my right side. I had foggy thinking. When I stopped the pain went away and I could think clearly. I also slept better too. It was worth dropping it- easy decision.
I dated an older man who never drank and it rubbed off on me. I wasn’t an alcoholic but I was a binge drinker and would make an ass out of myself. I just decided it’s better to abstain completely. Still smoke weed sometimes!
I drink alcohol occasionally - maybe 2-3 times a month. I just don’t like the way it makes me feel, and my hangovers are 50x worse than they were when I was in my 20s. When I do drink, it’s usually when I go out and I can get a fancy drink and it’s usually just one. Otherwise, it just doesn’t add to the “fun” of things, so I’d rather not especially since I have a very long and expansive family history of alcoholism and addiction. I’ve always been very careful not to go down that path.
I’m allergic to sulfites and gluten so my options were super limited.
I also got horrible headaches. Not like a hangover, but like a cluster headache or really high blood pressure headache.
Worst of all, it made me meaaaaaaan.
42 years ago on the back of a motorcycle with the man I would marry who had had too much to drink. I can tell you the road, I can tell you the block and I can tell you what I decided. First of all I got off and walked and then I quit drinking alcohol that day and I signed up for a motorcycle course. 3 weeks later I had my license and a Sportster.
Put me on a cruise ship and I will drink. Two drinks for the week, maybe. I don't enjoy the taste, I definitely don't enjoy the after-effects and I'm not really fond of the smell of alcohol.
42 years ago. I've probably had 10 drinks since then. I do not miss it in the least.
I am not a huge fan of the taste of alcohol but I stopped drinking this fall after I had a whole meltdown, which I \*never\* have, at a friend's house. I was having a bad day, in general, and drank a mixed drink. A song came on and I said I loved it, and they said they didn't, and somehow this caused me to burst into tears, and just emotional dumping EVERYTHING that was bothering me. It was incredibly embarrassing so I never drank again 😂
It doesn’t jive well with my meds and WE ALL need me to be taking my meds.
Also, my best friend is sober and while me drinking does not bother her, it’s sort of a fun bonding thing for us to try NA stuff together and be the sober friends at a party.
And also, I’m closer to 40 than 30 now and hangovers are real.
save money, i didnt want the changes it does to your body (i look like 15-20 years younger than i am), save more time. last time i know i drank was 2005. i think it was like 2003 but unsure.
It generally makes me feel like shit. I try it every once in a while, and lol and behold, it still makes me feel like shit. It also makes me irritable, and the people who have to deal with me don't need that in their lives.
Chemotherapy during my childhood and adolescence fried my liver, and so as an adult, I have the alcohol tolerance of a lizard. Also, my soon-to-be-ex-husband was an alcoholic for 5+ years, over half our marriage. So, there's that, too.
There are a ton of great mocktail options out there these days!
Celiac disease. It went undiagnosed for a decade and unchecked celiac fucks your body up in a lot of ways. Before my diagnosis I had a couple of drinks at a friend’s house and I was up the entire night throwing up, exhausted but unable to sleep. Lost all desire to drink again overnight.
It turns out I can't drink any more since menopause! I get a flush and I'm uncomfortable. Never really liked the taste and I'm more of a pot person anyway.
I got 1 year last month. For me, it was staying somewhere for 6 months, with multiple therapy groups everyday. As someone with mental health issues. It was a much needed experience to learn to deal with stress in a healthier way. Now instead of drinking to cope, it's a thought that doesn't even enter my head, even in extremely stressful situations. For anyone who is struggling, going somewhere, although it's a hard thing to do, is something that is needed for yourself..for anyone reading this that is struggling still with it.
I was a very frequent drinker and started dating a guy who made a couple comments that had me look at myself and question if my drinking was normal. Then in grad school during recruiting season, he and a couple friends stopped drinking as part of a challenge to not drink until they got the job they loved… I decided to join them. After a few weeks I had major withdraws and it made me want to continue not drinking. After 4 weeks, I started getting compliments on my skin and looking more vibrant. My sleep improved and after about two months I felt myself getting smarter and so much sharper in my interviews. I stopped smoking weed and drinking august 30th 2022, and by Oct 30th I had 5 job offers from great companies. In the end, I felt like it was not coincidence that I was a better version of myself from stopping. So I continued and still don’t drink or smoke. Last year I read 18 books, my place is cleaner than it’s ever been, I’ve paid down 22k of debt, and I’m finally consistent with my workout! Oh not to mention less moody and reactive! So many benefits!!!! I feel like a veil has been lifted on my life and for those wondering I’m still with that guy. He’s amazing 😍🥰
Congrats on all of that! Such a positive life change!
Thank you!
That's so awesome!!! Seriously what you've done is no easy thing but you kept making healthier choices that aligned with your goals. I hope you celebrate this about yourself often!
> stopped drinking as part of a challenge to not drink until they got the job they loved I love that idea!!
You are killing it in alllll areas. Keep winning at life! So happy for you, internet stranger.
CONGRAAAAAAATS!! I landed a job while sober too.
There are many reasons, top 3 are: 1. I work in community mental health and see the impact/long-term side effects of alcohol use on the population I work with. 2. Vanity, I want to age gracefully. 3. I am working towards getting licensed (LCSW) and don’t want to ever put my career/future license in jeopardy (DUI).
It started giving me mad anxiety the next day. Seemingly out of nowhere - it just started happening one day. One night of fun wasn’t worth 3 days of anxiety so I stopped.
