What kind of drinker are you?

[CheerstoUs]

Hi,

Just interested really.

I'm a weekend drinker, who knows they drink more than the RWA and who occasionally toys with the idea of going teetotal....but then comes Friday again 😬

I will drink in the week too if it's a special occasion/social event/holiday/Christmas etc, but I did used to drink most days regardless of what kind of day it was. Only a glass or two on week nights, but more at the weekends. An improvement I guess 🤷‍♀️

Still, overall I'd say I drink a little too much and I'm in two minds whether to quit. Part of me thinks it's OK because I don't allow myself many other treats and have a healthy diet otherwise, don't smoke, life's too short etc, but then the other part thinks just stop. It's never going to be good for me.

How about you? What kind of drinker are you and are you happy about it?

I'm the same. Last weekend I didn't drink at all. Previous weekend I was out with work on Thursday night (full night of drinking) pub Friday night, pub Saturday night, pub Sunday after a lunchtime walk
I felt it though, so have consciously tried to pull back this week.
Generally I will have a bottle of wine Friday night, one Saturday. And the occasional glass of wine if put in the week.
I drink more in the summer as I love a beer garden

My GP sent me a questionnaire to complete and return, because when i signed up at the practice I was roughly honest about age, weight and units consumed. Think I binned it.

I’m an almost daily drinker. Usually wine, probably 2/3 of a bottle. If beers or G&Ts I’ll have 3 drinks at least. Working from home really kicked this off, various other things are keeping it going. I drink beer if we go out and 6 pints is pretty normal. I’m just about getting up the next day.

It’s probably not very healthy, but my OH doesn’t ever actually say anything. And he’s fairly health conscious.

I'm the exact same as you op

Please don't feel bad OP. There's no moral failing in liking a drink. As a PP said, it's addictive.

I don't drink very much, but I eat well over the recommended amounts of sugar, saturated fats, processed meat, etc. Despite the fact that both excess drinking and poor diet have well documented health risks.

It's because (due to some combination of genetics and environment presumably) I happen to find it easier to say no to alcohol than I do to say no to junk food.

And I tend to think that the majority of people who don't drink over the limit are able to do that because, to them, not drinking just happens to be a pretty easy choice. Obviously there are some people for whom it has been a really difficult choice and they work really bloody hard to say no to alcohol on a daily basis. And I seriously applaud those people.

But for lots of us it's just easier to say no to alcohol than it is to say no to sweets or cigarettes, or to exercise or whatever. So we have other unhealthy habits, instead of drinking.

There's nothing morally superior or inferior about either position. It's just the way we are.

I'm not trying to say you should ignore the health aspects of excess drinking. Obviously they are important, just like I shouldn't ignore my diet. And I do try. But it's hard. I keep eating crap despite my good intentions. It doesn't make me a bad person, just one for whom saying no is a battle. So please DO try to make changes for your health, if you are ready to do that, but please don't feel inferior for it being difficult. We all have stuff that's difficult, it's just part of being human.

@ShillingSixpence thank you.

@ShillingSixpence Thank you your words have really helped me. I generally have a few ciders each night of the weekend, sometimes wine. But every now and again I'll have a massive blowout. Usually the convergence of low self-esteem coupled with me being on my own but I actually scared myself on Monday night and have been beating myself up ever since (not that I needed to - drunkenness for me also means bouncing off door frames and tables so the bruises are reminder enough).

I'm pretty sure it's in my genes. Both my mum and dad drink way too much and when we all meet up, we definitely feel it the next day. My sister is the same. I was always encouraged to drink from a very young age - 14/15 I think. My mum laughs about it, but I come from a very loving (if a little a complicated) home. Dare I say, quite middle class, so it would be more acceptable and under the radar of concern because we would be drinking wine, not downing shots of vodka.

My dad drinks to drown out I think (has poor MH) and my mum just has an addictive personality. Her dad was an alcoholic. So different reasons for drinking, but the outcome is the same. Too much.

sporadic. I can go months without a drink, then I will get on a kick and have one, or even a day for a few days. Then I won’t drink again until the taste of a particular drink just sounds really yummy. I tend to prefer cocktails, but also drink wine. I’m really about the flavor of the drink including that biting feeling of the alcohol within the drink taste. I don’t particularly like the effects of alcohol.

