A bottle of wine every day

[biscbek]

Been doing it for two years now. I don't even get drunk anymore . It's a habit . I work from home so it doesn't affect me driving or anything . No kids at home. Partner works away mostly .
Is it really bad ? Do others drink this much ? Don't really know why I'm posting . I don't even know if I want to stop

www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/

Op please speak with your GP if you can. You are drinking a lot and your body may now be dependent on the booze - so suddenly stopping could be dangerous. I think the fact you’re asking this question is a really positive step in the right direction.

Good luck op 💐

OP, a few of us on another thread are supporting each other to cut down or stop drinking. It's a friendly, non-judgemental thread if you want to have a peek.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3945191-stopping-drinking-for-a-while

I probably drink that or more and I don’t know how to get out of the habit. I haven’t drank tonight and don’t intend to tomorrow but Friday I will probably have two bottles at least. I’m going to download the drink aware app to track how much I’m drinking. A lot of my friends drink the same or more. Lockdown hasn’t helped. I wish you well x

@Pipandmum

Giving you a low ball unit count of 9 per bottle, that's 63 units a week. The recommended amount is no more than 14. So I'd say you are doing yourself some harm, which may take some time to become apparent, but by then damage is done. And do not be fooled that it doesn't affect your driving - if you were breathalysed you would be over the limit, and your reaction times and judgement are affected.

The OP says she's working from home, so she's not driving at all? I'm working from home and hadn't moved my car for 3 months until this weekend.

OP you'll be so much better off in health and wealth if you can cut down a bit. Can you start with say Tuesdays and Thursdays being alcohol free, and buy a lower alcohol content wine for other days? Good luck x

Yes it is a lot. That's good OP you're trying to give up. My uncle started off a bit like this. Surprising how quickly things can escalate without you even realising it

Thanks for all the replies. And for the encouragement.

Am not going to have any alcohol today.
Am having a relative visiting at weekend that hasn't been here since lockdown so going to tidy and clean my flat in preparation and just keep busy .
Thanks again

I have been there. Some people act like drinking a bottle of wine in an evening is abhorrent but in reality it's only three large glasses and over the space of 4-5 hours it's very easy to put that away. I still do it on a Friday or Saturday night but at one point I was having a bottle pretty much every night of the week. I stopped when I realised how much weight I'd put on. There's a horrific amount of calories in wine and once I stopped and moderated my diet a bit I lost a lot. I wasn't just fat, I was puffy and bloated.

Like you a bottle didn't really get me drunk anymore so I'd have a gin or a beer on top of the wine. It really is a slippery slope. If you can cut back you will feel a lot better for it. Lockdown has made a lot of people drink a lot more out of boredom and stress so don't beat yourself up, just try to cut back and you'll start to notice the mental and physical benefits.

Also been there - its one of the reasons I've struggled with my weight for many years. And until Lockdown I had happily become a weekend only drinker, and was feeling a lot better for it. One of the things that helped me was self-hypnosis - not Allan Carr, but Georgia Foster, who did a book called The Drink Less Mind - it gave me a little bit of additional help to get out of the habit.

did u just stop completely?

It's dangerous to go cold turkey, much safer to taper down.

Thanks op & @sparklinglime sorry you're dealing with an alcoholic in your life too.

I don't have a great relationship with my dad and yet I still pity what he is going through every day.

Not least because I know he is ordinarily quite a stoic person so for him to show the pain he is in means it must be AGONY.

PLEASE don't attempt to quit cold turkey with no support. Not only is it potentially dangerous (you've said how much you drink but not your body size, which makes a big difference to how it all affects you) but in all likelihood you'll feel like shit, have a drink and you'll feel better and this will make you much less inclined to quit.

There are medications and guidance your dr will be aware of that can be used to help with withdrawal etc

My dad is not the only alcoholic I know I know fat too many, it's so common.

The ones that have succeeded in quitting - and staying off it - have not done it alone. Different things suit different people, some have done it with support from nhs, some AA, some other alcohol support groups, some religious support groups, some with eastern philosophies and support groups (meditation etc) most use a combination to be honest.

