Wine, do you think you are an alcoholic if..

[EatsYummySprouts]

How much wine (that‘s my tipple) do you drink per day and does drinking 3 normal size glasses of wine every evening make you an alcoholic?

YABU = yes
YANBU = no

I understand alcoholic to mean you are dependent on alcohol. So if you drink every night it suggests you are. The real question is can you stop drinking? As opposed to how much.

yes, maybe not fully yet but clearly on the way.
Hope my answer helps .

Possibly.
It's not a healthy amount.
Recommended levels are no more than 6 glasses a week. Or 14 units depending on the size of your normal.

That is unhealthy drinking behaviour, what matters is whether you think you're an alcoholic.

3 glasses of wine is almost a whole bottle. So I’d say yes that’s a problem.

Not an alcoholic, no. But it is far too much, and I say this as someone who also drinks this amount and has done for some time. I am currently trying to have at least 3 day’s alcohol free every week, but I’m not always successful! I don’t drink to get drunk, but a few glasses whilst cooking dinner is my downfall, and if I can get through this time of day without one then I’m usually ok for the rest of the evening.

Can you not have a drink?
I think that's the indicator

Look at the Drinkaware app

Can you not have any wine say for two weeks and not be bothered by it?

I don‘t think I am, and I can go without if I want to…but it relaxes me from my very stressful life at the moment..

An having a glass now, whilst cooking 😁

Are they an alcoholic? Possibly
Is it unhealthy? Most definitely

If it's every day then I'd say so, more important to note is that 3 glasses a day , every day is enough to do serious liver damage over a long enough period. My friend died that way last year

I would call three glasses of wine every evening excessive, and certainly worrying if it’s required to wind down of an evening.

Not necessarily an alcoholic (unless you are).

But it makes you potentially very unhealthy (cancer, liver problems, etc)and also surely spending either quite a lot on wine or drinking a lot of rubbish wine.

But the specifics would depend on whether you’re a small woman or a large man or somewhere in between.

If you’re dependent on wine, you’re an alcoholic.

Can you find healthier ways to relax? Your liver is not getting a break when you are drinking every day. And I'd hazard a guess that your glasses of wine are not unit measurements of wine.

You don’t have to be a hardcore alcoholic who can’t function who have an issue with alcohol.

Society needs to reframe it’s thinking in regards to this.

If you are using it to de-stress, that’s called self medicating and it would be best to find better coping mechanisms.

To have an issue*

Units aside, why do you drink 3 glasses every evening?

For me, the things I'd ask would be:

Do you feel you need it? Or that you've 'earned' it? Do you think about it throughout the day?

What happens if you don't have it? Would you consider not having it sometimes? Do you congratulate yourself if you have a day or two without alcohol?

What about the specific 3 glasses? Does that amount feel normal or acceptable? By which I mean, is it 'only' 3 glasses, do you use that amount to say it's not that much or everyone does it?

It's about dependence, attitudes and a whole range of things as well as straight quantity.

But really, if you use alcohol as a reward or a coping tool, or fixate to the degree that you can say how long it is since you last had a drink (during periods of abstinence), or fee you need to limit yourself in some way (perhaps with something such as 'only 3 glasses') then I would say you might have a problem with alcohol.

And maybe that's what you need to think about?

I think it depends really. Does it affect your health? Have you been asked to stop drinking by a dr or nurse? Have your friends insinuated that you drink too much? Could you go a few nights without wine and not really be bothered (or would it be a massive effort)? Answer these questions honestly and if you’re answering yes to all except the last one that’s all a bit of a red flag, so yes you could have a problem.

I can go weeks or months without having a drink, it doesn't bother me at all.

3 glasses of wine every day suggests an alcohol problem.

I was the same a year ago, started to worry about my consumption and stopped. It was lucky I was able to, but my motivation was to lose weight and to try and bring down my blood pressure. I went on to lose around four stone (counting calories and cutting out things like chocolate and puddings too!). I have a drink at social events but don’t have any with my evening meal anymore. In fact I was surprised how relatively easy it was. I was also fed up with morning headaches. I don’t judge anyone about their alcohol intake btw, but it seems to me you may be a little worried about your intake?

It's borderline. Dependancy can mean that you can't go without alcohol, it can also mean you are planning your day for it.

If you are concerned, which I suspect they are by you asking, try reducing the number of days you drink each week and reduce your consumption initially by 1/3

Self-medicating with alcohol is a serious concern.

You sound like you're minimising your drinking behaviour.

If it's any help OP, I got a Fitbit with a heart monitor. I ignored it at first and just used the pedometer but then I realised my resting heart rate goes up if I drink (duh!). It's given me a kick up the bum with increasing the number of alcohol free nights I have.

That is a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol.