Thats a different question, most of my socializing is now with my kids present and I hardly drink around them. Back in my single days I spent a few nights at a bar without drinking, its always a good people watching experience watching how people act when they drink. You probably will go home wondering if you act in a similar way (you do).
ive been sober going on 17 years and i also thought life would be boring but its not.everything i couldn't do when drinking cause i was always drunk its 10x busier nowadays.if i don't go to meetings i imagine things would get boring but ive met the right people and all they care about is if your doing good and if everythings okay,before nobody ever cared how i was doing
You can still go to a bar and not drink. I must admit though I don't frequent bars since I quit drinking. I was at a bar the other day for the first time in over 5 years for lunch. Sure enough a drunk bastard comes over and starts bothering me and the friend I was with. Couldn't get rid of him, reminded me of all the reasons I don't hit the bars much anymore.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/189806-many-drinks-night-take-break-nations-top-10-drinkers/
So obviously a minority of Americans are drinking a ton, but the effects are what should be noted. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:
- 87.6 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime.
- 17 million adults ages 18 and older (7.2 percent of this age group) had an Alcohol Use Disorder in 2012.
- Almost 88,000 Americans die each year from alcohol related causes.
- More than 10 percent of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems, according to a 2012 study.
- In 2006, alcohol misuse problems cost the United States $223.5 billion.
It is estimated that 26,000 deaths were averted in 2005 because of reductions in heart disease, stroke, and diabetes from the benefits attributed to moderate alcohol consumption.
How does your drinking compare to that of other Americans? And what, if anything, does this chart say about our country’s drinking?
