Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health

2013 was a stressful year – depression, anxiety attacks, self-hating and insomnia all came back full force. I would binge drink most nights (6/7 days) to temporarily improve my mood and enable me to pass out easily. In other words, I was using it to self-medicate myself instead of facing any real issues. If you need more help with sober living because you’re in recovery or struggling with substance use, there are addiction treatment programs out there. Having a support network is great when you’re trying to see how you feel without drinking. It’s also great when you’re just trying to find fun things to do that don’t result in a foggy morning-after.

Here are 10 things you can do to manage stress (besides reaching for the bottle)

• And I know it’s hard as grown women, it is difficult to put yourself out there you feel like everyone already has friends.
• Curtail the screen-time hours and help your child look for and plan stimulating activates or hobbies.
• You are doing hard emotional and physical work every single minute.
• You can take a class just for fun and to meet other people trying their hand at something new.
• Acquaintances might have dropped away but not true friends.

Other studies challenge the idea that alcohol has benefits. These studies compare people with a gene variant that makes it unpleasant to drink to people without the gene variant. People with the variant tend to drink very little or not at all.

Life without drinking is not smaller. It’s not boring.

And the authors of the book, Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine Libaire actually joined us. I met them for the first time when I interviewed them on my podcast. And they were kind enough to say, yeah, we’d love to come to your book club and talk about it. And the conversation was not only about the book, but there were 17 women on the call. Welcome to the Hello Someday Podcast, the podcast for busy women who are ready to drink less and live more. I’m Casey McGuire Davidson, ex-red wine girl turned life coach helping women create lives they love without alcohol.

Addiction Treatment Programs at Promises Behavioral Health

One drink is the equivalent of about one 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a shot of liquor. That idea came from imperfect studies comparing groups of people by how much drinking because of boredom they drink. Usually, consumption was measured at one point in time. And none of the studies randomly assigned people to drink or not drink, so they couldn’t prove cause and effect.

Anticipating Drinking

We had to restrict her access to it because she loves it so much, she would play all day if she could. Alcohol is not a magic liquid, but it is a mild anesthetic. When you go in for an operation at the hospital, they inject you with a chemical that slows down the speed of your brain. Imagine an old record player playing a 45RPM album at 33RPM (wow we are getting old school there Craig). The anesthetic they use in a hospital is very potent and very efficient.

• On the weekend, we went to bars and clubs.
• Treat your dog (or your cat, gerbil, snake, etc.) to a spa day of their own.
• Go for a classic “Dear Diary” approach or start a bullet journal to get yourself organized.
• It is impossible for alcohol to relieve boredom.
• Or, cull down your food waste and toss your veggie scraps and ends into the freezer, then make a stock!