Did anybody see the Panaroma about binge drinking last night?

[Orangelight23]

Real eye opener for me. Women in their 30s being diagnosed with liver disease. I must admit I have myself been drawn into wine culture and drinking wine to relax.

It's made me have a real think about my alcohol intake to be honest.

Interested to know what age people who previously drank came to the realisation that it was no longer good for them and quit or cut back dramatically?

@fishface44 Late 50's for me. It's only been a few months but my life is so much better already. I drank wine every evening and had done for decades so I drank way over the allotment 14 units per week. I don't miss the headaches, the dehydration, the drama, the stupid arguments because I was a bit pissed and the general booze noise, the not being able to drive in an emergency.

Do I miss that buzz of the first glass? And the taste of different wines? Yes if I'm honest, I do. But as someone who finds it difficult to moderate it's easier to abstain.

*allotted amount not allotment 🙈

I gave alcohol up 2 years ago aged 55.

Mid-thirties for me.

From now until Christmas it will be weekend drinks only which will probably still be around 14 units a week but that is half of what I'm currently having. Expect it to go up around the week of Xmas and new year but Dh and I have both said we will give dry January a solid go this year. And then I guess we'll see from there.

I can't actually remember the last time I went even a week without a drink. Probably when I was pregnant. I think when it's so ingrained to your lifestyle and routine it's very hard to just remove it but I definitely cannot carry on at the levels I'm at. I've buried my head long enough always believing that if I can get up the next day and function it can't be doing any harm.

Interested to know what age people who previously drank came to the realisation that it was no longer good for them and quit or cut back dramatically?

In my early thirties when I'd lost two grandparents to alcohol-related illnesses and was dealing with a client at work who was so unwell from drink that she couldn't eat properly, could barely walk and had multiple organs failing on her. I would often turn up to her house (I was a dog walker) to find her in bed as she was too drunk or weak to get up. Often she was sick on the floor or had wet the bed (or worse). I rang ambulances and family for her more times than I care to remember.

She was an extreme case but she was so, so unwell and eventually, after one of many hospital admissions, she died of multiple organ failure. She was 55.

Interested to know what age people who previously drank came to the realisation that it was no longer good for them and quit or cut back dramatically?

I still very occasionally drink alcohol. I wouldn't refuse a toast at a wedding, and have the odd 1/3 of a glass if someone loves a wine and wants me to try it.

I can't drink more than that since mid-thirties as feel ill for two days afterwards. Just lost any tolerance for alcohol and hangovers that I found fine in my teens and twenties.

I haven't thought about it much since, most of my friends drink but pretty moderately, it is only one or two who have always drunk at home, quite a lot, one wouldn't give up at all in pregnancy. and now they drink a bottle or more every night. Plus some spirits on the weekend.

I don't see it as my business to tell them how to live their lives any more than I advise my friends how to lose weight, we all muddle along through the risks with the information we have and the best we can.

I'm an occasional drinker, maybe a bottle of wine over a weekend a couple of times a month and it's been more recently as it's near Christmas. I don't have more than two glasses of wine and I try and drink water with the wine as it takes longer to drink and then I drink less. I have sparkling water if I have sparkling wine and it's nicer to drink than plain.

I don't drink much anyway and it makes me feel rubbish, which makes it hard to drink much. This thread has inspired me to buy some soft drinks and I'm going to cut down because it makes feel rubbish, hungover and irritable even at low volumes.

I drink at weekends but not much. Share a bottle of wine with DH for example on 2 nights. Will drink more on a big night out or party but that’s not often. I’m 53 and I feel rubbish the next day if I do drink more than 2 or 3.
I have friends though that pour huge glasses of wine and drink quickly. I don’t know how they do it but it’s not for me. They’re a similar age too.

The age thing is an interesting question.

From 18-21 I was a binge drinker, out at the wkends with my friends.

I then had DC young and was to all intents and purposes teetotal for the next 20 years or so. I'd drink maybe twice a year on a night out! Never drank at home. The thought never even crossed my mind.

My alcohol issues didn't start until I was in my mid 40s. DC were adults. I was working with someone who would go to the pub most days after work and I used to join her, really more for the company at first (both single). We'd end up buying a bottle of wine to share, sometimes 2! But it all felt perfectly respectable, in that we weren't falling over drunk. It was just a way to unwind after a stressful day and nice to have a chat over a drink.

