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Original poster

If you consider yourself to have a ‘healthy’ relationship with alcohol…

142 replies

Cryingbutstilltrying · 16/05/2022 18:40

…what does that actually mean, for you?
Previously I had no off switch for alcohol. If I started drinking I would easily drink a bottle of wine in an evening, every evening.
Before Christmas I stopped drinking. It wasn’t always easy. I allowed myself to drink over the holiday period and before I knew it I had slipped back into the old ways. So I stopped again, completely.
DH and I were given some champagne for our anniversary last month and we shared it at home, and I surprised myself by enjoying it but once it was gone, being fine with that. It was a special occasion.
So I’m now wondering, is this the sort of relationship most people have with alcohol? Where you can have a few glasses at a celebration happily and then not the rest of the time? So Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries. Maybe once a month?
If you consider your drinking to be ‘healthy’, as in, not a problem, how often do you drink?

OP posts:
user1477249785 · 16/05/2022 18:52

I think I drink healthily. I really almost never have more than two glasses. Sometimes don't drink for weeks because I don't fancy it. Other weeks when I am out most nights, I might have a glass three nights a week. But equally, I can easily go out and drink soft drinks instead.

LastInTheQueue · 16/05/2022 18:53

We rarely drink at home. There is plenty of alcohol in the house though - it’s just not something we “do”. We tend to open a bottle of wine if we have people round, but think on it neither of us ever finishes a glass. I think it’s because we tend to drink water with our meals instead.

When we go out, we’ll have a drink but rarely more than two. It’s just not something either of us do.

With my exH, he would open a bottle of wine, pour me a glass, and he’d finish the bottle. He seemed to have no off switch - if it was open he felt compelled to drink it. He would never be an unpleasant drunk, but I really didn’t enjoy his company much when he was that way.

I think some of it depends on how drink was treated when you were growing up. ExH’s mum was an alcoholic, for example, so that’s he saw as “normal”. My parents rarely drank and when they did, it was for pleasure not to get drunk.

Jellycatspyjamas · 16/05/2022 18:56

I have an occasional glass of wine with dinner, and happily have a few drinks on a night out. If it’s been a long week I might have a gin and tonic watching a movie on a Friday night but that’s reasonably rare.

I don’t think about how much I drink tbh because it doesn’t feature that heavily. I drank much more when I was younger and out more often.

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DockOTheBay · 16/05/2022 19:00

What you've said is basically what I do. Drink about once a month on average, more in the summer and less in the winter except Christmas. I'm happy to just have one, wouldn't really have more than 3 on any occasion. I would say that's healthier.

EveSix · 16/05/2022 19:01

I can take or leave alcohol, a regularly leave it for months. I might have a thimble of red wine with a meal, but usually never finish even the smallest glass. If out, I never bother to drink, as much prefer being able to offer rides home to people.
We've got quite a bit of alcohol in the house for serving guests, but it never occurs to me to have any just because it's there. Just not on my radar. I think that's quite healthy.

RenegadeKeeblerElf · 16/05/2022 19:03

I don't drink very often, I do sometimes have too much at a party or similar but that's maybe once a year, most of the time I'll be happy with a couple of glasses of wine. I don't tend to drink at home unless it's a special occasion (most recently for Eurovision, before that the last time I drank at home was probably New Year). I enjoy the feeling of being drunk but for me it's not worth the calories/money to do it more often so I don't bother.

Fireblanket · 16/05/2022 19:03

I tend to have 1 - 2 glasses of wine, 1 -2 times a week. Both my parents were alcoholics and so I'm very aware of how much I drink.

addler · 16/05/2022 19:03

I tend to only drink on special occasions, and I'd have 2 or maybe 3.

Occasionally I will have a cider or a whiskey or a glass of wine when out for dinner, but not very often. I just don't see the need to- while I like the taste of some alcoholic drinks I also like the taste of a lot of non alcoholic drinks.

addler · 16/05/2022 19:05

As a PP said, I think my habits with alcohol have been affected by my parents. They both drink a lot, far more than I think is healthy, to the point where I don't like to FaceTime them with my DS in the evening as I don't like how my mother's behaviour is different. She's like a different woman, whereas my dad doesn't seem to be any different. I don't like the way people change when they drink too much, I don't want to be like that.

EdithStourton · 16/05/2022 19:06

I've a glass of red in front of me now, poured by DH about an hour ago. I can go days without a drink and I don't miss it.

OTOH I do sometimes get drunk (maybe 2 or 3 times a year). When I choose to.

My relationship with sugar, however, is another story...

ObjectionHearsay · 16/05/2022 19:10

I can go weeks/months without alcohol.

I have a full sideboard with every spirit, wine bottles and more in it. But hardly ever open it.

I am not someone who needs a glass of wine or a drink at the end of the working week. If I go out for a meal I'm happy to have one glass and leave it at that.

I never have to worry about my weekly unit allowence because I don't drink enough to need to calculate it.

Yes I can go out for a night out, and I can end up absolutely smashed if I want to, but that's once in a blue moon and it probably happens like once or twice a year 🤣 I can also go for a night out, and just have a couple with no need to get very drunk.

I have complete control over how, why, when and how much I drink.

trilbydoll · 16/05/2022 19:13

I don't really drink at all because I don't see the point. I hate mornings as it is, I don't need to make it harder to get up in the morning.

