How do I get over my aversion to alcohol?
I do not drink and I am not looking to change that, but I have these visceral feelings about alcohol that I cannot shake. I have a nasty history of alcoholism in my family which is why I avoid alcohol. I simply don’t know if I have the tendencies. What I want to change is how I react to other people drinking alcohol. When my boyfriend or my friends or even just kids who live in my dorm drink, I don’t like it and feel bad that they are doing it. I know that this is illogical and silly because most of the time, they are not drinking harmful quantities and they don’t get into cars and drive or even make very stupid decisions. I was just hoping the collective had any thoughts on how I can do away with these irrational feelings.
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12 Answers
Yeah, and it is annoying among other things. My mom is a recovering alcoholic and a liver transplant patient and if I drink around her acts really crappy. She does this socially as well. Just realize that not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic and offer to be a designated driver sometimes. Personally, when I am not drinking and everyone else is I feel the same way you do because drunk people are annoying.
Counseling. Talk to someone about how to handle your feelings.
I second Dave. Do it for you.
@katawagrey, I am exactly the same with the same situation of history of alcoholism and that being the reason I avoid it. Lately I’ve been getting better with the idea of my friends drinking alcohol mostly because I’ve been talking to them more about it, asking questions, etc. I wish I had an actual answer for you, but at least you know you’re not the only one.
just drink it’s sooo fun…
@KatawaGrey, I grew up in a household of non-drinkers, and my attitude toward alcohol has definitely been affected by that experience. I also had relatives who were alcoholics, and this had a similar impact on my perception of alcohol and its effects. I don’t drink much, and I have very little personal experience with alcohol, which probably contributes to my own uneasiness. I’ve always struggled a little to make peace with the fact that many of my close friends drink regularly.
Here’s what helps me now: I try to remember that alcohol doesn’t define those who drink it (unless they abuse it in some way, as my alcoholic relatives did). If your friends aren’t drinking for the sole purpose of losing control, which is what it sounds like, then their reasons are probably innocuous. People sometimes drink to be social, to celebrate, or to ease anxiety. Maybe identifying your friends’ motivations for drinking would help.
That said, please don’t feel that you have to abandon your gut feelings about alcohol just because they are gut feelings. I don’t think that your discomfort is irrational, especially considering the alcoholism in your family that you mentioned.
Drinking is widely accepted in our culture, but what does that really mean? It signifies something about our society, maybe, but doesn’t point to any great truth.
sometimes I wonder why people, eg. above, try to ruin such sweet things as drinking with long drawn out paragraphs…
If you drank enough you wouldn’t even understand it… :)
@madcapper- if you are referring to juniper’s post; I find it well-written, succinct, grammatically correct, spelled correctly, and most importantly: Germane. Plus, she has an effing badass icon. Boo to your assessment.
@juniper- Bravo. Lurve.
@ knot I was just making a joke I think it was great answer too!
@knotmyday, thank you! :)
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