Is social drinking good for me?
Cheers
When I was younger, I thought alcohol was the devil. An absolute villain.
Younger me might have had a few good points聽but I have come to appreciate the social side to drinking -聽the nice, relaxed-state that聽carries you through hours of conversation with ease. But it has got me wondering, can you have too much of a good thing? Is social drinking just a big waste of money and my聽health in the name of socialising?聽I used to think so聽but I think social drinking can have some benefits that outweigh聽the associated problems.
The key distinction is knowing when to stop. It is perhaps a distinction聽I have developed more as an adult. The intuition when you鈥檝e had enough and are ready to call it a night. It requires an ability to read when a conversation is at an end and when you are feeling tired and ready for a quiet聽night in with some telly. It may sound almost too responsible聽but one thing I try to monitor constantly is how much I have had to drink over the past couple of hours. This helps me make sure that I am spacing my drinking out and taking it easy. I might alternate between a glass of water or a bowl of chips聽but I always try to be mindful of how I am tracking.
Even though having a couple of beers isn鈥檛 going to kill me, it often makes me feel a bit bloated and gross. That鈥檚 why I find there is nothing better than exercise and a detox day even after having just a few social drinks. With my health in mind, I have often questioned how frequent is wise to practice social drinking? Is it once every few days? Once a week? Once a month? Or only for special occasions? I don鈥檛 live by any hard and fast rule聽but I think it is always nice to have a chat with someone over a drink, even if it is just once in a while.