Fudging MayBe a Tip-off
Some mommies fudge when their docs ask how much alcohol they consume. This may be the first time they realize they might have a problem with booze. (Wine is booze, btw.)
Social drinkers aren’t embarrassed to discuss their alcohol consumption.
Alcoholics, we struggle with shame and guilt. We may even have a hard time remembering when enjoying a simple glass of wine suddenly became we might as well finish the bottle. So, we fudge about when we drink and why, and shift the blame for drinking too much.
We hear a glass of wine or two is better for us than a couple of bourbons on the rocks. So, wine-drinking women may be affirmed and commended for their healthy choices. However, minimizing a growing phenomena* helps those of us who are not social drinkers put off a decision to put the glass down.
A Point to Ponder:
If drinking is interfering with your parenting, you’re probably a heavy drinker. If kids are interfering with your drinking, you might want to read on . . .
Sarah Cottrell lifted the blinds and let a little light in on a growing problem, in a recent blog: How Mommy Drinking Culture Has Normalized Alcoholism for Women in America — all no longer accessible:
“Years roll by in my memory bank and not a single day stands out to me as one in which I was totally stone-cold sober, unless of course, you count pregnancy.”
Sarah writes:
“The normalization of mommy wino culture memes and endless parade of articles on mom-sites that shouted out the benefits of drinking helped justify my own growing problems.
Vino Versus Valium
Drinking wine is not a harmless way to deal with the stresses of motherhood for a growing number of women, anymore than Valium was Mother’s Little Helper in the Sixties. (Or maybe June Cleaver was on Valium, and that’s why she cleaned house in a dress and pearls?)
Dear reader, you do have much more to do with your life; you are not alone, or a weak-willed loser. You don’t have to fudge about your drinking — wine, or bourbon! Honesty helps, though.
Right now can be a turning point for you. I hope Sarah’s story will encourage you to think about what’s interfering with what in your life.
Know you are so worth whatever it takes to live this day clean and sober.
Let me know how you are doing.
Love in Christ,
Sober and Grateful
PS: Wine consumption causes problems even in France
* More Americans are drinking high amounts of alcohol, and the greatest increases are seen among women and older adults, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
