Booze, Drugs, And Diving

[SlugLife]

All it does is make me kinda relaxed mentally and physically tired.

They bug me to get wasted with them; I'm like "okay fine" knowing it won't happen. The drinks we have aren't strong enough.

Hah, I feel like one of those old people giving unsolicited advice! Or perhaps I should say "spoiler alerts."

Alcohol for me was the same. Some relaxation, but mostly it made me tired. After far as people trying to get you "wasted," the more I drank, the more it raised my tolerance to the point no amount of alcohol did anything but make me tired, and it eventually lead to me having less fun. I never needed alcohol to get wild and have fun, and still don't (who wants to lose a dance-off?). A little "secret" about friends trying to get you wasted is that I have a few of those friends, who took 5+ years to realize I stopped drinking, and a few more who still don't seem to know.

As for diving interactions? I have no idea, and don't want to be my own test subject.

I was thinking about how one would even test the interaction of alcohol and being narced. Even setting aside safety issues, it would be like herding cats to get a drunk scuba-diver to focus on doing skills at 120ft, and not wanting to swim off looking at the pretty fish.

Very true...can't stay young forever. Well, young at heart maybe! But the body won't follow.

Yes, and no. Definitely enjoy every year as it comes. Although I also missed out due to drinking as well. That said, I'm currently in much better health than most my age, and therefore much more able to enjoy myself.

I do 10-11 hour round trip drives as day trips where I'm awake for 24+ hours.

There's a classic cycle of being young and poor, to older and a little richer and perhaps able to afford hotels. It might be worth getting into camping in the mean-time.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Hah, I feel like one of those old people giving unsolicited advice! Or perhaps I should say "spoiler alerts."

Haha! I'm used to it. Lmao. Young and old.

Alcohol for me was the same. Some relaxation, but mostly it made me tired. After far as people trying to get you "wasted," the more I drank, the more it raised my tolerance to the point no amount of alcohol did anything but make me tired, and it eventually lead to me having less fun. I never needed alcohol to get wild and have fun, and still don't (who wants to lose a dance-off?). A little "secret" about friends trying to get you wasted is that I have a few of those friends, who took 5+ years to realize I stopped drinking, and a few more who still don't seem to know.

The main issue I have is the friend I'm thinking of is around 260 miles away. I am not driving 520 miles to hang out impaired LOL

I was thinking about how one would even test the interaction of alcohol and being narced. Even setting aside safety issues, it would be like herding cats to get a drunk scuba-diver to focus on doing skills at 120ft, and not wanting to swim off looking at the pretty fish.

I guess you'd just observe their behavior lmaooo.

Yes, and no. Definitely enjoy every year as it comes. Although I also missed out due to drinking as well. That said, I'm currently in much better health than most my age, and therefore much more able to enjoy myself.

Yep, I do things that are the most fulfilling to me. Like driving and diving! I'm going to get my nitrox cert this year, then AOW by next spring. Maybe AN/DP by the end of that September. Probably would all be in MA

There's a classic cycle of being young and poor, to older and a little richer and perhaps able to afford hotels. It might be worth getting into camping in the mean-time.

Eh, I love driving, it's kinda my thing. I don't mind it too much. Though the other day I had worked nights, then traveled 6 hours to a friend's house. My brain was so fried that I forgot nearly every 5 sentences he said lol. All in all I ended up being awake for over 36 hours. Never again. Lol. From experience, coffee is my best recommendation.

 

[SlugLife]

The main issue I have is the friend I'm thinking of is around 260 miles away. I am not driving 520 miles to hang out impaired LOL

I had to call off a dive about 6 weeks ago, because I was sleep impaired. I was not happy. My dive-buddy ended up finding lots of sunglasses that day.

Yep, I do things that are the most fulfilling to me. Like driving and diving! I'm going to get my nitrox cert this year, then AOW by next spring. Maybe AN/DP by the end of that September. Probably would all be in MA

Sounds fun! Personally, I can't stand regular road-trip type driving. Driving fast on the other hand.... ...is how I get in trouble.

 

[johndiver999]

A big reason I drink sometimes is for hanging out with friends. They bug me to get wasted with them; I'm like "okay fine" knowing it won't happen. The drinks we have aren't strong enough.
No amount of peer pressure could convince me to do something dumb while drinking though.

