Does anyone else drink most evenings?

[SandraOhh]

I do. Wine usually, a couple of glasses. It's how I unwind. I do skip some nights. I know it's not great for you but everyone has their vices. It helps me cope and feel happier and more able to 'do' life.

I'm the wrong person to weigh in on this. I drink the ungodly total of TWO BOTTLE of wine a YEAR. However, I had the example of my mother, and watching her creep up from "Just a drink to relax me" to a falling down drunk after several years of "just relaxing." Not everyone does this, but the issue is, you don't know that you will until you do.

My rule of thumb is, "If I think I need a drink, DO NOT HAVE ONE!"

No as it affects my mood the next day

Yes. My grandmother did too and she lived to be 95. I understand the queen drinks every day too. All in moderation. Tea just doesn't do it for me. I have had about 5 cups of tea in total this year.

The Queen mother had a glass of champagne every day..

I don’t. And in fact, despite being a big binge drinker when i was younger I never developed the habit of a glass of wine to unwind in the evenings. Just weekend binging.

If it helps I think you are in good company. My therapist once said that MOST women do despite denying it. That that is the most common way for people to unwind.

There is a great podcast on Feel Better Live More with a guy who runs a programme to ‘take a pause’ from drinking even if you don’t have (or think you have) a problem with drinking. Just to see how things change when you don’t have alcohol in your system.

When I give up drinking for a substantial period of time I feel sooooo much better. It’s worth looking into if you feel at all interested in whether your level of drinking is ‘normal’ or detrimental.

I think it is a very easy habit to slip into.

At one point I was having a drink on more nights than not - maybe 4 or 5 out of 7 - and realised I had to cut it back.

It's hard because it is a nice way to relax and unwind but it's all about balance and the effects can build up. I notice I feel more groggy the next morning even after just one or two drinks, and it's also not great if you're watching calories, so I try to limit it.

Yes I drink pretty much every night, usually a couple of beers or a bottle of wine, and a few measures of spirits. I tried to have a "dry" day once a month but since lockdown that's fallen by the wayside. I confine my drinking to a 2/3 hour window in the early evening so don't think it's much of a problem, just normal. The only downside is the cost, I spend about two grand a year on the stuff which is pretty shocking to be honest, but at least that means if I ever quit I'll effectively give myself a 10% payrise. Oh and the (sort of) benefit is that I can carry lots of shopping because my arm muscles are used to lugging it back from the supermarket every week.

Yes I drink pretty much every night, usually a couple of beers or a bottle of wine, and a few measures of spirits

I confine my drinking to a 2/3 hour window in the early evening so don't think it's much of a problem, just normal.

You know you’re going to be way outside what’s recommended as healthy? Drinking that much might be common but it’s potentially causing problems you just aren’t aware of yet. Have you ever added up how many units you’re drinking in a week? You might be shocked.

@SandraOhh up until recently I have been drinking every night, my partner works nights so it's just me and the kids. We have moved into a new house and we have lots of Prosecco and wine as gifts. I have easily been drinking 1 bottle a night. Had a drunken row with my fella on Monday night, I apologised the next day and realised it was because I was drunk. I went on a drink aware calculator and realised I was nearly drinking 3 times the recommended limit, which shocked me. I do have an addictive personality so I'm quite aware how easily I could come to rely on it, both parents are addicts, drugs and alcohol. I decided this week to stop drinking during the week, I charged up my kindle and been asleep in bed before 10. Normally it's 11-12 and I sometimes used to skip my evening meal. So far I feel fresher, able to think better at work, not as tired and I'm always hungry (only downside). Wish me luck, I think the hardest part is acknowledging it could turn into a problem if you are not careful, this is true for my anyway.

Nah. I used to down a glass every evening when lockdown first started but have cut down in the past six months however.

@moynomore did you read the OP? She literally says she uses it to cope better!

@HarrietsChariot sorry but that amount is NOT normal. You are way, way over the healthy limits and will be damaging your liver. I would strongly suggest you get some help to cut down or quit.

@HarrietsChariot

Yes I drink pretty much every night, usually a couple of beers or a bottle of wine, and a few measures of spirits. I tried to have a "dry" day once a month but since lockdown that's fallen by the wayside. I confine my drinking to a 2/3 hour window in the early evening so don't think it's much of a problem, just normal. The only downside is the cost, I spend about two grand a year on the stuff which is pretty shocking to be honest, but at least that means if I ever quit I'll effectively give myself a 10% payrise. Oh and the (sort of) benefit is that I can carry lots of shopping because my arm muscles are used to lugging it back from the supermarket every week.

You can't really believe that that amount of alcohol every day is normal?

I have phases of doing this and phases of being much better and more self controlled

In phases where I am drinking most nights (4/5 units) I get disrupted sleep, am definitely less sharp the next day (I do better at the Times crossword when not drinking) and get twinges in my liver. It also definitely packs on the abdominal fat

I am currently in a good phase of only drinking socially - I aim to turn this into an enduring habit. Drinking - even moderately - most days is not a good plan

I did but Cancer put a stop to that & I lost weight not drinking every night

When I'm on holiday, yes, every night.

