The Case For Normalizing Sobriety
I’ve been sober for about 2.5 years and I still find the whole experience of telling someone I don’t drink incredibly awkward. It usually goes something like this:
Them: Do you want a beer or a glass of wine?
Me: No thanks.
Them: You sure?
Me: Yeah, I don’t drink.
Record scratch. All eyes on me. Look of sheer mortification and confusion, followed by a long pause that makes me wonder if I’m meant to elaborate or not.
Alcohol is the only drug (and yes it is a drug) that people look at you strangely for not using.
Could you imagine the same reaction from people if I said I don’t do coke or smoke cigarettes? And yet when someone violates this one cultural norm it is seen as such an oddity that it can temporarily suck the life out of the room and make things weird.
I suggest we stop doing that to each other.
For the record, I don’t think everyone should stop drinking alcohol. It’s been around for thousands of years. Who am I to begrudge mankind its small pleasures?
But here’s the thing that does need to change — stop making sobriety weird.
