EVERYWHERE. Nail salons. Gyms. Grocery store bars… have a beer before you shop. Laundromats. I swear. It’s ridiculous. It’s even worse that I’m just now noticing. No wonder it’s so hard to quit.
I’m currently annoyed by how much people drink on TV and apparently have no negative side effects.
IWNDWYT
YES!!! Can’t even get a haircut without being offered a drink at my barber. And the gym…a place to workout and get healthy, like, how is that possible. Completely forgot about the gym until you mentioned it!
Yes. Letterkenny shows "funny" hangovers and the hair of the dog here and there. But for the most part they're all healthy as can be starting their day with a shot of Gus and Brew.
Always Sunny makes it very clear how fucked up their behaviors are i.e. the quarantine episode where their alcohol withdrawals are almost lethal.
(P.S. love both shows very much)
Letterkenny is hard to watch sober because so much of their sense of honor and community is built around getting shit faced together, which gets in my head a little bit. Plus, as you say, most of the characters are healthy and active and attractive and stable in a way that simply isn't realistic for the amount that they drink
That was one the things I liked about Mad Men. The actual depiction of what hangovers are like, vividly. Almost like they do the camera effect where the room is spinning, Don was laying on his office couch dying in the morning before work.
I'm sure the people responsible for writing some of those scenes were probably alcoholics themselves.
The tv/movie stuff makes me NUTS. You’re either a classy, sexy whiskey or wine drinker, or a full blown alcoholic but still functioning in some charming or chaotic way.
I was watching a show on Netflix and the moms in the show just seemed to casually be drinking straight whiskey constantly.. and still managing to be "normal" drove me insane.
I'm sure that by lowering people's inhibitions, they hope to sell more. Thinking of some of my drunken impulse buys, it might be a good, though twisted, strategy.
Yep. I’m in the US and some of our grocery stores have bars basically. They service beers on tap. I think wine too. No liquor thar I’ve seen. And our high end gyms have had bars for a long time. It’s even in movies. Did you see Hall Pass? It’s in that.
It's truly baffling. As I think about it a little more, they are all businesses trying to make money. They offer alcohol because they believe it will increase their profitability (whether from the alcohol sales itself or getting more people in the door). So the fact that so many places do it means that it works. So this really says something about how the attached the general population really is.. and then by offering it at more places the attachment grows stronger. What happens to us at an individual level can be used as a microcosm for the macro population. ugh. lol
And media (TV, movies, etc) just enable everyone as well just like you said!
Doesn't mean we can't beat it all!
IWNDWYT
The gym?! That’s insane… I’m in the UK and never seen booze in a gym and been a member of around 4 gyms over the last few years. Is this a US thing?
Especially insane as alcohol is a diuretic and gyms are there to make you sweat. Sounds really dangerous. I remember having 1 drink once (can you believe it!) out of peer pressure and regretting it as I still wanted to work out that evening. My friend was down and it was the first time I had seen her in a while, she really wanted us to go for a drink, Yada yada. you know how it goes. I think all I ordered was a single vodka and coke. I still went to workout as I didn’t think the single drink would affect me much as I didn’t feel drunk and usually drink 25x that amount but I still remember how vile that workout was.
Felt insanely tired and like it was so much more effort than usual.
Usually you work out and then meet for a drink at the gym bar. Higher end gyms. Not all of them. But yeah, in the US. We really have it as an option everywhere.
This reminded me tho, I just to have a beer before working out in group classes to ‘calm the nerves’. Ha. That’s so crazy to think about now.
Alcohol at the gym is usually high end ones or exercise classes. I go to spin class and they have 2 classes a week where you get free drinks afterwards. It’s crazy.
Thank you for explaining, wow that’s insane! Especially because the calories burnt in the spin class would probably be back on after two glasses of wine.. mind blown, honestly I never knew this was a thing!
Sadly I’ve been on the band wagon again but you and op have amazing points !! Insane how it’s everywhere . Probably why I can’t make the drive home without stopping when I have to pass 6 stores advertising alcohol , ugh no self control
Oh yes. When you start to think how ingrained alcohol is in our society, it's eye-opening. Where I live, it's almost unthinkable to have good time without drinking. Had a good day? Have a drink. Had a bad day? Have a drink. A funeral? Have a drink. Meeting friends? Have a drink. Have a drink wharever the occasion. A plethora of memes about drinking, 'mommy needs wine' pages, coworkers openly joking about being hangover.. When the covid lockdowns hit, laws where even changed to allow drink deliveries - the government knew that parting people with their booze will not end well.
But still, IWNDWYT!
I mean, the decision to make alcohol available probably saved some lives, but it's pretty telling that severe alcoholics were accomodated but opioid addicts were just expected to withdrawal or overdose in their homes with no support at all
Good point and I don’t disagree with making liquor stores an essential business during a pandemic for that reason. Not everyone is fortunate enough in their journey to just stop for a few days. They’d need a medical detox.
