The drink didn't do thatHabits

unbry

The drink didn't do that

A short book about regular drinking, and the confidence and relaxation you credit to the glass

17 chapters10,833 wordsAbout 49 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book. You can read it in two or three evenings. It's about one belief. You drink most days, or most weekends, and you'd say it does you…3 min
1The kitchen at ten to sevenHere's an example. It's a Thursday. The meeting at three went badly, the train sat outside the station for twenty minutes, and you get in at ten to seven…3 min
2What the glass gets the credit forNobody keeps doing something for years that does nothing for them. If you drink regularly, the glass seems to be paying you in several ways, and it helps…3 min
3"It relaxes me"Alcohol is a sedative, so the belief that it relaxes you starts from something true. The useful question is how much of the evening's relaxation the drug…3 min
4"It gives me confidence"Here's another example. A friend is turning forty in the function room above a pub. There'll be sixty people and you know four of them. You arrive, find…4 min
5"But I can feel it working"By now you may be thinking that this is all very well, but you know what a drink feels like. There's a warmth about ten minutes into the second glass that…3 min
6"It helps me sleep"Plenty of people who'd give up the ten to seven glass without much fuss would fight for the one at ten. You have it, you get drowsy, you go up and you're…2 min
7The day afterThis chapter isn't about hangovers. You know what a hangover is and you know what caused it. It's about the day after an ordinary evening, two glasses or…3 min
8"I've earned it, and my stress is real"Some of what the glass is for is entirely legitimate, and an honest book should say which parts. You need a line drawn under the day. You need some reward…2 min
9"Everyone I know drinks"For a lot of people the evenings at home are the easy part to imagine. The hard part is other people. Your friendships run on pubs and dinners, your…3 min
10"The best nights had drink in them"Ask people for the best nights of their lives and you get a list like this one. The wedding where everybody danced until the lights came up. The evening…3 min
11"I just like it"Some readers will have got this far slightly irritated, because none of it describes them. You don't drink for courage or to cope. You like a cold beer…2 min
12What a month showsEverything so far has been argument, and an argument can only take you so far against twenty years of evenings. The belief that the glass relaxes you and…3 min
13The decisionIf the argument has made sense to you, here's a way to act on it. It has seven parts. The research behind a few of them is in the notes, but the plan as a…4 min
14When it doesn't go to planSuppose it's day eleven, the week has been dreadful, and you have a glass of wine. Or suppose the month went well, you wrote your rules, and six weeks…3 min
15The kitchen againPicture the same Thursday a few months on. The three o'clock meeting went badly again, because some meetings do. The train sat outside the station. You…2 min
·NotesThis book gives general information. It isn't medical or psychological advice, and it's no substitute for a doctor, pharmacist or alcohol service who…6 min

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