# Fo non-alcoholics, how would you react to not being able to drink again? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019 "2010-04-14T02:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/1 "2010-04-14T02:38:25Z")
Inspired by Dinsdale’s [thread about drinking again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559504). If you had never had a problem drinking and for some outside reason, you had to stop, how would you react? Doesn’t matter what the reason is–let’s say it’s not a spouse or loved one asking you because in that case the reaction could be, “I’d be angry that someone was manipulating me unreasonably.” How would you feel? Would it be painful? A little annoying? I’m not much of a drinker these days. Maybe I’ll have a glass if I go out to have dinner once a month or so. For me, I’d probably not be that upset at all. I don’t really think of it as something I found all that pleasurable to be honest. Your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/2 "2010-04-14T02:41:37Z")
I would be very annoyed. My drinking habit consists of 1 or 2 drinks once or twice a month, so it’s not like it’s a huge part of my life, no, but I do like to be able to loosen up a little bit once in a while, or enjoy a glass of wine with a good meal. As long as I don’t abuse it, and clearly I don’t, nobody should be able to tell me to stop doing something that is still legal. Most of the problem for me would be somebody telling me what to do. I’m not big on that. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/3 "2010-04-14T02:44:14Z")
I’d be pretty pissed. I don’t smoke weed either and I’m upset that there are people telling me I can’t do it even if I wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/4 "2010-04-14T02:44:33Z")
Not an alcoholic - I don’t drink much because alcohol is a migraine trigger for me. And it’s fattening. If I’m going to blow my calories, I’d rather have ice cream. In short, I couldn’t care less. I’d give up alcohol long before giving up chocolate, fried chicken, or World of Warcraft. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/5 "2010-04-14T02:55:51Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Doesn’t matter what the reason is–let’s say it’s not a spouse or loved one asking you because in that case the reaction could be, “I’d be angry that someone was manipulating me unreasonably.” I think posts #2 and #3 violate this stipulation as little bit. I suspect the OP had in mind something along the lines of, alcohol is no longer obtainable, or maybe you have a medical condition that precludes drinking it. Not a matter of “people telling you what to do.” In that light, I think I could learn to live with it. I have a few glasses of wine a week, and I enjoy them, but life would go on without them. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/6 "2010-04-14T03:04:57Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > I think posts #2 and #3 violate this stipulation as little bit. I suspect the OP had in mind something along the lines of, alcohol is no longer obtainable, or maybe you have a medical condition that precludes drinking it. Not a matter of “people telling you what to do.” > > In that light, I think I could learn to live with it. I have a few glasses of wine a week, and I enjoy them, but life would go on without them. Technically, the guvmint is not a spouse nor a loved one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/7 "2010-04-14T03:10:18Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > I think posts #2 and #3 violate this stipulation as little bit. I suspect the OP had in mind something along the lines of, alcohol is no longer obtainable, or maybe you have a medical condition that precludes drinking it. Not a matter of “people telling you what to do.” Yeah. Like, hypothetically speaking all the alcohol in the world just vanished. Or you developed some condition where if you drank even a little, you’d die. It’s not like a loved one or the law telling you you can’t drink. It’s just sort of the way things are. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/8 "2010-04-14T03:10:44Z")
I’d miss having a cold beer on a summer night or the occasional trip to the bar, but it wouldn’t have any sort of negative impact on my life. It wouldn’t deserve more than a shrug and a “Bummer.” ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/9 "2010-04-14T03:16:05Z")
I most likely wouldn’t care very much, very often. I have only had 4 drinks since December of 2006, and all on separate days. Which is strange too because I was a fairly heavy drink as a teen/early 20s. Then mid-20s on I was just a social drinker or occasionally a beer or two on the weekend. At some point I just stopped, much to the amusement and disbelief of my old friends. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/10 "2010-04-14T03:17:29Z")
