Teetotalism

This is so interesting to me. I don’t know if this is how my comment came across or you’re just speaking generally but I sense (from society) that anyone saying they don’t drink is felt to have taken a stand against drinking. This is in no way true for me. I don’t like the taste and have no interest in developing one but I often cook with it as I like how it effects the dishes and even make my own vanilla extract using vodka so… I don’t know.

As for tradition and social expectations @Canterpiece , I guess I just don’t care about those.
I’m not against them, in principle, but if it’s something I don’t want to take part in, I won’t. (As long as my choice doesn’t harmfully impact others.)

 

I rarely drink on my own. It's usually when I'm at a restaurant that has fancy cocktails (which is rare cause their expensive) or if I'm at a persons house who offers me some specific beer which I happen to like (which is also rare, I'm not that crazy about plain beer). In short I think the main reason I'm not a big drinker is peers; I don't know a lot of heavy drinkers and while I like some booze it's just way too expensive for me.

I've only been slightly drunk a few times in my life and I honestly hated it every time. I didn't have fun I just felt... well drunk, like drugged for lack of a better description. And I hate that feeling; I hate feeling like I'm not in control of myself, I also feel sick and/or tired like I just wanna sleep.

 

Since accepting myself I find I have less desire to self medicate with alcohol. Reading some books helped a lot Annie Grace's work is great. It removes your desire to drink by challenging sub conscious assumptions.

A lot of bars have nice non alcoholic drinks now.

When we stop drinking we realize how much it is pushed on by society, adverts, and often the only drinks besides water at parties - but that's changing.

A good strategy is to have a firm response ready. If you really want to shut people you can just say you're taking antibiotics or are allergic or something. But often just 'I am doing a cleanse' or something similar is enough.