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

OP I'm in recovery and one tip I found really helpful for staving off that first evening drink is eating earlier. Bring dinner forward by about an hour it helps with the cravings a lot.

The cans of the drink Trip are quite nice if you dress it up with say a slice of cucumber or maybe a can of Kambutcha.

Tonic water/elderflower cordial in a wineglass gives the ‘wine glass ritual’ feel and is cold and refreshing? Sometimes have a few classes of Nosecco or equivalent. For me the habit seems to be sensory as much about the alcohol.

Really cold water or diet lemonade - if do have wine only get a tiny bottle and mix it with lemonade.

I don't do anything different on non-drinking nights, with the obvious exception of driving my car. Drinking alcohol is not a big deal, I can take it or leave it.

You can make switchel , it's like gingerbeer @Stuffisperplexing

Sparkling wine with some cloudy apple juice
Cloudy lemonade
Raspberry lemonade
San Pelligrino orange (the real stuff, not the light)

Thatcher's Zero cider

I am still struggling to find any non-alcoholic wine/sparkling wine I enjoy, most taste like grape juice, I miss the sharpness of the wine.

DH loves most non-alcoholic beers.

I drink Vimto with my food, then drink water or at the weekend I might have fizzy pop.

I spend the time after working having dinner, pottering with housework, reading, watching TV or scrolling on my phone.

After menopause I lost all urge to drink booze. Though I only drank in moderation.

Lots of posters saying the are teetotal or drink rarely. I do drink OP, but have recognised times when I’m coming in on a Monday night and wanting a glass of wine as unhealthy. I rarely drink more than three nights a week, and will regularly go two weeks without noticing. Always do Dry January and feel good for it.

OP, you do sound a bit depressed, and also that you have some unhealthy thoughts around alcohol. I’d try going without this month - how you cope will tell you a lot.

How big is your one glass? How many nights does a bottle last?

DH loves 00 Guiness.

I'm fond of Kombucha.

I don't "do" anything. I have a glass or two of wine a couple of nights a week. On the other 5 nights, it's bottled water with dinner and then that's it. I don't generally drink any liquid after about 7pm - just doesn't occur to me.

I only drink at weekends, during the week I find it easy not to drink. I’m either out doing sport or enjoy a nice cup of tea. But I’m doing dry january and I know Friday nights in particular will be a challenge! I have some CBD drinks to try, going to have a nice hot bath later with one of them and see how that works. I also enjoy non alcoholic beers and nice tonic when I’m not drinking. Same as you though, love just one or two glasses of wine.

OP i think you really need to read this post back to yourself and do a bit of soul searching and ask yourself if perhaps you have a bit of a problem around alcohol.
The way this is written sounds very like someone who has a dependency on alcohol. You crave that evening drink, things don't feel right til you have it....

Alcoholism doesn't always manifest as binge drinking or sinking an excessive amount every night... Its when you don't think you can go without it without a struggle, and honestly it sounds like its a bit of a struggle for you to pass the evening without it.

No judgement here as I love glass of wine myself, but is it worth talking to family /friends a bit amd considering seeking help to cut back?

I have a small can of 0% beer and it fills me up so I don’t feel like anything else other than camomile tea.
once you go past a few weeks your body forgets it wants alcohol.
be aware that just one glass on a Saturday or Sunday can set you back and make your body crave it every day again.
everyone is different.
also know that alcohol is anxiety inducing so just one glass can also bring back the feeling of anxiety that you think you need to dispel with more alcohol.
wishing you all the best

When I first stopped drinking for similar reasons, I tried to notice rather than block out any discomfort I felt and think about how I had been using alcohol, what the discomfort meant, and whether the right conclusion was that wine made me feel good, or that the things that made me feel bad were there anyway and in the long run the alcohol was not helping me to deal with them and in fact was creating new problems. It’s been 10 years since I gave up drinking but I still feel relieved and happy that I’m not dependent on it any more. I still have to sit with my social anxiety and I have to tackle stress differently but I feel so much better able to do so and I’m so happy to have got away from it.

Wow! What were the chances of that 😁

Yes i absolutely love it! It's GABAgenic & should take any potential tense or anxious edge off that you might otherwise feel from cutting down on the sauce. Relaxing & actually non-drowsy, despite aiding restful sleep. Insomnia can be another issue when cutting down.

Here's a link to a thread on the Reddit herbalism sub where they're discussing lemonbalm tincture - the tea does the same job in my experience:

www.reddit.com/r/herbalism/s/YQGSVLUHcQ

Sleep tea or hot chocolate.

I stopped the one glass of wine a night ages ago, start with not drinking monday though to wednesday for example. Read, get into box sets, puzzles, I also started adult colouring books, they are great while watching tv or sitting with your kids watching rubbish kids tv. I use my kids pens and pencils and bought a fancy adult colouring book for 4 quid online, it is very theraputic while watching tv as it stops the doom scrolling and keeps your mind from overthinking about other things with the tv in the background.

I rarely drink. I can’t stand the taste of wine at all, so it blows my mind people can drink it every day.

Ive never thought about what I do is teas. I have a cup of tea around 6pm, another around 8pm. Sometimes one at 9pm. But I drink decaf mostly. I don’t really like fizzy drinks. Snacks are my downfall though. Love a bit of chocolate or a cake.

I like how wine makes time go faster

How so? Does it have time travel properties that I'm unaware of?

I know it sounds lame but camomile tea is genuinely relaxing.

I like alcohol- very dry white wine, cider, champagne, G and T, a beer but it never crosses my mind to drink it.
Christmas Day I drank a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of white wine. Boxing Day I had cider and two small bottles of Allendale beer that DH handed me.
Not had anything since and have never thought about it. It might be 6 months or even next Christmas before I have another drink. DH is the same. I took the wine and beer out of the fridge and put it back in a cupboard in the utility room yesterday.
At night I usually have tea or coffee or just dilutey juice.
I am 45. I definitely drank more but never much until I was about 35 and then gradually just lost interest in it.

I actually think the consumption of liquid in general is a big differentiator! I drink constantly and feel parched and panicked at the idea of 7pm to morning without anything. My last cup of tea is immediately before bed at about midnight.

Sparkling water with a slice of lemon and ice is my thing, it's what I drink during the week. After dinner it's a herbal tea, I don't like the fruit ones but do like she sleep blends, detox tea, etc.