If everyone was in the same boat, I probably wouldn’t notice. I’m very much a social drinker. I suppose I would crave it for a while simply knowing I couldn’t have it, but hopefully that would go away. As for the loosening up, I’d have to partake in something else. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/11 "2010-04-14T03:21:41Z")
For me, it’s slightly annoying (for a month and a half now) but tolerable. I also quit smoking and attribute the fact that I’m slowly losing weight to the lack of nightly beer calories. Ticker troubles are the reason for the abstinence- ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/12 "2010-04-14T03:24:06Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah. Like, hypothetically speaking all the alcohol in the world just vanished. Please, please tell me this is just an unusually horrible and implausible nightmare. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/13 "2010-04-14T03:25:58Z")
Eh. If I developed a medical condition that made it so I couldn’t drink, I’d be bummed, but I’d get over it. I’m not a big drinker in general. I do like a glass of wine with dinner from time to time, and I have been known to have a few drinks when I’m out with my friends, but it’s not a big deal. I didn’t drink for most of last summer because I was in a place where social drinking - especially for women - isn’t really the done thing. It was okay. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/14 "2010-04-14T03:30:32Z")
It wouldn’t be too different from what actually happened to me - I started getting hangovers from less and less alcohol. When I was getting hangovers from two beers, I just hung it up. I realize this isn’t normal - I figured I must be getting alcohol intolerant or something. It’s not a big deal to me; I just don’t drink any more. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/15 "2010-04-14T03:32:23Z")
I don’t know if this is addressed to me, which is why I didn’t say anything about it in the other thread. But technically, I’m a non-alcoholic. I’ve also never had a drink. So if I couldn’t drink, I probably wouldn’t notice. It’s not something I ever think about. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/16 "2010-04-14T03:43:45Z")
Wouldn’t bother me. Over the last few years, I can count the times I’ve had anything at all to drink on two hands. And on one hand the times I started to have the drink, and actually drank it. Half the time, it sounds good…until I take a sip and my bod just says ‘nah, nevermind’. I have 3 open bottles of booze in the house that stand a good chance of evaporating before ever being drunk. My poor Baileys! It’s in the fridge. I hope it doesn’t go bad. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/17 "2010-04-14T04:01:32Z")
**Heff** –it wasn’t really targeted at anyone in particular, really. Just kind of something I found myself wondering about after I read the thread, and something I think about from time to time. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It wouldn’t be too different from what actually happened to me - I started getting hangovers from less and less alcohol. When I was getting hangovers from two beers, I just hung it up. I realize this isn’t normal - I figured I must be getting alcohol intolerant or something. It’s not a big deal to me; I just don’t drink any more. I think that’s what happened to me, too. I don’t suffer ill effects from one or two drinks. But drinking to loosen up or have a good time–not necessarily hugely drunk but lubricated, tipsy, etc…would have me feeling good for a while and then tired, headachey, etc. the next day or before going to bed. And it’s the kind of tired where I sleep horribly. And the ill effects just seem to last longer and seem not worth it. It’s definitely something that I hardly do at all now. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/18 "2010-04-14T04:05:50Z")
Wouldn’t bother me at all. I’ve never been much of a drinker and from 1995 to 2006 I didn’t have a drink at all. Now I might have one a couple of times a year - or maybe not. No particular reason except that I’m very outgoing and find it easy to loosen up when I’m sober. Actually, I’m more likely to sing, dance and chatter while sober. Alcohol tends to make me quieter. So, as a party enhancer, it’s just a dud. Hence, no reason to drink. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/19 "2010-04-14T04:08:13Z")
I thought I would hate to give up wine and beer, but I temporarily quit a few years ago when I was on a low-carb diet, and seemingly lost my taste for it. I just never started back up. I haven’t missed it at all. And I was a very enthusiastic drinker before. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019/20 "2010-04-14T04:14:24Z")
I’d be fine with this, I rarely drink if ever even (I tend to go months without a drink and even then I’m not a big fan of it). So I’d be fine with it. If a spouse or such person asked me politely about it, I’d easily be able to “give it up” for them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fo-non-alcoholics-how-would-you-react-to-not-being-able-to-drink-again/536019.md?page=2)