FAQs
WHAT IS GRAY AREA DRINKING?
Grey Area Drinking is the blurry area between moderate drinking and risky (or problematic) drinking. It's a confusing place to be in, but guess what? It's far more common that you might realize. Here are 6 signs you might be a grey-area-drinker:
1. You attempt to moderate your drinking but usually end up over-consuming.
2. You often question your drinking or experience regret and worry related to your drinking (and you mostly keep it to yourself).
3. You bounce between extremes or try to cancel-out your tendancey to over-drink by being "extra healthy."
4. Drinking is ingrained in your life; you can't imagine socializing or going to dinner without having drinks.
5. Your drinking doesn't seem problematic to the people around you. It might even be on-par with their drinking habits.
6. You may have googled something like, Am I am alcoholic? What are the long-term effects of alcohol use?
WHAT IS SELF-SABOTAGE?
Self-sabotage occurs when we deliberately block our own success by undermining our personal values. We do this by getting stuck in negative thought patterns and/or seeking out experiences (or substances) that disrupt our physical, mental, or emotional wellbeing. This behavior is not uncommon. We all have limiting beliefs and painful experiences that cause us to play small or knock ourselves down when things go too well. Often the disappointment we get when we self-sabotage is more comfortable than the possibly of success. That keeps us stuck.
WHAT ARE LIMITING BELIEFS?
(And how do they relate to drinking?)
These are old beliefs that can limit what we think we can achieve or experience in life. These beliefs often contribute to our self-sabotage loops (see above) and cause us to feel stuck and frustrated, as we play out different versions of the same experiences. Here are a few ways this might show up for you when it comes to your drinking:
1. Things never work out for me! Translates to: I deserve this drama filled night/this hangover/this fatigue.
2. I hate rejection! Translates to: I experience rejection in the unstable relationships I choose (usually one's built upon booze).
3. I need to sacrifice my needs to be accepted! Translates to: I socialize all the time, overcommit and over-drink to please others.
4. Life is hard! Translates to: I regularly feel like shit or experience regret because of my drinking, which makes things feel harder than they actually are.
If you feel trapped here, you are far from alone. I spent most of my adult life stuck in this very place, surrounding myself with people who drank the same way, only confusing my concerns when they came up (which was often). It’s ok to question your relationship with alcohol. There’s support out there (there’s support right HERE) when you are ready to start learning how. ❤️