3 Reasons Why Writers Sometimes Drink Too Much (And 4 Signs You Might Have a Problem)
Most people like to enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner or crack open a beer after a long work day. Others have a tendency to make drinking a regular part of their work and drink too much – especially creatives.
There are all sorts of excuses over this, but it comes down to 3 main things. Creatives drink either because they’re bored and looking for inspiration, they’ve just had a huge success with their work, or they’ve recently been harshly rejected.
People in creative fields are called upon to come up with innovative ideas every single day, and sometimes, that pressure is a little too much.
If you can relate to this, keep reading for 4 signs that you may have a drinking problem.
1. You Drink Every Single Day
Working every day says you have a very good work ethic. Drinking heavily every day and calling it “work” says you’re in denial about your alcohol dependency. There’s a big difference, and the sooner you realize this, the better.
2. You Drink at Any Time of Day
Maybe you don’t drink every day of the week, but you do have a tendency to start drinking early. Newsflash – whiskey is not a replacement for coffee (and neither is any other kind of alcohol).
If you drink at all hours of the day, you may want to reassess your life choices and figure out how to stop drinking alcohol before noon. Even better, you may want to cut back or stop altogether.
3. You Feel Weird Without a Drink
Some people put off the thought of sobering up because they’ve learned to only feel like themselves when they’re drinking.
This is a sign that you’re in way too deep and you need to get yourself out as soon as possible. It would be best to put your real creative work on hold for a while in order to get the support your drinking problem really needs.
4. You Can Drink Most People Under the Table
The final way to tell if you drink too much is if you can out-drink most people.
You shouldn’t be proud of finishing a bottle of liquor in a day or being the one who drinks the most when with friends. It’s one thing to do on occasion, but it’s another to be known for it. You don’t want this reputation.
Realizing You Drink Too Much and Doing Something About It
Look at writers like Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Edgar Allen Poe. Their works made great contributions to literature as we know it, but they didn’t come without a cost.
Although these men were literary geniuses, they were also drunks. While you may want your writing to succeed, do you want your successes to be diluted in a similar manner because of your habit of drinking too much?
Probably not.
Here’s an interesting thought: maybe you can turn your experiences with alcohol addiction into a successful writing project! Click here to learn how this can be done.