In this day and age, we hear a lot about casual alcohol use. Leaving work, you may hear a coworker say they are excited to get home and make themselves a drink. On the phone with your friend, you might hear him say he will need to buy beer because he’s watching the game tomorrow. When you’ve set up a playdate for your child with another mom, she may remark that she needs a glass of wine after all of your kids’ excitement. As much as this may be normalized within our society, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking it shouldn’t be addressed in some way. This kind of casual alcohol use, including what’s called “wine mom culture,” could very well be a sign that alcohol addiction treatment is necessary.
Acknowledging that your alcohol use isn’t normal is an important first step to controlling it. Once you know that you’re showing signs of an alcohol use disorder, you can begin taking steps to heal, and Oceanfront Recovery in Laguna Beach is prepared to help. We are a small boutique provider that offers personalized treatment for each individual we admit. With a highly trained and compassionate staff and a beautiful location, you’re in good hands with us. For more information on our substance abuse programs, call us at 877.296.7477 or visit us online to complete our secure form.
Wine Mom Culture Defined
Even if you’re not familiar with the term, there’s a very good chance you’ve encountered wine mom culture before, and likely often. Wine mom culture takes the idea of needing alcohol to cope with the trials and difficulties of parenting and normalizes it or even celebrates it. Whether you’ve seen a dish towel that says “Mommy Needs Her Wine,” or you hear a group of mothers at a parent-teacher conference discussing the bottle of wine they will need afterward, it’s incredibly pervasive and can be dangerous.
Female alcohol use disorder can go unnoticed due to how much we normalize things like wine mom culture. Defining your motherhood by your alcohol intake is a real sign of alcohol dependency, and it can have lasting effects on your children. What message does it send to your child when you need alcohol to escape day-to-day parenting? This is, of course, not your intent, but children who take a backseat to wine or other drinking habits may begin to feel like a heavy burden as they get older.
Self-Medicating Can Lead to Alcohol Use Disorder
You may not think of engaging in wine mom culture as a version of self-medicating, but it’s an accurate descriptor. Parenting is difficult, and every day brings new challenges. Those challenges and difficulties can feel overbearing, but those are opportunities to practice mindfulness and emotional regulation; self-medicating with alcohol or other substances is not the answer. Any long-term relationship with alcohol can be dangerous and detrimental to your health. If you find that you’re regularly self-medicating with alcohol, it may be time to examine your alcohol use and look for another solution.
Discover How Oceanfront Recovery Can Help
One solution to consider is alcohol addiction treatment. A good program will help you learn skills to manage your life without alcohol and empower you to make decisions that don’t involve casual alcohol use. An individualized treatment plan at Oceanfront Recovery in Laguna Beach may be right for you. Our modern and comfortable facility offers a safe place for you to heal and properly address your alcohol use through therapies like:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- EMDR therapy
- Family therapy
- Holistic therapy
Taking steps to get help with an addiction can be scary, but it’s a decision you’ll never regret. Reach out today for more information by visiting us online or by calling 877.296.7477.
