Why is there peer pressure around drinking alcohol?

[Carl-Richard]

On 8.7.2024 at 2:36 AM, Basman said:

My first thoughts is that its cultural. It is a simple way to ease up but its also unhealthy, addictive and dangerous. People tend to press you if you choose to not drink in their company. If you think about it, its strange and antisocial to a certain extent to expect others to adopt your drinking habits. In my experience, decent folk tend not to care if you don't drink.

Thoughts?

I'm in that boat of not drinking while other people drink, and it feels a bit like going to a fast food restaurant and not ordering anything because "I prefer to eat healthy food". It just feels odd and out of place (and kinda suspicious). The thing is that people go to some social gatherings specifically to drink. Meanwhile, if you're ever at a social gathering where drinking is only a side thought (like a sports game or a music concert), you'll probably feel less out of place and less people will ask you about it. So it's sometimes just as much about context as it's about culture.

Edited July 9 by Carl-Richard

[Leo Gura]

13 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Is drinking really foolishness?

Peak foolishness

[Paradoxed]

30 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Peak foolishness

What about smoking weed Leo?

My buddy used to try to peer pressure me into doing massive dabs.

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Paradoxed said:

My buddy used to try to peer pressure me into doing massive dabs.

That's like pressuring someone to do reverse tequila shots.

Imagine pressuring someone to do DMT (up the butt) 

[Princess Arabia]

3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Peak foolishness

Is eating ice-cream peak foolishness. Is eating pizza peak foolishness. Is having a glass of wine with dinner peak foolishness. Is not using a condom peak foolishness. Where is the limit of foolishness when it comes to health. Why is drinking peak foolishness if it's done responsibly, not overdone and while periodically flushing the liver, not drinking and driving, not getting drunk and causing scenes and while eating a fairly good diet. When does it become peak foolishness; and are you saying that because you don't drink.

[Dazgwny]

10 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Peak foolishness

I can vouch for this. Last couple of weeks I’ve had a few day and nights out drinking. Over that period I socialised with some very low consciousness people. I went out and drunk with some these people 2/3 times. Immature natured people. Nice enough don’t get me wrong but they to me seemed pretty under developed and I knew it. But I still met and drank with them. I’m fully aware my state lowers to levels under the influence of alcohol that can make me cringe in a sober state. To the point these people now think they’re good friends of mine and I must just simply ignore them now. A few drunken nights out and these people think they’ve found a great new friend because I was foolish enough to fall prey to the lower state antics. Nothing bad just the conversations, the problems they have are that of low consciousness people. I knew this but I was just having fun under the influence. Anyway it ended up with me slipping over, crashing my head on the ground and ending up the hospital getting a bad gash stapled up on my head. Seriously poor form of myself and I’ve no problem admitting that. Just a short phase of a few drinking days over a couple of weeks could have ended in disaster. All good though I’m fine and a good lesson learned. A lesson I already knew but clearly hadn’t heeded. 
Point being is that alcohol is the fools game. 1 or 2 drinks here and there not a problem. But there is absolutely no need to just head out and get totally drunk. It is low consciousness behaviour. Never had I had any injuries or daft behaviour during over 50 odd psychedelic trips, many of them very strong. Taken in the right environment in the correct manner as Leo has always discussed. But with drinking you just head out, wandering the pubs, clubs and streets with a terrible lack of awareness. No matter how aware you think you are in your sober state, the low state alcohol induces is a sorry state, and a complete waste of time.

PEAK FOOLISHNESS

Edited July 10 by Dazgwny

[cjoseph90]

8 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

Is eating ice-cream peak foolishness. Is eating pizza peak foolishness. Is having a glass of wine with dinner peak foolishness. Is not using a condom peak foolishness. Where is the limit of foolishness when it comes to health. Why is drinking peak foolishness if it's done responsibly, not overdone and while periodically flushing the liver, not drinking and driving, not getting drunk and causing scenes and while eating a fairly good diet. When does it become peak foolishness; and are you saying that because you don't drink.

+1 and i thought this work was meant to be about loving more and less judgemental

[Basman]

13 hours ago, soos_mite_ah said:

But let's be real, just because your inhibitions are lowered, sure for some people that means they're happier and more sociable but there are also plenty of people that when the mask drops, they're more aggressive, annoying and just down right crazy. Just because you feel more comfortable taking risks, doesn't mean that it will lead to an exciting fun story for you in the end.

A friend of mine is miserable sad drunk. No fun to be around and I end up having to take responsibility for him. I had to steal his phone from him so he wouldn't message his ex one time.

[ryandesreu]

[Husseinisdoingfine]

What if the drinking is done at a party? Still foolishness?

 

 

Edited July 10 by Husseinisdoingfine

[Evelyna]

13 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Peak foolishness

Peak? So you don't think there is grater foolishness than drinking alcohol?  

[Princess Arabia]

26 minutes ago, ryandesreu said:

Leo should use this as his profile pic. Great combo for his theme of gator fixation.

[Princess Arabia]

2 hours ago, cjoseph90 said:

+1 and i thought this work was meant to be about loving more and less judgemental

Well, his comment wasn't about loving less, but Leo is very critical, and every human has their biases. This is why we can't follow everything they say because some of it will be personal. If he drank alcohol, he wouldn't have said what he said. I think if he had said getting drunk is peak foolishness, it would have been more appropriate. 