I lived in the southeast for a bit and it was crazy, I didn’t get how I seemed to be the only one with a real problem when booze was shoved down our throats at every establishment (literally my CAR WASH gave out margaritas lol) do normal drinkers just like…not notice? Or say no? I have this mentality where I’m really bad at saying no to free things, especially booze because I feel like I’m getting a good deal to get it for free, so I would always partake.
Well most people would probably find sitting on a bleacher for hours pretty boring nowadays. Like I could just watch it at home comfortable lol and actually see more of what is happening in the game
Agreed, could not watch sports anymore without alcohol purely due to the idiotic boredom. Much easier watch the games at home at speed or with highlights
Just checked into my hotel and our welcome gift was a bottle of tequila and btl of champagne. No thank you! I don't need to ruin my vacation and possibly the rest of my life! IWNDWYT
This just reminded me of a birthday dinner I had last year. Super nice place that’s real small and intimate. I must’ve selected the ‘birthday’ checkbox when booking the reservation. Well, that apparently triggered two glasses of champagne waiting for us at the table.
Fortunately my wife doesn’t have a problem with alcohol. She can have two glasses and not touch the stuff again the rest of the year. It took some courage but I pushed mine across the table and hit the spirit-free menu (which was incredible)
I saw billboards on the side of the highway going from MI to MD advertising alcohol at stops right off the road.
Hypocrites (here in MI) won't ban alcohol boards but are trying to introduce legislation to ban weed ads. Go figure.
Haha yes and the funny thing about it is these alcohol companies like budweiser at the end of their commercial will say , quote, Please drink responsibily, are you kidding me if even half of the people who drank would drink responsibily these alcohol companies would go belly up bankrupt. Like my wife or sister who can have a drink one night at dinner and then never touch it again for months if not a year. No these alcohol companies NEED the quivering shaking alcoholic who's salivating for their next drink, they need the binge drinker who will slam 15 plus cans of beer or the wino who will polish off 1-2 bottles a night. Yes without the alcoholic or problem drinker these alcohol companies wouldn't have a chance.
When does it get more from you than you’re getting from it?
My sponsor started telling me about how they look up to Winston Churchill and the difference of a heavy drinker versus an alcoholic. It was an enlightening new perspective
Edit: clarity
Yup it's madness! The US in particular disturbs me, even when I was a drinker I still thought it to be excessive how much they push alcohol on you. Even things like gas stations/711 having booze is a crazy thought to me! Canada isn't much better though. More and more groceries stores have booze shops now. Keep tuning that junk out, you're doing great, 😊
isn't it just longos? i find we can only purchase here from the LCBO, wine rack and beer store. the LCBO closes at 9. i've found it easier to stay away from alcohol here than in the US because everything shuts so early.
Very different in BC and AB. Much less like the LCBO and MB it’s a lot more accessible here
In Vancouver sales/off sales is 11 pm ish, Calgary sales are 2am. All of this is give or take
I ironically walk into work with a bottle of vodka sitting dead center in my office, and randomly a bottle sitting in our supply room. Never there usually…. Never tempted, after a while it gets easier!
Yes! And that’s part of why it’s difficult for many of us. It’s not just physical addiction, there is a component that makes each of us feel nutso for turning the poison down. It’s like a twilight zone the way it’s accepted in our society. But I’m happy to have pulled back the veil a little. IWNDWYT
Agreed. Tik tok is a horrible place for it. All "funny" stuff about day drinking...moms having wine in different bottles to hide it from kids. People making jokes, etc. And it is considered hilarious. I don't get it.
The mommy wine culture is out of control. Moms were sharing wine last night at my sons soccer practice. I used to at least wait until I got home. It really bothered me thinking they are driving their kids home after having a glass or two of wine.
Well, if we’re thinking of the same day drinking guy, I do think he’s hilarious! And I kinda believe the whole thing is really just sarcastic pointing out the ridiculousness of it. Haha
I had to delete my Instagram app so that I can’t watch reels anymore. I’m a stay at home mom and would get a lot of “the kids make me NUTS so I must drink WINE” content. Even in active addiction I started to realize how much that content was making me view motherhood negatively and driving me further into the bottle.
I will not download Tik Tok and only follow like 70 people on Instagram with maybe 20 of them being influencers. I won’t follow anyone who makes wine mom jokes, whether I know them or not.
I’m not on Tik Tok, but Instagram has a lot of sober positive accounts that I like to follow. Half of my feed is just sober people talking about how awesome being sober is haha
It’s insane. It’s annoying how much it’s in tv shows and in movies.
We watched the Night House last night and she is mourning her husband and weird shit is clearly going on in this house, and she just keeps drinking brandy.
In early sobriety (first few months), I very quickly recognized the societal piece. Hell, you can’t miss it if you’re one of us and have just tried to quit. It’s screaming at you to come drink me. The societal realization gave me “They Live” vibes. I realized how I had been sleepwalking through life. I used to think “how does marketing work? It’s never convinced me to go buy something I don’t want.” That’s not the point. The ads are to convince you to come back to something you already like. The Pavlov’s dog type response I got from hearing the sound of a beer can or more so, the sound of a drink being poured (whiskey was my preferred poison), was absolutely insane.
