Staying Fine Without a Glass of Wine Every NightBy Michaela

Life continually upends us at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways. When this occurs, we also learn strategies to relax and cope with these issues. Numerous studies have already demonstrated that having a glass of wine every night is not at all ‘harmless,’ even though this is one of the most popular behaviors and the one that we consider to be the least harmful. Please continue reading if you want to discover new ways to deal with challenges and stress without using alcohol.

While you may have previously heard the adage that wine can help you age gracefully, bear in mind that everyone is aware that a heavy wine habit can have negative side effects. Many people believe sipping a glass of wine to be ‘moderate drinking,’ yet they are unaware that addiction begins with seemingly innocent behaviors. 

Effects of Wine Consumption

Consuming alcoholic beverages such as wine has physical and mental effects. It is crucial to recognize the potential short-term and long-term repercussions of alcohol intake.

Immediate Effects

The consequences of drinking wine depend on several variables, including the amount consumed, your body weight, and your alcohol tolerance, however, the following are some short-term impacts:

Relaxation and Somnolence

Many people love drinking because it can induce a state of relaxation, which can foster an enjoyable social environment. Wine can cause drowsiness, which is another reason why people consume it after a long day. In truth, the effects of drinking any alcohol are illusory, because alcohol causes feelings of stress and irritation, so the feeling of relaxation is actually a removal of the feelings of unsettled ‘something is missing’.

Higher Blood Pressure

Wine consumption can induce a brief rise in blood pressure, typically after three or more drinks.

Impaired Reasoning

Consuming alcoholic beverages, particularly wine, reduces inhibitions and can change decision-making and behavior as the logical part of your brain begins to shut down.

Impeded Mobility and Speaking

If you consume enough wine to become intoxicated, impaired coordination and slurred speech are likely to ensue. You may also experience eyesight problems. Intoxication can cause dizziness and the inability to stand straight.

Blackouts and incoherence

Depending on the quantity of wine consumed, sleepiness can progress into blackouts and unconsciousness. Blackouts are memory lapses caused by alcohol consumption, and they can be fragmentary or total.

Typically, they begin when your blood alcohol concentration hits 0.16 percent or higher. Fragmentary blackouts are characterized by sporadic memory loss and temporal loss. Complete blackouts occur when a person has no recollection of several hours.

During a blackout, you may still be able to speak and interact with your surroundings, but you won’t be able to recall anything the next day. This could lead to feelings of humiliation, so make sure you read this page. Additionally, it is possible to consume enough wine to lose consciousness.

Hangovers

After a night of wine consumption, you may wake up the next morning feeling ill. The unpleasant result of excessive drinking is hangovers. The symptoms of a hangover are a headache, sensitivity to light and sound, thirst, weariness, nausea, bodily aches, and disturbed sleep. Frequent hangovers can negatively impact relationships and work performance.

Long-Term Effects

In addition to the aforementioned short-term impacts, drinking wine every night can have the following long-term implications:

Memory Impairment

Even a single incident of binge drinking might result in blacking out and amnesia of inebriated occurrences. You may also have difficulty concentrating. Over time, excessive alcohol use, such as wine, might result in long-term memory loss.

Long-term alcohol consumption, or drinking excessively over many years, can cause brain damage. Brain damage caused by alcohol can affect memory, decision-making, and the ability to live independently.

Elevated Blood Pressure

While occasional drinking may cause a brief rise in blood pressure, binge drinking can be a risk factor for high blood pressure that is unhealthy. Long-term, excessive alcohol consumption can also alter the heart’s muscles and increase the risk of stroke. Additionally, excessive wine intake can contribute to weight gain, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Liver damage

Chronic alcoholism can have detrimental effects on the liver. You are susceptible to developing fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis over time. Nearly all heavy drinkers will eventually acquire the fatty liver disease. In addition, up to 35% will develop alcoholic hepatitis and 20% will develop cirrhosis.

Manifestations and Symptoms of Wine Dependence

Wine dependence does not develop overnight. When wine is a regular component of one’s lifestyle, it might be difficult to spot the signs of addiction. So, how would you know if your “me time” with wine has become an addiction? Here are the indications to watch for:

Enhanced tolerance

If you have seen that you can consume more alcohol before experiencing dizziness, this indicates that your alcohol tolerance is increasing. Regular, heavy drinking causes the body to develop a tolerance to alcohol.

You may need to pour another glass of wine or crack open another bottle to attain the same level of satisfaction. This greater tolerance might lead to increased frequency and quantity of drinking.

Prioritizing drinking

Enjoying wine may be something you do just infrequently with family and friends over a delicious meal or after a stressful day. However, when drinking interferes with your everyday life and obligations, you may need to reconsider your actions.

Does your drinking impair your work performance? Are your interpersonal relationships in jeopardy? If you continue to drink despite these problems, you may be addicted to alcohol.

Inability to abstain from alcohol

The inability to abstain from alcohol consumption is another strong indicator of addiction. Perhaps you have recognized that your wine consumption is negatively impacting you and your family.

Perhaps you have resolved to minimize your alcohol consumption, only to discover that you are unable to do so. If you find yourself reaching for a glass or bottle while not wanting to, you may need assistance.

Staying Fine Without Wine

Stress at work or home may lead us to consume more than one or two glasses of wine at night. Once this becomes our means of stress relief, it got difficult to find an alternative, but don’t worry. Here are some things you may do to handle stress and be healthy even without alcohol. Before reading it is important to understand that the ONLY long term and effective way to achieve change around alcohol is to change the belief and memory conditioning associated with drinking. The tips below will help you to approach a mindset shift more effectively.

Breathwork

Let’s begin with the age-old proverb, “Just take a deep breath and carry on” You may wonder how breathing or breathwork might assist you in stressful situations. Well, focusing on your breath and using deep breathing techniques can help reduce the physiological changes that accompany stress.

This is because, when your body is quiet, you are better able to concentrate and think effectively. Different approaches can be employed in different situations, but even the most basic five-breath concentration effort can produce extraordinary outcomes.

Meditation

Meditation entails directing one’s attention inwards, with or without particular instruction or the use of a mantra. It can help you obtain a new perspective on a stressful situation and induce a sense of serenity.

Affirmative assertions

During stressful situations, we mistrust our abilities to handle or resolve the problem. In such situations, it would be beneficial to repeat a mantra or positive affirmation outside of meditation, such as “I am safe” or “I am deserving,” to help transform your view and belief patterns by highlighting your strengths.

For stress alleviation, try stating, “My mind is at ease and I am capable of completing any task,” and “With each breath, I get more relaxed and flow through the day with ease.”

Physical exercise

You don’t need to train for a marathon or join a gym or fitness club, but remember that baby steps and modest activities are excellent stress relievers and will make you healthier. Try to walk, run, or stretch every day.

Yoga has been proven to improve GABA activity and, as a result, to aid in the reduction of anxiety. And exercise’s effects are cumulative, meaning they accumulate over time! I could not fathom life without this sort of stress alleviation.

Learn Your Triggers

Whether it’s a hard day of work or a stressful circumstance, everyone has alcohol-related triggers. By identifying your internal triggers, such as anxiety, boredom, or stress, and your external triggers, such as overwork, isolation, or certain people or places you associate with alcohol abuse, you can recognize and manage your cravings to avoid falling back into the trap of drinking alcohol to relax.

It is essential to establish defense mechanisms against the possibility of experiencing these triggers in the future. Plan on good days for difficult days later on. When learning how to use good coping mechanisms, it is crucial to avoid drinking to unwind. However, willpower usually and inevitably fails, so always find a process for mindset shift.

Reach Out For Help

We are naturally social beings as humans. Isolation can lead to depression and loneliness. This can lead to serious health complications. When you are tempted to drink to unwind, a solid support system can be an invaluable resource.

Create a list of all of your healthy, supportive friends and family members and carry it with you in times of need. The temptation will come and go, but you must be willing to seek assistance from trusted individuals. Additionally, a support structure is advantageous for accountability in sobriety.

If you’re seeking help cutting back on or quitting drinking, online our expert coaching programs are here for you. The Alcohol Coach can help. 

We offer science-based and inspiring coaching programs. You may also sign up for the free masterclass and have access to free resources that will aid you in your quest toward alcohol-free life!

Please note: Although we refer to ‘alcoholism’ and ‘recovery’ in our articles, this is because these terms are often used by others. 

The Alcohol Coach services come from a viewpoint of empowerment, mindset shift, and high-powered transformational change. 

When this happens there are no lifelong labels, no counting days, and pure unbounded freedom and discovery! 

Takeaways

Humans typically use wine or other alcoholic beverages to cope with and relax from a variety of types and conditions of stress.

This type of behavior will eventually lead to a variety of undesirable consequences, such as drunkenness and disease, so before it’s too late, be sure to seek out alternate stress management techniques, such as those listed above.

This will not be simple, especially if you have been drinking for a long period, but we are here to help you find life.