Anyone else tired of the drinking student scene?

sweet peach...My impression is if that person buys you a drink next time buy them a drink - yes.  Not the whole group but that one person and I would normal say ok I got your next one.

I am not a huge drinker and every week for the quiz I drink water - people dont think anything of it. After we did the 5K like 15 of us went out for lunch and drinks and I drank water all day and I wasn't even driving!  Someone said to me wow you have some strength not to drink and I shrugged I just didnt feel like it.

Chillywilly,when people say things like "you must have strength not to drink" I immediately think "alcoholic". I've been told similar and phrases like that really bug me.

I think because to me it is such a drinking culture with rounds and more everyone is involved that I dont think much of it.

Most know I am trying to lose weight and that requires cutting out drinking.  There are exceptions and when I do drink I have a good time ;-)

I guess I just take it all in stride and *shrug* and dont get involved in rounds since a bottle of water is 1 quid only. 

Chillywilly,when people say things like "you must have strength not to drink" I immediately think "alcoholic". I've been told similar and phrases like that really bug me.

I was thinking the other day that while for me, going out and having a drink is a special thing that I have to be up for (I won't drink if I'm very tired, have to be up early the next day, etc.), it seems that  for many of the people here drinking regularly is "normal" for them, and not drinking is abnormal.  I'm surprised at how well some people function after they've had a glass of wine or a couple of pints of beer; I've watched people do complicated tasks while sipping wine at the same time. If I drank the same amount, I would be sound asleep.  It's as though their brains have adjusted to that level of alchohol and it has no effect on them at all.

Last night my friend went to a party and drank a lot. She ended up cheating on her boyfriend of 8 years and they broke up. Today she's going out drinking again with the same crowd. People use alcohol to deal with pain but it's a shame because any chance they had of working it out is now probably ruined since she has shown no remorse.  It truly makes me so sad. I loved the two of them together. They seemed so happy. How one night can just ruin things makes me sad. I need a drink lol, just kidding!

Last night my friend went to a party and drank a lot. She ended up cheating on her boyfriend of 8 years and they broke up. Today she's going out drinking again with the same crowd. People use alcohol to deal with pain

That sounds like someone with a drinking problem.

I drink with people who drink loads (in my opinion) but they still behave responsibly while they're drinking.  

Maybe your friend was unhappy with her relationship with her boyfriend already, and was using being drunk as an excuse to do something about it.

Last night my friend went to a party and drank a lot. She ended up cheating on her boyfriend of 8 years and they broke up. Today she's going out drinking again with the same crowd.

I tend to agree with sweetpeach.  I had a friend do the same thing a few years back.  She and her boyfriend had been high school sweethearts.  It was all very dramatic and she was really upset, but then about 6 months later she told me "You know, I think in the back of my head I was looking for an excuse to break up, because I wanted to know what it was like to be on my own.  But, I felt like that wasn't a good enough reason to break up, so I made one." 

Though, I agree that drinking is hardly the way to deal with anything!

Noseovertail, did the couple ever get back together? Surely she could have just asked for a break? Less pain in that. Certainly no cheating or guilt to deal with. Oh look at me, I'm like the south park super hero "hind sight"! 

Yeah you guys are right. While they seemed happy together there's no way of knowning how they really felt about each other. She probably did want out. However while I do know her from uni, she's a mature student and has already dealt with being single and such. I'm not sure why I'm so sad about the situation, we're not that close really. I think I just hate when long term relationships end.

Noseovertail, did the couple ever get back together? Surely she could have just asked for a break? Less pain in that. Certainly no cheating or guilt to deal with. Oh look at me, I'm like the south park super hero "hind sight"! 

Yeah you guys are right. While they seemed happy together there's no way of knowning how they really felt about each other. She probably did want out. However while I do know her from uni, she's a mature student and has already dealt with being single and such. I'm not sure why I'm so sad about the situation, we're not that close really. I think I just hate when long term relationships end.

No, they never did.  He couldn't get over what she did, and she had a good year or 2 of wildness, and wasn't really concerned with getting back together.  She felt bad about it of course, because she did care about him.  I think she was having a bit of an identity crisis and needed to sort herself out.  She's been seeing someone else for about 2 years now and seems really happy, though. 

I agree, these people probably could have found a much better way to deal with it, but obviously people don't always opt for what's best and sensible! 

DH, who is British, once said that British people drink because they don't know how to express their emotions when they are sober.

I know that is a huge stereotype, but it seems to apply in the above cases.

I always tell people I prefer to get my calories from dessert. A few people at my husband's work have really upped the drinking lately, though, and it's made them less fun to hang out with.

I  I'm surprised at how well some people function after they've had a glass of wine or a couple of pints of beer; I've watched people do complicated tasks while sipping wine at the same time. If I drank the same amount, I would be sound asleep.  It's as though their brains have adjusted to that level of alchohol and it has no effect on them at all.

Since this is the student lounge, I will make the assumption that I'm probably a bit older than some of you (went back to undergrad at 28 and graduated this year at 30), and you do develop a higher tolerance the more years you drink. I would occasionally have a beer or glass of wine as I wrote a paper or studied.  That being said, I'm one of those people that has a couple drinks because I genuinely like the taste of beer and wine, but never just to get drunk.

Well, I'm over 40 but never drank much so never developed much of a tolerance. I'm not a student, just posted in this thread out of interest.

That's being said, I think there's a fine line between tolerance and addiction.

It's whether you simply enjoy a glass of wine while writing a paper, or whether you need to have a glass of wine while you write the paper so you can relax and not get frustrated.

I agree that someone who thinks that you have to be strong to not drink has a problem.