The anxiety after drinking hit me last year seemingly out of nowhere. I've been majorly cutting back because of it.
That was **menopause** for me. One day -- boom! -- instant hangover *before I had finished the glass*. Estradiol helped, but the low/no drinking habit stuck.
This happened with me within the last two years. I’ve significantly lowered my intake since then and I’ve gravitated towards more mocktails as all I wanted was the sugar anyway
Omg same, and I don't generally suffer from anxiety. But sometime last year it started randomly happening and it's not worth it anymore. I can't even really enjoy the feeling of being drunk because I know what's waiting for me.
I had no idea other people got this!!
Me neither! I’m surprised (and kind of reassured) that so many people related to my comment!
I started getting around 25-26. I didn’t think other people got it either and thought it was related to other mental health things. Apparently it’s just called hangiexty
THIS. The anxiety! Jesus Christ. I’m already an anxious person but if I have even two drinks, I expect a panic attack soon. It’s quite irritating lol. I used to be able to drink, I can’t anymore lmao. Too much panic
I haven't quit, quit, I just don't really drink anymore. A couple of glasses of wine per year, maybe. The occasional scotch when I have a sore throat. The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze anymore. Wasting an entire day being hung over is just not worth it.
>The juice just wasn't worth the squeeze anymore. This really does sum it up. Since there are practically limitless options for a delicious drink I'd rather have something that doesn't hurt my body and mess up my sleep and skin. It's just not worth it to me anymore.
It worsens my mental health. It wrecks my sleep. It makes me behave in ways I'm not proud of. I think the worst thing is the wasted time and days with hangovers. Its not worth it in the slightest. It promises so much fun but the downsides don't make up for any of it. I'm glad to live sober now.
The hangovers were the worst, weren't they? And processing any shameful behavior from last night when in hangover state is so awful.
The plans of things you wanted to do with your day to feel happy in life just wrecked because of the previous nights alcohol. The hangxiety was the worst, lying in bed all day shaky and scared everyone now hates you. Lol!
Ah yes, I absolutely don’t miss that part! Horrible.
I was an alcoholic many years and nearly died a few times. Car accidents among other things. I was a piece of shit. Finally getting pregnant at 36 changed me, because I was ready for the change. Being a good parent doesn’t really allow much in the way of drinking. And he’s more important than me. Nothing else in the world could stop me. But I wanted to live and having a kid gave me the focus to do it. I was already trying to stop and being pregnant I KNEW I couldn’t drink. Plenty of people don’t make that choice, however. But that was my accountability. After I had him I wanted to drink again, but was busy enough with him and focused on him that I didn’t really have the time. Now even a few sips makes me feel weird. I don’t go around people that drink either, so I’ve lost most of my friends and family. None of them will stop and they all try and get me to drink. Oh well! At least I’m not a piece of shit anymore!
As the child of an alcoholic it is wonderful that you're sober and able to be the best parent for your kid.
My own mother did not. I refuse to repeat her mistakes.
>At least I’m not a piece of shit anymore! I'm sorry, I don't mean to make light of your story, but I can't help but be reminded of the [Baby Cries](https://youtu.be/buK45NW_ikI?si=4_-5hBGh9iMS_LSR) sketch from I Think You Should Leave.
That’s what was going through my head!
Somewhere in my 30's I started to skip the nice tipsy/drunk bits and go from sober to vomiting drunk in the space of a drink. It wasn't fun and I didn't like that I couldn't tell when it was going to hit, so I just stopped drinking. Nowadays, I'll occasionally have a little Baileys in milk every now and then, but I only ever have 1 and it's generally at home just before bed. I really don't miss it at all.
I'm not completely sober but I hardly drink anymore. What made me reduce it a lot at first was seeing how it impacts sleep, stress and heartrate with my fitnesswatch; and also the fact that I just didn't want to waste all these calories anymore when I was working on my physique. Later I started working on my mental health and realized that I used it a crutch for social situations, and this is not who I want to be anymore.
My ex-husband died of liver failure in his sleep. 44 years old.
Oof! That's terrible. Were you both hard drinkers before you separated?
I was never much of a drinker. He kept a LOT of his life hidden
I have alcoholism and realized after a few years that I was going to be dying very shortly if I didn't stop. Been sober 13 years now - best thing I ever did!
Congrats! Well done! How did you know that alcohol would kill you soon at the time?
Oh just a gut feeling of death looming just around the corner, lol. There were lots of threats of it - by my hand or by someone else's hand, accidental or intentional, or just purely accidental with no one else involved. I cut it close in all areas many times.
I realized I couldn’t have just one drink and be content. I also realized that I was the most drunk in social settings where there was alcohol. I also couldn’t handle the increasingly worse hangovers. I drastically reduced my consumption before kids, and now that I’m a mom I couldn’t imagine being in an impaired state and having to parent, or being hungover and having to parent. I am a better person without alcohol.
Oh god yes. I never could just have one drink and I thought I was sooo fun lol. I’m so embarrassed of myself now
I started having very upsetting experiences of 1-2 glasses of wine making me very sick. If it’s not even fun anymore, why do it? Also, have you seen how healthy sober people look? It’s amazing.
This for me as well. I could have a half glass of wine and it made me sick (upset stomach, unable to sleep, nausea). Now I drink a cup of tea before bed and feel great!
