Drinking every night..when does it become a problem?

TheWaltons_3

SoozieSoo wrote: »

I just feel restless without a drink at night. The same way I feel restless if I don't get my morning coffee.

I feel anxious early evening... around 8pm.. I always have a couple of glasses of wine every night. This isn't a problem.

I used to have a problem... that was drinking 2 to 3 bottles a night!

Now I just like to relax, and a small amount does that for me...

MoaningMyrtle

When my OH and I first lived together, we would open a bottle of wine, have a glass each and put it back until the next day. We gradually started drinking two glasses each night, then over a period of a few months, a bottle a night. This went on for a couple of years, we craved it every night at 6 to help us relax.

A few months ago I decided enough was enough, we were drinking through habit, putting on weight and spending too much money on wine.

It was hard at first, we now drink tea or water and treat ourselves to one bottle a week at weekends. I feel much more focused and in control of my life. We can have alcohol in the house and take it or leave it.

I still crave my morning coffee(s) though!!

I know loads of people who drink a lot of wine every night, a lot of my colleagues and neighbours (judging by their glass recycling collection every fortnight!!)

TheWaltons_3

MoaningMyrtle wrote: »

When my OH and I first lived together, we would open a bottle of wine, have a glass each and put it back until the next day. We gradually started drinking two glasses each night, then over a period of a few months, a bottle a night. This went on for a couple of years, we craved it every night at 6 to help us relax.

A few months ago I decided enough was enough, we were drinking through habit, putting on weight and spending too much money on wine.

It was hard at first, we now drink tea or water and treat ourselves to one bottle a week at weekends. I feel much more focused and in control of my life. We can have alcohol in the house and take it or leave it.

I still crave my morning coffee(s) though!!

I know loads of people who drink a lot of wine every night, a lot of my colleagues and neighbours (judging by their glass recycling collection every fortnight!!)

We drank so much Wine we got a free Recycling Bottle Bank from the Council put at the bottom of our Garden

But seriously... Wine does make you fat... I'm now a size 8 from a 12 and that was from stopping completely... I now only have a couple of small glasses and evening!

lewt

taken from here http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_is_aa_for_you.cfm

Is A.A. For You?
Only you can decide whether you want to give A.A.a try —
whether you think it can help you.

We who are in A.A. came because we finally gave up trying to control our drinking. We still hated to admit that we could never drink safely. Then we heard from other A.A. members that we were sick. (We thought so for years!) We found out that many people suffered from the same feelings of guilt and loneliness and hopelessness that we did. We found out that we had these feelings because we had the disease of alcoholism.

We decided to try and face up to what alcohol had done to us. Here are some of the questions we tried to answer honestly. If we answered YES to four or more questions, we were in deep trouble with our drinking. See how you do. Remember, there is no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a problem.
questions here http://www.aa.org/en_is_aa_for_you.cfm?PageID=71


anyone how thinks they may drink to much might like to read here. an alcoholic aint nessacally someone who wakes up and drinks.....

seven-day-weekend

love_lifer wrote: »

are you drinking because youre bored?

Yes....we do.

In our little Spanish village there is little to do in the evening except go to the bar. We don't have Sky TV, so we can't watch that; we've watched all our DVDs and read all our books.

The trouble is, you go to the bar and you have a couple of alcoholic drinks and a couple of coffees and then pay up to go. THEN you find that Leo has bought you a drink, which you must have before you go. Then Juanjo has left you one in from three nights ago. Then Alessandro buys you one 'para la camina' (for the road), then the bar owner Amador gives you one 'gratis' (on the house) because you're a good customer.

And it is so cheap and the measures are HUGE!

Eventually you fall out of the door around 0130.

We definitely drink more than is good for us.


(edited to add)....we don't go to the bar every night! Maybe 1-2 times a week. Some of the other nights we will have a bottle of wine at home.

tomstickland

Sounds great!

I think that good beer is a wonder of the world, and a bit of alcohol can help clear the mind to see the obvious things.

candygirl

If you actually need a drink to get you through the day or evening you are an alcoholic.I am speaking from personal experience as someone very close to me is in alcohol rehab at the moment and I have tried for years and years to help them, even going to AA meetings with them.
An alcoholic is anyone who depends on alcohol, not neccessarily a falling down drunk in the street.Anyone who needs a drink should really think about whether it's worth losing their marriage, home, job etc for cos it could happen to any one of us, I have seen it happen and it's not worth it :(

*Louise*

SoozieSoo wrote: »

I have found over the past 6 months I have been drinking every night. Not loads, just one or two bottles of beer or a few shots of vodka.

I like a drink in the evening, helps me relax. I was talking to my friend about drink the other day and she said she was shocked that I drank every night. To be honest the thought of giving up my little treat every night makes me a bit sad.

I am on medication for depression and I do know I am not supposed to drink but don't feel it is doing me any harm.

Do many of you drink every day? Do you think I may have a problem?

I rarely drink, only on nights out, and if the kids are being babysat. I was brought up seeing my mum drunk every friday night and vowed to never let my kids see me make an idiot of myself.

The only person who can judge if you have a problem is yourself - and the fact you are asking for opinions is a warning sign.

Do you NEED to have that drink every night? Try going without...if you can't, then Yes - you have a problem.

JoeyG

I used to have this problem... i went a couple of years where i was drinking every single night, i recognised I had a problem and I have now sorted it out for good

I hardly drink at all these days... alcohol is just too addictive for me, very occasionally when i'm out i will have a glass of whiskey which will add up to about a unit but thats all.

I think the British drinking culture has a lot to answer for and its very difficult to break the pattern of going out (or staying in) and drinking alot more than our bodies were designed to cope with... basically our bodies have evolved to tolerate and even benefit from a small amount of alcohol each day (about a unit) found in fermenting fruit, but any more than that and our internal organs are put through a great amount of stress, which is bound to takes its toll eventually.

I think the secret to getting a decent sleep pattern is to get plenty of regular exercise, and a routine of winding down properly after work... it has worked for me anyway and now I feel better than ever... hey you even save yourself some money!