# What is your relationship to alcohol? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692 "2018-02-12T16:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/1 "2018-02-12T16:19:43Z")
I thought of doing this as a poll, but reasoned that there would be more room for nuance if left open for discussion. So, the question as aforementioned… (I am a #6) 1. I fucking hate it. I never drink alcohol, and I despise all people that do. 2. I don’t drink, and drunk people bore me, but I’m not militant about other people’s intake 3. I’m not that fussed. Will have a drink occasionally at a social. 4. I like drinking in moderation. I’m not often _shit-faced_, but it is a helpful social lubricant/catalyst. 5. I like drinking; I could do without it, but my life would be less rich. 6. I like drinking, and I would struggle if all alcohol on the planet suddenly vanished. 7. I drink every day, and really struggle to not do so; I don’t show up to work drunk, but when I get home from work I reach for the bottle pretty quickly. 8. I am an alcoholic and I always have at least \*some \*booze in my system for all of my waking hours 9. I am constantly shit-faced Thanks in advance 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/2 "2018-02-12T16:27:21Z")
Closest to #2. However I do drink, just rarely. Not that I kept close track of it but I think the last alcoholic beverage I had was the evening of November 8, 2016. And I got pretty sloppy drunk that night for the first time in maybe 10 or 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/3 "2018-02-12T16:28:19Z")
I’m close to #1, though “despise” people who drink is a bit strong–have less respect for them than I might otherwise is more accurate. (I have the same opinion on all other mind-altering recreational substances.) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/4 "2018-02-12T16:28:58Z")
I think I am number 5. Most days I’ll have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine with dinner or at a bar. I like the taste and how it balances the flavors of foods. I haven’t been really drunk since college, decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/5 "2018-02-12T16:30:27Z")
Number 7 for me. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/6 "2018-02-12T16:40:32Z")
Not sure which category I fall into. My body can’t handle alcohol (I think I lack the enzyme for processing alcohol, or something like that,) and so it makes me really nauseous and ill, but if it weren’t for that, I think I’d probably be drinking so much that I’d be an alcoholic or semi-alcoholic by now. If I must choose, I’m probably 2#. But it’s not because I dislike alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/7 "2018-02-12T16:43:31Z")
#3 for me. I drank more in college before I realized it just turned me into an emotional asshole. Then I stopped entirely because I was an emotional asshole WITHOUT drinking and figured alcohol would just REALLY make it worse. Now I’ll have a beer with pizza or wings or an occasional meal, but if I never drank again I wouldn’t be too torn up. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/8 "2018-02-12T16:50:27Z")
I’m somewhere between 2 & 3. I don’t understand why some folks (including some of my family) can’t seem to accept a social situation without alcohol. And I don’t think drunks are funny. I rarely drink away from home because alcohol makes me sleepy. And even at home, I might have a Kahlua and cream every 3 or 4 months if I remember to get some cream. Just last week, I dumped the remnants of 2 bottles of wine down the drain - one was from 2011 and it was still halfway full. I never drank any of it - just used it for cooking a few times. Bottom line - I’m not anti-alcohol. I just don’t get the appeal. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/9 "2018-02-12T16:59:31Z")
I’m a 3.5. I can go weeks or a month without having any alcohol, but if I cook a nice meal for my wife I will occasionally open a bottle of wine to have with it. I believe red wine in moderation is actually good thing for your health. A beer on a hot day can be very refreshing, but so is iced tea. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/10 "2018-02-12T17:02:07Z")
I’m somewhere between #5 and #6 . There was a long stretch of my life where I was a solid #7 but now I have a different relationship. I guess that depends whether or not you believe in AA’s tenet “once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/11 "2018-02-12T17:10:51Z")
1. Drunk people don’t just bore me, they truly unnerve me…it’s like witnessing people suffering the effects of being poisoned, all the more unnerving because they did it voluntarily. I don’t have a problem being around people who are drinking _in moderation_, but I cannot be around people who are outright drunk. I don’t touch alcohol myself. After too many bad experiences in the past - some of which still make me physically nauseous to think about - I have realized it is not worth it. Not when there are other substances that provide a superior mental experience _and_ don’t have the same physical consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/12 "2018-02-12T17:14:19Z")
#3 for me. I have a whole liquor cabinet 8’ from me as I type this, filled with single malts and tequilas. But it’s probably been a good 3 weeks since I touched any of it, and I had a single shot of Lagavulin on New Years Eve. I don’t go to bars to drink and I think the last drink I had in a restaurant was close to two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/13 "2018-02-12T17:14:45Z")
3+. Drink in moderation but not as a social lubricant. A glass of wine or a beer or a mixed drink several times a week with dinner. Haven’t been shitfaced in I don’t know how long. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/14 "2018-02-12T17:15:57Z")
Alcoholics go to meetings. I am a drunkard. I avoid strong drink before breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/15 "2018-02-12T17:16:56Z")
I used to be about a 6.5, but as a health measure I’m now more of a 4. I try not to drink at all during the week, but cut loose on the weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/16 "2018-02-12T17:16:59Z")
#2 and now you have to scan all of the answers not that everyone tells the truth anyway ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/17 "2018-02-12T17:19:15Z")
I’m probably a 4.5 or so. I drank a beer last night, when I was home alone, because it sounded like it would go well with dinner. And I’d say at this point in my life, 80% of my social events involve some sort of drinking. Last time I had more than a couple, though, would have been New Years. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/18 "2018-02-12T17:23:18Z")
#5, just because it is hard to get strangers to share their story with you if you aren’t drinking. And I like hearing other peoples stories. At this age Hangovers take days for me to recover from, so I am annoyed if I over-imbibe these days. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/19 "2018-02-12T17:28:01Z")
#3 is probably closest. I’ll have a couple drinks if I’m at a wedding or Christmas party but very rarely drink around the house or “just because”. It’s not a moral thing or even a conscious choice but, since I drink so rarely, it doesn’t take much to make me feel it and I’m rarely setting out to feel tipsy. I used to drink considerably more in college (and had much more tolerance) but it sort of shed off after entering the real world and then disappeared almost completely when I became a single parent and couldn’t afford to be sitting around tossing back drinks. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692/20 "2018-02-12T17:28:27Z")
I’m between a 2 and 3. As the child of an alcoholic I used to be way closer to a #1 when I was in college but now that I’m a Full Blown Adult I don’t worry too much about other people and what choices they are making. I do still get slightly annoyed when alcohol and the availability thereof, or the over-indulgence-of, makes an impact on anything I’m trying to do. But really, whatever. To be honest, I’ve never experienced drinking in a way that made me feel “better” or any alcoholic beverage that I found to be tasty (minus the high-sugar stuff that is tasty for other reasons). All alcohol has a negative effect on my physically, and none of it tastes good (some of it tastes tolerable) so I suspect I am having a wildly different interaction with alcohol than most everyone else. And I admit that does make me jealous. I think I would totally drink beer if I could, or get drunk more if it made me feel good. But after much experimentation, that will never be the case for me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-relationship-to-alcohol/808692.md?page=2)