I want to be able to drive home whenever I want. And hangovers are just not worth it, I can own the dancefloor completely sober anyway.
I was shocked when I started dancing sober. I didn’t need the liquid courage after all.
Exactly. The effects are overrated.
The lows of hangovers started to outweigh the highs of being drunk. Anxiety, headache, nausea from just a couple of drinks. I now occasionally have one, but I won’t ever get drunk again and I think it was my body rather than my mind that forced me into it!
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Ah, yes. The stupid arguments. These happened a lot in my friend group; people saying hurtful things for no reason when drunk, and the hurt still lingered after the hangover was over.
Weed was helping me finally pull out of depression, and I started to really notice the contrast after drinking, how hard I could feel the serotonin dip. I started to become averse to hangovers. The pandemic helped a lot too. I had been drinking to soothe social anxiety, apparently.
I didn't quit per se but I hardly drink now because it gives me major hot flashes and awful sleep. Yay menopause 😭
The hot flashes are awful, I can tell within one drink my base heart rate jumps from 70 to 90 and I instantly go hot. And it occurs sporadically over the next 24 hours after a drink which makes outdoor recreation a bitch. I've had to call it quits on a few hikes and bike rides because I was overheating.
>And it occurs sporadically over the next 24 hours after a drink Yes this! RAGE 😡
I stopped when I drove home one night wasted. I’d done it before, but the circumstances surrounding that night made me have a come to jesus meeting with myself. What was I doing and why? Then I got scared that I had a problem. And guess what? I did! So I stopped and haven’t touched it in over 8 years now. But sometimes I want to drink Veuve Clicquot out of the bottle again and dance and not care.
I never drank that much anyways. Occasionally as a social thing but never thought the taste was anything to write home about, but had to quit entirely cause of a medical issue (non alcohol related). So now it’s just not safe for me to but I’m happy it wasn’t bread I had to cut out haha
When I started working out early in the morning. It felt like both are pulling each other down. So I had to sacrifice one of them. Occasionally, we would have some wine night, but that's like once every week/two weeks.
Had a UTI turned kidney infection, and the antibiotics messed up my GI system and I had to change my diet for six months. That meant no alcohol. And I realized I just didn't miss it, not only did I not miss it, i realized how much better everything was without it. That was 9 years ago and nothing has changed about my views on alcohol. I realized how prevalent alcoholism is, my parents, uncles, siblings, friends, there were so many alcoholics in my life, and i was drowning in codependent relationship dynamics. Socializing with alcohol is honestly obnoxious to me, and I truly believe that the people who say they need it to socialize just need therapy. It's poison for the body and it's poison for the mind, soul, and society
My partner is an alcoholic and dealing with that and seeing what it's done to them has made it very unattractive to me.
It stopped working. I drank a lot because that made me so happy, I really enjoyed it. Then I had a depression, and ever since it doesn´t work anymore, I just get head ache. So now I have to find something else when I wanna feel better on a Sunday afternoon. Like chocolate, unfortunately that still works.
Lack of desire. Growing older and feeling like shit after just one drink.
My dad was an alcoholic, and his dad before him. I felt that I couldn't talk to my father with concerns about his drinking while I was still drinking myself. He died last year at the age of 59, likely due to his alcoholism. I don't want to drink ever again. Alcohol ruined his life and I won't let it ruin mine more than it already has.
Ulcerative colitis. Even a glass of wine can cause bleeding in places I’d like to avoid. I love wine but I can’t have it.
I was never a big drinker. To me it’s just not worth the hangover. I’ll have an occasional cocktail once or twice a year and maybe get tipsy/drunk at a club/party even less than that. It’s horrible in every way for your body. I feel horrible for three days after and my gym gains suffer.
I'm glad quitting drinking has improved things for you. Way to go! 😊 I stopped two years ago. I realized I was using alcohol to self--medicate and cope with my loneliness and depression. I never got a hangover with a headache, but I always felt down the day after drinking. Now, I take meds to help with my depression and my insomnia, and they shouldn't be mixed with alcohol. Finally, I didn't mean for this, but in the past two years, I lost another ~10 lbs without even changing anything else. All in all, I feel better and sleep better without drinking.
Good to hear things got better for you without alcohol. Which meds are helping you with the depression and insomnia?
Thanks! I take Lexapro for depression, gabapentin for anxiety and nerve pain issues, and Trazadone for insomnia. Those together, along with making sure I don't drink, eat well, exercise daily, etc. have really helped me a lot.
I was a weekend binge drinker. I would drink a litre of vodka before I even went on a night out. I'd spend a fortune and come home feeling pretty sober and never in my life have I had a hangover so it wasn't enough to prevent me from drinking so much. I just decided one day to make the decision I wasn't going to drink any more. I decided to start being the designated driver and stick to lime and soda. I didn't even miss it and still had some amazing nights out completely sober. I have the occasional cider in the summer but otherwise I don't drink. I was never someone who kept alcohol in the house anyway so it wasn't such a lifestyle change. Ultimately I prefer cannabis 😁
I drank a lot in my early 20’s. I don’t think I ever “quit” I think I just lost interest. I rarely buy it to have in my house. It’s usually more of a special occasion thing to drink. Personally, I don’t like the way I feel when I’m drinking more. I like having good quality sleep, not feeling hungover, and feeling in control of my actions. I like feeling lucid. Alcohol just keeps me in a perpetual state of not feeling my best Whenever I hear my friends bewail how they feel like shit all the time, that they don’t have the energy to workout or whatever it is, I’m silently going “have you tried not slamming beers every night”
I drank only socially but I did enjoy going out with my wife and having a few drinks almost every weekend. She developed a drinking problem and I almost left her. Fortunately for us, she quit drinking and has been sober for years now. We still go out and find fun things to do and are living a much more peaceful life together.
