To ask what you do on nights when you don't have a glass of wine

[Stuffisperplexing]

I have a glass of wine every single night

Just one (or two)

But I think the reliance on it is unhealthy and I'd like to not drink for a bit

It doesn't help that I have anxiety and low mood and wine gives such a nice dopamine rush

It sort of blows my mind that some people don't drink it at all - I'm quite envious of the self reliance

Hot chocolate / decaf tea.

I have a drink awareness app on phone so enjoy logging the “dry days”!

Oh that's a good idea! Satisfying to gameify it a bit

I drink filtered water, occasionally a glass of squash (Mr Fitzpatrick's) if I need a sugar rush.

I rarely drink wine at home.

I like a tonic water in a nice tumbler.

This was me.

Well maybe not every night but this evening I'd love a glass of wine and I can't because I'm on really strong antibiotics. So I am planning a cup of tea instead, and a bath and early night.

What I do on an evening if I fancy a wine, I have something like Sloer in a wine glass. Sounds silly but I just enjoy the nice glasses we have. Ans I don't give it another thought.

It's important to get down to the reason why you have the wine.. and go from there. If something like the above doesn't work for you, then maybe there is something else going on.

I like to have something to sip when I sit down in the evening. But I've discovered that most evenings at home I am just as happy with a herbal tea!

I can't have alcohol in my house because DS22 has a problem. So I drink 0.0% beers, kombucha, 0.0% gin, tea etc.

We don't drink at all but it's not an issue. We enjoy tea, coffee, water, hot choc, soft drinks and enjoy trying different af beers, wines, spirits and mocktails.

I am too tired wine just makes me sleepy, not give me a rush at all. Then I have a rubbish sleep. I usually think about that I will feel nicer tomorrow without it. I like diet lemonade with a squash or juice in it

I love a nice glass too - the wine I think goes really nicely with food and enhances my enjoyment of dinner but it's also the coolness (temperature) and the unwinding ceremony

I only have a shower in my place and a bath sounds LOVELY right now

What do I do, or what do I drink instead?

I don't drink alcohol at all.
I suspect I do similar things to other people, other than I don't go out drinking.

Read.
Watch tv.
Go to a hobby club.
Meet at friends houses to participate in above hobby.
Garden (in the summer).
Walk the dog.
Go out for a meal or to the cinema.

I tend to drink soft drinks as I don't really enjoy coffee and can't stand tea. Usually zero-sugar, orange, pink lemonade. Sometimes original coke.

I had to stop drinking wine because it was making me unwell (alcohol allergy weirdness). I can tolerate small quantities of Baileys though and when I drink wine I just put up with the feeling unwell as a consequence.

Happy with a glass of lime and soda!

A cup of tea, sometimes with a few biscuits to dunk, and a blanket on my lap, more for the cosiness of it rather than for needing to keep warm. Very relaxing.

I usually only have a glass on a Friday or Saturday evening, and not always then.

Sometimes I’ll have a rooibos or a hot chocolate, or nothing.

Pint pot of water or squash.

Hot chocolate and vimto is my choice of drink at home.

I do like a drink when I go out, but I never have alcohol in the house. I am making a conscious effort not to drink much at the moment. I’m finding that menopause and alcohol don’t go well together.

I just... don't drink? I am not being sarcastic, I don't even think about it.
I am not teetotal by any means, I probably drink a bit too much but I can't even see how I would drink every evening.

Some evenings I have work to finish, some evening I see friends, most evenings I drive the kids around to various clubs, some evening I can finally enjoy some exercise! Opportunities to drink a glass of wine or something are actually quite rare.

What do you do in the evening? Are you bored?

@Stuffisperplexing alcohol is a depressant so it’s unlikely that it is giving you a rush or helping your anxiety. It slows you down so I can see that it will help if you feel stressed but reliance on any substance to medicate like this can create its own cycle where you get stressed at not having the item you are relying on. I have just given up nicotine and it’s the hardest thing, I did realise it was not relieving any stress at all it was just masking stress or creating its own version it

I am the same (not wine every night but I will often have either wine, gin and tonic or a whisky). I don't think it's that harmful. When I do have a night off I have a herbal tea (nice ones, like Blue Bird).

Almost never drink at home. Special occasions usually.
I have tea, ovaltine, fruit tea.

Often I’m out doing a dog sport, an exercise class, language class, or a sport, so rarely just sitting about feeling bored in the evenings.

I go to the gym/see friends/ make dinner

I am bored probably I like how wine makes time go faster

Oh I got into a similar habit many years ago. I think the ritual of pouring a glass of wine just signified the end of the day, and I then gave myself permission to switch off. I realised I didn't love the daily wine habit, so switched to a 'nice' fizzy drink alternative instead. Remarkably easy to take the wine out of the equation! I still pour a cold drink with ice, in a pretty glass most evenings.

I'm teetotal. I just don't drink. I watch Netflix with my family.

Do you stay in/sit on the sofa every evening? If so, you probably need to break the link between evenings and wine by doing things. Even better if that’s things that can’t include alcohol, like exercise, or driving somewhere.

If you have to stay in, can you try an activity instead of sitting on sofa with wine?

Lots of people do Dry January - if you find it too hard to stay off the wine for a month for a challenge, then you are unfortunately dependent on it.

Flavoured tonic waters or a Virgin Mary , I've cut down from a very unhealthy alcohol consumption to just a couple of glasses at weekends, if that sometimes. The difference in my skin and my overall wellbeing is huge.