<p>No, that peer pressure. Social drinking is when you drink socially. But, I really think it just means moderately when it’s on a routine questionairre that doesn’t matter much, anyway .</p>
<p>@actingmt Very few people drink solely for taste. Most do it because they don’t have the mind to have fun on their own.</p>
<p>Thanks. But fun is not the reason most people drink a glass of wine. Maybe most teenagers or something. But, not most people.</p>
<p>I have a college friend who I see once a year – we live far apart. A few years ago he said he drinks one to two bottles of wine every single night. Last time I saw him, he complained about being tired, and then a few hours later was heading to a bar – he said he had a few drinks and so was fine. </p>
<p>Is he an alcoholic? Not sure I could do anything about it, since I rarely see him, but my immediate reaction was to be concerned about his drinking. </p>
<p>Send him a packet on liver disease. </p>
<p>You can’t really know if he’s an alcoholic or not based on his drinking patterns. But, it certainly sounds like an issue. Someone I know very well was entirely messed up for years with prescription drugs and alcohol. She also owned a bar and was living with an alcoholic which didn’t help. He died in a Vegas hotel room like something out of a bad movie. Anyway, when she was ready to clean herself up it was not that big a deal. For quite a few years she looked like an alcoholic and probably was some level of drug addict but the booze was a problem and a crutch and a bad habit . Luckily, in her case it was not an addiction… She still drinks when she wants to drink and sometimes she drinks a lot. But she’s not an alcoholic. If you live them you learn the difference pretty fast. Basically, it’s the dependence that makes the substance more important than anything else. And, it’s awful.</p>
<p>Sorry, the “can’t have fun unless I am drinking” idea went out in high school. It was often used by teetotalers and/or some religious people in a weak attempt to shame drinkers. Of course people can have fun w/o drinking, but some people can ALSO have fun while drinking.
The outdated phrase is intended to put a drinker on the defensive, hinting the only way he can have fun is through drink.
I can have fun bowling, at a movie, at a restaurant, reading, or many other places; and I might drink or I might not- a choice I make depending on my activity, timeline, and other factors.
SOme people read romance novels- does that mean they can only comprehend “lighter fare” in print? Or could it just be that’s what they might enjoy at times?</p>
<p>Some would argue that when it comes to hooch, some don’t have a mind of their own. That would be the people that believe they are powerless over alcohol. But plenty of people may choose to drink giggle water have a mind and are making a choice.</p>
<p>If I don’t enjoy pro baseball, then I don’t go to a game because it wouldn’t be fun. But I wouldn’t say those who do go some games are mindless people that don’t know how to have fun. That would be terribly boorish of me, and I would be basing a broad opinion of them on only a small “snapshot” of their life.</p>
<p>If I’m invited to a swim party, I’m likely to bring a swimsuit. I might attend, even if I don’t want to swim. But I’m darn sure not going to attend then squawk about men or women in swimsuits!</p>
<p>I definitely enjoy the taste! I love a Shiner Boch Ruby Redbird on a warm day. I always enjoy a solid Pinot Noir. And A cold vodka tonic with fresh lime - yum. I don’t ever remembering drinking something I didn’t like just so I could have a good time. What a complete overreach in judgement. </p>
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I agree that this statement generally indicates a person with a moral or religious objection to all drinking (like my mother, for example). I think for many people, having one or two drinks, especially with dinner, is actually a pretty neutral act, not unlike having bread with dinner.</p>
<p>I have several friends who are wine or spirits connoisseurs. They drink for taste, which gives them enjoyment. They tend to be people who eat for fun as well. They are neither lushes nor gluttons.</p>
<p>Interesting. I have a glass of wine or a beer in the evening with dinner most days. I had some trouble recently with extreme stress and anxiety that was causing me to sleep very poorly and I was not able to eat much. My doctor gave me a couple of medications to try - one for sleeping and one for depression. Both came with warnings not to drink as alcohol may compound the drowsiness side effect. So for 3 weeks I didn’t drink any alcohol with dinner. I did miss it and once the situation causing the stress was alleviated I was happy to stop taking the medications and go back to my evening wine. (I don’t think the medications were very effective for me in the situation anyway. It just needed to be resolved.) I do think if I was taking medication for the long term that prevented me from drinking alcohol I would be unhappy but would adjust. I had to switch to decaffeinated coffee a few years ago and it turns out I do drink coffee for the taste, not the caffeine!</p>
<p>When I do drink socially, I usually limit myself to 1 or 2 drinks as I don’t see the point in drinking any more in most cases. Moreover, I usually have other things I’d rather spend my hard-earned cash on…such as my friends’ Indie band CDs. :)</p>
<p><<<
Being powerless over alcohol makes you an alcoholic. </p>
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<p>I agree.</p>
<p>And being “powerless” doesn’t mean drinking every day or drinking during the day. There are many alcoholics that only drink in the evenings…they hold down serious jobs during the day. They are functional alcoholics.</p>
<p>I know we tend to think of alcoholics as drunks-on-the-street drinking out of a paper bag, but that is a stereotype. </p>
<p>My cousin recently told me that her H is an alcoholic but he refuses to think so because he only drinks after 5pm…and drinks til he is drunk/passes out. </p>
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<p>I think this can be called social drinking, and part of a healthy lifestyle.</p>
<p>My friend that, I believe, has a drinking problem told me that she drinks wine for the taste and doesn’t feel any effect from it. I think that’s BS. Yes, she might like the taste but she doesn’t drink a whole bottle of chardonnay for the taste. Problem with alcohol is that a body builds up a tolerance for it and a person who is dependent upon the buzz will consume more and more in pursuit of that buzz. I have seen her drink five or six large glasses of wine and have no visible signs of drunkenness. That is not a good thing.</p>
<p>I don’t usually drink alcohol and I feel the effect after one drink.
So do I metabolize it quickly or slowly?</p>
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<p>Most likely possibilities:</p>
<p>First Possibility: Your issue is not metabolic rate, but absorption. The metabolic rate per gram of body weight of alcohol is just about the same for everyone of similar weight. However, your cells could be genetically-inclined to absorb alcohol faster, even though the metabolic system is functioning at a normal rate.</p>
<p>Second Possibility: It is possible your rate of absorption is normal, but you have a deficiency in the amount of one of the two enzymes, which breakdown alcohol: alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). However, that would be a deficiency in the concentration of enzymes, but the metabolic rate for each unit of enzyme would be the same - a technical, but important difference. Therefore, your body may be metabolizing less alcohol per gram body weight, leading you to absorb more over time, since the rate of metabolism is naturally slower than the rate of absorption. But, please note, it s not metabolizing slower though, just less.</p>
<p>Generally, alcohol is like any other drug. the more and the more frequently you use it the more you need to use to get the desired effect. If you don’t drink often, the alcohol in that one drink is going to have a more noticeable effect on you than it would on somebody who is the same size as you but consumes more alcohol more regularly.</p>
<p>I think you’re half-right, sorghum.
I don’t agree a drink or 2 with dinner in one’s home with the spouse is social. A private dinner for 2 in the home seems practically the opposite of social to me.</p>
<p>Two points:</p>
<p>One can drink “socially” without becoming intoxicated. A glass of wind or a nice mixed drink with a diner out is not a sign of conformist thinking. I am thinking fondly right now of an amazing ginger based vodka martini that I had out with a good friend while visiting in her home city (GO DUCKS!). Secondly, at least here in the Great PNW where microbreweries abound, it is very possible to drink beer for taste. A Fremont Interurban or a Bridgeport Hop Czar really hit the spot now and then.</p>