I guess you are assuming that drinking itself is not dumb? Right?

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I have a family member that smokes every day (I do not, quit when I was 21). We went diving together and he said it amped up his anxiety and he wouldn't do it again. He functions and has a great paying job that he's good at and smokes every day, but he won't smoke and dive.

Just sharing my experience.... or maybe his.

I'm with @Eric Sedletzky, I can't stand the stuff. Makes my skin crawl, then I eat everything in sight, then I sleep.. oh and I can't have a conversation because I completely forget what we're talking about. I literally have to ask. So no weed for me.

Now cocaine has me swimming faster then all my buddies

Jk..

 

[neuneu]

Yeah

I have a family member that smokes every day (I do not, quit when I was 21). We went diving together and he said it amped up his anxiety and he wouldn't do it again. He functions and has a great paying job that he's good at and smokes every day, but he won't smoke and dive.

Just sharing my experience.... or maybe his.

I'm with @Eric Sedletzky, I can't stand the stuff. Makes my skin crawl, then I eat everything in sight, then I sleep.. oh and I can't have a conversation because I completely forget what we're talking about. I literally have to ask. So no weed for me.

Now cocaine has me swimming faster then all my buddies

Jk..

Honestly im starting to feel that way about weed myself. Its more an on occasion thing at this point for me.

If I dove while stoned I know i would be freaking out cause i feel like there is a shark right behind me.

Coke sounds interesting but id be panicking thinking my heart would explode.

Mushrooms is what would be really cool. I feel it would either be the most amazing experience of my life or an absolute nightmare.

 

[McmScuba]

Alcohol and diving: A cross-sectional study of attitudes towards alcohol consumption among 4322 French divers

The consumption of psychoactive substances, and especially alcohol, in the hours before a dive affects the behavior and performance of divers and may …

www.sciencedirect.com

I am a bit curious: I almost don’t drink alcohol (will only drink socially with work colleagues and fairly rarely) but I’d not have thought that if you had a beer at lunch that could have an effect 4h later on a dive for example.

I don't thinks it's established that one beer at lunch would actually have an effect four hours later. "drinking before diving is not good" is mostly used as quite a broad generalization in literature and the references then usually point to acute effects of alcohol (while it's still measurable in your blood), the aftermath of heavy drinking or chronic consumption.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Yeah


Honestly im starting to feel that way about weed myself. Its more an on occasion thing at this point for me.

If I dove while stoned I know i would be freaking out cause i feel like there is a shark right behind me.

Coke sounds interesting but id be panicking thinking my heart would explode.

Mushrooms is what would be really cool. I feel it would either be the most amazing experience of my life or an absolute nightmare.

I was kidding about cocaine... don't do that.

I quit all that stuff a long time ago. Was either be a party animal or a good dad.. I chose the latter.

 

[kaylee_ann]

I had to call off a dive about 6 weeks ago, because I was sleep impaired. I was not happy. My dive-buddy ended up finding lots of sunglasses that day.

I am so so stubborn, and refuse to call off a dive unless I really can't do it. Sunday I visited a friend, and was so damn mentally tired that I couldn't remember every 5th sentence out of his mouth. There would've been no diving that day.

Sounds fun! Personally, I can't stand regular road-trip type driving. Driving fast on the other hand.... ...is how I get in trouble.

Hahaha! Drive where I drive, from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. Just wait till you get to New York and beyond. Sometimes you'll be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic...OR...you can pop in the left lane and go 95mph+. The MA and CT turnpikes, as well as I-95, are gold mines if ya want that. Washington DC is also fast as hell in the left freeway lanes.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Whenever these type threads pop up on SB it gets me thinking, why are people so obsessed with needing to get high or impaired on something?
It seems Americans are the worst, IDK? It just seems that way. I look at the voracious appetite in this country for cocaine weed pills hallucinogenics, etc. and I just don’t understand it.
And trying to combine all that crap with diving just seems so counter productive. Diving is a pure and healthy activity and shouldn’t need to be enhanced or worked around by some psychoactive drug. Diving alone to me is better than any drug and given the choice I would choose pure sobriety and diving over anything else. Maybe I’m just getting old and value what time I have left.
I mean, it’s a free world and people can do what they want, I just don’t understand it.