Been experimenting with beer in the morning

[desura]

Oddly, it seems to make me more productive compared with coffee drinking. When I drink coffee, I get kind of paranoid and jumpy. I have tons of energy, but it is totally unfocused and I end up doing things like watching news excessively and impulsively, while with beer, it seems to make it easier to focus and do work.

Anyone else notice something similar? Coffee seems to be good if you're not making the decisions but someone else is, but for self-directed work beer and alcohol makes for more focus it seems.

 

[DaTT]

Nothing like being slobbering drunk by 10am to get things done.

 

[desura]

Nothing like being slobbering drunk by 10am to get things done.

Honestly, I don't have a drinking problem. I'm not making this up either. Like, I get sick before I get drunk. Right now, I've been sipping this same bottle of beer for about an hour and it's not even half empty.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Unless you're using instruments and recording data you are not "experimenting", you have a drinking problem.

 

[Attic]

Pics of last night?

 

[waffleironhead]

I completely agree. I was doing the same thing till that unfortunate incident in Alaska with my ship the valdez.
- Joe

 

[KB]

Put a little whiskey in your coffee then. Best of both worlds. I actually enjoy an irish coffee as an apertif.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I love brandy in my coffee. I'm sorry the anti drinking folks don't believe it's possible to drink responsibly.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I love brandy in my coffee. I'm sorry the anti drinking folks don't believe it's possible to drink responsibly.

I'm sorry you're so deeply in denial that your reflexive defensiveness automatically triggers the "blame them for noticing" routine.

Yes, it's very possible to enjoy alcohol and yes, it's very possible to drink responsibly. But if a person begins drinking in the morning because they believe it's necessary to help them focus and be productive, that is not drinking responsibly. It's a warning sign of alcoholism.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I'm sorry you're so deeply in denial that your reflexive defensiveness automatically triggers the "blame them for noticing" routine.

Yes, it's very possible to enjoy alcohol and yes, it's very possible to drink responsibly. But if a person begins drinking in the morning because they believe it's necessary to help them focus and be productive, that is not drinking responsibly. It's a warning sign of alcoholism.

Yes, I'm well aware of the "denial is the first sign of alcoholism" school of thought and it is dead wrong. I will forego the attempt to educate you and leave you with this thought. Why is it so common and acceptable for doctors to prescribe drugs like Adderall and Ritalin with poorly understood serious side affects but, self medicating with drugs like alcohol is viewed with disdain as substance abuse? Yes, I am fully aware one group is a stimulant and the other a depressant.

 

[DrPizza]

Yes, I'm well aware of the "denial is the first sign of alcoholism" school of thought and it is dead wrong. I will forego the attempt to educate you and leave you with this thought. Why is it so common and acceptable for doctors to prescribe drugs like Adderall and Ritalin with poorly understood serious side affects but, self medicating with drugs like alcohol is viewed with disdain as substance abuse? Yes, I am fully aware one group is a stimulant and the other a depressant.

Let's toss in evidence #2: "Like, I get sick before I get drunk."
I think #1 + #2 together makes a pretty good case for what the others are saying in this thread.

 

[TallBill]

I too used to drink all day every day. It was a problem.

 

[JMapleton]

Even if you're not getting drunk, you can become dependent on the buzz you get from it, which is not good either. Exercise or eat some fruit in the morning, that will be better for you.

 

[brianmanahan]

ATOT just re-wrote the rules

In the guidelines, ATOT suggests alcohol should not be drunk as “early-morning” therapy, that three cans of beer or less is sufficient, and the need to continue drinking past midnight is rare. They exempt drinking for bachelor parties, breakups, and for mayne. They also advise that bartenders should reassess decisions to serve more than 1 shot and avoid or carefully consider serving more than 2. They recommend going over risks and goals for alcohol addiction with customers, and checking customers’ history of alcohol use on AT forums.

It's flipping awesome, decades of watching people demand wine and whiskey, I gotta tell you, the people on whiskey are really messed up. Someone PMed me where he could get booze at 7 AM, I told him "nowhere" and ATOT told him the same thing... guy was bar hopping since his last bar stopped serving him beer for breakfast...

 

[lxskllr]

Sometimes I fall asleep and leave a glass of beer or whisky on the nightstand, then finish it in the morning in addition to coffee. I also sometimes put Irish cream in coffee in the winter. I notice no difference from any other morning.

 

[TallBill]

In some cities you can get served alcohol at 7am.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Yes, I'm well aware of the "denial is the first sign of alcoholism" school of thought and it is dead wrong. I will forego the attempt to educate you and leave you with this thought. Why is it so common and acceptable for doctors to prescribe drugs like Adderall and Ritalin with poorly understood serious side affects but, self medicating with drugs like alcohol is viewed with disdain as substance abuse? Yes, I am fully aware one group is a stimulant and the other a depressant.

Now you're changing the subject, possibly because your argument is so pathetic.

Nobody is invoking the "denial is the first sign of alcoholism" adage. While alcoholics deny being an alcoholic, so do non-alcoholics. So let's just toss that entire line of reasoning aside because you just pulled it out of your ass as a straw man.

It's not OPs denial that paints him as a probable alcoholic, it's his actions. Period. OP admits to drinking alone, in the morning, because he feels that's what he needs to do to face the day. That is a giant red flag, it's akin to seeing lava seeping through the ground as a warning sign of volcanic activity.