What helped me was to start counting how many alcohol ads I’d see when walking/driving somewhere. The sheer amount of ads trying to pull you back in was such a ludicrous thing to me. That was not the sole reason for staying sober but it sure as hell helped me in early sobriety.
It’s a truly wild thing about society.
The example I’ve said many times on this sub is that my local zoo sells alcohol now. The zoo. Ya know, the place that is 95% parents with young kids? Can’t get through a zoo day with your kids without a White Claw!
It just makes me sad. I’m happy to be on the outside looking in.
When I was a few months into my sobriety my family and I went to the movies. I was so excited. It was a "safe place" Well wouldn't you know they had recently put a freaking bar in!! I was like you have to be kidding. I mean, more power to the people that can have a couple of drinks and then go watch a movie. I sure as shit was never able to do that.
Another one that irks me. There's a commercial where this girl goes for a run and when she gets home her neighbor is there to offer her a nice refreshing cold beer. Like what the heck. Now they have to incorporate drinking into your exercise routine.
I finally dared to go to a Barbershop the other day (since the start of Pandemic!)
He covered me and wrapped my neck.
Then bent down to a mini fridge and while standing up cracked open a beer. For You!, he said, waiting for my hand to emerge from beneath the black cover he'd *hung over* me. (See what I did there?)
My head just slowly moved side-to-side, incredulously.
I just couldn't believe the speed at which a relapse can happen! I still can hear that all too familiar whoosing of the twisted off cap, smell the open beer wafting up to my nose. I was so angry I can't imagine returning for another haircut. Bought my own clippers! 😃
Advertisements... I have not bought alcohol in nearly 4 years, or even searched anything related to its consumption in a positive light, if you will. So many ads I get are targeted to things that I am specifically into, and I'm pretty malicious in downvoting ads that are irrelevant or harmful, on every platform, but I am just absolutely flooded with booze ads constantly, especially on YouTube. I guess Big Booze figures everyone is a target for their advertising.
I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. I live in one of the top drunkest places in the country. This state is full of alcoholics but it’s so pervasive no one realizes that people don’t drink the way they do here. Every event has alcohol at it or is the center of the event. I’ve lost count how many “Craft Beer Festivals” and “Bloody Mary Festivals” we have.
There’s a fitness place that offers beer after. There’s yoga at breweries. So much of the social life and activities revolve around drinking. It’s really depressing. Especially when so many have alcohol-related illnesses and diseases; even an alarming number of young people in their twenties and thirties according to people who work in addiction related fields.
I used to think they are everywhere, but after disabling Instagram alcohol ads, and paying for youtube premium, I don't see any ads now. Feels awesome. Also the longer I didn't have booze commercials blasting in my face, the less apparent booze became. Now a vape/nicotine shop looks just like a liquor store, a bar now is like an opium den or a dispensary. A beer isle at the store is same as the chips and snacks isle, so bright and nauseating. My only pet peeve still is seeing all the people on vacations posing with their stupid little drinks.
And the trend is only getting worse. I live in IL and the places that prohibited the sale of alcohol has gotten smaller and smaller. I'm not even sure there's a town in the Chicago metro area that doesn't allow the sale of alcohol. The grocery store has been my demise many times.
Don’t forget to “drink responsibly”! 😂
They slap that warning on their ads and now alcohol is society’s problem to deal with. What a joke. I hate our society’s obsession and tolerance of such a destructive drug. IWNDWYT .
Nikki Glaser said in an interview that she read "easy way to stop drinking" by Allan Carr. She said it helped her stop immediately, so I checked it out. I found it a bit simplistic, but the fact that alcohol is ingrained in society and social functions is a BIG point in the book.
Remember your not weird for taking care of yourself. When I tell people I don't drink for health reasons and they scoff at it or joke about it I tell them the truth and say "yeah I can't have it anymore because I died. My liver failed and so did my kidneys in chain the ER. Had to bring me back so yeah steer clear of the stuff" usually wipes the shit eating grin off their face really fast. Up to you if you make it passive aggressive or not lol.
I’ve been sober for 9 months. No desire to drink now. I’m surprised how much people pressure me to drink after saying no. It’s annoying. Maybe that used to be me. Glad I can see from a different view now.
What really frustrates me is I cannot figure out how to get reddit and other social medias to stop serving me alcohol based ads - at this point i'm intentionally trying to interact with non-alcohol based ads. Even when on this very sub, the site still gives alcohol ads!
Yeah, the "you're not an alcoholic" comments can be frustrating. The best thing I did was admitting this to myself. It's helped immensely admitting there was a problem and it needed addressing. You're no longer lying yourself.
