If you enjoy a drink

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If you think you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, how much do you drink on average per week. Also how many days do you drink per week.
I ask as I was having a conversation with a friend who said a heavy night for her and her partner involved sharing 4 bottles of wine. The other people in the group didn’t seem surprised and said things like, yes we drink a bit too much too.
I know I am a light drinker but the odd time over Christmas where I had a whole bottle of wine I was wrecked and then didn’t drink for several days, so maybe I am the odd one?

At Christmas I would maybe have 1-2 in the evenings, a Bailey's or port or mulled wine.

Normal time of year maybe 1 a week? I have tea or alcohol free otherwise.

DH drinks a couple of light beers in the evenings mixed with alcohol free ones.

If I had a bottle of wine to myself the earth would be spinning and I'd be out of commission until 5pm next day!
I do realise tolerance builds but I've never been a big drinker.

I like a drink, I go out on a Saturday and have a few pints and i usually drink wine in the house once or maybe twice a week. One bottle is enough (just to myself), maybe a small extra glass on top. I certainly couldn't share 4 bottles between 2 of us, that's 2 bottles each! I would be very drunk and very ill and I class myself as someone who can drink quite a lot.

2 bottles of wine once a fortnight used to be per week but it started making me feel rubbish so I cut it back

I drank a whole bottle of wine over about 3 hours on Christmas day and felt like shit the next day. Totally functional, but felt rotten

I used to be a big drinker, and would get through 4-5 bottles of wine to myself over the weekend. I just can't do that any more. Last weekend, I had one glass of wine, 2 pints of ale and a martini - that's on the slightly heavy side of normal for me. I usually have 1 or 2 drinks 1 or 2 days a week.

You're right that people interpret 'normal' or 'typical' drinking very differently

Hmmm I enjoy a drink but do consider I have a sensible relationship with alcohol.

I don’t drink unless it’s an occasion. Although that can be small. So if going out to dinner and not driving 2 glasses wine (large).
If I’m ‘out out’ without children I will drink quality spirits with a mixer to avoid a bad head the next day. But I stop drinking at 11pm no matter how late we are out. And then drink water. So I’m clear headed the next day.
so I probably drink weekly in December, sometimes twice. But then not at all in January, February etc.

I have a bottle of nice wine most weekends, split over Friday and Saturday night.

I used to drink about 3 bottles a week alone but I don't really drink now
Maybe one glass of wine once a week
Didn't even have a drink on Christmas Day-
I just went off it. Finally. Thankfully

A bottle of wine on a weekend. I've had two bottles at times but makes me feel sick the next day so don't so that anymore. I would sometimes have the odd glass at the throughout the week but I'm dieting at the moment so I'm just having the one bottle at the weekend.

4 bottles is loads! I enjoy a drink to savour slowly. I drink less than once a week and even then I’ll have one or two (glasses of wine or beer, not bottles!)

I am a stereotypical binge drinker. Don’t drink at all unless I’m going “out” around once a month and then I will have A LOT of cocktails/gins/shots etc

I don’t drink much at home I just fall asleep. I’ve never needed it to relax. Defo a social drinker. Maybe one or two drinks a week usually the same day at a weekend. Depending on my work shifts.

If I’m out maybe a couple of glasses of wine/Prosecco with a meal plus a cocktail or two if a longer night that’s probably once a month or so. I can’t drink a lot these days I do t like the hang over! It’s usually just the wine with a meal.

I'm a classic binge drinker. Will happily have nothing for ages and then drink a lot when I do get 'on it' I don't drink during the week and I do a sport at weekends that requires early starts and not being hungover. As I have got older my hangovers have become terrible so when I get one it is a reminder not to do it again for a while. Typically get pissed about five times a year.

Never really bother anymore during the week bar any social occasions (mainly work related maybe once every 4-6 weeks)

I used to sink a bottle of wine easily on a Friday night but it's starting to lose its appeal now, not sure why I just never seem to fancy more than a glass

Different story if we're going out on a weekend (which isn't often) I'll have a couple of glasses whilst getting ready and then move onto vodka & Diet Coke once we're out - always results in a very bad head the end day.