Otherwise three nights a week. Either half a bottle of wine or three beers. Sometimes I'll swap one of the beers for a brandy.

I have an all-nighter, coming back the next day and writing the next day off three or four times a year.
When I'm flying, all usual rules go out the window.

I've never understood why drinking alone is so frowned upon. I enjoy that just as much as drinking socially.

Yes we both drink nearly every night, try to limit it to 2 but if meeting up with other people, its a lot more but that's not too often.

I come from a wine-producing culture and until very recently not having wine with both lunch and dinner would have been virtually inconceivable. In my home town nearly all of the restaurants, including the ones only accessible by car, include half a litre of wine with their 'economy' set lunch menu (€8-10 per head, three courses). It's only in my lifetime that the breakfast brandy before operating machines and tools became frowned upon. Drinking all day on manual work sites has also more or less vanished in the last 20 years, although that's more to drink-driving laws than anything else.

Whilst I'm not that bad - we couldn't really afford that at UK prices - I'd say dinner without wine happens about three times a month at most. It's rarely more than about 250 ml at a time though, perhaps half a bottle each on Friday dinner and Sunday lunch.

In my home town you never see any public drunknenness, loutish behaviour, or any of the antisocial things you'd associated with excessive drinking. And the people live to a ripe old age.

Used to and lockdown was ott... a bottle of wine a night was easy.

I started feeling rubbish when I woke up, groggy and still tasting wine and I hated the feeling - this didn't stop me I just drank and then regretted it.

But looking at my mum who drinks religiously and is progressively miserable really put me off.

I stopped daily boozing maybe two months ago and wake up feeling ok, it's lovely! I'll have a drink once a week not always and don't want it the next day.

For me stopping myself drinking when I'm fed up, bored or stressed has been the answer, I think about why I'm drinking and it stops me.

Don't ask on Mumsnet! Everyone is always like 'Oh my! Never! I don't even GLANCE at wine for fear of it's effects on my health!'

I live abroad, and in all the countries I've lived, it's totally normal to have a beer or a glass of wine each night with dinner, or even a couple! I can happily have a beer a day and feel no guilt.

Actually it's a well-documented fact that drinking moderately is even better for your health than not drinking at all. But don't tell Mumsnet.

"I've never understood why drinking alone is so frowned upon. I enjoy that just as much as drinking socially."

There is nothing wrong with drinking alone - I think it is discouraged because it can lead to the scenario of drinking every night, to unwind, after a tought day.

If you only drink socially - well unless my social life is just dead compared to everyone else - that's likely to limit drinking to just once or twice a week?

No, I don't. I find it too addictive and one or two glasses becomes a bottle as measures go up.

I strictly don't drink unless I'm out with friends or have people over, or maybe a Friday night with a takeaway/film. It makes me feel better and puts a natural curb on my drinking.

I've watched parents and grandparents go from "enjoy" to "rely on" and through to "need" though, so perhaps I'm a bit over cautious.

@Balonzette

Don't ask on Mumsnet! Everyone is always like 'Oh my! Never! I don't even GLANCE at wine for fear of it's effects on my health!'

I live abroad, and in all the countries I've lived, it's totally normal to have a beer or a glass of wine each night with dinner, or even a couple! I can happily have a beer a day and feel no guilt.

Actually it's a well-documented fact that drinking moderately is even better for your health than not drinking at all. But don't tell Mumsnet.

It’s well documented that even a single drink a day increases your risk of cancer so I wouldn’t call that being good for your health.

Are there any health benefits from drinking alcohol?
You may have heard that drinking alcohol can be good for the heart. But the NHS alcohol guidelines say that the evidence is not clear and that there is no completely safe level of drinking. You should not drink alcohol for health benefits. The risk of cancer increases even drinking small amounts of alcohol.
www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer/does-alcohol-cause-cancer

Actually it's a well-documented fact that drinking moderately is even better for your health than not drinking at all. But don't tell Mumsnet.

Many people who are absolutely teetotal are alcoholics. Many moderate drinkers are from higher social economic groups with better health outcomes anyway.

No doctor would tell a patient to start drinking for health reasons.

Don't ask on Mumsnet! Everyone is always like 'Oh my! Never! I don't even GLANCE at wine for fear of it's effects on my health!'
People can drink at levels that on balance are unlikely to cause problems. There are plenty of them on this thread. I don’t know why posters insist everyone on mumsnet is either tee total or a raving piss head with nothing in between.

Nope. Because it only winds you down, makes you happier and makes you feel like you can 'do' life very briefly while you're having the (first couple of) drinks. In general it makes anxiety etc worse and makes you less good at doing life (and therefore makes you feel all the more need for the drink.

The people who pop up on these threads to say say things like Don't ask on Mumsnet! Everyone is always like 'Oh my! Never! I don't even GLANCE at wine for fear of it's effects on my health!' are talking rubbish. Most MNers probably drink alcohol (and most of them more than the 'thimble of sherry once a year' which the sneerers claim).

I drink. I can still sink a whole bottle of wine on occasions, but generally drink between 2 and 6 units over Friday and Saturday. Drinking most days would make me feel a bit crappy. But if you've been doing it a while, a bit crappy just feels like normal.