A recovering alcoholic has revealed the questions you should never ask her, or anyone for that matter, when you notice they aren’t drinking.
Writer Anne Donahue, from Toronto, Canada, said she’s been sober for four years now and during that time she’s been asked questions related to her drinking habits that have seriously rattled her cage.
“I stopped drinking because I am addicted to alcohol,” she said in her newsletter ‘That’s What She Said’, adding that she’s surprised she’s still alive today.
Some of the “ridiculous” questions you should never ask Donahue include: “Oh my god, is it okay if I drink?”
She explained: “I know you are trying to make drinking in front of me not weird by drinking, but now you’ve actually made it weird by, well, making it weird.”
Other questions and statements she’s sick of hearing are:
“You’re still not drinking? Good for you!”
“Why don’t you drink?”
“Do you miss it?”
“Do you think you’ll drink again?”
“I could never quit drinking!”
In the UK, there is a strong and widely-accepted drinking culture - whether you’re pre-drinking before a party, binge-drinking on a big night out or having a glass of wine after work.
In 2015 in England, 55% of men and 64% of women said they had drunk alcohol in the past year and that their average weekly alcohol consumption was no more than the recommended amount, according to Drink Aware.
In contrast, 14% of men and 21% of women said that they had abstained from alcohol in the past year.
The NHS estimates that just under one in 10 men in the UK and one in 20 women show signs of alcohol dependence, where they aren’t able to function properly without booze.
For more information about getting help for alcohol addiction, visit Alcohol Concern or Drink Aware. Additionally, The Priory Group runs a chain of hospitals and clinics which specialise in alcohol addiction and rehabilitation.