What would your life be like without ANY alcohol for the rest of your time here on Earth?

I stopped drinking at about age 24, and haven’t missed it since.

I’d be okay. I do use it as a social lubricant, but I can manage without it.

I would miss it though.

@Sampson why is that? would it make it harder for you to socialize with others?

I don’t drink and don’t miss it.

I barely drink as it is, so my life wouldn’t be too different.

I wouldn’t miss it. I don’t drink very often.

I’m a social drinker & I like a glass of wine at night. But I could leave it alone & not be bothered by it.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Because I’m introverted and am a horrible conversationalist. Alcohol has helped. It also helps when I’m surrounded by other drunk people, which is usually the case when I’m drinking.

That is, unless I actually know the person, but I don’t know most people that are alive.

I’ve never really drank at all so I wouldn’t miss it in the form that most people think of it.
However the medical/food uses would be another story- I know there’s alternatives for pretty much all uses but if it all just disappeared one day I’m sure it’d shake the world up tremendously.

It would suck.

I wouldn’t really miss it at all, I mostly gave up drinking a while back, and now only have one or two beers occasionally. Mostly, I would miss the flavor of good beer, which I enjoy quite a bit, but no big deal.

Hell. On. Earth.

I don’t drink often, but I do like a nice glass of wine. If you took that away from me, it wouldn’t matter much. Coffee, however, is another story.

I’d be fine. I only have 3–5 drinks a year as it is. I don’t drink because it really messes up my stomach, but sometimes
I just feel like getting drunk, especially when I’ve been feeling shitty, but I don’t. I just smoke a doobie instead.

Now, if you had asked what I would do without pot I’d have to say I’d go crazy. I self-medicate.

I would be exactly the same as I am now.

Unless you’re referring to alcohols other than just drinking ones. Like.. rubbing alcohol, or NyQuil… lol.. that would be bad.

Ha, I’d miss it because it’s useful in cooking/baking (marinara sauce with red wine; beer bread).

I don’t drink it, though.

It would be sort of weird, though, because my family drinks a lot of alcohol—my grandpa drinks a lot of beer, my aunt and uncle drink a lot, rum balls at Christmas, schnapps, wine, etc.

I agree with @PretentiousArtist—take my coffee away, though, and you will have a riot on your hands in the form of me. :D

I quit drinking about a year and half ago. The only thing that changed was the amount of money in my pocket, how often I make a fool of myself, and the amount of time I spend hung over. All very good things.

I don’t drink often, and I wouldn’t think it was the end of the world if I couldn’t drink anymore. However, I’d still be bummed.
I would really miss the goofy giggling and sloppy sex with my guy after too much wine. I’d really miss getting loud and obnoxious and no-holds-barred talking with my friends that happens after a few drinks.
Life wouldn’t be over, but it would be less enjoyable.

Pretty much no impact (except I probably wouldn’t ever dance in public, rather than extremely rarely).

I’d have to start taking the Class A’s again and I really don’t want to do that !!

Wouldn’t bother me. In fact, I’d have less drunks to deal with, I’d be safer on the roads, and all I’d have to give up is the maybe once every 2 years I decide to get drunk and once every 3 or 4 months when I crave a glass of wine. I’d say it’d be for the better.

Since I can count the number of times I drink in any given year on the fingers of one hand, my life would be pretty much the same. I wouldn’t miss it at all.

But my chili recipe would sure miss the beer :D

@lefteh and @onesecondregrets how come?

I’d be a little disappointed because I just started college. I wouldn’t die, though.

It’s just a beverage. If it’s more than a beverage it’s a problem. That was what I told myself when I was dating my husband. He was a recovering alcoholic and said that he couldn’t pursue a relationship with someone who drank. 20 years later and I still don’t need it, although I really think the whole “wine culture ” would be fun.

@Judi

It’s a beverage with added effects that other beverages don’t have. And I disagree that it’s a problem if you enjoy those effects.

