Drunkeness

Finrod Felagund · 06-10-2005, 01:32 AM

I'm drunk. Its my second time ever...and I'm doing it because I've been really down lately.

But it got me thinking...who here gets drunk?...regularly or not. Why? Does it achieve it purpose?

Why do people get drunk?

Now discuss...

The Gaffer · 06-10-2005, 03:39 AM

Sorry to hear you're feeling down, Finrod. Drinking is a common and natural response. Drink lots of water NOW before you crash out so you don't have a mouth like a badger's arse when you wake up.

Getting drunk is an end in itself and doesn't achieve anything else. In that sense, it does achieve its purpose!

Though, of course, some people drink in order to feel less inhibited, whether socially or criminally.

If you do it a lot, it makes bad feelings worse, IMO. However, short term it can be a rather enjoyable and effective, if short-lived, escape from bad stuff.

I don't get drunk much anymore for 2 reasons:
1) Screaming babies and hangovers don't mix!
2) Getting older, it takes longer to recover.

Having said that, I did get rather nuggets recently with some mates. At the end of the night I was getting a backy on Erik's bike up Oxford's cobbled streets, screaming "ouch, my arsehole" at the top of my voice. He could hardly pedal because he was laughing so much.

If that's the kind of behaviour you aspire to, then maybe drunkenness is for you.

Cheers!

Spock · 06-10-2005, 10:18 AM

whatever happened to "drink responsibly"?

Last Child of Ungoliant · 06-10-2005, 10:54 AM

i drink resposibly, until i carry on for just a few more, getting drunk is part-and-parcel of growing up, certainly in my area.

Spock · 06-10-2005, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Child of Ungoliant

i drink resposibly, until i carry on for just a few more, getting drunk is part-and-parcel of growing up, certainly in my area.

Realizing that teens/college people do get drunk; what I'm saying is it shouldn't be part and parcel of your life style. You don't have to routinely get drunk or if you feel you do, you need more than alcohol to treat your symptoms. IMO

katya · 06-10-2005, 12:30 PM

I always marveled at how the kids in drafting class with me in 10th grade talked about drinking. They'd go on and on about how they got really drunk and how they threw up everywhere and it was terrible, or about how they were drunk and had to walk home barefoot because someone stole their shoes, or about how they got drunk and woke up with someone really nasty, or they'd come to class with a terrible hangover. And yet, they'd still drink a couple times a week. It really made me wonder if it could possibly be worth it to them.

sun-star · 06-12-2005, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

Having said that, I did get rather nuggets recently with some mates. At the end of the night I was getting a backy on Erik's bike up Oxford's cobbled streets, screaming "ouch, my arsehole" at the top of my voice. He could hardly pedal because he was laughing so much.

That was you?

I don't drink. Not as a matter of principle - I'll drink a glass of wine to be polite if I have to, but I just don't see the appeal of being drunk. As if I don't make enough of a fool of myself when I'm sober... Also, not drinking enables me to be up and about on Sunday mornings like this one, when the whole of the rest of my university is nursing a hangover. I find it worrying how much young people seem to think about drinking and plan their social lives entirely around going out and getting drunk. The whole aim of a British student's night out (and it was the same when I was at school, since my contemporaries were twelve or so) seems to be to get as drunk as possible, as quickly as possible. I don't understand it at all. Why would anyone deliberately and purposely put themselves in a state which leaves them vulnerable at the time and unable to remember the 'fun' they've supposedly had afterwards?

***Earniel*** · 06-12-2005, 07:01 AM

I'm with sun-star on this. I don't drink alcohol, mainly because most of the time I don't even like the taste of it. I will however drink maybe half a glass of wine or little bit of jenever (what's it called in English, Dutch gin?) at a party if there is nothing else.

I fail to see the fun of drinking until you don't know who you are anymore and then throwing everything up because you drank too much. And be proud of that and boast about it afterwards. And then I'm not even saying anything about what it does to your health.

***Valandil*** · 06-12-2005, 07:42 AM

Growing up, my father drank a LOT. He drank at home and/or he would go out to drink. Even at a young age, I never liked what that did to our family (and it always left us a bit stretched financially - and I think was a major contributor to my parents' eventual divorce). He was often angry and unkind - he didn't really focus on forming relationships with us. Driving home with him when he was drunk got pretty scary a few times.

When I was 15 I became a Christian - and it was in a church that practices abstinence from drinking - which sure made a lot of sense to me, given my home life.

When I went to college 3 1/2 years later, I began to dabble with drinking a little. As some have said, I didn't like the taste. When I heard 'you have to get used to it' - my common (but unspoken) reaction was sort of like 'why bother doing THAT?' But I still drank on a few occasions - I'd say maybe 10 or 12 over the next two years, and maybe got borderline drunk about twice.

After the last of those times (ironically - just days before my 21st birthday - the age at which I could have drunk legally), I started making some observations. I worked with people who drank and we worked late nights on weekends (catering dinners) - so if I ever drank, it was usually with them. The pattern I really noticed though was that if I drank, it was because at that time I was feeling either lonely, or depressed... or both. Like Bombadillo says, I thought maybe I had a genetic disposition toward alcoholism, and could go that way if I wasn't careful (on my father's side, plenty of other family members have shown the same inclinations).

So I embraced a little more fully my church's position on drinking. And drinking may not be so wrong for everyone, but I think it's wrong for me. And I have no claims for perfection - I caved in a bit and had a sip or a swallow of something on three occasions in the late 80's (4-5 years after the last time I had gotten drunk at all).

So anyway... I can live without it. For sure. And probably much happier.

katya · 06-12-2005, 12:45 PM

I agree with sun-star and Eärniel. I am kind of a control freak in a way and I don't like the idea of not even being able to control myself. I like to drink a glass of wine every now and then, or maybe have a beer after I've been working really hard, but I don't like it when I start acting stupid so I avoid that.

