To ask how much you drink and does it concern you?

[TheoriginalLEM]

That really?

I am drinking ALOT, i caught myself on last week when i drank a bottle of red wine and didn't have a hangover 😱 then i looked back on the week. 3 bottles of wine and a couple bottles of cider. Harry westons which is really strong.

I had a stressfull week and that was more than i usually drink but probably since lockdown im drinking most nights if not every night. Its usually 2 glasses of wine or a bottle of cider.

Thats too much and i need to stop, or cut back. So this is day 3 with no alcohol. Last night i really fancied a drink but i didnt have one, tonight ive not wanted any.

Im on ADs so i know its not a good mix.

I just wondered really how i compare to others?

Things feel much shitter at the moment and I've noticed myself really craving a glass of wine most days.

My boyfriend and I have decided on no week day drinking though if possible. We normally share a bottle of wine on a Friday (that's a weekend day right?!) And one a Saturday. That feels ok at the moment.

I don't drink much but came here to say, as I do with all of these threads, if you're worried about alcohol do the AUDIT test. If you Google audit alcohol test you can find it. It's the test used by the NHS for example GPs and alcohol services to assess if your drinking is problematic for you.

I used to work for alcohol treatment and recovery services. A lot of people have this stereotype of a problem drinker. But actually drinking can cause issues in loads of people at loads of different levels. What might be fine for you could be a problem for someone else.
So it's not a one size fits all approach and it's not all about clients to stopping drinking completely.

I drink a bottle of wine every couple of months, I know I enjoy the taste of it too much to have it more! I actually find myself making a point of not having it any day that I really, really want to; it’s too easily a slippery slope.

I don't drink.

Doesn't concern me.

Some of the amounts in this thread are shocking. People make threads asking why they're gaining weight, and omit the "entire bottle of wine I drink while cooking", or "4 bottles of wine a week", "3/4 a bottle a night." Utterly grim!

Personally I think if you find it hard to cut down then yes you have a problem.
I think the last time I had a drink was 2019 and it was a can of koppaberg. I don't really like the taste in all honesty.

Varies

Generally though my husband and I share a bottle of red most Saturday nights.

It’s not unusual for us to also have a couple of glasses each midweek too but not something we do regularly.

I used to drink a bottle of prosecco/wine most weekends and occasionally more if we saw friends etc but I have cut out all alcohol in a bid to aid getting pregnant as has my husband- 3 weeks so far teetotal and I'm enjoying it so far! I did miss a glass of red when i had a bath earlier in the week but hey ho!

if you're worried about alcohol do the AUDIT test

Problem is, that says I'm not drinking too much when I know I am!
I don't drink in the morning, I've never failed to do what's expected of me, neither myself or anyone else has been injured due to my drinking, etc etc. Literally the only thing I score high on is how often I drink. And yet I easily drink around 60 units a week. So I don't think it's a great test tbh, even though it is the one that all these organisations use.

I usually have a few beers on a Friday, we do family zoom drinks Ona Sunday so might have a G&T or 2 and usually have drinks in the week one night with DP.
I never get “drunk” and have no issues taking elongated breaks.

I have a few glasses of something (wine, vodka soda) once or twice a week. I don’t worry at all. My smoking on the other hand...

I think it's more about how you feel about drinking and why you drink, rather than how much you drink.

If you feel you need a drink because you've had a bad day, and it's happening several times a week (if not every night!) then quite clearly that's a problem.

If you're having the occasion glass of wine with your partner watching TV at a weekend, that's different.

If you're in a pub with mates or at party, obviously that's different again.

But IMO you should never find yourself drinking alone on a regular basis as a method of stress management.

You also need to be able to stop at will, so doing something like Dry January shouldn't cause problems for you. If you're craving it, or finding yourself thinking about having a drink all the time, you have a problem.

I don't drink at all because it worsens my anxiety and I find it's not worth it, but I know a few people who've got into the weekday drinking habit and it can be a tough one to break.

To be honest, I very rarely drink alcohol and I’ve been drunk less than a handful of times in my entire life and I’m mid fifties now.

My dad was an alcoholic and he died when I was a teenager. Growing up, I’ve never bought into the ‘needing alcohol to relax/party’ mentality because the fact is, there are far better/safer options to help you cope when life is stressful.

If you know you’re using alcohol to self medicate, then you need to deal with that head on because it’s likely to get much worse if you try to ignore it. Put your energies into finding something that works for you whether that is CBT, hypnotherapy, exercise etc.

Currently pregnant so sadly nothing but pre pregnancy- would drink a bottle of white or rose wine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Monday-Thursday would try to drink nothing- bar maybe 1 night out mid week when may have a few drinks.