Being pregnant I haven’t had a drink for five months and I miss it terribly. I don’t normally drink spirits – it’s the wine I miss. The beautiful round Cabernets, the thick Zins, the ligfht and fruity Pinots. God I miss my wine, it is just so damn good and it just completes a lovely meal and turns any day into a better day!

@Dominicx;
No, not a problem if you enjoy them, just a problem if you enjoy them so much that they would get in the way of your relationships.

@johanna are your parents wine enthusiasts? how did you come about having it be such an integral part of your life-view?

It would be harder to cook.

I’m allergic to alcoholic beverages! Yes literally, it gives me crippling headaches. My sister would wither and die though as she is an alcoholic!

I’d probably be on sleeping pills for a long time, and my life wouldn’t have those intermittent times of fun which I enjoy so much.

Weekends at college would be awfully boring.

Not much different than it is now, because I don’t drink that much.

My beef bourguignon would never be the same. Otherwise I guess I wouldn’t get my token holiday glass of wine any longer. However, my brother is an aspiring oenologist and would be quite sad.

Would we still have alcohol for defeating swimmer’s ear? If not, that would suck.

not that much different than it is now booooo

I would miss it, but I’d live. Drinking isn’t something I do often, just when we go out to dinner or out with friends. It’s rare for me to overindulge, but I guess serves as a reminder of why I shouldn’t drink much. Once in a while, my husband and I will have a drink or two after the kids are in bed. Adjusting to never having a drink wouldn’t be that big of a deal for me.

Take away my coffee, though, and I’ll kill someone.

I’d have more money, that’s for sure. I really do enjoy the taste of beer and I would miss it a bit. Especially when we have a bonfire or while we are watching football. I would manage just fine without it though.

I’ve never drank so it would make no difference to me. Would be interesting to see how people who drink daily would handle it.

I have a few glasses of wine a week and wouldn’t miss them much if I had to give them up. I often don’t drink even when others around me are. There are times it helps me get over the hump at a party but I can deal with that.

I’d much rather give up drinking than sweets!

It wouldn’t matter at all. I like some wine here and there but it’s not a big part of my life. I would miss it for cooking, but even that I could work around.

@ShanEnri – Maybe your sister would flourish instead of wither?

I did my party drinking at a younger age, so I’m over it now. Sure, I enjoy the occasional beer or wine, but if I absolutely couldn’t have it, I wouldn’t be sore over it.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Nothing to do with my parents. I have traveled a lot and tasted wine in many places; in South Africa, France, West coast USA, Italy…. and it is just such a lovely, lovely nectar. But like all things it is good in moderation. The older I get the less inclined I am to over drink and I am more concerned with quality than quantity and the more interested I am in mixing wine with food.

I don’t drink and think less people should drink and drink less while they’re at it…I don’t need it to feel less socially inhibited or more relaxed, it’s expensive, high in calories and sugar, is bad for the body, leads to awful consequences, most of the time, etc…

Ditto for me as well :)

I suppose it would be fine. I’d just stock up on hydrogen peroxide.

Sober…

I’ve only had one beer in my entire life, so I’d be fine without it.
I’ve also only had maybe 2 cups of coffee. I wouldn’t mind if it all disappeared too

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” – Frank Sinatra

Would not bother me in the least. Wine gives me a headache, beer makes me bloated and I can easily do without the occasional mixed drink.

I don’t really drink a lot, I don’t have a problem with responsible drinking, I’ve just never been partial to the taste of most alcoholic drinks. So my life probably wouldn’t be very different if I never had another bottle of Vodka.

I’ve never been a big drinker, it’s not one of my favorite things to do. It’s nice every so often though. I would be fine if there were no alcohol.

I’d be curious as to what would happen to all the alcoholics.

No booze…
I guess I could skip that vacation to Scotland…

I like the taste of beer and wine with foods. I can do without it and have for years at a time before. But I would miss it because it just seems to round out and complete certain meals.

