Are Your Friends Putting You At Risk Of Having Fun?

“It’s no secret that drinking is contagious: if your friends are binging or abstaining, there’s a good chance you’ll follow suit. But a fascinating study on early view at the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research shows just how far this influence goes — and also shows that the social effect on alcohol consumption happens largely outside of our awareness. If you struggle with alcohol addiction, the implication is obvious: be especially careful in groups that are drinking. In fact, many sponsors encourage recovering alcoholics to completely avoid locations and events where alcohol is central. But if your friend struggles with alcohol, the finding is equally important: your drinking may be putting your friend at risk, without either one of you knowing it.”
 — The solution here is to only hang out with people you dislike. Of course, if you are abstaining from alcohol your life is probably already so bereft of joy, happiness or even the possibility that an evening might offer up the chance of excitement or an unpredictable experience that all your friends have abandoned you anyway and the only person you’re hanging out with is yourself, and who is less likable than that? It seems like it would just be easier on everyone if you drank.

Photo by Paul Vasarhelyi, via Shutterstock