Also, my dad was (is? It's hard to tell because he never drank in front of us kids.) an alcoholic, and I know that's pretty much the whole reason my parents divorced (technically they've been separated for 10+ years). My grandpa on my mom's side was bad too, but he's been sober now. As if the idea of losing control for one night isn't bad enough, I hate the thought of losing control of your whole life to alcohol.

06-10-2005, 01:32 AM	#1
Finrod Felagund King of Nargothrond Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Canada! eh? Posts: 2,002	Drunkeness I'm drunk. Its my second time ever...and I'm doing it because I've been really down lately. But it got me thinking...who here gets drunk?...regularly or not. Why? Does it achieve it purpose? Why do people get drunk? Now discuss... __________________ "THE EAGLES ARE COMING, THE EAGLES ARE COMING......AND A MOTH!!!!!" Last edited by Finrod Felagund : 06-10-2005 at 02:56 AM.

06-12-2005, 07:01 AM	#8
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	I'm with sun-star on this. I don't drink alcohol, mainly because most of the time I don't even like the taste of it. I will however drink maybe half a glass of wine or little bit of jenever (what's it called in English, Dutch gin?) at a party if there is nothing else. I fail to see the fun of drinking until you don't know who you are anymore and then throwing everything up because you drank too much. And be proud of that and boast about it afterwards. And then I'm not even saying anything about what it does to your health. __________________ We are not things.

06-12-2005, 07:42 AM	#9
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	Growing up, my father drank a LOT. He drank at home and/or he would go out to drink. Even at a young age, I never liked what that did to our family (and it always left us a bit stretched financially - and I think was a major contributor to my parents' eventual divorce). He was often angry and unkind - he didn't really focus on forming relationships with us. Driving home with him when he was drunk got pretty scary a few times. When I was 15 I became a Christian - and it was in a church that practices abstinence from drinking - which sure made a lot of sense to me, given my home life. When I went to college 3 1/2 years later, I began to dabble with drinking a little. As some have said, I didn't like the taste. When I heard 'you have to get used to it' - my common (but unspoken) reaction was sort of like 'why bother doing THAT?' But I still drank on a few occasions - I'd say maybe 10 or 12 over the next two years, and maybe got borderline drunk about twice. After the last of those times (ironically - just days before my 21st birthday - the age at which I could have drunk legally), I started making some observations. I worked with people who drank and we worked late nights on weekends (catering dinners) - so if I ever drank, it was usually with them. The pattern I really noticed though was that if I drank, it was because at that time I was feeling either lonely, or depressed... or both. Like Bombadillo says, I thought maybe I had a genetic disposition toward alcoholism, and could go that way if I wasn't careful (on my father's side, plenty of other family members have shown the same inclinations). So I embraced a little more fully my church's position on drinking. And drinking may not be so wrong for everyone, but I think it's wrong for me. And I have no claims for perfection - I caved in a bit and had a sip or a swallow of something on three occasions in the late 80's (4-5 years after the last time I had gotten drunk at all). So anyway... I can live without it. For sure. And probably much happier. __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! Last edited by Valandil : 06-12-2005 at 07:44 AM.

06-10-2005, 03:39 AM	#2
The Gaffer Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: In me taters Posts: 3,288	Sorry to hear you're feeling down, Finrod. Drinking is a common and natural response. Drink lots of water NOW before you crash out so you don't have a mouth like a badger's arse when you wake up. Getting drunk is an end in itself and doesn't achieve anything else. In that sense, it does achieve its purpose! Though, of course, some people drink in order to feel less inhibited, whether socially or criminally. If you do it a lot, it makes bad feelings worse, IMO. However, short term it can be a rather enjoyable and effective, if short-lived, escape from bad stuff. I don't get drunk much anymore for 2 reasons: 1) Screaming babies and hangovers don't mix! 2) Getting older, it takes longer to recover. Having said that, I did get rather nuggets recently with some mates. At the end of the night I was getting a backy on Erik's bike up Oxford's cobbled streets, screaming "ouch, my arsehole" at the top of my voice. He could hardly pedal because he was laughing so much. If that's the kind of behaviour you aspire to, then maybe drunkenness is for you. Cheers!

06-10-2005, 10:18 AM	#3
Spock An enigma in a conundrum Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 6,476	whatever happened to "drink responsibly"?

06-10-2005, 10:54 AM	#4
Last Child of Ungoliant The Intermittent One Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: here and there Posts: 4,671	i drink resposibly, until i carry on for just a few more, getting drunk is part-and-parcel of growing up, certainly in my area.

06-10-2005, 12:30 PM	#6
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I always marveled at how the kids in drafting class with me in 10th grade talked about drinking. They'd go on and on about how they got really drunk and how they threw up everywhere and it was terrible, or about how they were drunk and had to walk home barefoot because someone stole their shoes, or about how they got drunk and woke up with someone really nasty, or they'd come to class with a terrible hangover. And yet, they'd still drink a couple times a week. It really made me wonder if it could possibly be worth it to them.

06-12-2005, 12:45 PM	#10
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I agree with sun-star and Eärniel. I am kind of a control freak in a way and I don't like the idea of not even being able to control myself. I like to drink a glass of wine every now and then, or maybe have a beer after I've been working really hard, but I don't like it when I start acting stupid so I avoid that. Also, my dad was (is? It's hard to tell because he never drank in front of us kids.) an alcoholic, and I know that's pretty much the whole reason my parents divorced (technically they've been separated for 10+ years). My grandpa on my mom's side was bad too, but he's been sober now. As if the idea of losing control for one night isn't bad enough, I hate the thought of losing control of your whole life to alcohol.