How often do you drink?

I have recently been in Spain for 60 days (winter sun) for my depression
mentally and physically I felt really well I did not have a single mood swing
until I had a pint of lager the mood swing followed three days later.
I believe this is known as kindling.
I have now given up alcohol for good.

Fingers1

I have a glass of wine on occasion, but that's about it. I don't drink at all during the winter because I'm typically depressed/mixed and it's just not a good idea.

I quit shortly after my official diagnosis. Doc told me I needed to stop drinking and to stop throwing gas on the fire. I've stayed sober ever since.

I have kind of a genetic disorder passed on by my grandmother's side of the family.
I build up tolerance to alcohol extremely rapidly.
I used to drink like a fish until I downed quart of vodka followed by a quart of raki in under two hours a few years back and didn't notice any difference in the way I felt.
I figured; what's the point then?
Now I have a Belgian or other special brew beer once or twice a week just for the taste and that's it...

I seldom drink. I had maybe three or four drinks total in 2014. When I was younger I would binge drink socially but I didn't like the hangovers so I stopped drinking plus I take xanax and that is unwise to take with alcohol.

I still have the occasional beer and i wont lie, i probably get pretty drunk once every couple of months. I do stay away from hard alcohol thought. Doesnt end well with the hard stuff.

Was never much of a drinker ever but I've noticed when I get the mixed moods I crave something, anything, even the stuff I don't like the taste of. it doesn't help but I think it's my bodies way of saying something's off kilter. It happens mostly when I'm not on any meds. If I'm craving alcohol I know it's time to check in with the Pdoc. if I'm on meds I don't give in to the craving and I don't drink, it just makes everything worse. If I'm not on meds I drink every now and then...unless I'm mixed of course.

Not that often. I always feel really depressed after I do for a couple of days. It sucks big time.

I've been drinking way too much lately. I completely stopped for months, over a year when I was depressed but since I had a manic episode and haven't really come back down it's gotten out of hand. I will drink twelve to twenty drinks in a day and keep drinking into the next day and then feel very nervous. I know it doesn't help and makes things worse but I can't slow down and stop when it's like this. I've been here before and I know it's a dangerous place to be but I can't get out. I'll stop for a few days or even a week or two and then bam, I'm out drinking like a fish and everything is a mess. I'm on lithium too so I know it doesn't work right when I drink. I see my doctor next week and I'm going to have to tell him what's up now. I'm not sure if it's the drinking or the bipolar that's the problem now.

I make sure medical ppl know I like to have a cocktail every now and then. Some med/drug combos can be very dangerous so I haven't had to take any of them yet.

Occasionally I do have one or two in the evening or during a bath. It is self-medicating generally, I guess, if someone wants to call it that. It is relaxing for me.

I'm not of the addictive type fortunately, and it doesn't run in my family. I have been married to 2 alcoholics, 1 actively drinking, and 1 not. Nov & Dec are my most stressful months and that's when I indulge the most. Sometimes during those months I wonder if I am becoming addicted but once the holidays are over I'm fine.

I have anti-anxiety meds that I know can be physically addicting for me so I try to use them sparingly, probably to the point of not using them as often as I need to. It's a two edged sword. :/

I haven't had a drink in a while since I tend to overdo it. I was self medicating for a long time and alcohol is/was a big problem for me. Now its a mixed bag. I haven't had the craving for a while intensely enough to go out and actually buy a bottle and just DRINK.

Every day I get up I'm like screw it, today I will have a drink, but I never do. I fight with myself and feel through the pain. I am in intense emotional pain right now and I feel that drinking will just make it worse. I'd rather FEEL all of it, then numb it.

I should not drink at all!!! I tend to when I am getting depressed. Not a good combo.

Just quit last nite! Wish me luck!

I used to self medicate with alcohol and would therefore drink around 1-2L of whiskey per day. After a stint in hospital after drinking way too much, my consumption gradually slowed down and eventually completely stopped. Every now and then I go to a social function and will drink but my body just doesn't tolerate it now, perhaps because I drank too much when I was first legally entitled to do so.

Every now and then I'll go through phases of enjoying one or two beers every few days and then go back to drinking nothing alcoholic at all for months on end. During the Christmas period I tend to drink every day, and will struggle to stop for a few weeks after. I believe I drank in excess of 15 units every day for almost a month during last year's Christmas period but since that I haven't drank anything alcoholic at all.

When I meet up with an old friend of mine, which happens every few months, I have to have a few beers. I just cannot interact in some situations without it; alcohol is like a crutch that I cannot throw away - I can put it in the cupboard but every now and then I get a sprain and have to get it out again.

I am only a social drinker.

Didn't make it

I feel the same way. At one point I felt that I had a problem. I have reduced the amount of alcohol that I consume and I feel fine. I do have anxiety and I am not sure if it is caused by the alcohol. It does seem to help the anxiety.
It is good to know that others feel the same way as I do. Sometimes I feel that I am on this journey alone.
Are you stable even though you are drinking?

I have been cutting right back from where I was, but was still drinking too much. Evening meal? What could be nicer than some wine or beer. But it still becomes most days, so I have decided to quit.

Its important to understand what an important way of coping alcohol can be. A refuge, but one that has its price. To be conscious of the effect of being without this, and developing new ways of dealing with life without alcohol as a comfort blanket. Not easy. But, for me, essential. Anticipating a sometimes bumpy ride.

That's sad. Keep trying!