And why are you bringing Adderall and Ritalin into this discussion? Just another straw man that you can set up and knock down. What a doctor prescribes and how a person could then abuse those substances is not the least bit relevant here. A person that feels the need to use alcohol as a way to face the day is about 95% likely to already be an alcoholic and 5% likely to be well on the road to alcoholism.

 

[brianmanahan]

Even if you're not getting drunk, you can become dependent on the buzz you get from it, which is not good either. Exercise or eat some fruit in the morning, that will be better for you.

but how is that different from the buzz you get from wearing expensive skinny jeans?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Let's toss in evidence #2: "Like, I get sick before I get drunk."
I think #1 + #2 together makes a pretty good case for what the others are saying in this thread.

It may be a bad plan for the OP. I don't know and neither does anyone else here. I simply object to the seemingly reflexive demonizing of alcohol use.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

One of the worst things for me working nights was the social stigma of having a beer with your coworkers after an awful implementation project, or long rotation. Everyone looked at you and your friends (including the bartender) with an immediate, in-built thought that if you were there at 8 in the morning, you were obviously an alcoholic, without stopping to consider that in our requirement to work nights, this time was our evening, and a perfectly acceptable time for us to have a beer.

It has nothing to do with the OP's case, but the replies by several posters in this thread remind me of that stigma. I think alot of people forget that 1st world countries stay that way because there is an army of people who either choose, or have to work at night to keep it going.

 

[TallBill]

One of the worst things for me working nights was the social stigma of having a beer with your coworkers after an awful implementation project, or long rotation. Everyone looked at you and your friends (including the bartender) with an immediate, in-built thought that if you were there at 8 in the morning, you were obviously an alcoholic, without stopping to consider that in our requirement to work nights, this time was our evening, and a perfectly acceptable time for us to have a beer.

It has nothing to do with the OP's case, but the replies by several posters in this thread remind me of that stigma. I think alot of people forget that 1st world countries stay that way because there is an army of people who either choose, or have to work at night to keep it going.

Well this is turning into a goody two-shoes thread so I'm sure people will still shun you. I have found that the only people who respect night shift are people who are on night shift.

Even when I switch back to day shift I forget how brutal nights can be.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

It may be a bad plan for the OP. I don't know and neither does anyone else here. I simply object to the seemingly reflexive demonizing of alcohol use.

There you go again. So reflexively paranoid about your own drinking habits that you automatically equate concern about abusing alcohol with demonizing it. Does a person that objects to other people driving drunk demonize alcohol? Does wanting to keep booze away from 10 year old kids demonize alcohol? Narcotics used for pain management following surgery are medicine, narcotics as a way to face the day are substance addiction and even an alcoholic could understand that distinction.

A person that needs alcohol in the morning to face the day has a problem. The alcohol is not a problem, the way its being used is. It can't be made any more clear than that.

 

[Jembo]

Well, if you are an alchy, then I agree; drinking in the morning is fun. When I have a day to drink I usually start at 9:30 in the morning, got to about 8:00 then go to bed. LOL.

 

[Xylitol]

Yes, I'm well aware of the "denial is the first sign of alcoholism" school of thought and it is dead wrong. I will forego the attempt to educate you and leave you with this thought. Why is it so common and acceptable for doctors to prescribe drugs like Adderall and Ritalin with poorly understood serious side affects but, self medicating with drugs like alcohol is viewed with disdain as substance abuse? Yes, I am fully aware one group is a stimulant and the other a depressant.

It's not as acceptable as you'd think - I actually know a good number of pediatricians who refuse to refer/prescribe their patients any of the drug, due to their personal beliefs on its abuse/overprescribing.

But that doesn't stop the use of it being so common, because any patient can find a physician who is willing to prescribe adderall to them. The way in which physicians make their money (a certain amount per appointment) makes it financially beneficial for them to find patients who come in regularly for refills on adderall. Many physicians have reservations about prescribing the drug, but they are fully aware that their patient will probably go to some other doctor to get the drug. As such, they figure that they might as well be the one to do it (because who knows... maybe that other doctor is really irresponsible? who knows... maybe that other doctor does it only for the money and with no regard for the side effects of adderall? because who knows... maybe this doctor needs some extra cash and is willing to put aside their negative ideas about adderall in order to continue paying the mortgage/providing for his/her kids?)

There's a whole list of reasons why adderall is so commonly used within our youth. But there are WAY more doctors out there than you think who are against the over-prescribing of it that is being done. The way that the system is set up makes many doctors put aside their personal beliefs on the drug though and pushes them to just prescribe the drug.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

There you go again. So reflexively paranoid about your own drinking habits that you automatically equate concern about abusing alcohol with demonizing it. Does a person that objects to other people driving drunk demonize alcohol? Does wanting to keep booze away from 10 year old kids demonize alcohol? Narcotics used for pain management following surgery are medicine, narcotics as a way to face the day are substance addiction and even an alcoholic could understand that distinction.

A person that needs alcohol in the morning to face the day has a problem. The alcohol is not a problem, the way its being used is. It can't be made any more clear than that.

And you accuse ME of using straw man arguments? It's a little early to be frothing at the mouth don't you think