By the time I left that job I was drinking every night. It just switched to at home drinking. There's really 2 reasons I stopped. One being the weight stacked on and the other being the cost.

And oh my goodness yes the cost! DH calculated that my annual spending on wine, not counting what I bought when I was out, added up to hundreds if not thousands of pounds. I preferred high percentage wines which sometimes cost more & I occasionally spent over £20 on a bottle. Then there were drinks out which can be astronomical - I was once charged £11 for a glass of wine in a London restaurant!

Average here is £20.00 a week. ie £1,000 per year.

I stopped drinking this year and am feeling much better for it. I'm mid 40's. I was a binge drinker, drank loads at university in the 90's calmed down when I had kids and then it slowly crept back up especially during lockdown. I used to be able to drink and feel fine the next, but a few years ago (around turning 40) started feeling terrible after 2 drinks. Being honest when my kids were at primary school so many of the mums liked a drink (myself included).

So I did have a drink tonight. Half a bottle of wine and that will be it for the week. I would normally have the whole bottle if I'm honest and then more on Saturday. So I do feel more in control.

That’s great and I wish you well, but a symbol of our culture’s problematic view of booze is that having half a bottle of wine, or a few pints is considered having a drink. Surely having ‘a drink’ is having a normal size glass of wine (the large ones around these days are the size of goblets), or one pint.

edited for punctuation

Er it's the ONS stats, I think that is fairly reliable tbh.

Im coming up 8 years of no alcohol. It all started with a dry January and how good i felt and being in awe of someone i read about online doing a 1 year off alcohol. Here i am! Its hard for a start but honestly i feel great. Its just not on my radar now! I can drive when i want, im in control for the kids, i dont need alcohol to have a good time! Alcohol free alternatives are a god send in the beginning, you can still feel like your having a drink without actually having a drink. I gave up at 35. Id just became bored with drinking and feeling rubbish

Did anyone see Louis Theroux’s Drinking to Oblivion? Thats worth a watch

Would normally have had a couple of glasses of wine last night. The documentary definitely made me question whether I really wanted a drink. I ended up putting a splash of white wine in my sparkling water , for flavour really with my meal .After that I didn’t want any more. Interesting…

Maybe, 3 125ml glasses over an evening and that's it for the week doesn't seem too excessive to me though. I'm not going to kid myself and say I'm going teetotal because I don't think that's realistic for me right now.

My parents are baby boomers and definitely drink my than me. They are in their 70s now and have a couple of glasses of wine every single night. Always have done.

I'm in my 30s and have no desire at all to drink during the week. Never have done. Will often have 2-3 drinks on a Saturday night, but that's it.

In my teens and 20s I would definitely binge drink. Typically a bottle of wine every Friday night. Now the idea of drinking a bottle of wine makes me feel nauseous. I just don't have the tolerance that I used to have.

I got into daily drinking during the pandemic lockdown.

I now drink once every few weeks if that, my husband and I might share a bottle of wine over 2-3 days every fortnight, or have a gin and tonic.

My first tip is don't drink on days when you think "fuck I really need a drink after the day I've had" as that is using it as a crutch / being dependent on it. Become mindful about the reasons you feel like you need a drink. Maybe write these feelings down.

Second tip is go and spend some money on really delicious non alcoholic drinks so you can still have the ritual of a drink. This was really important to help me.

Third tip is simply don't have booze in the house. If you have a cocktail bar or cupboard of spirits, don't buy any mixers. If you have a wine cellar, I can't help you 😂

I would be hammered after drinking half a bottle of wine these days. A normal size glass gets me pissed.

DS barely drinks now after finishing university. He told me he once went to an industry event and got tipsy from a singular glass of wine

I don't see wine as relaxing. Alcohol causes anxiety.

It's a bit like using coffee to 'wake you up'. It will increase alertness for a short period, but then you will crash and be more tired than you were to begin with.

Same applies to alcohol. It may make you relaxed and happy for a short period but then you will crash and ultimately it will increase anxiety and depression. It's a vicious cycle.