How much do you drink? Honestly!

[Starlight1984]

And yes, yes I know there is an "alcohol support" section of MN but this isn't for help or advice or anything other than curiosity!

Just been reading on another thread about what people do and don't do which others would find unusual and a LOT of the posts include people saying they don't drink alcohol which I find insane as pretty much everyone I know drinks to some degree!

Anyway I'll start, I don't (or try not to!) drink from Mon - Thurs but on average will have a bottle of wine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. So 3 x bottles of wine a week. I know it's above the guidelines of "normal" drinking and know I need to cut down but it's something I genuinely enjoy. DH is the same. We never get drunk. We just slowly drink 3-4 glasses over the course of the evening (from about 6pm to 11ish) whilst making dinner, sitting down to eat, watching a film / reading a book... It's just something that helps us to unwind after a busy week!

So for AIBU

YABU - No thanks, would rather have a cup of tea.
YANBU - Pour me a large one!

I generally don't drink. Maybe a glass of gin or two every three or four months and thats about it.

I don't really get why people go through bottles of wine. I don't have time to sit and drink as i always seem to be up to something at night.

I haven’t touched a drop in about seventeen years, alcohol does nothing for me.

I believe alcohol has been classified as a carcinogen now, which is enough to put me off.

Rarely. I think I had half a pint of lager about 3 weeks ago. Prior to that probably a good few weeks. Since I'm now two weeks into a medication that makes me drowsy I can't drink at all.

I drink so little because I no longer tolerate the feeling it gives me. Even small amounts can make me feel incredibly anxious and makes me feel out of control. It's not a feeling I've had in years gone by. I quite like trying 0% stuff if out and I am working my way through nice sodas and the like at home.

DH only drinks at weekends, no idea how much. He buys his own alcohol and that's his choice and doesn't bother me in the slightest. I don't think he gets rat arsed though and sometimes will switch between 0% and alcohol throughout the evening. In our early years together we used to drink most nights and I dread to think what it worked out as over the week. We cut it back to just weekends and we are where we are now.

One bottle of wine and a few beers per week. Weekend only. No midweek drinking here. I used to. But I stopped. By Wednesday/Thursday I'm usually gagging for a huge glass of wine but I don't.
I save it for the weekend.

Just been reading on another thread about what people do and don't do which others would find unusual and a LOT of the posts include people saying they don't drink alcohol which I find insane as pretty much everyone I know drinks to some degree!

I don't see what is insane about the fact everyone you know drinks alcohol but people on MN threads saying they don't drink at all.

When I was 18 I discovered alcohol helped me overcome my extreme shyness .
So when I went to live in another city as a student I mixed with the drinkers. And I mean heavy drinkers who dropped out from their courses because of alcohol . And drugs in some cases. Drinking alcohol was very much the norm.
I very stupidly married one of the drinking drop outs and we moved to his home city amd continued to mix with heavy drinkers where drinking was the norm.
When I realised I was going to end up dead sooner rather than later I left not only my H but also the crowd of friends we had.
And I chose to mix with people with healthier attitudes to alcohol. Some of them drink and some don't.

My point being you obviously mix with people for whom alcohol consumption is seen as normal. But there are many social groups where people don't necessarily drink and there is no onus on them to do so.

I have had a total of a half a lager in the last month. I’m not tea total but not too far off it. I occasionally have a Peroni or a half of Guinness. I prefer water or occasionally a soft drink or a glass of milk.
Two of my adult kids are tea total because they don’t fancy drinking alcohol. They used to go to plenty of parties and go clubbing they just didn’t drink. It’s not unusual these days.

I rarely drink alcohol, but it's easy for me as I don't really like the taste of anything!
I think the last drink I had was on holiday in August and that would have been some sort of cocktail - something passionfruity probably.
The next time I drink, I imagine, will be when I'm away in December. Again, only a cocktail or prosecco with chambord in it (to sweeten it - are you seeing a theme here?!)
As I've got older, I've liked alcohol less. I used to not mind a glass of sweet rose, but don't think I could drink one now.
When I was a student, I drank anything I could find!!!

Ok yeah I get what you're saying.

And I feel exactly the same about chocolate! It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if I never had another bar of chocolate / biscuit / cake again in my life!

I really can’t be bothered with alcohol much at all these days. Can’t remember when I last drank any - definitely in August but not sure if I’ve had any after that

OP, in the kindest way possible, it sounds like you have an alcohol dependency problem. I would seek treatment for this. You don't need to drink daily to be an alcoholic.

I don't drink often: maybe a couple of drinks a fortnight.