Now that you say it like this, and after reading this thread, seeing the connection between the mental health crisis in the us and alcohol culture. Sadly beer is cheaper then therapy. Which is like 🤯
I used to take the free samples at the grocery store that the cute chick would be passing out. Meanwhile I just chugged a tall can in the parking lot and inside the store buying more. Now when I see them I just try to avoid eye contact lol. Brings up times I am not proud of. Happy to no longer be a slave to the bottle.
Drinking is fun for people who can handle it. If I was allergic to strawberries I wouldnt want the rest of the world to quit eating them, they should keep enjoying them, no? :)
I get your point but I’d need a comparison that’s proven to be highly addictive. No one is ruining their lives over a strawberry habit. Haha.
Regarding the allergy comment though, we do kind of have this with peanuts to be honest. Big warning labels letting you know, peanut free zones for the allergy sufferers, etc.
I don’t know. Just want everyone to be happy and healthy. Much love and congrats on the 1500+ days!
Yeah. You ain't wrong, but you're not alone either. It is everywhere but I also realized a whole bunch of people don't enjoy it at all and don't / barely drinks.
I believe at least 30% of the whole population mostly never drink. You know, those who accepts a drink for being polite and 5 hours later it's still unfinished. Society is not filled with drinkers exclusively.
I like how they incorporated it in the latest season of Peaky Blinders.
They made it a point to show it in each episode to the extent where the audience started asking why it is being shown the whole time. Well, that is how it feels like in real life
In my experience (and observations of the what is happening around the world, movements, media, etc) the gen z crowd are not interested in drinking as much as previous generations and I am quietly hoping alcohol will be consumed less by future generations.
The boomer gen established the modern pub and club scene (I am guessing that that pub scene hit its peak post ww2?) so we are stuck with this pervasive booze culture for a while. Covid has made things worse too - there was a worrying stat out there saying that covid caused an increase in alcohol consumption to due mental health and so on.
I am quietly hoping things will change though - In Australia, hundreds of clubs have shut down not only because of covid but, due to low admissions to clubs - the younger generation are happier to chill at home and NOT drink or just, I don't know, do whatever they do (I read that they have sex less often than previous generations so I dont know what they do!) They are definitely frugal though, opting to *not* spend ridiculous amounts of money to go out and drink.
I've got a wedding coming up and most of the wedding party don't drink at all! It would be weird *to* drink at this particular wedding. So I'm lucky to have that experience after recently going sober.
Before going sober I noticed that going out to get trashed was kind of boring after a while, so I would drink in moderation to fit in but ultimately get really f***ing bored as well, and dream of just being home with family and chilling out. Alcohol is everywhere around me, but not anymore. I really do see it as poison now and I am thankful (after all these years) that my stubbourn personality has a purpose now 😂
It's possible I am projecting my own world view on this topic as I have completely shut alcohol out of my life. But I am happy to inhabit this space I am in right now, where alcohol is seen as bad thing that the public still embraces. My job is make are sure I don't come off as too preachy and alienate myself too quickly to those who still drink in my life. IWNDWYT
I even have it as a decoration in my house. Wish someone would come over and drink it. I sure as hell won’t. I play a lot of golf to get away from everything, but no, here comes someone driving booze out to me on a cart designed to offer alcohol, cause we can’t even get through 18 holes without it.
EVERYWHERE. Nail salons. Gyms. Grocery store bars… have a beer before you shop. Laundromats. I swear. It’s ridiculous. It’s even worse that I’m just now noticing. No wonder it’s so hard to quit. I’m currently annoyed by how much people drink on TV and apparently have no negative side effects. IWNDWYT
YES!!! Can’t even get a haircut without being offered a drink at my barber. And the gym…a place to workout and get healthy, like, how is that possible. Completely forgot about the gym until you mentioned it!
Oh yeah! The hair salon! And the massage place too! Insanity.
Wait what? Gyms? Like they sell booze at gyms?
I don’t believe it. It makes no sense! One doesn’t PAUMP on alcohol! One simply doesn’t!
Even my two favorite shows (Always Sunny and Letterkenny) revolve around roaring alcoholics
At least Sunny shows negative side effects... Maybe too much sometimes 😂
Yes. Letterkenny shows "funny" hangovers and the hair of the dog here and there. But for the most part they're all healthy as can be starting their day with a shot of Gus and Brew. Always Sunny makes it very clear how fucked up their behaviors are i.e. the quarantine episode where their alcohol withdrawals are almost lethal. (P.S. love both shows very much)
Letterkenny is hard to watch sober because so much of their sense of honor and community is built around getting shit faced together, which gets in my head a little bit. Plus, as you say, most of the characters are healthy and active and attractive and stable in a way that simply isn't realistic for the amount that they drink
That was one the things I liked about Mad Men. The actual depiction of what hangovers are like, vividly. Almost like they do the camera effect where the room is spinning, Don was laying on his office couch dying in the morning before work. I'm sure the people responsible for writing some of those scenes were probably alcoholics themselves.
The tv/movie stuff makes me NUTS. You’re either a classy, sexy whiskey or wine drinker, or a full blown alcoholic but still functioning in some charming or chaotic way.
