06/01/2026
First, let’s clear something up: not everyone who drinks too much is an “alcoholic.” I think that label keeps a lot of people stuck.
Because so many of us think, “Well, I’m not that bad. I don’t drink in the morning. I have a job. I’m fine.”
But you don’t need to hit rock bottom to see that drinking might be making life a lot harder (hangovers, low energy, snapping at the kids quicker) than easier.
𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝.
Dinner? Drinks. Playdate? Wine. Folding laundry while emotionally recovering from parenting? Also wine. And if there isn’t going to be alcohol served, then they don’t really want to go.
𝟐. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.
Not necessarily in a dramatic movie-scene way. More like, “Wait… are we going somewhere that serves alcohol? How long until I can pour a glass? Is it weird if I have one now?”
𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭.
Even if they’re not drinking every day, if they’re planning/thinking about it more days than not, it’s taking up too much space.
𝟒. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤.
After the vacation. After the stressful work thing. After the kids stop acting feral, so approximately never.
𝟓. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
The constant noise, touching, crying, laundry… I get it, parenting is hard, so alcohol has become the easy “off” button.
It doesn’t mean they’re broken. It just means it might be time to deprioritize alcohol.
Cu