I occasionally have a glass or two with dinner - maybe once a week but more like once every 2-3 weeks. I will then drink on special occasions eg a night out etc but that is probably once every 3 months when I will then drink a lot.

I rarely used to drink much except on nights out whenI'd get quite drunk. Then lockdown happened and The odd glass of something after work crept in.
I still don't drink much but where I used to say, I'm only a social drinker, I'm not sure I can anymore.

I don't often get drunk but I do like a drink every now and again. I don't drink wine though only cider and spirits.

What kind of drinker are you? A champagne drinker 😀!

I had my last drink on 4 January. Am sleeping better. Wouldn't say I feel amazing but am getting up way more easily in the mornings and am generally less moody. I used to suffer with such bad hangovers and paranoia the next day. I wasn't a heavy drinker but decided I don't like the effect alcohol has on me. Even just a couple of glasses makes me tired and more prone to being argumentative. I'm not sure if I'll be completely teetotal but for now I'm seeing how long I can go for.

1 glass of wine most nights, before dinner. Don't like more & try to have at least 2 nights alcohol free each week. I don't like more but... I suspect it's quite alkie behaviour, really. Am paranoid as my mom/many relatives were/are alkie.

I don't drink very often,only on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas or if I'm going to a live music gig at a pub (probably about 3 times a year). But,on those occasions,I probably do drink a bit too much,the equivalent of around 10 units.

1 bottle of wine spread over 2 or 3 nights a week, only at the weekend.

can go weeks without drinking though, haven’t had a bottle in nearly a month

seen alchohol destroy my families lives in many ways.

A teetotaller, although I won't turn down a tomato sauce made with wine or a dessert like trifle that has rum or brandy or whatever in it. Most of my extended family were alcoholics. It's had a big impact on me.

Ha ha ha love these posts on MN. Brings out the abstinence brigade or the "two glasses of wine in one sitting is a binge" etc etc. I'll make you feel better. I don't drink during the week but if I go out at the weekend, I love getting drunk. It's great fun. Apart from the bevvy, I take very good care of myself by eating well and exercising - a lot. Life is short. Drink the wine. Have a laugh 😃

We’re all different aren’t we? I genuinely cannot hack hangovers these days. It’s no longer just a physical experience; it’s a holistic mind and body disaster for me these days. Horrendous anxiety and Thoughts of Doom for two days after getting drunk so it’s absolutely not worth it for me these days and I don’t miss it. Happy for those who still enjoy it without hideous consequences though!

I’d say I’m a social drinker 🤷🏻‍♀️
I never drink at home on my own.

I rarely drink during the week but will often have a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday and/or Saturday night, sometimes more if socialising.

I'm finding that alcohol affects me more as I get older, so have had a few completely booze free weekends recently. I feel better for it but do find it hard not to have a drink on a Friday night.

I very rarely drink. I had a lightbulb moment years ago when the obvious occurred to me. I feel shit when I drink so my body obviously is rejecting it. Not surprising really seeing as it is a poison.

That's interesting.
I do agree with @ShillingSixpence !

As I said, I don't drink much these days, but it's easy for me not to, it's not something I really think about. If I want a drink, I have a drink (though as I also said, I sometimes think of the breast cancer link and decide not to, other times I go ahead anyway, but it's not a difficult decision). So there's absolutely no comparison to someone trying really hard to cut their consumption, that's really hard.

I have a very addictive nature and I'm very bad at wanting what I can't have or am told not to have. I'm glad I never started smoking or doing hard drugs because I know I would really struggle to give them up.

I have to say though, given your last post, your family relationship with alcohol would scare me & I think I'd need to stop drinking for a while to a) price to myself I could b) reset my relationship with alcohol.

But whatever you decide, I'm glad it's all made you think. Take care 🌷

I buy a bottle of 11% wine and that does me for the weekend. Occasionally I'll have a cocktail too. I don't drink midweek unless Christmas day or my birthday.

I have to stay within 14 units a week because of the medication I'm on - it's been years since I was anything approaching pissed sadly