My drinking was completely fine- and cant wait to get back to wine next year.
I've heard doctors/advice is give your liver a break for several days (ideally 3 in a row) which is better then say drinking some alcohol every single night. I tried to not drink any alcohol for 4 days in a row but the weekend was a time to relax, look forwards to my wine time and won't ever hear that it was anything near problematic.

A lot of people on MN don't seem to drink at all and will try to tell anyone who drinks they have a problem. Not sure where these people live as everyone in my social circles drinks similar amounts to me.

Oh loads but have cut down recently. Until then it was at least 2 or 3 cans of IPA and half a bottle of wine on a week night. Then probably 2 bottles over the weekend. It is boredom for me but I'm working 2 jobs at the minute so less time for mindless booze guzzling.

@Duanphen get over yerself with your holier than thou shite, i bet you pick your nose

I don’t think having a problem with alcohol is necessarily about how much or how often you drink. It’s much more about why you drink and what happens when you do.

Can you moderate your drinking once you start? Or is it an effort to control? Could you stop tomorrow if you decided to?
Do you drink to ease boredom, restlessness, loneliness, difficult feelings, emotional pain?
Do you behave in a way you don’t like/wish you hadn’t when you drink?
Does your drinking negatively affect your relationships, your work, or other aspects of your life?

I’m in AA and there are people in the fellowship who were ‘bottle of vodka on waking’ alcoholics, party-time binge drinkers, ‘too much wine after a stressful day at work’ drinkers and everything in between.
They were all suffering to varying degrees from out of control drinking. Only you can decide if your drinking is out of control, though.

I'm on a month of no alcohol after wicked hangover and flu jab.

I needed to stop. It's so much easier after two weeks. I know the freedom that stopping smoking gives... I'd like that from alcohol but I love that light buzz alcohol gives!

I'm going to try alcohol free prosecco... Good luck op, that book mentioned earlier is supposed to be wondeful m

I don’t drink at home.

I have always been a big drinker and I've definitely drank more over lockdown but I'm currently doing sober October.

This last year I've had a smart watch with a sleep tracking app on it and it's been a real eye opener on what my "stats" are after a night of drinking, even on those nights I only had one or two!!
I obviously can't "tell" or sway the watch in anyway, it just records what it finds.
When drinking the deep restful sleep is non existent. I'm constantly in a disturbed, light sleep and my heart rate is right up towards recording light exercise, I shit you not.
The difference it records on non-drinking nights is massive but it also took a week after stopping drinking (was drinking pretty much every night of sept!) to get up to my best levels of sleep which I also find interesting.
I've found it the shock I needed to rethink my routine. I now completely believe the studies about heavy drinking being directly linked to bad mental health.
I still want to enjoy a drink, I'm hoping that come next week, I can maybe just have the odd one at weekends instead of every night.

I get through 3 bottles of wine a week. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

Since March my drinking increased to drinking every night a total of around 5 bottles a week. I was waking in the night with indigestion and anxiety abd then unable to get back to sleep. I found when I tried to take a night off I couldn’t do it and it scared me. I joined One Year No Beer and did the 90 day challenge. I am 109 days alcohol free.

It took maybe 3 weeks for the worst of the cravings to subside. The trick I found was to recognise them, feel them and decide not to act on them. Reading quit lit helps a lot of people but I mostly used the OYNB support emails snd Facebook group (for which there is a cost). There are other resources out there.

There is a guy called Andy Ramage who does a motivational live 6 days a week at 7.45am on Instagram and I found that really helpful.

I am not going back. I am now working on loosing weight and feeling really motivated.

Good luck on cutting back/stopping OP (and anyone else on this journey).

Almost none. I just don't like the taste..never have. I quite like a cocktail if I go out, but usually long ones that don't taste of alcohol.

Pretty much nothing. I don't really drink at home aside from the odd Baileys at Christmas or a Pimms in the summer.

The last time I had a drink was a glass of wine in the pub for our wedding anniversary last month. Before that? I honestly couldn't tell you.

I used to drink about 1/2 a bottle of wine a month for the last few months

And a bottle a night on the weekend

Now I drink 1 glass of wine a few times a week maybe say 3 times and then about a bottle of wine over the weekend

I feel less guilty
I know it's too much but it hasn't effected me (yet)

I have about one drink a month. I might have half a pint of Cobra, when we go for an Indian.

Probably on Xmas Day:

2 glasses of Bucks Fizz
A sherry
1 glass of champagne or white wine with lunch

I don’t worry about my drinking - I prefer soft drinks anyway!