Why do YOU drink??

[Toothache]

I've put this in the relationship section as I think it's really about the relationship I have with alcohol.

I drink for a couple of reasons:

For fun when I'm socialising
For relaxation sitting watching TV with DH...

These reasons are fine to me, but my third reason is what worries me.

I drink to forget. Nothing specific as such, just sometimes I drink when I've had arguments with DH or my Mother (more and more these days). I don't get slaughtered, but I drink just enough to make me either forget about my troubles or gloss over them!
I don't drink every night, but throughout my life I have used alcohol as a numbing agent.... hiding from things. When I was a 17 year old I was hiding from a broken heart. As a student I was hiding from the reality of my debt.... and now??? The reality of an unhappy marriage. We are working at it and want to make it work, but as we wait for marriage counselling to get back to us with regular appointments I find myself sitting at this PC more and more evenings with a bottle of wine.

I'm not an alcoholic.... and this thread isn't really about that. I just wondered how many people out there could admit that sometimes they drink to forget... for a while. Am I in the minority? Do most people just drink a few glasses of wine to unwind or just to socialise with friends?

Or is drinking to unwind just another way of using alcohol to forget about the stresses in life??

Just thinking. Feel free to ignore... I'm a bit tipsy!

Thanks Batters. I did notice after dd was born that I felt much more energetic since I hadn't had any alcohol for such a long time. And it was a while after she was born that I first had a drink coz I was breastfeeding. I'm not worried about the amount I'm drinking.... just the problems that I'm hiding from sometimes.

Do you think I should chase up the counselling??

I do the 'reward' bit too. Got through this afternoon at work thinking of a nice cold beer waiting for me when I got home, and the bottle of wine tonight.

Worry about it too though. I know I have drunk too much for probably the last 15 years. Sometimes do the 'I'm not drinking' thing but generally only last a couple of weeks maximum.

The trouble is I do really like it. Have wondered why and never truly reach a conclusion. Have wondered about alcoholism but always associate that with vodka on cornflakes and bottles stashed round the house and have certainly never reached that stage.

back to the wine then......