The relationship between Britain and alcohol is a funny one, we are constantly surrounded by media articules stating that we have a "drinking culture" or worse a "binging culture", it is widely accepted that a night out is going to involve mass volumes of alcohol, drunkeness and probably one or two moments of clumsiness or stupidity.
This was something I never had a problem with until fairly recently.
People who know me well, and have known me well in the last 18 years or so (going on 16 as a starting age) will know that I have always liked a drink. Infact, I have always likes more than A drink, often drinking others well under the table and taking a pride in being able to "handle" my drink.
However my stance has changed a little. Partly it's an age thing; I'll be 34 in June, and am aware that my body can't take so much abuse anymore, something I'm sure many people will relate to- the older you get, the heavier the hangover. Then there is also my medication- interestingly, it's fine to drink with my chemotherapy, but not so great with Phenytoin (my anti-seizure drug). Actually, to clarify it's not that you can't drink at all with Phenytoin, just that it's recommended not to binge as alcohol can decrease the effectiveness of the drug.
At the moment medication is the most convenient reason to give, as people don't question it too much. Last Friday, I went out to celebrate my friend's birthday- first to a pub for a meal, then a bar for drinks. In the past I probably would have had about 4 or 5 pints (easy- used to be more!)in the pub and then in the bar probably a couple of cocktails. However I actually had two pints in the pub, spaced out with one and a half jugs of water! Then in the bar, I had he most diluted cocktail I could find on the menu, which contained more lemonade than any alcohol! As a result, I felt stone cold sober, whilst everyone else was hammered and giggling and shrieking. This was a strange unusuaal and not entirely pleasant experience for me. By 11.30 I felt tired and was glad to leave early, go home and get to bed! Ironically thanks to the volume of full sugar (I tend to drink diet soft drinks)lemonade in the last drink, my head was buzzing and it took me a while to actually get to sleep!
I think going out and not drinking much is going to take me a long time to get used to, but also is difficult for other drinkers to understand. In this country, it seems that any other change for health benifits is met with more understanding:
"Oh you're giving up smoking- that's wonderful, hope you manage it", "Oh you're on a diet, well done- how much weight have you lost?"etc. However mention you're cutting back on the booze, and people seem incredulous, and sometimes even seem to take it personally "well I'm not giving up"- umm..okay...I didn't actually ask you to...
At the moment my medication is a good excuse, but being perfectly honest, I dont see this new more sober lifestyle as a temporary thing, more as a long-term lifestyle change. We all know that alcohol isn't good for us, and can cause all manner of health problems, but there are two in particular that matter to me: 1) Alcohol can cause brain damage- Now given I know have my second brain tumour, would I really wan to risk more complications? And 2) alchol can cause many diffent cancers- again, I think one type is enough to deal with...
Then there's the other things such as weight- I am already overweight, and would rather lose the pounds than pile them on via lager, and appearance. I'd rather my skin didn't age too quickly- I have bad enough crows feet as it is!!!
I am not saying that I am going to go teetotal- that seems too drastic, I still want to enjoy a couple of pints down the pub, and to have a nice glass or two of wine witht dinner, I just want to cut down on the quantity I used to drink, so that I have more chance to stay fitter and healthier for longer. I am also very hppy for others to carry on drinking; if it weren't for my health issues, I know I would be, so please don't take my new found sobriety as a criticism, if anything just think how much cheaper it might be to buy me a drink now...
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