A wine enthusiast writes about her month of sobriety. I think many of us struggle with what Nina Caplan writes about in her essay in the Economist. In todays society wine is almost thought of as “the non alcoholic” beverage. In our local newspaper there is a once a week section like “home and garden”, dedicated to just wine and blatantly called “Wine”. Remember when people that drank a lot of wine were called “winos”? You don’t hear that term much anymore.
Here is an excerpt from her story and what she realized about herself and her life, to read more go to A Sobering Experience :
I am not an alcoholic. I don’t get sick, fall down or start my day with tots of whiskey. But I do love wine. I am entranced by the socio-historical and chemical properties of the vine. It is, for me, an intellectual pursuit–albeit one that is also literally intoxicating.
The threshold of addiction is a foggy place. You more or less know when you’re dependent, and you know when you’re independent. But most of us stumble around somewhere in between: we’ll just have one more; we don’t need it, we just like it; we could stop anytime. My social life runs on alcohol like a bicycle on its tyres: it could keep moving without it, but the ride would be bumpy and uncomfortable and I would worry about looking foolish.
Can you relate to her story? I can relate to to “the game of pairing wines with food and the celebratory glass of champagne”. I also enjoy a “nice” glass of wine after dinner and sometimes I do think I am somewhat addicted. But I am also able to limit myself to that one glass of wine. Does that make me different? At times I struggle with where I fit into this picture. Maybe I would not be so conscious of it, if I did not have a son in treatment.
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I am a recovering alcoholic and I know full well the difference between having a drink now and then, and being a addict. I cannot use any mood altering substances or I release my addiction all over again. Some addicts tell stories of long periods of time they drank in moderation and had no consequences and I was one of them. This however did not mean they were not alcoholics, merely that they were able to control their disease for a spate of time. Only you can determine if you have a problem. At both of these websites: (aa.org and na.org,) you can find self tests which help with gauging if your may have the disease of addiction. I wish you luck with your son you have my sympathy. I have one who is struggling with his own addictive tendencies. The disease does run in families so… I think your mindfulness here is most appropriate.
Loving wine doesn’t mean your already an alcoholic. You just have to in moderation.
-jerry