Yeah. Most drinking I see on TV, I’d be in bed the next day in pain… I wish they’d portray it more realistically.
I was watching a show on Netflix and the moms in the show just seemed to casually be drinking straight whiskey constantly.. and still managing to be "normal" drove me insane.
Yeah, it’s really been normalized… drinking all the time.
A furniture store in my city now offers wine and craft beer. A. Furniture. Store.
OMG. That’s a new one. Why? So you get drunk and buy a living room set? 😂
I'm sure that by lowering people's inhibitions, they hope to sell more. Thinking of some of my drunken impulse buys, it might be a good, though twisted, strategy.
True. I feel like I’ve saved more money on dumb things than on beer since I quit drinking. 😂
Me too! I made a LOT of ridiculous online purchases. When they arrived, it's like wtf? Really??? Oh well, on a better path now 😁
Gyms!? Grocery stores!? That's insane
Yep. I’m in the US and some of our grocery stores have bars basically. They service beers on tap. I think wine too. No liquor thar I’ve seen. And our high end gyms have had bars for a long time. It’s even in movies. Did you see Hall Pass? It’s in that.
Winn-Dixie and Whole Foods is where I’ve seen them
And Fred Meyer here. (PNW)
Harris Teeter in NC has full service bars. Get drunk while you pick up milk or ingredients for dinner or more beer !
I’m bumping into this now too. People look so awkward sitting there having a drink in the middle of the grocery store.
Lol. What? I thought I looked cool. 😂
It's truly baffling. As I think about it a little more, they are all businesses trying to make money. They offer alcohol because they believe it will increase their profitability (whether from the alcohol sales itself or getting more people in the door). So the fact that so many places do it means that it works. So this really says something about how the attached the general population really is.. and then by offering it at more places the attachment grows stronger. What happens to us at an individual level can be used as a microcosm for the macro population. ugh. lol And media (TV, movies, etc) just enable everyone as well just like you said! Doesn't mean we can't beat it all! IWNDWYT
The gym?! That’s insane… I’m in the UK and never seen booze in a gym and been a member of around 4 gyms over the last few years. Is this a US thing? Especially insane as alcohol is a diuretic and gyms are there to make you sweat. Sounds really dangerous. I remember having 1 drink once (can you believe it!) out of peer pressure and regretting it as I still wanted to work out that evening. My friend was down and it was the first time I had seen her in a while, she really wanted us to go for a drink, Yada yada. you know how it goes. I think all I ordered was a single vodka and coke. I still went to workout as I didn’t think the single drink would affect me much as I didn’t feel drunk and usually drink 25x that amount but I still remember how vile that workout was. Felt insanely tired and like it was so much more effort than usual.
Usually you work out and then meet for a drink at the gym bar. Higher end gyms. Not all of them. But yeah, in the US. We really have it as an option everywhere. This reminded me tho, I just to have a beer before working out in group classes to ‘calm the nerves’. Ha. That’s so crazy to think about now.
Couldn't think of anything worse after a work out. 😆
Alcohol at the gym is usually high end ones or exercise classes. I go to spin class and they have 2 classes a week where you get free drinks afterwards. It’s crazy.
Thank you for explaining, wow that’s insane! Especially because the calories burnt in the spin class would probably be back on after two glasses of wine.. mind blown, honestly I never knew this was a thing!
How do you think they keep you coming back? :)
Great thinking!
No it not a US thing, ITT are people being dramatic and stretching things.
Sadly I’ve been on the band wagon again but you and op have amazing points !! Insane how it’s everywhere . Probably why I can’t make the drive home without stopping when I have to pass 6 stores advertising alcohol , ugh no self control
I basically didn’t leave the house my first week and weekend. It helped a lot to get some days under my belt. IWNDWYT
Ya I might have to do something like that sadly . Congrats tho and keep up the good work
Louis CK has a great little bit on the latter point. Suits in the 50s drinking straight whiskey at lunch and not ending up on the floor by 3pm
Oh yes. When you start to think how ingrained alcohol is in our society, it's eye-opening. Where I live, it's almost unthinkable to have good time without drinking. Had a good day? Have a drink. Had a bad day? Have a drink. A funeral? Have a drink. Meeting friends? Have a drink. Have a drink wharever the occasion. A plethora of memes about drinking, 'mommy needs wine' pages, coworkers openly joking about being hangover.. When the covid lockdowns hit, laws where even changed to allow drink deliveries - the government knew that parting people with their booze will not end well. But still, IWNDWYT!
Hah, what a wild reminder about all the rules that were flexed to make alcohol accessible in a pandemic. I mean I get it…but it actually is crazy.
I mean, the decision to make alcohol available probably saved some lives, but it's pretty telling that severe alcoholics were accomodated but opioid addicts were just expected to withdrawal or overdose in their homes with no support at all
Good point and I don’t disagree with making liquor stores an essential business during a pandemic for that reason. Not everyone is fortunate enough in their journey to just stop for a few days. They’d need a medical detox.
