What is Social Drinking?
I think there is a lot of confusion in our society about what is social drinking. Because drinking alcohol is so common place, it’s easy for people to think that all forms of drinking are ok. Unfortunately, drinking too much can have a lot of negative effects on one’s mental and physical health. So what is healthy drinking? Well, an easy way to answer that is that healthy drinking is social drinking. But what is social drinking? If you’re not sure, read on.
Drinking with others
This one is obvious, social drinking means drinking with others, and not alone. If you notice you are drinking alone, then you may be using alcohol to cope with feelings or fill a void.
Drinking only to accentuate a positive mood or feeling
In order to drink in a healthy way, try to only drink when you are in a positive mood and want to accentuate that positive mood or feeling. Drinking to cope with negative moods or feelings is using alcohol in an unhealthy way, and if left untreated can lead to addiction.
Drinking responsibly
Drinking responsibly is another important piece of healthy social drinking. How much you drink and what you do when you drink can both determine if drinking is healthy or not. For women, it is recommended that they consume 1 drink or less per day, and for men that is 2 drinks or less per day. Heavy drinking for women is 3 or more drinks in one day or 7 or more drinks in one week, and for men heavy drinking is considered to be 4 or more drinks in one day, or 14 or more drinks in one week. The other thing to consider is what you are doing when drinking. If you find that drinking alcohol leads you to be in situation that are physically hazardous, then that is definitely not drinking responsibly.
I hope this post helps you to define social drinking. If you are struggling to cut down your alcohol use or maintain a healthy intake, then it might be time to seek counseling.