It’s Friday and I want to drink wine, I won’t drink wine but after an exhausting day it has crossed my mind, It would be wrong of me to say since stopping just under 6 months ago that it doesn’t every now and again cross my mind! You know it’s Friday, I’ve had a busy day, the kids aren’t back at school yet, My teenagers have drove me up the wall (think terrible twos x 1000000000) Yep that bad!! It’s the first night I have had without my youngest teen in weeks, I could curl up in front of the fire, get a takeaway and a bottle of red and just forget about all my worries, sound good? Of course, it sounds good that’s what has been programmed into us from birth. I have spent my entire adult life drinking wine for every occasion, I have drunk wine to celebrate, commiserate, after a hard day at work, after a good day at work, I have drank wine when I am stressed, when I am not stressed. Switch the tv on, I bet you there is somebody drinking wine right now!
Well you know what I am not going to do it and just writing that paragraph above has already talked me out of whatever feeling I may have had about drinking wine tonight, (makes a coffee) Firstly because I am stubborn! I’ve always liked to be a little bit, shall we say “rebellious”, films for example, there isn’t a chance you’ll catch me watching that bird box until about 2025 and all the hype as died down.
More importantly though It really miffs me off that the alcohol industry have fooled us all into believing that it is some kind of magic potion!! We are surrounded by the message that alcohol is fun, sexy, desirable and harmless. We get this message so many times a day. We get it from adverts and, far more insidiously, we get it from the media, which depend upon alcohol advertising for a large share of their profits.
Did you know that last year Alcohol retained its position as the top-selling category in the UK, worth £16 billion in value sales, with gin experiencing double-digit growth across Western Europe. Why would they want us to believe that alcohol does anything but good?
Rant over, here’s a load of things you can do instead of drinking wine and as an added bonus none of them make you want to stick your head down the toilet, insult anybody, dance like a lemon, talk too loud, snog a stranger, sleep with somebody you never, ever in your right mind would even consider when your sober, get a random tattoo, fall over, cry, have a fight over trivial things, order approximately three times the amount of food that you are actually capable of eating, tell strangers that you love them, send drunk texts, smoke, have no respect for other people’s personal space, talk really loud, overshare, tweet something dumb, buy endless rounds of drink as though money has no meaning, reveal inappropriate secrets, fall asleep on public transport or text your ex you get the point right? and yes I am ashamed to say I have done all of the above and more!
So here goes!
write a blog – (it stopped me)
Soak in warm bath
Make some yummy comfort food
Watch your fave tv show
Go for a walk
Call an old friend
Start a journal
Go to the gym
Colour in a colouring book
Create a pinterest board
Create a dream board
Read a book
Make a coffee
Make a tea
Mindfully eat something delicious
Smile
Meditate
Do a random act of kindness
Have a nap
Sing your fave song – loudly
Do a stress relief hypnosis (try the buddhify app)
Slowly count to 9 – then back again
Learn a new skill
Go to bed earlier
Get a facial
Stretch
List all things you love about yourself
Forgive yourself for anything you think you have done wrong and let it go
Eat chocolate
Make affirmations
Practice positive thinking (replace each negative thought with something positive)
Start a new hobby
Clean
Discover the power of Reiki
Try Yoga (you tube)
Drink a detox smoothie
Volunteer
Watch the sunrise or sunset
Have a movie marathon
Get creative (pick up a paintbrush)
Organize your home (or the Tupperware cupboard)
Make a gratitude list
Eat at a new restaurant
Bake bread
Hang out with people you love
So thats me. I have made myself a coffee, I feel better that my rant about the alcohol industry is out of my system and I am sooooooo grateful that I wont be waking up with a hangover tomorrow. Tomorrow I have plans to see Alex. This time I know I will make it, no last minute texts saying I am poorly, or too hungover or, whatever other rubbishy excuses I used to come up with. I cant wait to see her, my gorgeous little god son and go for a walk and catch up over coffee! have. Have a great weekend
L x