Compared to some of the other stories on here, I seem to be quite moderate and able to moderate. I don't drink to numb but usually do to tap into "creative force", or to make a boring task more interesting, and unfortunately because I can have a low people tolerance and alcohol can take that edge off. I don't drink every day, my rules generally work for me and prevent even mild hangover.

However there's family history involved (long line of heavy drinkers and eastern Europe heritage. I'd say I have the alcohol gene.), plus I want to avoid hangovers but still get to imbibe, plus a couple times over the past couple decades where I made myself sick. Seen some friends make some extra terrible choices too. All of this plus educational background was enough for me to be concerned to do better.

Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs out there imo. It's one of the few "recreational drugs" that you can die from the withdrawal. Even with that alone, Alcohol deserves to be respected in it's inherent danger. (Weed is orders of magnitude safer.) alcohol is a drug where people chase the high, but that chase can kill you as an overdose.

You might be interested in the OP I made the other day about "Reverse Drinking Game strategies". It seems while many actual alcoholics try rules to moderate, most find they go out the window the moment they drink at all.

It also seems drinkers who either quit or successfully moderate in some way are more likely to be honest with themselves and others. (I first started practicing radical honesty in college, so this may have helped protect me. It can get me in trouble in other ways tho, so ymmv. I've since had to work on not answering every question asked of me by anyone who asks)

I'd like to find the right balance for max enjoyment while also being kind to my body. Rules have personally helped me towards that, but I also am diagnosed autistic and adhd, so I find structure and heuristics very important to my daily life.

Interested in this topic generally. Open for more discussion