Ask HN: What to do instead of drinking alcohol?
I went from moderate (weekends, social, never alone) drinking to _zero_ drinking for about five years. This was during peak &quot;social&quot; life of after university and before marriage.<p>I did the exact same things I used to do except with no alcohol: bars, clubs, parties, whatever.<p>The toughest thing was realizing how...boring...some of these activities can be. There is, by default, an enormous amount of &quot;down time&quot; at a bar or club or young person&#x27;s party; down time that people tend to fill by going to the bar for a drink, or sipping on a cocktail, or eventually by being drunk and letting the time pass.<p>The second toughest thing was realizing how irritating drunk people (and yes, this includes your friends) can be when you&#x27;re sober.<p>But I stuck with it, and after a few months I learned different strategies for enjoying a night out--usually revolving around <i>talking</i> to other sober people, or dancing--and my life is much better for it.<p>Lastly, in my experience i didn&#x27;t feel the full mental benefits of no alcohol until after about four or six months without a drop.