I’m a beer and whiskey/bourbon/scotch enthusiast. So I would be very disappointed.

I would miss the funny conversations my girlfriends have after a few bottles of wine :) Or laughing with my boyfriend :) I wouldn’t miss the being way too drunk to function or hangovers :) I would prolly be just fine, I can get drunk on life!

@tedibear39 No I assure you (and my sister would too) that she would wither! She’s in prison now for habitual d.u.i. and has told me that all she looks forward to when she gets out is getting (and staying) drunk!

Just like yesterday. And the day before that , and that etc.

Teetotaling FTW :-)

Never had a drop in my life, don’t plan on changing that.

I would miss it, because I think it is delicious, and cooking would probably never be as rich and tasty again, but it wouldn’t be a life-ending event or anything.

I mean, sure, if it was gone over night, some serious alcoholics would just flat out die, but after that life would go on more or less as usual.

My life wouldn’t be any different. I drink very rarely as does my husband. I’m not against drinking, I did plenty in my younger days. I never got a taste for beer, if I do drink it’s a little coconut rum in Diet Dr Pepper I believe they call it a Skinny Pirate?

I was medicating my abscessed tooth with Bacardi 151 before I got into the dentist. It helped. We keep a small bottle of that on hand for an emergency toothache. I guess if I couldn’t have the Bacardi for my toothache, I’d just use some Anbesol.

Exactly as it was for the portion of my life that ended today. I have had the equivalent of one beer (in tiny sips over several decades) and maybe ten bottles of wine since I turned 21.

When I used to ski in the French and Swiss Alps, I enjoyed tea with rum and sugar. It gave me the courage to career down slopes I had no business being on.

I quite drinking before for several years and I didn’t turn into some new person, just me with no drunken goofiness. Anything I’ve done while drunk, I’ve done while sober except for a few poor choices in arguing, emoting, stuff like that. I enjoy drinking with friends but would give it up again if someone I loved didn’t want it in our relationship, I’ve done that before for a straight edge partner, no biggie.

Wait, not any? Then my ragù is ruined! Oh, botherkins!

I have a glass of wine or a beer each night (my sister works at a winery, and I get good stuff!)
I don’t think I would have too much trouble, though I can tell when I didn’t drink the night before; I am more stressed at work.

I see absoltutely zero difference between having a drink that contains fruit juice or soda or just plain water and having an alcholic drink. It would make zero difference in my life.

Personally I wouldn’t mind. I rarely drink, and would probably not even notice. Would be good if people didn’t get drunk and make all that noise sometimes, but then again if it weren’t for alcohol they’d probably be doing drugs or sniffing glue or something. Or simply making the noise anyway.

Nah I don’t think it should be banned. I even think we took things too far with the non-smoking policies. Yes, I love the way my clothes don’t stink anymore, but yesterday me and my friends had to stand in the rain outside the bar where we were sitting just because one of us wanted a cigarette. I think there should be more balance, and limits, and life should be made easier for everyone (eg better air circulation and different areas for smokers, perhaps some way to limit alcohol consumption, better choice of non-alcoholic beverages and so on).

Non different to what it is now. I have the odd drink every so often but as there are so many non alcoholic drinks that I enjoy more than alcoholic I could easily never drink alcohol again.

Now if I was asked to give up energy drinks that would be a whole other story!

I would be in a spot of trouble because I use alcohol in the form of hand sanitisers. Eversince I had my bottles of hand sanitisers, I have seldom (knock on wood) fallen ill. A quick pour of red wine into my spag sauce or white wine into my garlic prawns would be sorely missed…

I’d miss it. I probably have one or two beers a week on average, and maybe once a month I’ll have three or four drinks in a night. It’s nice to have a vodka tonic, or rum and Coke, or whiskey sour every now and then, or a glass of a nice aged rum or scotch.

But life would go on.

I would do many fewer stupid things and remember a lot more.

(I assume you are only talking about alcoholic beverages)

A lot easier, alcohol just makes things didficult.

