Can Alcohol Have Any Positive Effects on Social Cohesion?

Question

C'è anche da tenere in considerazione l'ipotesi che l’alcol possa avere anche qualche effetto positivo, in questo caso, sulla socializzazione.

Answer 1

Research conducted in the University of Oxford showed that frequent use of the local bar might result in growth of one’s FRIENDS and a greater degree of see la vie attitude. One purpose of alcohol may be encouragement of one’s endocrine system that is focused on endorphins associated with sociability. However, the deleterious effects of alcohol consumption on a biological basis prevent this positive attribute from overriding its supposed positive effects on sociability even though it is possible.

Comments

I have cut way back on alcohol many years ago.  On a rare occasion, I will have one or two drinks that is all.  I came to this with a few different motivations.  First, I have a physical job.  I need to be healthy to make a living. Second, the financial cost.  Thirdly, I lost my father to alcohol-influenced early death.  The point you mention about the social aspect of drinking I have dealt with.  By not drinking, I have avoided many opportunities to socialize by not attending a gathering where people would be drinking.  It is a mental battle I deal with. Being a non-drinker you do feel out of place and that you do not belong. Dan, I applaud you for this series and for going beyond the world of cycling and sharing content on good health.  Live to the level of your healthy smile.

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Good job, Dan! I feel like the connection between alcohol and being social is falsely ingrained in us from childhood. I was afraid to stop drinking because of that, especially since I'm shy like you and alcohol used to open me up. But after attending a few parties, I learned how to come out of my shell without alcohol. You’re actually your true self and have just as much, if not more, fun than when drinking.

You’ll see in October, I started with a one-month no-drinking challenge, and now I’m almost a year sober. I wouldn’t go back. I’m in the best shape and mood of my life at 39!

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15:08 is the key point in my opinion. As society (German here, but just as true in UK I assume) we've come to associate alcohol with way too many occasions and activities. Celebration? Alcohol. Relaxing? Alcohol. Default weekend activity during uni? Club+alcohol. At the core, none of them require alcohol. Given how clear the health detriment is, it's crazy to me how weak legislation is, especially compared to other common drugs. Bavarian politicians especially are ridiculous with their drugs=satan/beer=culture dichotomy
As an adult, I only really liked the taste of wine, but that gives me a headache after 1-2 glasses. Now I drink 1-2 times a month, and I'm not looking back.

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Alcohol is one of the few drugs people question you for NOT using, and it’s so embedded in culture that many can’t see beyond it. That Oxford study highlights community, not alcohol, you can still enjoy socializing at the pub with a non-alcoholic drink. Relying on alcohol as a "social lubricant" isn't necessary; your confidence grows when you stop using it as a crutch. It's striking how even knowing the risks, people like Dan still think it's fine to get drunk because they eat well and exercise.  While your body will recover from "a couple of nights" of alcohol use—just like it would recover from a cold, a few lines of coke, or an injury—it doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

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The pressure on students to start drinking begins from day one, as they move  into their first accommodation and are coaxed into joining everyone at the pub as soon as they have put down their bags in their room. This eventually led my son to have a very worrying relationship with alcohol.
As for my daughter, who like me , neither likes the taste of it  or is prepared to to lose control of her brain in  unsafe settings, she was shunned by  her house mites and  had to pull out of some uni clubs,which always degenerated into getting  severely drunk at the end.
The pressure yo conform is tyrannical.

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It’s remarkable how few of the younger generation drink alcohol now - I don’t typically drink, but when I do I’ll have one pint, and increasingly everyone else will be on coke (a cola). I don’t think sodas are great for you either. I wonder whether the rise of zero alcohol beers is going to have an impact on general health (even though they do have a bit of alcohol in it)

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Only ever had positive experiences with alcohol. Or any negatives have only been so minor as to not be memorable. Absolutely no alcohol-based regrets.

My time as a student and in my 20s was enhanced by really great, fun/funny times drinking with friends, my 30s was a very low drinking decade, with a young family, and approaching my mid 40s it's really just enjoying a single fairly large drink  maybe 2 or 3 times a week to relax with. About 12-14 units a week, probably. I ponder on the health aspect, but I'm not feeling any negatives in that respect.

Certainly, a handful of friends have had differing relationships and reactions to alcohol, though I've not known any full blown alcoholics.

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Thanks Dan. After 30 years working in North American health care, caring for patients of all ages, I decided in my mid 50s to say so long to my lovely relationship to beer and whiskey. I could see what frequent drinking does to us as we age, vs how folks are in their 60s-80s who drank little to none in middle age. I don’t like alcohol as a social lubricant, I am way more present with my self and friends without alcohol on board. Even a tiny buzz would be a waste of precious time. Playing music with others has also been surprisingly more satisfying without drinking (that was a hard one to change for me).

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Appreciate how honest you have been with us through all this and really makes you think what we are all doing and how much we do see alcohol as just a normal part of life.
I think the main point to take is to have a look at ones own life and make a decision and how it may be affecting others in our lives too.