Nothing bad or out of the ordinary happened that day that forced me quit. I simply chose to quit.
Clients tell me all the time – “I function really well.” They say, “My spouse, friends, therapist, doctor tell me I’m not *that* bad and they don’t think I have a *drinking problem*.” Or they’ll say, “I’ve never gotten a DUI or I don’t drink in the morning” or whatever…
Here’s the thing, most gray area drinkers don’t have catastrophic drinking stories, this in itself is very characteristic of and defines gray area drinking.
It often doesn’t look bad or problematic aka like a rock bottom. What it looks like is how most people drink today. Which is what’s confusing and why it’s often hard to say enough is enough (to ourselves, I’m not advocating for prohibition).
It’s hard to step away from the majority. It’s hard to feel and know one thing and yet watch others do that very thing. It’s confusing. Do we need to crash and smash our life into a million pieces to *prove* to ourselves and others that we can’t, shouldn’t drink ethanol?
NO!
It doesn’t take much to cross into the heavy, risky drinking category.
7 or more 5 oz glasses of wine for women per week is heavy, risky drinking (FYI 5 oz is NOT THAT MUCH). I mean, let’s be honest, one book club night and one weekend night out, or in, puts most women into the heavy, risky drinking category for the week, according to the CDC ‘problem’ drinking definition.
It’s time to drop the rock bottom required paradigm.
We don’t need to run our lives completely off the rails to prove, justify, defend, or explain why we are choosing to stop drinking.
I didn’t and you don’t need to either!
Listen to my “Naked Life Story” on Annie Grace’s Podcast.
Resources For Gray Area Drinkers:
Support your Craving Brain through 1:1 coaching, or my 30-day Sober Choice program or my NOURISH membership for former gray area drinkers.