I might have a small glass of champagne (or similar bubbly wine) at Christmas and weddings. Haven't been to a wedding in over 5 years so sipping a small glass of champagne once a year seems a reasonable answer.

2-3 bottles of cava a week

My alcohol consumption has increased in the last year due to quitting smoking and a couple of close bereavements. I now drink 1-2 gin and slimline tonic each night. I used to drink the same amount, but only on fri/sat/sun evenings. However, I will reduce my drinking to the same levels as pre-quitting in the new year.

I'm menopausal and it's not that alcohol affects me differently, it's just that it holds no appeal any more.

I don’t drink at all anymore, but I used to drink about 200 units a week - hence why I don’t drink anymore! 2.5 years sober now.

I think your drinking is pretty typical though. Nearly everyone I know drinks about that, with maybe a bit more throughout the week (even while trying to have some alcohol free days). I think the average person drinks a lot more than they admit, particularly for those of us with children, who do a lot of our drinking at home where no one is strictly counting the glasses.

I only drink socially, never at home and only tend to drink if it’s a night out, if I’m just out for a meal or meeting friends for a chilled catch up I’ll usually drive and stick to soft drinks. How often I drink depends on how busy my social calendar is but probably once every month or two on average, I am a binge drinker though so when I drink I admit I drink to excess.

Now biscuits and cake are my downfall!😂

A close relative was an alcoholic and couldn't just have one or two, he had to be so drunk he didn't know where he was or what he was doing and being involved in his care made me not drink that much tbf. I also really dislike hangovers having only had about 3 in my life.

However, I don't not drink and sometimes I have a bloody good drink. For about 20th Dec to early jan I drink daily and enjoy what I have, I'll put away a bottle of baileys over about a week (don't have it any other time) and have wine and beer and other spirits with mixers too. If I go to my sibling I have a good drink with them. When I go to see a neighbour we will out away a couple of bottles together as we catch up. Occasionally I'll have a bottle of beer in the house or 2 thirds of a bottle of wine (as the person I live with isn't a big drinker for same reasons above).

More often than not though it can be weeks or months between alcoholic drinks

I’m 2 months T-total. Before that I was drinking a lot, on and off. Sometimes would be two or three glasses of wine a night, other times it would be 3/4 a bottle of neat Ameretto in an evening. I had some bowel issue that requires blood tests and it came back that my liver was damaged (I’m 29) and that scared me, I stopped drinking regularly after that and only drank at special occasions.. but what I found was my anxiety when I drank was horrendous. So so bad and it would last days, even a week after a drink, eventually I decided to completely stop drinking a couple months ago after my anxiety became so bad I was unable to cope. It’s made such a world of difference. I still get anxious, but few and far between with attacks now, and much, much more manageable. My family have also noticed how much more relaxed I seem.

turns out the liver damage was due to having the flu at the time of blood test too, tests afterwards had come down considerably was still very slightly elevated and they suggested lifestyle changes to help, which I’ve taken on board.

honestly, I felt like it was normal to drink most evenings before. I swear nearly everyone talks about ‘going home for a drink’ after work.. or cracking open a bottle of wine this evening, every evening. So it felt normal, maybe north quantity, but the regularity at least. But it’s not and I know that now. I discourage anyone from drinking more than 2 times a week.

Probably only a couple of times a year 😊

I'm not teetotal but I barely drink at all these days. Maybe the odd glass of wine when I'm out for a meal and not driving. An even less frequent gin and tonic, perhaps. I could probably count the number of times I drink each year on my fingers... and I rarely have more than one glass on any occasion.

I'm just not that interested in alcohol any more tbh, and I don't feel the need.

I was drinking half a bottle of vodka every weekend and 2 bottles of wine and realised enough is enough.
I only have one drink now per week and my cheekbones have reappeared since losing my puffy drinking face so that’s a bonus!

I drink rarely these days - if I go out I will have at most a couple of glasses of wine, g&t or vodka & coke. Very rarely at home, Christmas etc I might have a prosecco, bucks fizz or glass of rosé. Just don't ever want to overdo it and have a hangover any more!

but what I found was my anxiety when I drank was horrendous. So so bad and it would last days, even a week after a drink, eventually I decided to completely stop drinking a couple months ago after my anxiety became so bad I was unable to cope. It’s made such a world of difference. I still get anxious, but few and far between with attacks now, and much, much more manageable. My family have also noticed how much more relaxed I seem

I really relate to this! this is why I stopped too. The day after drinking I'd get the most horrific anxiety/paranoia and it would last days. It was like mental torture.

Sometimes I see others drinking now and think that looks nice, but the price I know I will pay for the week afterwards is just not worth it.

Feel so peaceful now.