Rethinking alcohol

I stopped drinking roughly 8 years ago. I use to work long office hours and partied 3-4 times per week also. I find even now that society and people wish for me to drink for their own convenience. I've had to make a lot of changes to distance myself from such bad influences. Ultimately I believe it's made me a better person and a healthier one too.

I'm quite the introvert and having a few drinks used to make it a lot easier for me to talk more and be more comfortable in a social environment. When I was living in Japan, a Chinese friend of mine said something along the lines of "You're so much more fun when you drink! You should drink more often". While I was never that frequent of a drinker, when I did, I drank quite heavily. It made me realise it was kind of a crutch for me to be able to freely talk with people, so I ended up just cutting back a lot on my drinking maybe 1-2pints across the night and just worked on trying to be myself a bit more without over analysing every situation. While it was quite uncomfortable for a while, I've gotten a lot better with social interactions without being drunk.

Hi Erica, when I went through some things in my 30s etc the main thing I learned was that alcohol is a depressant and that's why it makes you ultimately feel worse. I've barely touched it since then.

Hi Erica, just found your Chanel because of my planning in moving to Japan. I found myself a harsh truth, that alcohol was a covert form of victimism, a forced feeling of joy specially in moments of anxiety and loneliness. Then, I replace that social impulse validation learded subconsciously with my parents - colleagues & a form of escapism, with quality time re connecting with all of my early passions from adolescence like collecting, drawing, painting and creating new recipes of food and write them on a copybook.. all things that not required any external validation. I feel a genuine Joy sharing this activities with my daughter and nephews, also in workshops and drawing trips in nature. I wish you the best... Miguel.

I got soft spot with the idea of biking around Tokyo and then telling stories like this. Thank you.

So happy to see you back posting!

"Ramen at midnight is still ramen" 😋

-3 body wipes are the best.

It is the best cure of my anxiety and I always feel good after this 😌

People who rely on alcohol to relax and talk to people more openly, do so just because they never explored other ways to relax and talk to people more openly! Good interesting video. Salaam to you and to all.

great to see you uploading again!

My view on alcohol changed since I witnessed what it does to people who got addicted to it. As you mentioned it alters the chemicals in the brain for the worse. It reduces serotonin production and when it's used as a coping behaviour a vicious circle begins. After this experience I stayed away from drinking for some time and thought I would never drink again but eventually started drinking occasionally, usually when going out which doesn't happen often. Admittingly I do regret it as soon as I get too tipsy. I hate the loss of control as if my body and my mind don't align anymore. I also regognized that I can get quite irritable and act in a way I probably wouldn't if there wasn't alcohol in my system. Despite all of that I still enjoy having a beer occasionally, so completely quitting may not be feasible for me. However, I believe cutting out cocktails and hard liquor, which haven't benefitted me in the past, is the best option for me right now.

I had a close friend, who I wouldn't have called an alcoholic, but who loved beer and had a pint or two most nights of the week. Sadly he dropped dead in the street at the age of 64, 14 years before his projected life span should have ended. 14 years early is also the average age for an alcoholic to die. As for myself I used to drink too much when I was in my teens living in Sydney. I used to go to the bottle shop and buy a gallon flagon of wine for the weekend! Then I moved to London and my drinking became more moderate, just one or two vodka and tonics with friends from work. Then one day in my mid twenties I suddenly lost the desire to drink alcohol and other than an occasional can of low alcohol shandy, I haven't had an alcoholic drink for decades and have no desire to.

Have non-alcoholic beers (NAs) or mocktails. You can still feel social that way, but without the bad effects. Love your videos! ❤

I quit drinking 7 years ago but no one really knows. When I go out I order interesting virgin drinks I find on the internet and everyone just assumes it's alcohol. I still have a great time. I'm a pretty anxious person but strangely enough I start to relax the more people become buzzed. I think because any intimidating factors about this person I have in my head go away as I see them in their "new state of mind" lol. I stopped drinking because the hangovers were just too much and it would take me 24 hours to fully recover. So one day I just thought "Oh well that was fun while it lasted, time to find something else to enjoy"

I’m super awkward, and quite an introvert. I don’t drink (never have) but don’t mind hanging out with those who do. You are not awkward, just normal! Love those true crime documentaries 😂 When you said histamine, I’m wondering if that means those people might be slightly allergic to alcohol?

I drink alcohol because, honestly, I like the taste of alcohol. I used to drink a lot in my youth (30+ years ago). I consider myself fortunate that I have a low chance of addiction. When there's no alcohol around, I don't miss it.

Don Quijote freaks me out when I'm sober. Going in there drunk would give me nightmares for weeks 🤣 That said I don't drink much and it is crazy how much drinking alcool has been made into a social obligation. I live in Quebec and there has been a lot of discussion on this topic recently so going out and not getting blind drunk is more normalized but it is still considered unusual.

I drink every time I have to be social, which is about 4 times a year. And I usually black out about half those times.

Just don’t drink 😒 1800¥ for ramen is highway robbery