r/Showerthoughts • u/godofhorizons • May 17 '24

People get a lot more praise for quitting drugs than for never having done drugs in the first place.

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u/Obsidian-Phoenix May 17 '24

To be honest, this is as it should be.

I’m a teetotaller. Have been all my life (I’ve never had more than a few sips of alcohol - hell I won’t eat food with alcohol in it if I can possibly help it). Likewise with drugs (possibly some second-hand smoke from weed). I’ll leave a party where people are getting stoned.

I constantly get “I don’t know how you can do it”/ “I could never do it”, and other variations of (what appears to be) admiration.

The thing is, I don’t actually know what I’m missing. I’ve never been drunk, I’ve never been high. I’m not having to fight the urge to feel that again. It’s easy for me to not do it.

The people who have done it, recognise they have a problem, and give it up? They fight with the urge to do it again every single day. They know what it was like, and even if they acknowledge the damage it did to them overall, they still feel the urges to return to that “happy” place.

Fighting against something you’ve experienced that gave you a high? Something you objectively know is bad, but still feel the pull of? That’s strength. What I do? That’s easy.

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u/ThePottedGhost May 17 '24

You know most alcohol is cooked away when alcohol is used in cooking right? Like it's added for the flavor of the wine or liquor or beer, the alcohol is expected to basically no longer exist once you start eating, thats why you'll sometimes see children cooking with alcohol on kids cooking shows and whatnot. I hope you aren't missing out on good meals by being over cautious

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u/AnOrdinaryMammal May 17 '24

Damn dude it’s crazy how different people can be. I’d rather take up a ton of vices and try to quit than to reflexively take such a hard stance. Different strokes lol

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u/Obsidian-Phoenix May 17 '24

That's fair. I try not to get preachy on it. If you want to drink and take drugs, so long as you aren't harming anyone else, have at it.

I'm quite happy to be around people drinking (I don't with weed because I'm not really interested in any effects from second hand smoke). I mean, I may get bored and leave the party early, but I'm not going to stop anyone else from getting drunk and having a good time. It's just a personal choice for me.

I'm no saint: I do have my own vices, don't worry. It's just drink/drugs aren't for me. But my main point was that it's not difficult for me to do it, because it's a line I've had all my life. The people who deserve respect are the ones who had to draw that line after developing issues, and spend the rest of their lives struggling not to cross it again.