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Monday, March 28, 2016

Why I Don’t Drink Anymore (Even though I didn’t really drink much anyways)


I’ve never been much of a drinker as my body never allowed me to do this (Asian genes) but I did occasionally go out and drink with my friends. The main reason why I never really drank was because I would get the “Asian Glow” and just felt embarrassed of how I looked. I would look really drunk with my red face even when I wasn’t. I also never felt that good when drinking and always became super uncomfortably warm. Unfortunately, about 50% of Asians suffer from the “Asian Glow” when drinking. Because of this glow, I often reverted to just drinking in dim lit places like pubs and clubs. Clubs were more fun to drink at as I got to let loose and dance the night away. Actually, I think that’s why I often felt pressured to drink at clubs …it was just really hard to dance sober around a bunch of drunks.

Last year, I just decided to quit drinking for good for health reasons and realized that my body clearly rejects this substance.
After not having any alcohol for about a year, I had some with a couple friends a couple of weeks ago and boy did it hit me right away! Due to those Asian genes, my glow quickened to my face and my body too! My stomach felt itchy and my body broke into a huge skin rash. I truly have an allergic reaction to drinking and created an infographic to show the difference between those who experience the “Asian Glow” and those who do not. This allergic reaction reminded me that drinking just isn’t for me. The pros did not outweigh the cons I experienced when drinking.
From my experience, I’m going to tell you some things that happen when you tell people you don’t drink anymore and the effects of not drinking.
1)     People will think something is wrong with you and think you are weird, lame or boring. You may also start to feel this way due to what social norms are (Drinking is associated with partying which is associated with fun). So many of our social gatherings are centered on drinking and/or food. These are people who don’t really know you and you shouldn’t care what they think anyways. This took me awhile to learn, but now I don’t care what people think anymore.
2)     People will express frustration and try to get you to drink again by encouraging you to have “just one drink”. Being sober can make other people feel uncomfortable and make them hard to relate to you.
3)     People may stop inviting you to social gatherings and friendships may grow fewer but deeper (depending on the type of crowds you hung out with before).
4)     You don’t feel like binge eating or ill at night or crap the next morning. You’ll feel lighter, refreshed and more productive the next day without that hangover and extra calories.
5)     You’ll save some of that extra money usually spent on drinks for other things.
6)     You’ll realize that there are so many other things and activities to do with friends other than going out for drinks.

3 comments:

  1. Ahh... I definitely commiserate with the agony of alcohol intolerance. For those of us with ADH deficiencies, alcohol really is just a poison and your body certainly treats it as such! Casually consuming something that makes you so sick just to "have fun" doesn't make sense! I suppose part of maturity requires you to prune things out of your life that aren't good for you. Ah well, chats over coffee/tea are more stimulating anyway! =D

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  2. It's important to listen to your body and I agree that there is pressure in social situations to drink but you are right that those who try to pressure you and try to make you feel lame or boring are being insensitive and are not aware of how it makes you feel. It's good to spread awareness of this. That's good you made the decision and feel happy about it :)

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  3. It's important to listen to your body and I agree that there is pressure in social situations to drink but you are right that those who try to pressure you and try to make you feel lame or boring are being insensitive and are not aware of how it makes you feel. It's good to spread awareness of this. That's good you made the decision and feel happy about it :)

    ReplyDelete