Topic: Alcohol Awareness Month

‘Almost Alcoholic’: The Blurry Line Between Wine With Dinner and Being Alcoholic

'Almost Alcoholic': The Blurry Line Between Wine With Dinner and Being Alcoholic

Do you down a glass or two of wine each night? Or cocktails after work frequently? And do you look forward to doing so as a way to relax? If you’re like many women, you are probably raising your hand–or your glass. Drinking is a common way to cope with the over-scheduled, over-worked and over-stressed lives that we lead these days. But when do the lines get blurred between a “normal”, casual drinker and someone with a drinking problem? You may not think you or someone you know has a dependency, but according to Dr. Joseph Nowinski, clinical psychologist and co-author of Almost Alcoholic, Is My (or My Loved One’s) Drinking A Problem? your drinking could put you in this new “almost alcoholic” category. More »

‘The Pressures Of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work Ignited My Alcoholism’

'The Pressures Of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work Ignited My Alcoholism'

Many women will be able to relate to Brenda Wilhelmson‘s story. She was mom, wife and employee trying to do everything perfectly, but in reality she was over-worked, stressed-out, lonely and feeling like she wasn’t doing any of it well. So, she turned to drinking. One glass of wine turned to two or three each night, and things just escalated from there until, one day, she realized she was a full-blown alcoholic–with a child in the next room. After nearly 10 years of this “hellish existence” Wilhelmson’s journey was captured in her book, Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife. In honor of Alcohol Awareness Month, we talked with Brenda, who, among other things, says that her battle with drinking made her realize the unhealthy strive for perfection that so many moms have today. More »