On a night out I would have maybe 3 drinks but I've never yet had such a good night out drinking it's worth feeling rough the next day. I can have a great time sober tbh I just don't really see what alcohol brings to the party.

Also it's the definition of empty calories and I prefer chocolate!

MrsGinaHarrison87 · 16/05/2022 19:13

Some nights I will drink a bottle of wine but can easily do without it and can go weeks without drinking anything. Usually it's a bottle on a Friday or Saturday night.

lovepigeon · 16/05/2022 19:16

I drink around once a week a glass on a Fri or Sat (only one day as never feel like drinking 2 days in a row), some weeks none. Drink more on occasion eg if going out with friends, parties, over Christmas period etc.

godmum56 · 16/05/2022 19:18

I do enjoy a drink when I want one but I am choosy about what I have and if I haven't got what I want then I won't bother. There have been (and still are) times in my life when I need to be able to drive 24/7 so there have been and still are times when I would enjoy a drink and don't have one. Its not a problem, I have tea or a posh soft drink instead.

Qwill · 16/05/2022 19:20

I mostly drink water, but I like tea, coffee, dry European whites and reds, some spirits, and the occasional beer on a hot day. It’s not something I really think about. I don’t like soft drinks or juices, I find them too sweet. Alcohol has never been taboo growing up, my parents would have a glass of wine with dinner and we would often have a small glass as teens with them. If I’m out for dinner i nearly always have sparkling water and a glass of wine, I love the taste and think it compliments food. It’s more of a situational thing for me. But, I never feel the need for alcohol in general, didn’t miss it throughout my pregnancies. But in the same way I love a cup of tea with a hot cross bun, I love a chilled white with some juicy olives on a terrace overlooking the sea on holiday.

Ridingthegravytrain · 16/05/2022 19:22

I love a drink. Could happily drink every day but I don't as my health is important and I sleep terribly after drinking. Share a couple of bottles of wine a week with my husband.

TuTuLemon · 16/05/2022 19:24

I drink once a week normally (Friday or Saturday) and have a bottle of wine then maybe a gin or two afterwards (depends how early I opened the wine/whether we had a big meal etc). I sometimes drink both weekend nights if we are socialising both nights but equally go longer periods without drinking, I have 2 professional exams next month so not drinking at the minute. I rarely drink during the week unless it's a special occasion and I'm also happy to be designated driver at the weekend if we are going somewhere out in the sticks.

I probably have 2-3 'big' nights out a year where I drink more and do drink more regularly over Xmas, but try and counteract it by doing dry Jan!

prescribingmum · 16/05/2022 19:25

Don't ever feel the need to have a drink to relax or unwind
Can go without for many weeks and not think twice
Never count how much I am drinking as I know I will not exceed NHS guidance (and I don't drink at all if I am driving)
Will have the rare big nights out having cocktails, shots etc but they are few and far between and don't concern me, I never go past the stage of feeling a buzz. Don't drink to throwing up stage and haven't since long before kids

Allmyarseandpeggymartin · 16/05/2022 19:25

I enjoy a drink op and a love a boozy night out. I don’t crave alcohol, I just get a “ooh a fancy a gin shall I have one?” - but I can take it or leave it.
I don’t tend to drink at all in the week - it’s just not something we do in this house tbh.
Probably drink a couple of weekends a month, some times going to pubs, some times parties.

EspeciallyDistracted · 16/05/2022 19:25

I rarely drink at home (maybe one drink every 2-3 months) but we do always have a few bottles of spirits in. We don't tend to have wine because it won't get finished. Might have 1 or 2 drinks on a night out which would be every few weeks. A bit more at Christmas and on holiday. I could give up completely but don't see the point as I don't drink to excess and need to stop.

UnbeatenMum · 16/05/2022 19:27

I only really drink on a Friday, Saturday or special occasion, 1-3 glasses of wine or G&Ts. Most weeks it will be Friday or Saturday, not both.

Blowyourowntrumpet · 16/05/2022 19:27

I always have quite a lot of alcohol in the house, but I rarely drink any. Maybe a couple of glasses of wine every three weeks or so. I just don't fancy it most of the time. Often if I fancy a glass of wine I'll have half a glass and don't want any more.

Blowyourowntrumpet · 16/05/2022 19:27

I always have quite a lot of alcohol in the house, but I rarely drink any. Maybe a couple of glasses of wine every three weeks or so. I just don't fancy it most of the time. Often if I fancy a glass of wine I'll have half a glass and don't want any more.

Gladioli23 · 16/05/2022 19:27

I go through phases of more or less alcohol. In the less alcohol phases I won't drink anything for weeks. In low I drink maybe a G and T every couple of weeks and maybe a pint of cider every couple of weeks as well. In the more alcohol phases I maybe get through a 3/4 of a bottle of wine and a pint of cider in a week or maaaaybe two - so still generally under 14 units. A pint out on a Friday or a Saturday and the wine over the course of the rest of the week (so maybe not drinking 2-3 nights), with the final 1/4 going into food.

I have a vacuvin which is great for not feeling like the wine "needs" drinking as it happily keeps a week that way, and I also keep two ziplock bags in the freezer (one red, one white) for tipping the leftovers of a bottle into so I can save it for cooking.

I do sometimes have a fairly raucous evening out with hangover inducing drinking - maybe twice or three times a year? Usually a dinner and generally the wine is being served so hard to tell what one has drunk because glasses get topped up before they're finished.