Am I Drinking Too Much? The 7 Signs of Grey Area Drinking Every Woman Over 40 Should Know | Grey Area Drinking Coach Sarah Rusbatch

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Most women who recognize themselves in this episode do not identify as alcoholics, and that is exactly why the term grey area drinking exists. It is the space between the every now and then drinker and physical dependency, and it is where a whole generation of midlife women are quietly living.

In this solo episode I explain what grey area drinking actually is and walk you through the seven signs that you are sitting in it. I was a grey area drinker for twenty-nine years and I now work with women aged forty to seventy, so I know how normal this looks from the outside and how loud it feels on the inside. I cover the rules we make and break, how alcohol arrives as a solution long before it ever looks like a problem, and why alcohol hits women so much harder through perimenopause and beyond. If you have ever silently asked yourself am I drinking too much, this one is for you.

Key Topics Covered

- What grey area drinking really means and where you sit on the one to ten scale. - The drinking rules we keep breaking and the counting, justifying and rewarding that keep us stuck. - Why alcohol-free breaks like dry January never seem to stick. - How alcohol affects midlife women differently, from 3am wakeups to anxiety and rising tolerance. 

Timestamps:

Not An Alcoholic? You Could Be A Grey Area Drinker (00:00)

What Is Grey Area Drinking?(00:35)

The 1-10 Scale For High Functioning Drinkers(01:20)

Sign 1 Counting And Justifying Your Drinks(02:18)

Sign 2 You Keep Breaking Your Own Drinking Rules(02:34)

Sign 3 Wine Has Become Your Reward(04:33)

Sign 4 Your Dry January Never Sticks(05:57)

Sign 5 You Keep Asking Am I Drinking Too Much(06:38)

Sign 6 Alcohol Takes More Than It Gives(07:37)

How Alcohol Hits Women Harder In Perimenopause(08:00)

Sign 7 Rising Tolerance And Getting Defensive(09:00)

The First Step To Changing How You Drink(10:16)

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Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.

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Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/

If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067

And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze