A few drinks after work once or twice a week can make all the difference after a bad day at the office, and a glass of wine with dinner also helps to take the edge off.

When partaking in these, in my opinion, very necessary activities, most people would probably classify themselves as social drinkers. In other words, they don’t drink alone – only when out with friends or when they have people over.

‘Social drinking’ is considered preferable to ‘drinking alone’. Think “I’m with friends and have a reason to drink”, versus “I have 20 cats and nothing to look forward to except psoriasis”.

Even so, the definition of what constitutes social drinking is rather vague and often varies from person to person.

Here’s the Huffington Post:

One person’s social drinking might be a glass of merlot with friends once or twice a week. Another person may consider it four or five beers over the course of a day at a birthday party. A different individual may consider it two gin and tonics at happy hour on Tuesday and Thursday and then a heavy night out on the weekend.

There’s some disagreement about what’s regarded as a normal amount of drinking, according to Stephen Strobbe, a clinical associate professor at Michigan Medicine’s department of psychiatry and a specialist in addiction. “Social drinking” is perhaps a purposely vague term.

“It’s based, at least in part, on what’s accepted within a certain group or culture,” he said. “Even for a given individual, what’s acceptable in one setting may not be OK in another.”

A key element of social drinking is being self-aware enough to know how much is too much for you and limiting yourself accordingly. If your evening out is affecting your work or personal life, then you’re doing it wrong.

If you’re drinking socially, but a lot, you might be entering into problematic territory. You should be wary if you cross the line into what’s called “heavy drinking,” said [Brad Lander, an addiction medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]. This is more than four drinks a day or more than 14 drinks in a week for men, and more than three drinks a day or more than seven drinks a week for women, he said.

“Binge drinking is also unhealthy, defined as reaching a blood alcohol level of 0.08. This level can be reached for most people by four or five drinks in a two-hour span,” Lander said. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also defines heavy alcohol use as binge drinking five or more times per month.

14 drinks a week for men, and seven drinks a week for women – well yeah, then it’s not too hard to be classed a ‘heavy drinker’.

Apart from the number of drinks that you are consuming, there are other signs that you might be in trouble.

These signs include drinking when you have reasons not to, like when you’re taking a medication, feeling guilty about your alcohol consumption, and failing at goals to cut back or stop drinking. Deceiving others about your drinking is also a red flag, like lying about how much you drink, sneaking drinks, hiding alcohol or making excuses or reasons to go drink.

“If you are confronted by someone about your drinking, statistics say this is a very strong sign [you’re dealing with a problem drinking],” Lander added. Feeling shaky or anxious after not drinking for around 12 hours is a sign of “entering a critical phase of alcoholism,” said Lander.

If you think you might have strayed into bad territory when it comes to your drinking, you should consider seeking professional help.

Lander added that staying conscious about your consumption can also help. Self-awareness can allow for pause and let you examine why you’re reaching for that next round at the bar with your friends.

“A lot of drinking is ‘thoughtless,’ so simply asking yourself, ‘Do I really want another drink?’ can help,” Lander said. “At social gatherings, drink some nonalcoholic as well as alcoholic beverages; don’t forget to eat, drink plenty of water, and stand up to peer pressure to drink.”

If your friends are asshats that force you to drink, you really need to consider getting better friends and start making better life choices.

“Monitor the number of standard drinks you take in over time, set limits, practice refusal skills ― and engage in other, healthy behaviors, such as exercise, yoga or meditation,” he said.

For many people, these strategies will be enough to cut back their alcohol intake. But for some, it won’t ― and that’s when a doctor needs to get involved.

Part of making better life choices and monitoring your drinking also means not being that person. So let’s take a minute to talk drinking etiquette:

Don’t put pressure on your friends to drink when they don’t want to.

Don’t get raucously drunk at quiet after-work drinks, while everyone else is moderating themselves. They will remember your table dance, even if you don’t.

And last, but not least, if you are going to a dinner party, organising a braai or having folks over, there’s an easy way to order drinks and snacks and have them delivered to wherever you are.

In other words, don’t show up empty-handed and drink everyone else’s booze.

[source:huffingtonpost]