How Do I Prevent Over-Drinking?
In a recent survey, the greatest barrier to drinking wine was “being afraid that I might drink too much.” This, amongst others, are reasonable concerns that we will explore.
What Causes Over-Drinking?
Some may well choose to respond to this question with humour: “because we choose to!”. For others, this is a real challenge that they have possibly struggled with for some time.
Of course, it is a choice after all, but we cannot ignore the fact that alcohol contains ethanol which has dependence producing properties. This is the concern for some, that it has potential to go beyond choice, and become a dependence.
Over-drinking or binge drinking, can be associated with a form of self medication – to reduce stress or anxiety, or in some cases try and forget about them all together and seek a numbing effect. For others it may be the release of endorphins and not knowing when to stop.
It is important to note at this point that “over-drinking” is not referring to those who struggle with alcoholism and have developed an addiction or reliance. For this we recommend seeking professional help.
Tips To Prevent Over-Drinking
So are there ways to enjoy wine while putting boundaries in place to monitor your intake? We believe so (otherwise we wouldn’t have an online wine store would we?!)
- Choose your “Wine buddies” carefully. Our goal is to bring people together over good wine and quality conversation. If you are wanting to reduce your intake, then who you choose as a wine buddy is an important one to consider.
- How much is too much? We all have a different opinion of what qualifies as over-drinking. A suggestion would be to identify what you believe your limit is before the first glass is poured. Waking up with a head-ache, feeling de-hydrated or groggy are good signs that your limit may have been reached.
- Decide on a budget. By establishing how much you are comfortable on spending in a month, this will also assist in shaping how much you consume.
- Shop for Wine online. Apart from saving time sitting in traffic, finding parking and waiting in queues, shopping for wine online allows you to be more selective and filter on specific criteria, rather than be drawn in by an array of options.
- Find a Wine Club. There are a few good options out there (including ours!). Using a Wine Club is a great way of trying a variety of Wine, sticking to a budget and receiving a set amount every month.
- De-alcoholised Wine. If you love the taste of Wine but do not like effects of alcohol, then non or de-alcoholised wine is a great option.
Conclusion
If you are wanting to monitor your wine intake, we hope that these tips are helpful. If you feel that drinking wine – frequency (how often) and quantity (how much at a given time), has gone beyond a choice and has become a dependency, then we suggest that you seek professional support.