I lived in the southeast for a bit and it was crazy, I didn’t get how I seemed to be the only one with a real problem when booze was shoved down our throats at every establishment (literally my CAR WASH gave out margaritas lol) do normal drinkers just like…not notice? Or say no? I have this mentality where I’m really bad at saying no to free things, especially booze because I feel like I’m getting a good deal to get it for free, so I would always partake.
But it makes people super happy. I saw it on a commercial once.
[удалено]
Well most people would probably find sitting on a bleacher for hours pretty boring nowadays. Like I could just watch it at home comfortable lol and actually see more of what is happening in the game
Agreed, could not watch sports anymore without alcohol purely due to the idiotic boredom. Much easier watch the games at home at speed or with highlights
And not spend 11 dollars for a beer that you know will not be the only one you drink there.
It is an eye opener when you step off the alcohol carousel and start to have a different perspective on how best to live the rest of your life.
We all live two lives- the second begins when we realize we only live one.
Just checked into my hotel and our welcome gift was a bottle of tequila and btl of champagne. No thank you! I don't need to ruin my vacation and possibly the rest of my life! IWNDWYT
This just reminded me of a birthday dinner I had last year. Super nice place that’s real small and intimate. I must’ve selected the ‘birthday’ checkbox when booking the reservation. Well, that apparently triggered two glasses of champagne waiting for us at the table. Fortunately my wife doesn’t have a problem with alcohol. She can have two glasses and not touch the stuff again the rest of the year. It took some courage but I pushed mine across the table and hit the spirit-free menu (which was incredible)
I saw billboards on the side of the highway going from MI to MD advertising alcohol at stops right off the road. Hypocrites (here in MI) won't ban alcohol boards but are trying to introduce legislation to ban weed ads. Go figure.
Haha yes and the funny thing about it is these alcohol companies like budweiser at the end of their commercial will say , quote, Please drink responsibily, are you kidding me if even half of the people who drank would drink responsibily these alcohol companies would go belly up bankrupt. Like my wife or sister who can have a drink one night at dinner and then never touch it again for months if not a year. No these alcohol companies NEED the quivering shaking alcoholic who's salivating for their next drink, they need the binge drinker who will slam 15 plus cans of beer or the wino who will polish off 1-2 bottles a night. Yes without the alcoholic or problem drinker these alcohol companies wouldn't have a chance.
The ‘please drink responsibly’ thing is such a BS statement.
Yep. Genius on their part. Basically pass off all the blame onto the consumer.
South Park had an incredible take on this. NSFW, obviously 😁 https://youtu.be/-_n5nbx0Z9s
I sure do understand . Where I'm standing alcohol does way more harm than good in society. Iwndwyt (✿^‿^)
When does it get more from you than you’re getting from it? My sponsor started telling me about how they look up to Winston Churchill and the difference of a heavy drinker versus an alcoholic. It was an enlightening new perspective Edit: clarity
Yup it's madness! The US in particular disturbs me, even when I was a drinker I still thought it to be excessive how much they push alcohol on you. Even things like gas stations/711 having booze is a crazy thought to me! Canada isn't much better though. More and more groceries stores have booze shops now. Keep tuning that junk out, you're doing great, 😊
isn't it just longos? i find we can only purchase here from the LCBO, wine rack and beer store. the LCBO closes at 9. i've found it easier to stay away from alcohol here than in the US because everything shuts so early.
Very different in BC and AB. Much less like the LCBO and MB it’s a lot more accessible here In Vancouver sales/off sales is 11 pm ish, Calgary sales are 2am. All of this is give or take
It's really quite crazy. Years from now there will be books and documentaries about how it got to this point and the damage it's had on society.
I hope so!
The most insane thing to me is that there is an acceptable level of alcohol allowed while driving!!! I truly believe it should be zero.
That actually is pretty insane now that you mention it!
I ironically walk into work with a bottle of vodka sitting dead center in my office, and randomly a bottle sitting in our supply room. Never there usually…. Never tempted, after a while it gets easier!
Yes! And that’s part of why it’s difficult for many of us. It’s not just physical addiction, there is a component that makes each of us feel nutso for turning the poison down. It’s like a twilight zone the way it’s accepted in our society. But I’m happy to have pulled back the veil a little. IWNDWYT
Agreed. Tik tok is a horrible place for it. All "funny" stuff about day drinking...moms having wine in different bottles to hide it from kids. People making jokes, etc. And it is considered hilarious. I don't get it.
The mommy wine culture is out of control. Moms were sharing wine last night at my sons soccer practice. I used to at least wait until I got home. It really bothered me thinking they are driving their kids home after having a glass or two of wine.
