Teetotaler, noun: a person who abstains totally from intoxicating drink.
I am a teetotaler.
Not by choice, you understand. I like shots, I love wine, and I love beer even more. I like the taste, I like the effects. I think alcohol is the perfect way to make people open up at parties. I have no moral objections at all.
But alcohol – I am told – is a depressant, and being depressed already, I’m not supposed to drink. So I don’t.
It’s weird.
For one thing, it’s weird being around people who drink. Alcohol feels like one of those privileges you earn by being an adult, and it’s been snatched away somehow. Everyone else here is grown up, so why am I still a child? I know it’s not like that, but that’s how it feels sometimes.
And it’s weird because – on the rare occasions when I have ignored my better judgment and drank – I actually do feel better. So there’s that.
I suppose it’s one of those things I just need to get used to. And I am used to it, mostly. It’s just…weird.
Have you ever abstained from alcohol? What was it like for you?
Brian D. Buckley 
The only time I have had alcohol was in two tablespoons of cough syrup. Besides other reasons, I didn’t like how it made me feel. What I like about not drinking alcohol is being able to be aware of my surroundings. When I have a long day, I drink chocolate milk.
It certainly saves money not drinking. 🙂
I’m afraid I simply never learned to like the taste of alcohol, not for lack of trying…
Really? Interesting. I admit I didn’t care for beer much at first, but it grew on me…
alcohol is a strange thing. I think that sometimes people that are too worried, sad, and concerned about everything can benefit from a drink because it does “depress” their system leaving them able to relax for a bit and forget their problems….i.e “drinking their sorrows away.”
The problem comes from using alcohol as a medication to continually try and alleviate problems in your life. That’s where you get the alcoholics drinking to make their life seem better. So, while I wouldn’t want to contradict a doctor if they told you not to drink at all, unless there is a medication interaction, having a drink occasionally with friends or at dinner should not be a problem.
“The problem comes from using alcohol as a medication to continually try and alleviate problems in your life.” And unfortunately, because of the depression and medication side effects, the temptation to over-drink is strong for me. I think I could probably find the right balance, but we decided it’s better not to risk it.