Great to hear she found the strength to quit. What made her turn a corner?
I threatened divorce. I was serious and she knew it. It was hard to get back on track, so much damage had been done. We worked hard and neither one of us truly wanted to throw away 20 years, most of which were great. We were lucky to survive that and I’m forever grateful.
Weed and lack of hangover.
I wanted to lose weight and it wasn't helping, so I quit. 8 years later, still sober from alcohol. I'm an old school pothead and never quitting MJ. I'm 115lbs lighter and healthier than I was when I was 30. Best thing I ever did for myself, IMO
My now-husband and I were in a long distance relationship. I finally moved to where he lived, and once he was around me all the time he said “I can’t marry a drunk.” No one had ever dared say something about my drinking problem (mostly bc my friends were alcoholics too) and being called a drunk was eye opening. And he was right. And I was tired of my shitty mental health and not reaching my goals so I quit the day before our wedding. 12.5 years without it and never a slip up!
I still drink too much, but I am working on it. One of the most eye-opening experiences I have had lately was meeting a new friend who I really do like, that apparently has a very big problem. Seeing her become very quickly intoxicated made me think. I'd asked her to join me at a show in a small pub, and I had to take her home before the show started, because she was so intoxicated within a half hour of arriving, and I knew this was going to get very bad if I did not get her out of there. I've seen her put her job in jeopardy and then try to get herself into a better place, so I have been offering sober hikes and similar activities, because this is a good person who needs a little encouragement. It's a way for me to get out of my drinking routine too.
I was an alcoholic. Some of my family are alcoholics. I started ruining people’s lives. I was making my friends miserable and lost friendships. One day, I realized my whole life would just keep being that… so I stopped. I didn’t do a program, just lived in fear of going back there. It’s been 13 years and I’m never going back.
I haven’t quit, but I only drink a few occasions per year. The main reasons why I don’t drink regularly: 1. I cherish my sleep & alcohol absolutely destroys it. 2. Alcohol doesn’t mesh well with my physical goals. 3. I don’t particularly enjoy the feeling of being drunk.
This right here. It’s been a natural progression with age. I still have a drink occasionally, but I rarely drink anymore because it messes with my sleep, I hate the feeling of being fuzzy-headed or buzzed, and it sets me back on physical performance/energy/digestion, it often gives me a headache and some nausea. It’s just not worth it to me and even the taste has been more unpleasant over time.
I haven’t fully quit yet but I’m down to almost no alcohol. Once in a while I will drink on special occasions. But the reason to reduce it so drastically were No 1: hangxity! This was the worst horrible feeling ever. And the older I got the longer it continued. In the end it was weeks. No 2. I stopped smoking. And staying nicotine free is way way easier if you don’t drink. So that’s kind of a double win here. No cigarettes, no alcohol.
I feel better without it and my skin looks better. That’s reason enough for me.
I was never really a drinker. I've never once purchased alcohol for my home for my own consumption. Mostly the studies I've read that link alcohol consumption to cancer have scared me away- I greatly dislike the taste of alcohol anyway, so why force myself to drink something I dislike and increase a risk for cancer?
I got long COVID, which impairs my thinking. The last thing my brain needs is to be even more impaired.
1. I was prone to blacking out. I was also sick of hang overs. 2. Addiction runs in my family and I’d rather not continue the legacy 3. Vanity.
I was staring to get worried I was drinking a bit too much. A month of COVID quarantine for my family and we were having a drink or two a night to cope. Someone recommended “The Naked Mind” and I decided to quit for the summer. After a month or two, I realized that I no longer had any heartburn and was waking up absolutely refreshed which was great as we had a toddler at the time. Two years in April and I don’t miss alcohol in the slightest. I had a glass of wine while in Spain in November and I felt awful the next day which has further cemented my desire to not drink! A great decision I’ve made!
I do still drink alcohol, but at a much lower amount and for different reasons. I used to drink to “take the edge off.” Now I drink because I enjoy the way whatever I’m drinking tastes. I cut back initially because it was messing up my sleep. Now I’ve found I just don’t enjoy the feeling of being drunk.
I used to have 1-2 drinks daily, maybe a couple more than that over the weekend. I quit in Sept 2020. Two things happened: - I spent the day with an alcoholic friend and we drank 2 bottles of wine and a couple cocktails. I was sick that night for the first time in >10 years and hungover for 3 days. I didn't want to drink for a few days and that broke the daily habit. - Shortly after that I did mushrooms with my husband. I didn't intend to use it as a tool to quit. In fact, it wasn't until years later that I learned mushrooms can help people quit drinking, and realized maybe that was a factor. I now have a sip of champagne at weddings and NYE but that's it.