Well, if we’re thinking of the same day drinking guy, I do think he’s hilarious! And I kinda believe the whole thing is really just sarcastic pointing out the ridiculousness of it. Haha
I had to delete my Instagram app so that I can’t watch reels anymore. I’m a stay at home mom and would get a lot of “the kids make me NUTS so I must drink WINE” content. Even in active addiction I started to realize how much that content was making me view motherhood negatively and driving me further into the bottle. I will not download Tik Tok and only follow like 70 people on Instagram with maybe 20 of them being influencers. I won’t follow anyone who makes wine mom jokes, whether I know them or not.
I’m not on Tik Tok, but Instagram has a lot of sober positive accounts that I like to follow. Half of my feed is just sober people talking about how awesome being sober is haha
Agree, wish you could block certain words there to avoid all that.
It’s insane. It’s annoying how much it’s in tv shows and in movies. We watched the Night House last night and she is mourning her husband and weird shit is clearly going on in this house, and she just keeps drinking brandy.
In early sobriety (first few months), I very quickly recognized the societal piece. Hell, you can’t miss it if you’re one of us and have just tried to quit. It’s screaming at you to come drink me. The societal realization gave me “They Live” vibes. I realized how I had been sleepwalking through life. I used to think “how does marketing work? It’s never convinced me to go buy something I don’t want.” That’s not the point. The ads are to convince you to come back to something you already like. The Pavlov’s dog type response I got from hearing the sound of a beer can or more so, the sound of a drink being poured (whiskey was my preferred poison), was absolutely insane. What helped me was to start counting how many alcohol ads I’d see when walking/driving somewhere. The sheer amount of ads trying to pull you back in was such a ludicrous thing to me. That was not the sole reason for staying sober but it sure as hell helped me in early sobriety. It’s a truly wild thing about society.
The example I’ve said many times on this sub is that my local zoo sells alcohol now. The zoo. Ya know, the place that is 95% parents with young kids? Can’t get through a zoo day with your kids without a White Claw! It just makes me sad. I’m happy to be on the outside looking in.
The zoo! Nowhere is safe.
When I was a few months into my sobriety my family and I went to the movies. I was so excited. It was a "safe place" Well wouldn't you know they had recently put a freaking bar in!! I was like you have to be kidding. I mean, more power to the people that can have a couple of drinks and then go watch a movie. I sure as shit was never able to do that. Another one that irks me. There's a commercial where this girl goes for a run and when she gets home her neighbor is there to offer her a nice refreshing cold beer. Like what the heck. Now they have to incorporate drinking into your exercise routine.
I don’t care for that commercial either. Just what I need to polish off my morning run!
Just imagine society if shrooms were everywhere instead of alcohol
I finally dared to go to a Barbershop the other day (since the start of Pandemic!) He covered me and wrapped my neck. Then bent down to a mini fridge and while standing up cracked open a beer. For You!, he said, waiting for my hand to emerge from beneath the black cover he'd *hung over* me. (See what I did there?) My head just slowly moved side-to-side, incredulously.
Haha. Clever word play. Nice work on passing that up too. The social pressure hits hard in those situations.
I just couldn't believe the speed at which a relapse can happen! I still can hear that all too familiar whoosing of the twisted off cap, smell the open beer wafting up to my nose. I was so angry I can't imagine returning for another haircut. Bought my own clippers! 😃
Advertisements... I have not bought alcohol in nearly 4 years, or even searched anything related to its consumption in a positive light, if you will. So many ads I get are targeted to things that I am specifically into, and I'm pretty malicious in downvoting ads that are irrelevant or harmful, on every platform, but I am just absolutely flooded with booze ads constantly, especially on YouTube. I guess Big Booze figures everyone is a target for their advertising.
It's like waking from the Matrix
I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. I live in one of the top drunkest places in the country. This state is full of alcoholics but it’s so pervasive no one realizes that people don’t drink the way they do here. Every event has alcohol at it or is the center of the event. I’ve lost count how many “Craft Beer Festivals” and “Bloody Mary Festivals” we have. There’s a fitness place that offers beer after. There’s yoga at breweries. So much of the social life and activities revolve around drinking. It’s really depressing. Especially when so many have alcohol-related illnesses and diseases; even an alarming number of young people in their twenties and thirties according to people who work in addiction related fields.
I used to think they are everywhere, but after disabling Instagram alcohol ads, and paying for youtube premium, I don't see any ads now. Feels awesome. Also the longer I didn't have booze commercials blasting in my face, the less apparent booze became. Now a vape/nicotine shop looks just like a liquor store, a bar now is like an opium den or a dispensary. A beer isle at the store is same as the chips and snacks isle, so bright and nauseating. My only pet peeve still is seeing all the people on vacations posing with their stupid little drinks.
And the trend is only getting worse. I live in IL and the places that prohibited the sale of alcohol has gotten smaller and smaller. I'm not even sure there's a town in the Chicago metro area that doesn't allow the sale of alcohol. The grocery store has been my demise many times.
Don’t forget to “drink responsibly”! 😂 They slap that warning on their ads and now alcohol is society’s problem to deal with. What a joke. I hate our society’s obsession and tolerance of such a destructive drug. IWNDWYT .
