In many cultures, it’s common to have a glass of wine with dinner and maybe even with lunch. There are different definitions as to exactly when drinking becomes a drinking problem, but generally, when alcohol is having a negative impact on any aspect of your life, then it’s time to seriously consider the possibility that you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol addiction. If you’re able to recognize the problem and then stop drinking, or drink less, you’re in good shape. The real problem arises when you realize you should be drinking less due to the harm that alcohol is causing, and you aren’t able to do it. That’s when you need help.
How Much Wine is Too Much to Drink?
If you’re drinking a lot of wine and getting into fights and arguments with your family that you later apologize for once you’ve sobered up, then alcohol is having a negative impact on you.
If you find yourself missing opportunities due to drinking (like staying home to drink instead of going out to do something or to see people you care about or to follow your interests), then alcohol is having a negative impact on you.
If you’re often drinking to the point of blacking out or being hungover or continuing to binge for days, then alcohol is having a negative impact on you.
If you’re able to have a glass of wine here and there and it’s not causing any issues whatsoever, then you’re probably alright but it’s not a bad idea to stop and thinking about things a bit, nonetheless. If you’re here right now, that’s a good sign that you have some level of concern about your drinking and you’re either looking for validation that you are not drinking too much wine or confirmation of something that you already know to be true.
If you need an outside opinion as to whether or not you’re drinking too much wine, that alone doesn’t necessarily mean you are drinking too much, but it’s a sign that you’re right to think about this further and to explore the possibility that alcohol could be having negative impacts on your life that you may not even be noticing yet.
As with most things, it’s best if you can catch this early to get ahead of it, before things get too out of hand or too uncontrollable.
What Happens When You Drink Too Much Wine:
Are you drinking too much wine? A number of things can happen to your body, mind, and life when you’re drinking too much wine. You can suffer problems in your personal and professional life, as we’ve already touched on, such as problems at work, problems with your health, and problems in your relationships. Those things aren’t always easy to recognize before the damage is done, but here are some other things that happen when you’re drinking too much wine or drinking too much of any alcoholic drink for that matter.
- Getting sick: Throwing up is a sign that you’ve drank too much, your body is rejecting the alcohol.
- Blacking out: If you blackout and forget about things that have happened, or you don’t remember how you got home (especially if you drive, here’s how to stop drinking and driving), this is sign of serious alcoholism. Blacking out is a sign that you’re drinking too much.
- Being grumpy: Being irritable and grumpy, especially when you’re craving wine, is a clear sign that it’s having a bad impact on your mood and life.
- Headaches and hangovers: If you’re often drinking until you have headaches and hangovers the next day, this is going to impede your ability to function, especially when this is happening multiple times per week. Even if you’ve gotten used to it, that doesn’t make it okay.
There are also some longer-term impacts on your mental and physical health when you’re drinking too much wine on a regular basis. These include alcoholism that is tough to overcome, damage to your brain, hallucinations, and an increased feeling of anxiety. Sometimes, things like anxiety and other mental health struggles will lead people to drink, and then the drinking will in turn make those conditions even worse. It’s a vicious cycle that’s hard to break, so if it’s not too late for you to stop where you’re at now, please consider it.
When Is It Okay to Drink Wine, and Are You Drinking Too Much Wine?
If you’re an alcoholic, there’s never really a good time to drink wine since one glass can lead you down a dark path that you’ve probably traveled countless times before.
If you’re not an alcoholic, and you like to have a glass of wine at the end of the day, and you’re able to keep it at that and it’s not causing you any problems, then it’s pretty safe to say that this is okay. Some studies have shown that there are even potential health benefits to a small amount of wine, but it becomes a problem when it’s causing you issues in your life, or the consumption becomes excessive or something you depend on.
Getting Help When You Know How Much Wine is Too Much
If you know that you’re drinking too much wine, and you’ve discovered how much wine is too much wine to be drinking, you have a few options.
- You can try to stop drinking as much wine on your own, without help…
- Or you can reach out to get help from somebody you care about, or an addictions specialist, who can help you come up with a strategy to get help and to reduce your drinking problems.
Whether or not you’re able to deal with this on your own will be largely influenced by how dependant you have become, and how strong your wine habit is. If you can stop on your own, more power to you. If you realize you’re drinking too much wine and it’s time to cut back, more power to you. If you try to stop but find yourself returning to wine, get help before things get further out of control.
