How do you tell friends you no longer drink?

[Anonymous]

I have some friends who are regular drinkers, some who are never drinkers and some who quit drinking at some point.
Here's how it goes down:

"I've decided to not drink alcohol anymore."
"Cool. Would you like a Coke or non-alcoholic beer?"
"No, I'll just have a LaCroix"
"Should be some in that cooler over there"

NBD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Alcohol is poison and you're a fool for consuming it. Be like me and stop."

That usually does the trick.

Water is a poison also. A poison is a substance that can cause harm when introduced to the body in sufficient quantities.
Water fits this definition when consumed in excessive amounts, leading to water intoxication (hyponatremia).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amazing. How do people like OP function in life when confronted with something more complex than "I don't want to drink alcohol"?

I really have to wonder how many posts on this entire forum are AI in training, learning to be more human acting. I've never seen so many helpless people as on this forum.

I was in my early 50's and had some guy (who definitely had a drinking problem) give me a hard time about it at a retirement party. Like, the whole night. It was absurd, but it happens. And while I think fewer people drink now, abstaining is not the norm among my long time friends. It's noticed, especially if the last time you saw them you had a few, no problem.

Just because it's not your experience doesn't mean it's not someone else's experience.

Think you missed the point of that post.

[Anonymous]

For those of us in peri menopause, we'll probably completely understand. I still like my wine but it gives me hot flashes and interrupted sleep. If you said something like that I would say "smart" and just hope you would still hang with me.

[Anonymous]

My husband is an alcoholic and stopped drinking 5 years ago. We socialize all the time and never once has someone questioned him when he declined alcohol. It's really more simple than you think, although I am very sympathetic to the feeling of judgement or changes to your social dynamic. I was very worried about that when he first got sober and felt self-conscious about the possibility of people talking about it. But honestly, anytime anyone offers him a drink, he just replies "I'd love a water" or "I'm all set for now, thanks." and the party moves right along.

Now that we are in our 40s, I notice that people are often refraining from drinking because of medical issues, plans to excercise later, needing to wake up early the next day, etc. I think that its so normalized because we all respond differently to alcohol as we age. My point is- dont sweat it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is an alcoholic and stopped drinking 5 years ago. We socialize all the time and never once has someone questioned him when he declined alcohol. It's really more simple than you think, although I am very sympathetic to the feeling of judgement or changes to your social dynamic. I was very worried about that when he first got sober and felt self-conscious about the possibility of people talking about it. But honestly, anytime anyone offers him a drink, he just replies "I'd love a water" or "I'm all set for now, thanks." and the party moves right along.

Now that we are in our 40s, I notice that people are often refraining from drinking because of medical issues, plans to excercise later, needing to wake up early the next day, etc. I think that its so normalized because we all respond differently to alcohol as we age. My point is- dont sweat it!

My alcoholic husband typically goes with "My doctor told me I have to stop drinking." Shuts down the conversation very fast, is a true statement, and brooks no argument.