You can spend your entire life minimizing risk, maximizing safety, and avoiding discomfort, or you can actually live. Either way you’re going to end up dead.
Moderation > abstinence in most things.
Moderation > abstinence in most things.
I'm not really anti drug or alcohol, but I am absolutely anti "substance use is the only way to truly live", even in moderation
I spent my twenties drinking moderately, and I barely drink at all in my 30s. I don't miss it even a bit and I'm way more alive now than I was then.
I was diagnosed as celiac only a year ago. Many of my favorite meals and desserts contain gluten because I didn't know I was celiac. I can't have those things anymore. I do miss them, but I don't think I'm "not living" now that I have to avoid them
I'm just living differently and much more carefully about what I eat
Happy for you that you were able to kick the addiction, all the best for you. You can definitely enjoy life sober
Lots of things will increase your risk of cancer, like preserved meats, sitting in car traffic, and sunlight.
It's a paranoid way of living and frankly people are likely doing more harm to their health by being so anxious about ingesting one nanogram of carcinogens than the carcinogens themselves.
After a few drinks, the value of socialization drops considerably and a lot of it is just hanging around because you don't want to go home and feel the effects of the alcohol.
The way we discuss health today is different from even 50 years ago. The debate about alcohol isn't new, but things like fitness trackers and smartwatches are. People can now prove it to themselves in real time that "feeling like shit" is not "all in their head", and that it's not a matter of "just drink water" or "eat something".
On the flip side, this cultural step forward comes with a step back. There's a lot of money to be made with this health anxiety.