A lot of people do not know what mom wine culture is, but they have definitely seen it. This is essentially a social media trend. It combines the concept of wine as a feminine drink with the idea that drinking alcohol makes people fun or youthful. Wine culture typically involves repeated statements implying that alcohol is a great way to deal with all the stresses of being a stay-at-home mom.
In most cases, these are fairly lighthearted posts. You see mothers posing with “wine o’clock” coffee mugs and “mommy juice” wine glasses in all sorts of photos. There are also thousands of posts with mothers joking about how they can’t handle various parenting challenges until they’ve had a glass of wine. For some, mommy wine culture even expands to home decor. There are all sorts of wall art designs with statements like, “Powered by wine” or “I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food!”
The Issue With Mom Wine Culture
Wine culture might seem like a silly way of relieving pressure and reminding others that you aren’t a boring, traditional parent. Yet it often takes a darker turn. Both stay-at-home moms and those who work away from home are at risk for alcoholism. Women at home who miss the mental challenges of a career among adult coworkers may find that a few glasses of wine ease the boredom of having only a toddler for company. Those overwhelmed by the demands of both motherhood and a career may turn to wine to relax. In either case, using wine as a way to handle emotions can lead to problematic drinking behavior. The only way to recover from alcohol addiction is to see alcohol addiction treatment.
Wine culture is particularly insidious because it normalizes alcoholism. Companies market wine heavily towards women as a means of self-care and adventure. The idea that you can turn to a bottle of wine when you’re sad, angry, bored, or stressed encourages more to abuse it. Instead of realizing they have a problem, mothers may believe they are behaving like everyone else in their peer group. Wine culture also makes it harder for those around a woman to recognize she needs help. Mommy wine culture can be a way of masking functional alcoholism. Jokes about how much you love wine and rely on wine can be a way of making your drinking problem seem like a fun personality trait.
How to Tell If You Have a Problem
The first thing you need to do is look beyond the idea that drinking wine is fun, quirky, classy, or cute. Instead, it is important to realize that wine is as much an alcoholic beverage as beer or hard liquor. One way of seeing behind the mask of mom wine culture is by asking yourself, “Would this behavior seem different if I were having shots of rum instead?” This can help you see your behavior as alcohol abuse instead of viewing it in the more positive way that people view drinking wine.
There is no hard limit on how much wine is too much. Instead, you can define an alcohol abuse problem by the way your behaviors and thoughts have changed. If you have a problem, you may spend much of your time thinking about getting wine, drinking wine, or overcoming hangovers. You may keep drinking wine although it is harming your physical, emotional, or social health. Many women who have a problem may try to hide the amount of alcohol they drink. If you have been abusing wine for a while, you may find that you feel shaky, fatigued, or otherwise ill when you quit drinking it. These are all signs that it is time for you to seek help.
The Willows at Red Oak is a women’s substance abuse treatment center that has plenty of experience unpacking the problems of the current wine culture, especially for moms aged 18-30. In our peaceful North Carolina addiction treatment program, you can begin to heal in the company of other mothers dealing with similar challenges. Contact us at 855.773.0614 to take your first step toward recovery now.