I don't drink alcohol. When people ask me why, I tell them I suffer from a bad case of OSD.
"Obsessive Sobriety Disorder"
It is a rare condition that fills an individual with an irresistible compulsion to face life sober.
That's what I tell people to make a joke about it. If they want a serious answer, I have several reasons but even I'm not certain which is the predominate one.
My class underwent the D.A.R.E. program when I was a kid. Sometimes I think it stuck with me more than most because I stayed away from drugs in high school and college, never smoked and never had a drop of alcohol. I made a silent vow after that to never drink alcohol and at the age of 30 I've done well. Later I also learned that I have alcoholics on both sides of my family (aunts, uncles, grandparents). If the studies about alcoholism being hereditary hold any merit then I'm seriously screwed. Perhaps I could break the chain and maintain better control of myself but with all the shit going on in my life I could easily see myself constantly drinking myself into a stupor. Better to stay away altogether.
Even if people view it as "weird" or a violation of some social convention I commend anyone else who chooses to forgo alcohol. Speaking from personal experience, I know the pressure is there and it takes a lot of willpower to resist it.
To my fellow teetotalers, let us raise our non-alcoholic glasses in a toast!
Holy shit, are you me? ---
Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.