And I don't mean because you woke up with a hangover after a night out. I mean constant drinking, not necessarily in an "cliché" alcoholic way of starting in the mornings and drinking all day long, but simply drinking very regularly.
Looking back, I think I pretty much drank every day of my first three years of university. At the time I really did not think about it and we joked about our alcohol consumption among friends. Most times it was with friends, but all the other days I was alone I had my beer or wine as well.
I always thought I was "better" than those that just drank excessively on weekends, because, with the exception of two incidents in my teens, I never was a fan of those extreme boozing sessions. My parents let me drink wine with them quite early because they thought it was best if I didn't experience alcohol as some kind of "party drug" but rather as means of indulgence, to pair it with food or a nice evening with friends and family. However in the last couple of months it became clearer and clearer to me that my situation may be way worse. It was revealed to me that not only my father is an alcoholic, but also his father and grandfather were alcoholics as well. On a side note, both killed themselves as well. My father is in a tough spot right now as well.
Due to those circumstances I really started to think about how I consume alcohol. In the last couple of months I managed to dial my consumption back by quite a bit, but still, I don't really now how to deal with it. Sometimes I think it would be the best to stop alltogether, but a week later I have changed my decision. Either because I drink while I am in a restaurant or even because I "fall back" into old habits and start drinking alone when I am not feeling good.
So far I have come to the conclusion that alcohol may be the worst drug on the planet, because it is astonishingly socially accepted. Also, I really like it, not necessarily because the effect it has, but also because of the taste and "culture". I love a real good bar, some cocktails you get are absolutely incredible (I had a asparagus infused Martini once which was quite something). Thus I came to the conclusion that I probably should not try to stop drinking, if I still like it. At least for now.
How do you consume alcohol, especially if you gave deeper thought to it or have incurrences of alcoholism in you family? Did you stop alltogether at some point (which point?) or did you manage to set yourself rules on how you could enjoy a drink and the social aspects of it?
I'm a portuguese GP so take my opinion with a grain of salt (i'm biased because I can encounter the worse effects of alcoholism)
IMO you should seek professional help so that you can stop drinking because:
- your family has a disposition to enjoy alcohol a bit too much (maybe you are "genetically weak" to the addiction effects of alcohol?)
- you want to stop your consumption
- You are constantly switching between stopping and drinking usually
IMO getting professional help would be like a "contract" that you could use to stop. Also with drinking everyday there might be consequences of alcohol on your liver, heart and brain as such being examined by a doctor could help control possible diseases.
Answering your questions. I don't drink for 3 reasons:
- i'm scared of the consequences of alcohol
- it is very calorie heavy -> after going through medicine beinf obese starts to be very scary so i try to avoid high density "foods"
- I eat away from home, so i often drive my car.