@J0E Except for cooking. It makes cooking way, way easier.

But…..I like beer…..I don’t use it for anything but my own enjoyment. I’d probably have to find a new hobby. I’d have to become a soda connoisseur or something.

drunken spaghetti would not be the same…sigh

It would mean I would actually have to face my emotions about things that I don’t want to face. But overall I would be a lot better person.

That’s a very courageously honest reply. Good for you.

Even tho the question was a hypothetical one, you might want to consider actually doing it for at least a full year or so ( or perhaps indefinitely) to see how much more content you could be. Perhaps even take the money saved from booze and apply it toward weekly therapy sessions.

That could yield some surprising insights for you. Just a thought…

@Buttonstc I’ve discussed my issues on fluther before. I’ve had a problem with alcohol since I was 17 and I am only 20 plus I have a lot of alcholics in my family. I’ve pretty much cut it out of my life already. I still slip up sometimes but for the most part I Have done a lot better. I do think I would benefit from therapy not only for this but for other reasons. I just am not in the best financial position right now. Thank you for your advice and kind words.

I wasn’t aware of that, but good for you.

I also grew up in an alcoholic family system but fortunately couldn’t stand the taste of it. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t screw me up thoroughly even so. Therapy was tremendously helpful but I was already in my 30s before I realized the need.

It’s good for you that you’ve come to the realization of not wanting or needing to follow in your family’s footsteps at this young age. Hopefully you’ll be able to connect with a therapeutic resousce soon. It will be a lot of work for awhile but in the end, you’ll be really glad you did. And, you’ve already come to the most important key realization of all. Namely that booze doesn’t do a bit of good to help any of the problems and feelings you face. It’s just a temporary escape which will just result in misery and destruction for folks like us. Yes, there are a small number of people who can drink socially without I’ll effects. We just aren’t in that group. Sooner or later it will get out of hand and become pathological. It’s fortunate that you’ve come to this realization at a young age. For others it takes almost a lifetime and for others it never comes.

Thanks for all the wisdom @Buttonstc I really do hope I can do therapy soon I have many issues including trust,intimacy,anger, and self-confidence. This is why I used to self medicate with alcohol I still have the other issues but I have been refraining from the self medication. The one thing I worry about with therapy is 1.Facing my problems 2. Talking to others especially a totally stranger about these issues I don’t even talk to the people who are closest to me about all of my self doubt/loathing. I feel if I just act completely normal on the outside I might can trick my mind and others around me into believeing it as well To show and tell people about my weaknesses is one of my worst fears even though I know it will be worth it in the end. Do you still go regularly to therapy?

I don’t currently go, but I spent about 8 yrs. at it. I think in many ways it’s easier to talk to a stranger because it doesn’t mess up your friendships. It really comes down to finding someone you feel comfortable with. The other advantage of talking to a stranger is that any feedback you get will be objective and based upon the person’s training and experience level.

Friends are great and all but the kind of stored up crap we have to wade through from growing up with alcoholics isn’t the kind of stuff most friends can handle. Better it’s left to those with some training.

There is a free resource which you can try. Either Al-Anon ( for relatives and friends of alcoholics) or ACOA ( adult children of alcoholics) groups are free for anyone. The nice part is that if all you feel comfortable doing is listening, that’s ok. No one is required to participate. There are probably several groups conveniently located for where you live.

It wouldn’t hurt to see if you find one where you feel comfortable. I went to numerous of these groups for years and I really learned a lot.

Also if there are any opportunities for free or low cost therapy available in your area, these would be the folks who would know.

Anyway, don’t be discouraged by my long stint. I didn’t go that long because anyone said I had to. I went because I wanted to and because I was growing and learning and I don’t regret any of it.

Give a few groups a try and see what you think. Just sit in the back and listen. It certainly can’t do any harm. It’s better to self medicate with knowledge rather than booze or pills any day of the week.

Quieter.

It would not really be different. I enjoy alcohol but don’t need it.