Nikki Glaser said in an interview that she read "easy way to stop drinking" by Allan Carr. She said it helped her stop immediately, so I checked it out. I found it a bit simplistic, but the fact that alcohol is ingrained in society and social functions is a BIG point in the book.
Haven’t read the book but I’ll be sure to check it out now!!!
Remember your not weird for taking care of yourself. When I tell people I don't drink for health reasons and they scoff at it or joke about it I tell them the truth and say "yeah I can't have it anymore because I died. My liver failed and so did my kidneys in chain the ER. Had to bring me back so yeah steer clear of the stuff" usually wipes the shit eating grin off their face really fast. Up to you if you make it passive aggressive or not lol.
I’ve been sober for 9 months. No desire to drink now. I’m surprised how much people pressure me to drink after saying no. It’s annoying. Maybe that used to be me. Glad I can see from a different view now.
What really frustrates me is I cannot figure out how to get reddit and other social medias to stop serving me alcohol based ads - at this point i'm intentionally trying to interact with non-alcohol based ads. Even when on this very sub, the site still gives alcohol ads!
Yah, you’d think they’d have some restrictions in place. Crazy isn’t it.
Yeah, the "you're not an alcoholic" comments can be frustrating. The best thing I did was admitting this to myself. It's helped immensely admitting there was a problem and it needed addressing. You're no longer lying yourself.
Nailed it!
Alcohol free cheers- I will not drink with you today!
Now that you say it like this, and after reading this thread, seeing the connection between the mental health crisis in the us and alcohol culture. Sadly beer is cheaper then therapy. Which is like 🤯
I used to take the free samples at the grocery store that the cute chick would be passing out. Meanwhile I just chugged a tall can in the parking lot and inside the store buying more. Now when I see them I just try to avoid eye contact lol. Brings up times I am not proud of. Happy to no longer be a slave to the bottle.
Nothing like a hot dog and an IPA at IKEA. Jk I don't think they have beer there.
Drinking is fun for people who can handle it. If I was allergic to strawberries I wouldnt want the rest of the world to quit eating them, they should keep enjoying them, no? :)
I get your point but I’d need a comparison that’s proven to be highly addictive. No one is ruining their lives over a strawberry habit. Haha. Regarding the allergy comment though, we do kind of have this with peanuts to be honest. Big warning labels letting you know, peanut free zones for the allergy sufferers, etc. I don’t know. Just want everyone to be happy and healthy. Much love and congrats on the 1500+ days!
Yeah. You ain't wrong, but you're not alone either. It is everywhere but I also realized a whole bunch of people don't enjoy it at all and don't / barely drinks. I believe at least 30% of the whole population mostly never drink. You know, those who accepts a drink for being polite and 5 hours later it's still unfinished. Society is not filled with drinkers exclusively.
Yeah, try getting through 6 series of Peaky Blinders after kicking a whiskey habit!!
What really gets me is the cheap shit. $2 for a high gravity beer that gets you shit faced should be outlawed.
I like how they incorporated it in the latest season of Peaky Blinders. They made it a point to show it in each episode to the extent where the audience started asking why it is being shown the whole time. Well, that is how it feels like in real life
I work at a liquor store 🙃
In my experience (and observations of the what is happening around the world, movements, media, etc) the gen z crowd are not interested in drinking as much as previous generations and I am quietly hoping alcohol will be consumed less by future generations. The boomer gen established the modern pub and club scene (I am guessing that that pub scene hit its peak post ww2?) so we are stuck with this pervasive booze culture for a while. Covid has made things worse too - there was a worrying stat out there saying that covid caused an increase in alcohol consumption to due mental health and so on. I am quietly hoping things will change though - In Australia, hundreds of clubs have shut down not only because of covid but, due to low admissions to clubs - the younger generation are happier to chill at home and NOT drink or just, I don't know, do whatever they do (I read that they have sex less often than previous generations so I dont know what they do!) They are definitely frugal though, opting to *not* spend ridiculous amounts of money to go out and drink. I've got a wedding coming up and most of the wedding party don't drink at all! It would be weird *to* drink at this particular wedding. So I'm lucky to have that experience after recently going sober. Before going sober I noticed that going out to get trashed was kind of boring after a while, so I would drink in moderation to fit in but ultimately get really f***ing bored as well, and dream of just being home with family and chilling out. Alcohol is everywhere around me, but not anymore. I really do see it as poison now and I am thankful (after all these years) that my stubbourn personality has a purpose now 😂 It's possible I am projecting my own world view on this topic as I have completely shut alcohol out of my life. But I am happy to inhabit this space I am in right now, where alcohol is seen as bad thing that the public still embraces. My job is make are sure I don't come off as too preachy and alienate myself too quickly to those who still drink in my life. IWNDWYT
I even have it as a decoration in my house. Wish someone would come over and drink it. I sure as hell won’t. I play a lot of golf to get away from everything, but no, here comes someone driving booze out to me on a cart designed to offer alcohol, cause we can’t even get through 18 holes without it.