I’ve never really been a drinker, something I’ve been very thankful for, as I know what it did to my mom. But I’ve found that people accept an answer such as ‘I just don’t like the taste of alcohol’ easier than personal sharing, so that’s my stock answer. There were a few jerks in college who used to think it was…

Why do you feel you owe them an explanation of why you don’t drink? My go-to response to any number of such questions is “why do you ask?” or some similar question. I believe Miss Manners suggests it for nosy people who ask about why one doesn’t have children, but it is useful for all “none of your business”…

I wish there was a way for alcoholics to recover to the point that they could socially drink again. That would seem to be a lot easier than just quitting cold turkey forever, but from what I’ve read/been told isn’t all that feasible.

You’ll get bored of your drunk friends. Anyone who has been designated driver, or the sober one, in a bar discovers that as their friends get drunker they tell the same stories over and over and laugh at the stupidest shit and are really tiresome and are real jerks generally.

I came of age as a teetotaler, and most of my friends took the traditional route of partying. For the most part, I didn’t go to their parties. But we still hung out. It’s not like they were drinking 24/7, or suddenly stopped enjoying every single activity we’d previously enjoyed together.

My dad used to say “If you want to change your playthings, you have to change your playgrounds and your playmates.”

This is interesting. I am not a drink till drunk drinker. I’m 41, have a glass of wine a few nights a week, and don’t like the loss of control of being drunk or the feeling like shit, which just sucks getting older, and besides kids don’t help.

I do not drink and never have and have no desire to start. Mostly I try not to talk about it, though, because there’s a certain kind of person who will get really weird about it. And you can’t always tell who that person will be ahead of time.

Honestly, I think this is a function of age, maybe? I’m not sure how old you are, but I’m sure it’s much more common in your 20s. I am in my 40s, and my partner does not drink (he’s 45). At this point in our lives, no one thinks twice about it. Perhaps it’s because almost everyone knows someone who doesn’t drink for…

My brother in law is 4 months sober. He was very, very seriously ill with alcoholism. Lost his job, license, home, etc. He finally decided he had enough. The family likes to drink. We don’t go to bars, but we hang out at home and have drinks and watch t.v., play games, etc. etc. Thus far, we don’t drink around him at…

I gave up alcohol for Lent this year and was surprised to find how many of my friends I didn’t actually like very much.

I know what you mean. My father was an alcoholic also, and I rarely drink (like, 2-3 times per year). Mostly I can take it or leave it, and I just prefer to be clear headed most of the time. The same thing DOES happen to me - people assume that I must be super uptight, or that I’m *~missing out~* on something, and it…

This is a great opportunity to learn about being a good friend and family to someone working on sobriety. Don’t be a dick and tempt them with bars, getting drunk, and then fault them for drinking. I see this too often with my own family, “If s/he really wants to be sober, s/he won’t drink.” You literally just ordered…

At the beginning of this, I was really judging the letter writer. I don’t like alcohol, it tastes bad, upsets my stomach, etc, so I don’t get it... if you can’t stand to be with drunk people, just avoid them! But the paragraph where you talked about using alcohol to avoid being uncomfortable - instead of thinking…

What an insensitive comment to post.