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

My typical day goes something like

Up and 30 minute walk with a coffee
Work (mostly diet coke during this segment - another thing to work on, some green tea)
Walk to gym
Gym/sauna
Walk home
Spend about an hour making dinner with the eponymous glass of wine (ahh unfurl bliss)
Watch TV/read a book/chat with OH or message friends
Hot shower
Bed

If I'm out with friends then the wine happens there rather than with dinner

Anyway it's not like I am not doing anything and I like my job well enough so I'm not devoid of distractions during a day

But the wine

A pulsating point of delight in the evening

Good work! I hope this is the beginning of a happy new era for you.

Non alcoholic wine and Prosecco!

The Trip drinks are pretty good. Give a little buzz which could be a placebo but who cares!

I get a monthly CBD drinks delivery. One or two in the evening are really relaxing. I don't like wine because even two glasses and I can feel the slight grogginess/bloating the next day.

Sparkling water sometimes with an expensive cordial like Belvoir.

Do something different

Have a kombucha

Do something crafty with your hands eg drawing, painting, etc

Restricting fluids to avoid going to the toilet is a recipe for dehydration and bladder problems.
After watching various elderly relatives drink thimble size cups of tea and denying themselves drinks I refuse to do it. Even if my giant mug of bedtime tea gets me up at 1am.

Gosh same I couldn't live a dry life in that sense

I'm not teetotal, and I do drink sometimes if I/we go out, but we never drink at home, together or separately, unless we have guests. I tend to drink mostly tea, including lots of herbal ones, and apple juice and fizzy water.
Different things suit different people, but I think for me drinking at home would be a slippery slope to over doing it, so I never have. Perhaps making alcohol only a going-out thing would help?

Tea and fizzy water with cordial

Have 2!

I am tee total. Evenings are reading, watching TV, having a coffee or tea, cooking, yoga, gardening in the summer, if it's light enough going for a walk. Just ordinary things.

I enjoyed all kinds of alcohol, especially wine. For the last 15 years or so, I can no longer drink alcohol. My medication doesn’t allow it. If I have half a glass of wine, I feel very drunk and the hangover next day is horrendous.
The one exception is a bitter shandy. It’s a lovely long cool drink and I don’t seem to have any reaction to it.

One pint every three months or so , is big treat for me.

Isn’t it about working out “why” you need that thing at that time (wine, chocolate, gambling) and replacing it with something healthier.

So, tonight as I was watching TV I got a massive sugar craving and wanted to tear open some chocs but instead swapped it out for a bowl of apple slices, nuts and a bit of cheese.

It still hit the spot

Tea and biscuits
Tea and chocolate
Tea

Alcohol in most forms makes my stomach quite acidy so I never drink late anyway.

Once it's after dinner time I'm always on water or tea regardless of what's happening that night.

If I'm at home and comfy I've no need for anything to help me relax as that's what my Oodie, sofa, TV, books. phone etc are for.

My post-Christmas go-to last year was a non-alcoholic Aperol spritz drink (Schweppes I think) and I ended up being alcohol-free for 77 days. The key, for me, was sitting down and watching TV with a cup of tea at a time I'd normally have a drink (apéro time in France).

I have the occasional glass of wine now, but it is much easier to avoid alcohol if I do "sober" things like sit and read a book, do a jigsaw, cook/bake (I can't concentrate on timings if I've had a drink).

So I've just read your replies.

I think more of a red flag than the daily(!) wine is your refusal to accept that it's not a healthy way of life.

Literally you're saying the exact same things that my addict (drug and drink) family/friends have said in the past.

You need to stop trying to kid yourself that your behaviour is anything other than alcoholism.

Harsh, I know, but I wish someone had been that blunt to my friend's dad before he got behind the wheel.

I think maybe you see it through a certain prism

I think being a stone overweight is probably more unhealthy than a glass of wine a day

(I write this having just eaten a bag of daim mini eggs - happy Easter one and all)

Fizzy drinks. I love wine but only ever when I go out or it’s a special occasion. I can’t remember the last time I drank in the house.

Then again my dad was an alcoholic and I’ve always been careful about regular drinking, as addictions can pass down generations

Ooh where you getting Daim mini eggs from OP??

FWIW I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule about when quantities become an addiction problem, but it couldn’t hurt you to scale back because whilst you may not be overweight, alcohol intake does have long term impact and shortens life too

The co-op 😀 not sure if they're as good as last year but they do!

"I think maybe you see it through a certain prism

I think being a stone overweight is probably more unhealthy than a glass of wine a day

(I write this having just eaten a bag of daim mini eggs - happy Easter one and all)"

Unfortunately @Stuffisperplexing your reply only strengthens the point I was making.

My brother's friend (Heroin addict) once went on a HUGE rant about overweight people being less healthy than him....and causing more issues.

Even if true it doesn't mean there's not an issue with your drinking. Comparing it to something else doesn't mean you don't have a problem.

This thread isn't about people who are a stone overweight. It's about your inability to imagine how people cope without daily alcohol.

It's like saying "that killer isn't a bad guy as someone else killed more people."

So that's it, 1 glass of wine while making dinner? Why would you question if this is a problem? Unless you're actually drinking a bottle of wine in a very large wine glass?