To know you drink too much but dont care!

[Shhh89]

So, I am respectable professional with 2 young children and find reaching for the wine helps me deal with the stresses of parenting/work/life. I am never drunk but know I drink more than I should, I dunno if I care about it because I am happy and it doesn't affect any aspect of my life?

I don't want to hear from anybody who doesn't drink really or has give up, that isn't the point of this thread.

Hey do what you want too. I used to have a very academic friend whose dad was a cambridge prof who used to say, " enjoy freedom of choice it was the whole point of the reformation. "
In terms of the old demon drink, I used to drink a lot , I became allergic in my 40s. The problem with drinking is that it creates all manner of trouble in your brain so other nice things can't compete.
A science teacher explained it like this: our scale for enjoying things goes from 1 to 10. But alcohol changes that to 1 to 100. So nothing else compares.
The scale and your brain will reset. Mine did.

You may not want to hear from me OP as I’ve cut down because I’m dieting but I did used to enjoy wine like this. Maybe nor every night, probably 4-5 times a week. As I get older though I can’t deal with the headaches when getting up with the kids so I was forced to cut down. 🤣

This is word for word, precisely what the other poster said. 2 night off a week, and sometimes 2 glasses sometimes the bottle. 5 bottles of wine a week is too much, you'll probably regret that down the line.

Op, MN has such a weird attitude towards alcohol and predictably you have already been called alcohol dependent/damaging your kids/need help/will die young. It's all very dramatic.

I drink more than I should. For me it's a treat in the same way a bar of chocolate is a treat. It's not good for me but it gives me a nice feeling. I have 3/4 sober nights per week and it doesn't bother me but I do look forward to a drink.

I'm looking to cut back purely because I'm overweight and drinking means extra calories and also poor food decisions. But if it wasn't for that I wouldn't be bothered in the slightest. Life is too short not to have the things you enjoy.

know I drink more than I should, I dunno if I care about it because I am happy and it doesn't affect any aspect of my life?

If you know you drink more than you should, you're an idiot not to care. Of course it matters.

It may not yet affect any aspect of your life, but it certainly will.

That said, if you're happy with your choice, that's fine - you're free to make that decision.

Don't you worry about your health though? I could drink every night quite happily as I don't get drunk and bloody love wine! But it raises your risk of so many diseases, cancer being a particularly scary one for me as it's so common in my family.

you have already been called alcohol dependent/damaging your kids/need help/will die young. It's all very dramatic.

OP started her post saying she knows she drinks too much.

If that's so, there's certainly a degree of dependency and it is likely to impact her health & life expectancy.

That's not dramatic.

You say you drink too much, are aware of the link with your weight & so will cut back. Well, there you go! You've identified one significant health impact and are doing something to address it. You're not really backing up the OP's point!

Op, MN has such a weird attitude towards alcohol and predictably you have already been called alcohol dependent/damaging your kids/need help/will die young. It's all very dramatic.

That's the reality of alcohol dependence - it's not dramatic to point that out.

I've known several alcoholics who basically drank themselves to death - it's horrendous to watch, especially when you can't do anything about it. You just have to sit there and watch it happen.

You say you're posting to see if there are many others like you. You also say you don't want to hear from people who don't drink much. SO you're going to get a very skewed view if you only hear from posters who drink too much! You'll end up thinking everyone does it.
Well, look if it makes you feel better there are loads of people who drink too much. Doesn't mean it won't damage your health - but you don't care so that's fine right?

I came here to say I’m with you, I drink a small glass of wine every night and sometimes a pint in the pub at the weekends but I’m usually under the recommended limit but now I’ve read how much you drink (2-a bottle) I see there’s a defensiveness in your responses for a reason. What do you not care about?
do you not care that you drink too much?
or do you not care if you get cancer/liver disease? I can’t see much difference

I don't drink much these days but I absolutely know people who drink over the recommended amount and don't care. It's a risk assessment like anything else.

Caffeine is really bad for me personally. I've cut back but will never cut it put altogether because I love it.

I care enough about a healthy diet to say no to an extra slice of cake. I don't care enough to say no to the first one.

I care enough about exercise to run once a week. I don't care enough to run more.

If I was perfect with all these things then statistically I'd likely live longer but no guarantees.

I think it's obvious that someone who can function well despite higher than recommended drinking is in a better position than someone who drinks and cannot, although this is a generalisation.

Drinking aside, someone who can hold down a professional job and be a good parent might be seen as 'better' than someone who is purposefully unemployed and lacks parenting skills. But if you add in that they both drink the same amount, one is no 'healthier' than the other no matter how good or successful a person might be!

Your children will grow up thinking it's normal to drink every day.

When you get ill, don't go to the NHS expecting help.

So I am guessing the ones that are flaming me are perfect? have no vices?

Seems fine to me. I have a g&t most nights while winding down on the sofa. I doubt it's as harmful as sitting there having a can or two of coke.

It's not weird or dramatic though. It's true.

I do drink as I said but I know full well that I am probably alcohol dependent to a certain degree. Why people just can't admit that instead of pretending all is fine is baffling.

Nah. They want you to drink more holy water, like they do.

I am not in denial that I drink too much

Nobody is flaming. I drink. But why can't you just accept that you are likely alcohol dependent?

I can accept it :)

They're not asking for external validation for bad choices.

That's fine. It shouldn't be normalised though and talked about like it's fine. I'm also fat, I don't expect anyone to tell me that being fat is great and I shouldn't worry about it. It's not.

I think this is a risky activity. Even if you are fine and won’t become addicted, there will be others reading this thread who will consider it justification to continue with something that will eventually break up their families and possibly kill them.

Do whatever you like. Entirely up to you. But coming on here in an attempt to justify and/or normalize something that’s not really safe is not a good idea.

Good for you. Not so good for those that love you.

I drink wine, enjoy it and don’t feel guilty, but always less than the NHS recommended limit. Excessive drinking is damaging your health, surely being a good parent means wanting to look after yourself for the future

OP, can you answer why if you love it so much, and don’t care that you drink too much, why do you have 2 nights off a week?