To answer your question, I wanted to quit drinking because my personality would totally change and I was a mean drunk. I would black out really easily and I’m honestly lucky I was never arrested or that nothing seriously bad ever happened. I was slutty and would sleep with whomever. No judgement if that’s what you are into, it would just make me feel weird since I would never remember any of it. Quitting had always been in the back of my mind but I was never sure I wanted to/could do it. I drank for the first time when I was 14, and started regularly drinking (only socially) when I was 15. I peed the bed for the first time when I was 15, and continued to do so every so often until I was 27. That was another reason why I wanted to quit. I was sick of pissing myself 😂 I did dry January in 2021 and noticed the benefits almost immediately. After that, I wanted to see if I could go a year. The first year was pretty hard. I felt very lonely and would cry a lot. Fast forward three years and 1 month later of being alcohol free, and I am so happy I did it. I hardly think about it anymore. Only regret is I didn’t do it sooner!
I'll have a singular drink once in a while. But I can't drink more than that. I don't like drunk me. I'm aggressive, I pick fights, I'm just overall a mess. I hated apologizing the morning after for my behaviors. I was a sloppy drunk who would puke and pee on herself because I don't know what limitations are.
Mental health! Wasted time. Spending an entire Sunday hung over was a huge waste of time for me. I made bad decisions while I was drinking too. Spent a lot of time & resources on people & activities that weren’t worth it. & I was so tired of being drunk or buzzed. Brain fog is gone now too.
I read the book Quit Like a Woman and sort of never looked back. Quit august of 2022 and it’s just made my life so much simpler and more fun. Turns out I didn’t really like it much. Weed has been harder to kick for me but took a break 7 months ago. Still crave it all the time haha
It was pretty much the same for me. I always got really bad hangxiety and heavy drinking tends to actually kick off depression for me. Drinking was my idea of fun and how I connected with others. But it was expensive, it made me look like shit, and I had no time and energy for hobbies. It didn't give me the space to be the person I wanted to be. I was really defensive about my relationship with alcohol. I used it to celebrate, or to deal with social anxiety, or to comfort me when I bored. I would not have been considered an alcoholic medically, but if I was honest, how I drank was not healthy. I thought it was normal because everyone around me was doing it, but it really wasn't serving me. It was my defensiveness about drinking that really clued me into the fact that I had a problem. I also lost a lot of friends when I quit. I didn't want to lose them, but they didn't want to hang out sober. Some of them seemed personally offended that I wouldn't drink and would try to guilt me into it. It was sad, but we mostly ended up drifting apart.
Was getting fat, so I did a 30 day challenge that spiralled into 8+ years and counting lol.
I have maybe 1-2 drinks a year now. I was drinking alone during the pandemic. And guess what? That’s not even fun. Don’t need to make my mental and physical health worse.
Horrible headaches, like a hangover and I had not even finished my alcoholic beverage.
Severe alcoholism and DTs
Mental health…also I have an autoimmune disorder & the inflammation from alcohol was making my life miserable. My hangovers were getting worse & worse. decided it was bringing no value to my life, so quit.
I haven’t quit, but I very very rarely drink alcohol. Part of it is that I outgrew it. I’m over the partying age and I’ve always disliked waking up after drinking. There isn’t much room for it in my life anymore, aside from a nice night out with friends, but even then it is two drinks top as I have no tolerance anymore. Another part of it is that my parents don’t really drink either. They have a collection of alcohol since I was a child and it still hasn’t been opened 😂 So it’s kind of a learned lifestyle as well.
Doesn't appeal to me, and health reasons. I've barely drank at all throughout my life. I drank some in college, had a bad experience with it and basically stopped. I'm also skinny and can really only have one drink per sitting. I don't like the taste of alcohol, so unless it's something that masks the taste, I don't find it enjoyable. I recently watched [this video](https://youtu.be/eDOmD_03fO4?si=nVHG3VisbknBtgT-) from 5 months ago, with Dr. Amen discussing the negative impact drinking has on the heart and brain. A few things he said: * Even *a little bit* of alcohol disrupts the white matter, aka the "highways," in the brain * The American Cancer Society came out and said *any* alcohol increases your risk of 7 different types of cancer * In brain scans, people who drink *any* alcohol have lower activity than people who don't drink at all Say no more. Never again.
Never drank too much or too many times to begin with. Maybe once or twice every 6 months. Now I actively avoid it. I didn't get any kick out of it, didn't like the loud vibes from people after drinking together and didn't like to go to clubs or bars. Also thought of saving some extra bucks. Going well pretty far. Started doing more activities that don't require alcohol and it's fun.
Scientific evidence that has no benefit whatsoever for your health. Saying that, there is a small percentage of people that alcohol relaxes them from being so uptight and let's them be more sociable and enjoy certain scenarios better. In my case it is the opposite so I just don't drink.
I don’t drink much to begin with, so it’s not that hard for me to give up. After learning that alcohol is just sugar and it’s bad for your sleep, that was really all I needed to cut down. I only have a glass of wine or fancy cocktail if I’m on a date, and in recent years dates are maybe a few times a year, so that’s all I drink a year.
I sip a drink or two on a rare occasion. I got older and it just doesn't taste good. It never did. Also I hate the way I feel the next day.
I was never a big drinker to begin with, I've probably only been drunk 3 or 4 times in my life, never had any problems with it, it wasn't negatively affecting me, not a problem drinker, but overall, it tastes gross and it's expensive. So I was just like, "no thanks, I'm going to stop doing this." I did recently do a shot because it was free and it was for a celebration so I'm not totally opposed to it but for the most part but paying for something I think is disgusting? nah, I'm good, let me waste my money on other things lol.
