Why you need to rethink your holiday drinking plans

 For many of us, a delicious glass of wine at the end of the day is the perfect way to destress. As women, our days are busy spent child rearing, making meals, and cleaning all before we hit our 10 AM deadline at work. The complications of balancing home and work life is a constant reality for a lot of women these days. Throw in a pandemic and it’s easy to see why the number of women who drink rose nearly 16 percent in recent years. Women like to drink and some women like to drink a lot. Unfortunately, alcohol has some serious health consequences, especially for women. Women are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol due to our generally smaller size, less amount of fluid in our bodies, and our lower levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol in our livers. Excessive alcohol use can lead to a myriad of health issues, including heart disease, cancer, and liver disease. Alcohol is typically in everlasting supply during the holidays, making it very tempting to imbibe. But if you think you may have an alcohol problem, you might want to rethink that spiked eggnog. 

Should I Cut Back on Alcohol?

We tend to think of people with alcohol problems as spiking their orange juice in the morning or blacking out after a night at the bar. While these people certainly do have an alcohol problem, there are varying levels of alcohol dependency. Having a glass or two of wine every night at dinner might not seem all that harmful, but that one or two glasses can quickly become three, maybe even four. Heavy drinking for women is considered eight or more drinks per week. Only we can be truly honest with ourselves when it comes to our behavior towards alcohol. If you think you might have a problem with drinking, then you probably do. Fortunately, cutting back on alcohol has almost immediate positive effects on our health and wellbeing. Some of those effects include:

●      Better sleep

●      More energy

●      Weight loss

●      Less anxiety

●      Better mood

●      Stronger immune system

Surviving the Holidays Alcohol-Free

If you’re thinking of cutting back on alcohol during the holidays, you might be faced with opposition. There is a phenomenon that occurs when people start drinking where drunk individuals insist anyone sober must join in. Peer pressure can be tough to handle, especially during the holidays. You might find it easier if you don’t announce to your friends and family that you’re trying to cut back. They may just push you harder. Instead, don’t draw attention to the fact you’re not drinking. Quietly order a non-alcoholic drink from the bar that looks like alcohol (club soda with lime, for example) or tell your friends you’re not drinking because you’re on medication. Show up to your holiday parties just long enough to say hi, then dip out before it gets too tempting to “have just one drink”. Cutting back on alcohol will have only positive benefits on your health and wellbeing. You don’t have to give it up forever, but taking some time off won’t hurt.