DP and I both enjoy a drink but we’re not fans of being drunk or hungover so I’d say we’re moderate drinkers. A Friday night is usually a bottle of wine shared between us, or 2/3 G&Ts (not large measures as don’t like them strong) or beers each. Any other evening I might have one glass of wine, or maybe a sherry or a port to sip. Not every night though. I could definitely drink a whole bottle of wine to myself over a full day but I would have at least a glass of water to every glass of wine so hopefully wouldn’t be too affected by it. Four bottles between us would be far too much!

I know I have a problem as I frequently have 2 bottles of wine a day. Just trying to get in the right mindset to do something about it. Occasionally have spirits but if I go out I always order wine. Might have lager in the summer.

On normal weeks with nothing much on we share a bottle 2 nights a week

Both dh and myself never get hung over we have hollow legs so we have to be careful.
So nothing on a Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday we prob have 1:2 bottles nothing Thursday. Fri/sat depending but generally share 2 and nothing Sunday. It works for us but we are retired so can pretty much work out our day. And have no real responsibilities except grandchildren stopping over and of course then we never drink. Both fit snd healthy please god snd love swimming walking gym etc.

I think I have a healthy relationship with alcohol and dh and I have occasionally shared 3 bottles of wine of an evening - it renders me wiped out for the next day but maybe 5 times in 20 years doesn’t really make it a regular occurence!
He drinks more than me.
I’m not doing dry January but I haven’t had a drink since New Year’s Eve. I don’t drink at home often; I’m going out on Friday but driving. Going out the following weekend and will probably have a few beers and a few cocktails.
If I go to the pub I’ll drink 4 or 5 vodkas or 2-3 pints.
I don’t have any hard or fast rules around alcohol, if I fancy a drink I’ll have one but in a regular week i might drink one night at the weekend but just as likely to not have any. Dh usually drinks Friday and Saturday nights!

I would say I have a healthy relationship with alcohol (haven't always). I drink 2-3 nights per week (Friday and weekend) and don't tend to exceed 14 units per week. I never binge drink.

We just drink Friday and Saturday or maybe only one of those (unless an occasional night in the week if it's a meal out or birthday or whatever) I've cut down from a bottle of wine each on those two nights as my back and neck pain Is so much worse in the morning. So we might watch a film and share a bottle, when we first moved in it was bottle and then shorts, we were a bit giddy 😆
But hence my user name I love a red wine 🍷

I think it creeps up and alcohol lowers the I shouldn’t have more booze inhibitors. I had a whole bottle of Prosecco half a dozen times over Christmas / new year plus a couple of days on wine/port. Doing dry January so not had a drink for a few weeks. Need to lose weight so will stay off booze till summer holiday probably.

I sometimes have a G&T on a Fri/Sat evening and don't drink anything during the week. DH brews his own beer so will have one or two of those over the weekend. We used to get through three or four bottles of wine a week but kids and cost and migraines have put paid to that. I don't miss it at all.

I drink 1 or 2 glasses of wine a night.

I try to limit it to one, but it's usually 2.

It feels too much, mainly as DH doing dry January at the moment.

Going to try to limit it to 1 or none.

I can drink two or three bottles of wine plus spirits of an evening; or I can stop at one glass; or I can go a couple of weeks without drinking at all. I often drink “too much” by NHS criteria, but I have a better relationship with alcohol than many people I know who rarely drink.

I don’t think the healthiness of the relationship is necessarily designated by the amount but by the behaviours around and associated with the alcohol. Does it affect ability to join in with family life? Does it change mood or personality? Does it affect work? Friendships and relationships with other people? An unhealthy relationship can be drinking for excess; but can also include things like drinking when you are stressed or sad, drinking to fit in, or drinking to fill a void - which may not necessarily include drinking large amounts on a regular basis. Broadly I think that somebody who enjoys drinking several glasses of wine / several beers / cocktails / whatever a few times a week with their partner over dinner or whilst having an enjoyable and fun time talking and laughing with friends at the pub has a much healthier relationship with alcohol than somebody who turns to a couple of drinks when e.g. they’ve had a hard day, or when the kids are in bed and they’re feeling lonely and sad, or because they’d just rather not face their emotions.