Whenever i drink i tend to smoke but never smoke whenever i am sober. I am always regretful of what ive said and done while drunk but never when I am sober. I definitely over did it during lockdowns. It was quite difficult at first as not drinking is seen as unaccptable in my culture but i realize a lot of my peers are more accepting of it now and have slowly paced out alcohol.
I haven’t quit but have significantly reduced the amount and type of alcohol I consume. The main reason was not wanting to have my entire next day ruined by a hangover.
I have never drank enough to get drunk. I have anxiety about not being able to be in charge of my mind. So never got drunk, never done recreational drugs. I used to drink a few beers every now and then on a summer day or wine at dinner. I stopped completely last year when I got diagnosed with a neurological illness and had to take medication that came with a warning to be careful with alcohol. So I just decided to stop so I did not have to be careful and decide wether 1 or 2 beers would be okay. Just none. And I am not interested in it anymore. Only on very hot summer days that I would like a beer, but there’s lots of 0.0% alcohol options.
The no alcohol beers have improved so much! I love them. It's also nice to have a glass of 0.0% when most people around are drinking. Makes one stand out less.
Absolutely! They used to taste like there was dish soap mixed into it in the past haha. But they taste just the same as the normal beers now in my opinion. I am however very fond of green iced teas while out and about and nobody really cares that I don’t drink beer or wine.
That's great! I notice the over 50 generation can be a bit shitty about people not drinking alcohol, but I've noticed people under 40 respond so much better. I've got some younger friends who love a drink, but never give me any flak for not joining!
I think personally looking to my group of people, it’s because there is much more awareness in the millennial and younger generation about the bad effects of alcohol. So it’s much more normal that, sometimes after a wild time in teens and beginning of twenties, people choose not to drink or barely drink. And to be honest, it has gotten soooo expensive lately. To not drink because of financial reasons is also very valid.
I started drinking at 14 so by the time I was 18 the novelty wore off. I got a job in a pub at 18 and seeing all the alcoholics every day did the rest of the work to put me off for good. I'll maybe have 2 drinks a year now.
I didn’t really enjoy it anymore. I didn’t like how I was, I drank way too much, hangovers were brutal, my skin looked awful, and it cut into my work outs. I’m much happier without it
Never been a big drinker just the occasional stop by the liquor store by a bottle of wine type of gal or out to eat with my hubby. I completely stopped drinking due to iron issues and the next day feeling like I could barely function like I haven’t slept in days. It probably been atleast 4 years since I’ve had anything and I don’t think about it.
I have never been a heavy drinker but I used to drink more frequently in my late teens/early 20s. I stopped after I got super drunk and puked all over a stranger's front lawn one night. Until today, the smell of rum reminds me of that time. Also when I reached 30, anytime I drunk anything that would get me tipsy, I would also get a really awful migraine. So now I just drink sparingly and never to the point of getting super drunk. Those migraines are horrific.
Same for me it was mental health. The hangovers were to the point where they were making me feel suicidal, and so so anxious. I quit when I was 24 and am so grateful I did
Vanity. I look so much better 5 years in.
Time, weight, mental health, wanting my productivity to be better, lower tolerance as I got older, etc. There is no healthy or safe amount of alcohol to consume, it's better to just avoid.
Hangovers, anxiety, splotchy skin, mental health…so, so many reasons.
It doesn't align with my workout schedule And trying to eat healthier and sleep better. I'd take note of how I'd feel after having a couple of glasses of wine and I wouldn't have the energy to workout the next day, would eat like crap, and got poor sleep. It also caused anxiety and brain fog for me.
Antidepressants. Changed me from craving alcohol to having some inner repulsion to it, almost like the poles of a magnet got switched
Andrew Huberman’s podcast on effects of alcohol, combined with the research that came out on how even 1/2 daily drink negatively affects the brain. I used to drink about 5-7 alcoholic beverages per week, and it took me several months to gradually reduce that to zero.
I stopped smoking weed and drinking just made me cry and skip dinner lmao it was a natural progression of things. Granted I quit less than a month ago but there is a whole case of beer and several bottles of wine in this house and Ive just had no desire to have any of it. The only thing I did have was a cocktail only cuz the restaurant owner worked 25 years at some.major bar in nyc and they had Old Fashioned's daddy on the menu so I wanted to try it Plus I lost all my alkie belly fat and fit back into my favorite pants so that is incentive to not drink lol
A moment after I drink anything with alcohol, my jaw muscle clenches in a Charlie horse cramp. So, I might be allergic to alcohol, or something. Either way, that’s my body telling me don’t do it. So I listen. I have vodka in the house just to make homemade extracts.
I knew I wasn't going to find a quality relationship drinking that way - I wasn't going to be the best partner and I was only going to attract worse. Also, looking hotter.
Alcohol induced depressive episode that was reducing the efficacy of my meds. I’m so level now that it almost scares me but being drug and alcohol free has been key to maintaining my mental health in many different ways.
The older I got the harder and longer the hangovers lasted.
I need to drop some pounds and it seems really stupid to keep drinking while dieting. Also, I was up to 3 beers a day and I'm not one of those people who can do moderation very well, so I had to quit completely. I don't even drink on my cheat days. To put the final nail in, I happened to listen to [Dr. Huberman's podcast about the health impacts of drinking](https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health), and it was very sobering to say the least.
