How much is too much?

[smegley]

How much alcohol would you say is a problem?
How long does a person have to be drinking a lot to be classed as having a problem?

Just searching for opinions to back up my thinking (or not)

Hi Smegley. I don't think there is an easy answer to your questions. I would say that drinking is a problem when it impacts negatively on your life and yet you continue to do it. But obviously there are varying degrees of negative impacts. Some are more insidious, like the affect on sleep over time and the ways that impacts on things like diet and motivation. Then you have the bigger, more obvious effects like accidents, fights and self harm.

I'm not sure that answers your question.

If you google this question you will find lots of questions such as:
Have you not been able to get up and go to work?
Have you damaged relationships by drinking?
Have you not been able to look after your children?
Do you want to drink less but can’t resist?
Does your partner think you drink too much?

It’s a problem when it starts to negatively affect your life and those around you. For some people, that’s a load of drinks on a Saturday evening and nothing the rest of the week. For others, it’s daily drinking.

When I decided to stop, I was consistently drinking 2-3 or more bottles of wine a day every day, sometimes starting from 9am. But it started to negatively affect my life probably at least a decade earlier when I was largely only drinking on the weekends.

Thank you for the replies

For context I have had bariatric surgery so can't really eat. I have replaced food
with drink to numb the daily life. Since Friday I've drank 3 bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka.

The cravings are unreal.
I dont know what to do next

That’s a lot of alcohol. Are you having support after your surgery?

I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. It must be a massive adjustment so please don't be too hard on yourself.

How long ago did you have the op? Are you feeling any benefits?

I'm certainly not a model of good behaviour, but I can recommend getting in some nice fizzy drinks as an alternative to booze. I do enjoy an AF beer or wine, but I'm not sure if I am reinforcing associations I should be trying to break.

Hope you find your way through the feelings that lead you to want to numb daily life ❤️

No, no support since the surgery, it was done in the UK privately but the aftercare is not great.
I've lost 6 stone but the emotional reasons why I over ate are more apparent than ever.
I think I need to access some support from somewhere, im just not sure where to start.

My relative had surgery, again reasons behind the overeating not really identified / addressed before and it hasn’t been a great journey since as they turned to other outlets of release. (understatement) On any post with people here advocating surgery I say it’s not a quick fix - if you are overeating to deal with other issues they won’t go away and you could end up in a worse position.

I hope you manage to get support.

"Cross-addiction" is a real thing. Ex alcohol users may turn to sugar, ex overeaters may turn to alcohol. Much of the reason we over eat or over drink is often linked to trauma. See Gabor Mate's books on this.

You have done really well to acknowledge where you are but you definitely could do with some psychological support. Can you access counselling at all, through work or GP? Do also have a look into the work of Gabor Mate, you might find it rings a few bells for you and helps you to feel less alone. Wishing you all the best.

It does sound like you are drinking too much. One measure is are you able to have several days per week not drinking at all. Your surgery makes this more complex. I would go to your gp, explain all and see if you can get any support.

Thank you for the advice.
I shall certainly take it all on board and hopefully I can get things back under control 🙏