[Princess Arabia]

3 hours ago, Dazgwny said:

I can vouch for this. Last couple of weeks I’ve had a few day and nights out drinking. Over that period I socialised with some very low consciousness people. I went out and drunk with some these people 2/3 times. Immature natured people. Nice enough don’t get me wrong but they to me seemed pretty under developed and I knew it. But I still met and drank with them. I’m fully aware my state lowers to levels under the influence of alcohol that can make me cringe in a sober state. To the point these people now think they’re good friends of mine and I must just simply ignore them now. A few drunken nights out and these people think they’ve found a great new friend because I was foolish enough to fall prey to the lower state antics. Nothing bad just the conversations, the problems they have are that of low consciousness people. I knew this but I was just having fun under the influence. Anyway it ended up with me slipping over, crashing my head on the ground and ending up the hospital getting a bad gash stapled up on my head. Seriously poor form of myself and I’ve no problem admitting that. Just a short phase of a few drinking days over a couple of weeks could have ended in disaster. All good though I’m fine and a good lesson learned. A lesson I already knew but clearly hadn’t heeded. 
Point being is that alcohol is the fools game. 1 or 2 drinks here and there not a problem. But there is absolutely no need to just head out and get totally drunk. It is low consciousness behaviour. Never had I had any injuries or daft behaviour during over 50 odd psychedelic trips, many of them very strong. Taken in the right environment in the correct manner as Leo has always discussed. But with drinking you just head out, wandering the pubs, clubs and streets with a terrible lack of awareness. No matter how aware you think you are in your sober state, the low state alcohol induces is a sorry state, and a complete waste of time.

PEAK FOOLISHNESS

This was your experience. Doesn't mean it's the case for everyone that drinks. You called them low consciousness but you also participated in the same activity. I guess you were of a higher consciousness except for that one time....and probably a few other times in your life. He didn't say getting drunk is peak foolishness, he said drinking is. There are people who drink responsibly and never get drunk. 

[Danioover9000]

@Basman

On 2024-07-08 at 1:36 AM, Basman said:

My first thoughts is that its cultural. It is a simple way to ease up but its also unhealthy, addictive and dangerous. People tend to press you if you choose to not drink in their company. If you think about it, its strange and antisocial to a certain extent to expect others to adopt your drinking habits. In my experience, decent folk tend not to care if you don't drink.

Thoughts?

   It's a culture thing.

[Salvijus]

For you to enjoy your drink, you first have to justify it somehow in your mind that it is okay to do that. Otherwise you can't do something you don't agree with.

When there's someone who refuses to drink, their presence alone will challenge your thought structure/philosophy on which you stand comfortable.

When your comfort gets challenged you will naturally attempt to maintain and protect the thought structure that gives you comfort.

You will do that either by trying to win them over or if that fails you will try to outcast them/make a joke out of them. Or ignore them somehow. 

The more someone tries to peer push you to do something, the more insecure they are and unsure they are about their own choices themselves. 

Edited July 10 by Salvijus

[Paradoxed]

5 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

What if the drinking is done at a party? Still foolishness?

How would that change anything? Stop looking for others to reassure you.

Edited July 10 by Paradoxed

[Basman]

39 minutes ago, Salvijus said:

For you to enjoy your drink, you first have to justify it somehow in your mind that it is okay to do that. Otherwise you can't do something you don't agree with.

When there's someone who refuses to drink, their presence alone will challenge your thought structure/philosophy on which you stand comfortable.

When your comfort gets challenged you will naturally attempt to maintain and protect the thought structure that gives you comfort.

You will do that either by trying to win them over or if that fails you will try to outcast them/make a joke out of them. Or ignore them somehow. 

The more someone tries to peer push you to do something, the more insecure they are and unsure they are about their own choices themselves. 

Makes sense.

[Schizophonia]

50 minutes ago, Salvijus said:

For you to enjoy your drink, you first have to justify it somehow in your mind that it is okay to do that. Otherwise you can't do something you don't agree with.

You don’t have to justify anything, there are no okay or not okay things. Your an adult man and you do what you want.

It’s about consuming a substance and weighing the pros and cons depending on the context, quantity, etc. It’s a pragmatic decision.

Quote

When there's someone who refuses to drink, their presence alone will challenge your thought structure/philosophy on which you stand comfortable.

When your comfort gets challenged you will naturally attempt to maintain and protect the thought structure that gives you comfort.

You will do that either by trying to win them over or if that fails you will try to outcast them/make a joke out of them. Or ignore them somehow. 

The more someone tries to peer push you to do something, the more insecure they are and unsure they are about their own choices themselves. 

It is the projection of your tendency towards a strong superego. 
 

 

Edited July 10 by Schizophonia

[ryandesreu]

Alcohol can impair your brain's ability to make good choices. Your sober brain knows not to drink and drive, blow coke, or somersault down a staircase, but with an alcohol-impaired brain, you are rolling the dice with making these decisions. 

I've seen several friends and family members suffer for years and decades from alcohol. I struggled with drinking. People think that because it's legal and many people drink that it's not that bad or that it can't ruin their lives or that it won't influence their judgement or that addiction won't happen to them. People are wrong.

Edited July 10 by ryandesreu