15 people who don't drink alcohol anymore share why.

Alcohol is everywhere.

It's at work events, weddings, birthday parties, restaurants, clubs, and obviously bars. Alcohol is the centerpiece of house parties and housewarming events, the go-to for stressed travelers stuck at airports, and an easy touchstone for people across all cultures.

It's also, of course, not physically good for anyone, and can trigger everything from growing anxiety, to rage, to life-threatening alcoholism or cirrhosis.

But quitting or cutting down on alcohol in a drunk world is no easy feat, even if it feels worth it. So for those trying to stay sober, or those curious about what that would feel like, it can be helpful to hear from others who put the bottle down.

In a popular Ask Reddit thread, people who don't drink or quit drinking shared why.

1. From revel10:

One too many bad nights, I like being the designated driver and I like to make sure I can look after my friends if they need it.

2. From you-ole-polecat:

That part of my life is just over. From 18-30 I got drunk every weekend, had tons of friends, had some bars where I enjoyed regular status. It was a blast and I don’t regret it at all. Then life changed real hard.

Became a dad, we moved to a new city where I don’t know anyone, I started to get much more career-focused. It’s not that I quit drinking, I just don’t do it outside of social events. Never have.

Sh*t, at this point I wish I drank more. My main issue is that I need friends who aren’t also colleagues.

3. From 420_Traveller:

I was using it to self-medicate severe anxiety, learned that alcoholism actually leeches certain minerals like magnesium from the brain, making anxiety worse, so I was stuck in a vicious cycle.

Broke the cycle, but was never about the booze for me, was just seeking relief.

EDIT: I'm seeing a lot of resonance here, thank you everyone for your support and sharing your stories. I don't care if you just got sober or have been for years, I'M PROUD OF YOU ALL! We got this!

If you're still struggling, reach out, please, there are workable solutions.

4. From Conscious_Exit_5547:

Got tired of lying to my wife who knew I was lying. Got tired of not remembering what happened last night and why nobody was talking to me.

1333 days sober at noon today.

Going to bed sober tonight (with my wife).

5. From BoredRedhead24:

Bipolar medication and alcohol don't mix.

6. From esp735:

I quit for the first time in 35 years because I had a seizure in May. Discovered it was a tumor. Discovered the tumor was cancerous. Had surgery. Was on meds. Did radiation and chemo. Was told just yesterday that 'my disease has been managed.'

I decided not to start drinking again. 7 months is the longest I've ever gone without, and I've realized that I use alcohol to help smooth over everything. All the while thinking that it 'gives me the edge' somehow.

It doesn't. It just makes me more likely to endure bullsh*t while I'm drunk, and then be futilely angry about it later. Bad cycle. New plan. Be sober. Take less sh*t.

7. From josefofkentucky:

Nearly 20 years of drinking myself to sleep almost every night. I’m not getting any younger. My place in life could be better. And it likely will never improve if I keep it up. I’m 12 days sober this round.

The odds may be against me, but I want to like and respect myself. So I’m not gonna just give up and give in. I’ll just keep getting on the wagon until hopefully it takes me somewhere else.

8. From JC_5_er:

I am a third-generation alcoholic. Had my son and realized that I didn’t want him to resent me like I did my dad for choosing the bottle over his son. 5-year-old son and five years sober. I will never go back.

9. From WippitGuud:

I prefer to be clear of mind nowadays. Can't game worth a d*mn drunk or stoned.

10. From nickygirl19:

Started dating a man that was in recovery. Drugs and alcohol. I wasn't much of a drinker anyways, really only drank with one friend. Wasn't that big of a deal. Married him and he's been clean and sober for over 6.5 years. Super proud of him.

11. From jtbeaz:

Hangovers have gotten brutal as I've gotten older. I'll get a massive headache even after 1 beer for some reason. I've only had a couple drinks this year.

12. From t-nggs:

It's not fun anymore. Ultimately it just makes me feel full, sad, angry, tired. I feel like sh*t in the morning. I've seen far too many lives ruined by alcohol and otherwise decent people act like cunts because of it.