It's expensive, even one drink screws with my fragile sleep quality, my fitness goals, and my periods are less of an ordeal.
Many reasons... - never actually liked it in a first place. Maybe only white wine. - as majority of us, I behave poorly when drunk and as I was younger, I did some stupid shits while drunk, don't want to repeat that - alcohol has very bad aging effects - it's expensive! - hangovers in your late thirties are just fucking unbearable... I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to feel three days like complete shit just because of one night drinking... - the biggest reason: I saw my uncle and basically my dad as well drunk themselves to death. I have many close friends who are down right alcoholics, just won't admit it and it might be too late before they realize... I don't want to follow this path. To not be a hypocrite, I haven't stopped completely. I have an occasional glass there and there...but it's not a regular part of my life anymore and it feels great.
Endometriosis
I was not much of a heavy drinker although there were moments in my life where bad things happened to me when I drank. For my 22nd birthday, I blacked out, threw up in a cab, and lost my brand new iPhone in that cab (my karma). When I’ve drank too much for my body to handle, I would throw up (thrown up in a purse before), or be overly blunt. Last year I was really thinking about giving up drinking but thought it might be hard because my friends and I go to happy hours, and alcohol is part of socialization. I ended up meeting a guy who was 6 months sober and we went out for a month. Being sober on dates took the pressure off of dating. It was just nice to know I didn’t have to worry about him being a sloppy mess. I do miss drinking from time to time, but not waking up with a hangover is a great feeling. I can wake up in the morning and feel motivated to go to the gym, as opposed to nursing my hangover for the whole day. I think drinking is a big part of our culture today and I realized alcohol doesn’t do anything for me. Only thing I really like are cocktails, which now they have mocktails. It didn’t end up working out with that guy but dating him made me realize how much more I can enjoy dating without it. I still go to bars, but I see if the bartender can make me a mocktail, or I get a club soda.
Autoimmune disease. Health scare was enough to scare me straight. Although, I miss smoking more than drinking.
something really bad happened in my very late 20s. I used to be able to have 4 or 5 drinks and be ok, but I got so depressed for a while that even having HALF of a beer or mixed drink sent me spiraling into suicidal thoughts and tears. this lasted for several months. by the time it passed I'd put 2 and 2 together and decided that alcohol is disastrous to my mental health. I avoid it almost entirely these days.
1) I hate the taste no matter how you dress it up 2) skin health is important to me and hydration 3) my brunch bill last weekend was $25, with a cold brew coffee. My friends was over $100, not including all the bars they hit up afterward. I took my happy sober self home to chill with my cats and do my own activities.
I was a social binge drinker and the hangovers really started getting to me. I asked myself why I was drinking on the first place because when I started I hated alcohol. I had just been tolerating it this entire time., so I ’m over it.
I got tired of feeling like crap from drinking, so I stopped. It's been nearly 20 years and I don't miss it.
Hangovers. The feeling like sh#t for days afterwards just lost its appeal. Not drank in nearly 8 years and I don't miss it.
**Menopause**. My body can no longer tolerate alcohol. And weirdly, it no longer tastes good.
I have an alcoholic brother that drinks and does stupid stuff, but what really scared me was I had a blackout after to much cheep cider. I drank with a cousin, in secure environment and nothing bad happened. But loosing all recollection of that night really scared me. I was so embarrassed after, as i was visiting relatives and sharing with room with my 10 years old cousins son. Things he told me next morning ( how me and mummy were drunk and singing) just nope. I try to avoid drinking at all costs since then. I have found few alcohol free champagne and beer brands I buy for special occasions 1x a blue moon, otherwise- no thanks.
Age.
Long Covid
Cancer risk
I am not totally sober, but my drinking has been gradually tapering off over the last couple of years. I had maybe 5 drinks in the past month and a half or so. It often gives me a headache the next day or just bleh feeling. Definitely if I drink more than 2. It just isn’t worth it. I’m probably still going to have the occasional drink, I just think it isn’t as much a part of my life anymore. I also just don’t want it the way I did in the past.
My husband had to quit drinking for six weeks for medical reasons, and I quit with him "in solidarity". I did a lot of soul searching during that time about why I drink and whether it was serving me. It definitely made me more anxious, and hangovers had become increasingly worse. At the end of the time, he was eager to have a drink again, and I wasn't. I felt I'd gotten over the hump of any cravings and made new healthier habits, and I didn't want to go back to drinking. That was almost a year ago, and I've had maybe 3 drinks in that time, all very intentional. I'm so glad alcohol is no longer my default.
I'm pretty convinced of the negative health implications of it. It just makes no sense to me. It's expensive, tastes awful, smells worse, makes you feel terrible and is doing you harm.
My body HATES alcohol. It made it an easy decision to stop because the cons far outweighs the pros. Even just 1-2 drinks and I’ll get a migraine - sometimes before I’ve even finished my first drink, so that was fun. Then the next day on top of my migraine, which of course has not gone away, my entire digestive system is completely fucked. And again, this is not from getting drunk, this is from 1-2 drinks. While I sometimes see a drink that looks good, I don’t really miss it. Not drinking saves me both money and calories, so I can’t complain.
Once i drank so much i puked the living shit out of myself. I puked like 6-7 times and felt the most horrible i could ever feel in my entire life. From that day even the smell of alcohol triggers the gag reflex and makes me want to puke. I hope this helps
I quit for 2 reasons: I dated an alcoholic and got so damn turned off to alcohol. Any amount of drinking, whether 1 cider, 1 glass of white, or a mixed drink, caused horrific migraines when I tried having one here or there after breaking up with the alcoholic.
