Why don't you drink?

This is probably the question that I get asked the most.

I have never had a glass of wine, a shot or a beer. I've tasted it before, but I've never had a standard drink. 

A lot of people simply can't understand why I don't consume alcohol and even when I try and use stock standard answers about health, the taste and lack of interest, it still doesn't sink in. 

That being said, I'm not sure that I've ever told anyone the actual reason before.

I don't drink because I firmly and honestly believe that I would become an alcoholic.

Well, now that it's been written I guess I should probably explain it.

Alcoholism runs in my family. A number of relatives have used alcohol to cope with depression and it has done anything but assist them. I have watched the decline in a close relative as she dealt with issues very similar to my own. I've also heard stories about family members that were the victims of alcohol related abuse. Nothing good has come from alcohol consumption. If I can't have fun without the assistance of alcohol, then I'm obviously not socialising with the right people.

It's a life choice I have made and not one that I have any interest in changing my mind about.

It seems like such a trivial thing to some people, but alcohol can ruin lives. You don't think about that when you have a beer with some mates, but for some people it's a form of self medicating that leads them to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. 

I think about it often. When people say that it helps them relax and escape, I think about my choice. But I ultimately come back to the same thought.

I want more for myself, my family and my life. I don't want to take the risk because it's not worth it.

So there it is. The truth about my sobriety.