Drinking to excess

[Augustus01]

I don't understand the necessity of (mainly) young people to drink excessively these days. Going out drinking seemingly means writing yourself off and the next day to recover. Back in my day, which admittedly was a long time ago, going for a drink followed a meal, and involved company, sharing, conversations, and we all knew our limits. The drink allowed relaxation and sometimes someone would start singing some tune which others would join in, ended by a round of applause. Hangovers were unheard of. Now they seem to start before they head out, with the intention of one end result, regardless of who, what or where. And the climax seems to be where one ends up afterwards. I know all this is nothing new, but it's still alien to me.

[Bibbetyboo]

Don’t judge others. Excess has always been around.

[geoff]

Hello Bibbetyboo and Augustus01, I've run two hotels and excess was generally the norm, it was different when 0.05 was in force as someone in the group had to be the designated driver.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Guest_4593]

Times have changed.. the world is worst and evolution happens the ( party animals having a vodka at 15 being rebels... is now 10 years old having vodkas getting pregnant, braking into ur house . Better adapt

[therising]

Hi Augustus01

As a mum to a 15yo guy and 18yo gal, we've had many discussions over the years (especially lately) about the use of alcohol. My daughter drinks occasionally but doesn't feel the need to drink excessively.

Speaking to my kids of my own experiences with alcohol, which were excessive for a number of years (I'm now 50), I've always brought their attention to the traps of being an emotional drinker. The emotions: Drink to feel peace, drink to feel excitement, drink to feel confidence, a sense of feeling carefree, relaxed and so on and so on. My advice to them has always been 'If you're drinking to feel certain emotions that you can't naturally achieve, you gotta ask yourself why you can't naturally achieve them, without alcohol'. There's definitely some skill involved in naturally achieving certain emotions/feelings, such as confidence and a sense of relaxation, just to name a couple.

I think it's tough for young people these days; they're often told they're too sensitive and to 'toughen up'. So, in turn, they're conditioned to become less emotional, less feeling. I think this is dangerous, for a lack of feeling in general can lead to not so good resources for feeling something, anything. Enter alcohol and drugs as possible 'go to' resources.

For those who are masters of emotion or thrive on the challenges of coming to naturally understand their emotions/feelings, drinking can get in the way of that experience. This is why I rarely drink these days. I can see both sides of the situation, based on my own experience. Not sure but maybe young people would perhaps drink less if strong emotional guidance and skill development in this area was a resource.

I think people tend to drink excessively to basically feel a difference. The question then could be 'What are they looking to feel different from?' The world can definitely be a hard and depressing place for a lot of young folk these days, with a lot of soul destroying and crazy conditions to navigate through (put in place by the generations before them). A change in conditions will typically lead to a change in behaviour. My hat goes off to all young people who are trying so hard to make the world a better place, trying to be heard. Often they are referred to as 'rebellious' or 'trouble makers' when in fact they are the leaders in making a difference so desperately needed these days.

You raise an issue that definitely needs addressing. Every relevant issue in life begins with questioning.

🙂