To drink three bottles of wine a week?

[foodenvy]

Just that. What do you drink?

This isn’t really true, is it janet? It does do something - loss of inhibition and other alcohol related effects are real.

Ok then cardibach it does nothing good for you. Loss of inhibitions isn't really a good thing and if you a particularly socially awkward it can make you dependant on alcohol in social circumstances better to address tour social awkwardness in other ways. Too much loss of inhibition is dangerous and certainly leads to regrets the morning after and could make you act out of character.

As for other benefits I would honestly like to hear what they are. It dehydrates you. It damages your skin and liver. It increases your risk of lots of cancers and Lots of other diseased. It costs a lot of money and it gives you hangovers.

I get annoyed with the chemicals argument when it's used for sun cream for example people obviously the good of the product outweigh the "chemicals" argument. That isn't true with alcohol.

Anyway I am not an advocate for not drinking. I have always drunk alcohol regularly and have only given up for a couple of weeks but I am genuinely interested in what good you think it does that isn't psychological because of an association the drinker has made.

None!!! But then I’m a recovering alcoholic. 14 months in but if you feel like it’s too much for you, then it’s too much. It depends how you are in the next day.

We all know the guidelines. But alcohol made me so depressed and anxious. Hence the awful cycle I was in.

Congratulations notsohippychick

I forgot to mention depression but yes of course, alcohol is also a depressant.

I only drink if I go out so maybe 3 glasses twice a month. Dh is a recovering alcoholic (3 years sober) so I know first hand the horrendous effects alcohol can have on an individual and those around them.

Personally I think 3 bottles of wine a week is excessive and unhealthy.

I think the phrase "I can function fairly normally" set the alarm bells ringing for me. You said you drink the 3 bottles over the weekend and have 2 young DCs. "Fairly normally" on a regular basis isn't ok.

I share a bottle of wine with DH over weekend, maybe once a month. Small glass of wine when I’m out, again maybe once a month. And 50ml of Baileys on Friday evening.
3 bottles are way too much for me. We drank even less when DD was small (under 5).

I always think, "if you have to ask MN, you already know the answer".

It sounds like a huge amount to me, but each to their own. I personally think how much people drink depends a lot on how much they were exposed to the drinking culture as a child.

Children internally "normalise" whatever they see their parents do. Did your parents drink quite a bit OP?
Ask yourself, what is it about the drink that you like? Is there somewhere else you could get the same satisfaction? How do you feel if, for whatever reason, you DON'T get to drink your usual amount?

For me, I have two G&Ts a week. One on Friday night, one on Saturday. But this weekend, I was involved in some extended family events and didn't have my usual. I'm not bothered.

Thanks everyone for your posts. I've been reading them in and off today and thinking about things a lot. The three bottles is fairly recent and in the past would have been around two. It's fluctuated over the years.
My plan is to cut down to one bottle on a Saturday night. I do look forward to that and don't plan to stop drinking entirely. We don't go out much and this is pretty much our social life! It's not like we get really hammered. We tend to chill out in front of a film or listen to music and chat. The DC don't see us in drunken states. I grew up seeing my dad like that a lot and I don't want it for them. (My mum rarely drank) I don't want drunkenness something they live with and would like to set a better example for them.
If I drink beer or a spirit I drink much less, probably because I don't like them as much as wine.
I don't see myself as an alcoholic at all, I go plenty of days without drinking and love to wake up feeling fresh. I also had no problem at all stopping during pregnancy.
I do think I'm guilty of normalising alcohol though so I'm going to take on board some of the advice from this. I feel uncomfortable with the level I'm at at the moment and have put on weight recently. I ran down stairs today and felt my whole body wobble!! I'm also feeling guilty about it, I know it's too much.
I think we just have to try and break the habit. I was drinking my first glass of wine last night and not feeling that bothered by it but once finished the glass I was happy to have more. I think I'm a bit wined out and ready to address it now and get it back to a reasonable level.
I downloaded an app to keep track of it as someone suggested. I gave myself a shock answering the questions.
Maybe doing that along with some of the comments on here are the kick up the arse I need.
Thanks. 💐

That's great op. However, you'd probably be better off drinking a bottle over 2 nights rather than a full bottle in one night. That counts as binge drinking and isn't really great healthwise.

Seems a hell of a lot to me, but I rarely drink. Drank a fair bit at New Year with a friend but that was my first drink in 2 years and haven't had one since then.
I don't really like the taste of alcohol tbf and often wonder if regular drinkers do it because they like the taste, or to get merry.
Can you go a week or 2 without any, set yourself a conscious challenge.. If not I would say its a problem

Well done OP. I think a lot of us are guilty of normalising. Me and my friends even used to send pics of our drinks to each other in the evenings after days with the kids.

I think you'll notice a difference in how you feel the next day and that is what will want you to keep it down to a bottle.

Good luck!

You can do what you like. There are risks with drinking more alcohol, your choice to weigh them up. The vast majority of the population won’t drink anything like that much.

Well done OP. Sounds like you've got some good strategies to be able to enjoy drinking but to moderate the habits that you'd slipped into.

nearly 6 a week? Would love to cut down, also, love to get tipsy

@Aspieteach this is exactly what I plan to do. We're now planning to have no alcohol this weekend. As a pp mentioned, she cut it out for a while then got to a moderate level and had an appreciation for one or two glasses. I've been having a look online at basic meditation, something I've been meaning to do for a while. My husband feels the same as me so we're motivating each other.
@Nickpan how are you feeling about that? Are you ready to cut down?