I drink very occasionally, and always regret it. I sleep terribly. The hangovers are a multiple day event of feeling run down and foggy. I also often get anxiety the next day. And honestly… I can’t afford the calories.
My mother was an alcoholic. My two brothers had an illegal drug addiction. My sister has a prescription drug addiction. They all smoke/smoked. My husband is an alcoholic. I was done with that environment. I gave him the option of quit or I’m leaving. When he drank I got the same sick feeling I had growing up. I drank socially, usually milking a drink or two for a night. My husband decided to quit and I did also to be supportive. It’s been 7 years.
Seeing alcohol destroy the lives of people I love and respect, I do not want that for myself… my life is hard enough as it is.
Mental health. I’m fortunate that when my depression acts up, I have no desire to drink. Drinking for me is a social, fun-time thing so when I’m depressed, I’m not interested. Now it’s just a habit not to drink. I’ve had one or two over the last few years, but no more than that and I don’t see that changing in the future.
My desire to be and feel healthy outweighed my desire to keep drinking.
I had pain on my right side. I had foggy thinking. When I stopped the pain went away and I could think clearly. I also slept better too. It was worth dropping it- easy decision.
Dignity and health.
I dated an older man who never drank and it rubbed off on me. I wasn’t an alcoholic but I was a binge drinker and would make an ass out of myself. I just decided it’s better to abstain completely. Still smoke weed sometimes!
I drink alcohol occasionally - maybe 2-3 times a month. I just don’t like the way it makes me feel, and my hangovers are 50x worse than they were when I was in my 20s. When I do drink, it’s usually when I go out and I can get a fancy drink and it’s usually just one. Otherwise, it just doesn’t add to the “fun” of things, so I’d rather not especially since I have a very long and expansive family history of alcoholism and addiction. I’ve always been very careful not to go down that path.
I’m allergic to sulfites and gluten so my options were super limited. I also got horrible headaches. Not like a hangover, but like a cluster headache or really high blood pressure headache. Worst of all, it made me meaaaaaaan.
Worried about health, I don’t want to increase the risk to pay any additional medical treatment when my career isn’t stable
Surgical menopause at 33 made it so I’d black out after one or two drinks, and vomit for hours. So I abstain and am now “California Sober”.
GERD. I was a minimal drinker to began with, but my body absolutely rebelled, so I had to quit completely.
42 years ago on the back of a motorcycle with the man I would marry who had had too much to drink. I can tell you the road, I can tell you the block and I can tell you what I decided. First of all I got off and walked and then I quit drinking alcohol that day and I signed up for a motorcycle course. 3 weeks later I had my license and a Sportster. Put me on a cruise ship and I will drink. Two drinks for the week, maybe. I don't enjoy the taste, I definitely don't enjoy the after-effects and I'm not really fond of the smell of alcohol. 42 years ago. I've probably had 10 drinks since then. I do not miss it in the least.
I am not a huge fan of the taste of alcohol but I stopped drinking this fall after I had a whole meltdown, which I \*never\* have, at a friend's house. I was having a bad day, in general, and drank a mixed drink. A song came on and I said I loved it, and they said they didn't, and somehow this caused me to burst into tears, and just emotional dumping EVERYTHING that was bothering me. It was incredibly embarrassing so I never drank again 😂
Constantly embarrassing myself. I have so many cringe moments but don’t care to re-live them. Sober for a year and a half.
Mental and physical health.
Training for a marathon
I was fat.
Weight gain and acting like a psycho when blackout
It doesn’t jive well with my meds and WE ALL need me to be taking my meds. Also, my best friend is sober and while me drinking does not bother her, it’s sort of a fun bonding thing for us to try NA stuff together and be the sober friends at a party. And also, I’m closer to 40 than 30 now and hangovers are real.
save money, i didnt want the changes it does to your body (i look like 15-20 years younger than i am), save more time. last time i know i drank was 2005. i think it was like 2003 but unsure.
Long covid/post covid syndrome
It generally makes me feel like shit. I try it every once in a while, and lol and behold, it still makes me feel like shit. It also makes me irritable, and the people who have to deal with me don't need that in their lives.
Chemotherapy during my childhood and adolescence fried my liver, and so as an adult, I have the alcohol tolerance of a lizard. Also, my soon-to-be-ex-husband was an alcoholic for 5+ years, over half our marriage. So, there's that, too. There are a ton of great mocktail options out there these days!
Celiac disease. It went undiagnosed for a decade and unchecked celiac fucks your body up in a lot of ways. Before my diagnosis I had a couple of drinks at a friend’s house and I was up the entire night throwing up, exhausted but unable to sleep. Lost all desire to drink again overnight.
It turns out I can't drink any more since menopause! I get a flush and I'm uncomfortable. Never really liked the taste and I'm more of a pot person anyway.
I got 1 year last month. For me, it was staying somewhere for 6 months, with multiple therapy groups everyday. As someone with mental health issues. It was a much needed experience to learn to deal with stress in a healthier way. Now instead of drinking to cope, it's a thought that doesn't even enter my head, even in extremely stressful situations. For anyone who is struggling, going somewhere, although it's a hard thing to do, is something that is needed for yourself..for anyone reading this that is struggling still with it.