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

Not if you’re French

Presumably you don't live in a magical land where the inhabitants have evolved to not be affected by alcohol? People get drunk all over the world, particularly if they are drinking a carafe for breakfast then more during the day and evening.

I don't think you would be posting this if you didn't worry that you had a problem

France has a huge issue with wine based alcoholism .

Regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health. From the NHS website.

You say that you can go without wine if you want to

But you don't want to

That's addiction

See how you go without it for a week.

How large is the glass? 3 glasses is pretty much a bottle.

I love wine and could quite happily drink 3 glasses or more a night but I don't!
I don't tend to drink Mon - Thursday. I don't think you are alcoholic but possibly dependant if you need/ want a drink every evening. Maybe have 2-3 nights wine free a week?

I have a glass or two most nights.
I'm not proud of it, but it doesn't really affect me. It doesn't affect my sleep, work, parenting anything really. I have 1-2 days off per week and it doesn't really affect me.

I just really like wine...

So no, I don't think you're an alcoholic, but I don't think it's particularly healthy.

I would suggest that yes you have a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

You feel you need alcohol to relax you from your day. That's a problem.
The amount you are drinking a week is definitely unhealthy.

You obviously think you have a problem or are pondering the idea, to even ask the question.

Sorry OP but I suspect this post is wine induced. I'm not perfect which is why I recognise it.

I'm currently reading This Naked Mind . Maybe you should read it too.

I don't think it's the amount you drink so much as how you feel when you don't drink.

Try not drinking for a fortnight to check your reaction. If you can't manage that, it may be time to get some help.

I hope it goes well for you.

I’d say this.

And also that is too much booze for
your body to handle daily

Absolutely true !
”I can give up any time I want- but don’t feel the need to”

Said by people with substance abuse problems before they admit that they do actually have a problem.

Denial is so common in substance abuse.

”The daily recommended amounts are made up”

“I only drink after a certain time”

”My friends use/drink far more than me”

”Of course I’m not addicted as my doctor prescribes me these!”

&c &c

There’s a big difference between 1 to 2 glasses a night and 1 to 2 nights off, and 3 glasses every night.

You might need to watch it (and the size of the glasses, how often it’s 2 rather than 1, and 6 nights rather than 5), but you are still very possibly on the side of OK drinking, whereas the OP has slipped into problem drinking.

Gastro nurse here. Whilst you might not be physically dependent on alcohol (e.g might not have physical withdrawal symptoms from a day off drinking, don’t drink in the mornings, drinking doesn’t cause social problems) - you are drinking significantly over the recommended limits and doing untold damage to your liver in the long term.

I have seen countless people die long, drawn out deaths from liver disease - people who were surprised to find out that their condition was caused from ‘only’ drinking a bottle of wine a night for the last 20 years.

I don’t want to scaremonger but almost none of the general public are aware of the long term health implications from drinking too much alcohol as it is so socially acceptable. I wouldn’t wish a death from liver disease on my worst enemy.

I think you tend toget a lot responses on here from people who don't really drink alcohol much. I think 3 glasses of wine is a lot to drink absolutely every night, and probably not that good for you, but I don't think it's necessarily a sign of addiction.

On holiday or over Christmas etc I could easily drink 3 glasses of wine every night, and then stop. I like pasta and cake as well as wine, and don't want to give them up, but I'm not addicted to either of them - they are just foods I enjoy very much and would miss if I couldn't eat them anymore.

I do look forward to a glass of wine at the weekend, just like I look forward to a delicious meal or a hot cross bun after a cold walk. And it's as easy to have 3 glasses of wine as 3 chocolate digestives. So I think it's perfectly possible to drink that amount without having a drinking problem. But I would cut back and have several wine free days for your health.

I would say it depends on how much you need the 3 glasses. It's definitely more than recommended and since you're drinking to help you manage stress in your life then I'd say that's functioning self medication. If you are worrying about your alcohol intake then I'd say your gut is telling you that it's not the best thing for you right now. I'd try to look at other strategies for managing the stress, a cuppa and nice bar of chocolate, cooking yourself a really nice meal, having a bath, exercise for the movement not for the fitness, doing your nails, getting lost in a good book or meditation whatever floats your boat really. I gave up alcohol more or less altogether two years ago, wasn't drinking to excess but I was using it to manage stress and it was giving me anxiety the next day. There are some really nice alcohol free versions of most drinks now so you can still enjoy without the alcohol.

Can you stop ?
If no then you are

As a few other posters have said, the only relevant question is: Is it costing you more than money?
Alcoholics come in many forms covering the whole of society with a million different stories but one thing in common: Alcohol was not the cause of their problems, but the solution. And it worked extremely well to “de-stress”, to “have fun”, or whatever. Until one day it doesn’t work.
And the alcoholic is often the last person to notice. Fun; Fun with Consequences; and finally just Consequences.
The process of recovery can only start once a person 1) answers the question about costing more than money with a “yes” and 2) is willing to address the root causes of the problems that they’re trying to solve with alcohol.
There are lots of different ways to reduce dependence on alcohol. AA is usually a last resort after a person has tried all the other advice on this thread without success. I wish you luck in addressing what some part of your subconscious does actually view as a problem (or you wouldn’t be posting here).

Depends how dependent you are on those 3 glasses, but I think it is too much for everyday. I would try to limit it to just Friday and Saturday.

There’s a difference between drinking too much and being an alcoholic.

What’s a ‘normal size’ glass? How many units a week?

The link between drinking and breast cancer doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves.

’Research consistently shows that drinking alcoholic beverages — beer, wine, and liquor — increases a woman's risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Alcohol can increase levels of estrogen and other hormones associated with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Alcohol also may increase breast cancer risk by damaging DNA in cells. Compared to women who don't drink at all, women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.’

This information is provided by Breastcancer.org.
Donate to support free resources and programming for people affected by breast cancer.

What about another aspect of it? Are you over the drink driving limit every single night of the week? Are you over the limit in morning? What if you had an emergency situation and needed to drive somewhere?

@Snugmummy, I would think that if you are struggling to not drink for three nights per week then it might be worth considering whether you are reliant on alcohol.