Those that tried to do it alone were not successful. It's such a difficult addiction to overcome not least because the substance is legal, cheap and easily available but also because it's a physical as well as a psychological addiction and your brain chemistry will have been changed by your use of alcohol.

Be aware also that simply not drinking doesn't mean you're healthy, physically or psychologically. There's "dry drunk" and the physical effects can be permanent - but of course it's best to stop as soon as you can to prevent further damage.

I am more thank happy to talk by pm if you wish, if not please continue to post and work through everything.

I've never been a big drinker, I've also never even tried a cigarette let alone harder drugs and gambling wise I don't even do the lottery as I firmly believe based on my experiences in life and with my family that addiction is something we have a genetic predisposition to and research now appears to confirm.

I've still got ocd which feeds into the obsessive side of things and I get very involved in things if I'm not careful. Eg I'm overweight not totally due to food addiction I don't think but more when I try and lose weight I have to be very careful not to slip into disordered thinking, I've also been addicted to exercise in the past.

Addicts brains don't work the same as others I believe. Much more research is needed.

Please make appointment with gp asap.

The problem is that you can seemingly carry on like this for years with no apparent ill effects until one day you find that your liver is irreversibly damaged.

There was a very interesting and sobering (pun intended!) programme with Adrian Chiles addressing the issues of people like you, and him, who drink quite a lot very day, but don't necessarily see themsevles as alcoholics or even get drunk.

Where/when do you buy your alcohol? If you're getting it with your grocery shopping, would not buying any help? Are you drinking it because it's there or would you go out to a local shop to get some, if you didn't have any in the house?

I quite happily did a bottle of wine a night, sometimes a bit more. I piled on the weight and joined WW and pretty much stopped most days. It helped that I work an on call rota for work so those nights I just didn't drink anyway. Now I really only have a bottle a week but that's one night again rather than over a few days. I find I enjoy it more as I really look forward to it.

I did just stop but then again I stopped smoking the same way, no help just one day gave up and I didn't find it so bad.

OP, it’s probably worth taking a vitamin b complex supplement too. Alcohol depletes these.

Look after yourself.

As Graphista said above, alcohol is an insidious drug. It’s socially acceptable to drink moderately so alcohol is widely available and socially difficult to avoid. I think your situation is more common than a lot of people like to think, so be kind to yourself.

OP how are you getting on? Keep checking in to let us know how your doing.

OP if you feel the need for a drink, could you distract yourself and go for a walk? Just saying this because you mentioned that you sometimes start drinking around lunch time.

A bottle of wine a day will be damaging you physically.

I am an Alcohoic in recovery,Inhave been sober over 17 years and an active member of AA.

Not everyone who drinks to much are Alcoholics,contrary to the general opinion here on MN.Some people can stop drinking and find another hobby.

The AA meetings are on Zoom at the moment,there are thousands,all over the World 24 hours a day,easy to find them by googling.

If anybody needs any help feel free to PM me.

Wishing you well OP,great start that you are not drinking today.

Hi OP
I can highly recommend This Naked mind... Annie grace is very interesting and relatable. I believe there is a group on FB called The Alcohol Experiment

Useful to view the cutting down through a lens of curiosity and interest as opposed to punishment and self loathing

Very best wishes.

Well,worst case scenario, my Sister is very seriously ill now, due to alcohol intake. and not expected to survive the year out.

Doing well so far . Thanks for asking

How much do you pay for a bottle of wine?

Multiply that by 365 and you will be in for a bit of a shock. Just think what you could do with all that money instead.

And now my work has finished . I'm sad, lonely, bored.
So tempted to go and buy wine

I would try to get out of the house. Pink tonic/tonic with bitters and ice/lemon is nice when you get back. It helps me to have a non alcoholic drink If I’m trying to avoid alcohol.

Honestly, @biscbek, I’d get on one of the group threads for people stopping or reducing alcohol. It’s best to be one of many. Self-pity is such a gateway to drinking... I know because I’ve done it.
And address your boredom by reading/listening to some of the quit lit you’ve been recommended. That’ll shift your perspective a bit, possibly a lot. Your current perspective is by definition that of a drinker... it needs shaking up!