I'd much rather just enjoy the occasional joint.

13. From External_Awareness_5:

I was drinking every single day after work. My mom died and I just didn’t feel like doing anything.

Literally parked my truck on the on-ramp and sat on the tailgate with a case of beer drinking and smashing the bottles on the road, picking up the glass, and slicing my arm in front of stopped cars.

Completely f**king stupid and out of line for me since I’ve never even thought of hurting myself but for some reason that night I was just fed up.

Antagonizing truck drivers trying to get on the interstate hoping someone would call the cops cause I wanted to do something stupid. Somehow no one called, usually there’s two sheriff cars parked at the bank and this night there wasn’t.

I don’t even know how I got home but I woke up in my driveway. A couple of weeks later went to a friend's house and got hammered, drank a whole bottle of Jameson in the middle of January, and decided I was riding my bike home.

I didn’t let off the throttle at all until I got to my exit, pulled into my driveway and just fell over, I couldn’t even hold the bike up. Just laid there in the driveway for a couple of hours, woke up freezing, and went inside to let my dog out.

I realized I was crazy lucky and I stopped pushing my luck and actually quit for a while. Then a couple of months later I backslid, left a local MC clubhouse that I used to be associated with, and flipped my truck on the interstate on the way home.

My fiancée just happened to be leaving her friend's house and getting on the interstate the exact time I flipped my truck because we were gonna meet back up at home, she saw the whole thing happen.

When I crawled out of my upside-down truck and walked up the bank back to the interstate I saw a car parked on the shoulder with the hazards on and wondered how someone stopped so fast and realized it was her.

The look in her eyes made me feel like a piece of sh*t. No seat belt on, no license, had a gun in the truck and it flew out the window over a fence into the golf course.

The state trooper that showed up said if they found the gun then I’d be getting felony charges for handling a firearm while intoxicated. Thankfully the golf course wouldn’t let them on the property since it didn’t happen on property.

A whole sh*t storm because I thought it would be okay the drive home.

I haven’t drank since and I went to some court-ordered classes, planning on going to a counselor just don’t want to dump my s**t on someone who only talks to me bc they’re paid.

Many more stories to go along with that, like going to bars and fighting and getting kicked out, pulling a gun on someone in the middle of a crowded bar, but the drinking on the on-ramp and flipping my truck is what really opened my eyes.

Still want to drink every day but I don’t, no friends anymore cause they all want to go out. Pretty sh***y life if you ask me, not a day goes by that I don’t want to stop and get beer on my way home from work.

That’s a lot of baggage for a 25-year-old. Sh*ts looking up though, I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

14. From Delicious-Dan:

The sheer trauma I experienced second hand throughout my childhood was enough.

When the time came where my friends started drinking I had thought a lot about how it has affected my Mam and her side of the family and came to the honest conclusion that alcohol was the root of all their problems.

My Mam has depression and it is the last thing anyone should go near with it. When she drinks I don't even recognize her almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She is trying her absolute best to avoid it as much as possible now.

So to me it was a very easy decision to make.

I figured that my Mam's side of the family is predisposed to addiction and depression within her siblings and parents as well and I thought that I don't want to go down that road given I am very likely to have said attributes.

I am proud of my decision as I feel like it's not a serious decision to anyone else in their life but to me it is the biggest decision I've made and I stand by my values to go against the grain.

I will say however it's hard socially, I am usually the only sober person and I'm quite shy in general so I find it hard to go out without being seen as weird or not fun since I don't drink.

Sorry for the wall of text nobody ever really asks me about why I don't drink and I wouldn't want to be a downer in fairness if I ever was asked in person.

15. From Tiwarunt:

I tend to do things (both positive and negative) in excess. The last time I got drunk, I was at a friend’s house. Was only supposed to be there for a few hours while my wife waited for me at home.

I ended up waking up the next morning on the floor with piss down to my sock. I couldn’t find my glasses. After about 30 minutes, I found them resting on a houseplant in another room.